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Free The Birds

Hey Peter Angelos: If you can’t honor Brooks Robinson, why the hell do you own the Orioles?

Nestor Aparicio

After attending the amazing and memorable Brooks Robinson statue unveiling in front of Pickles Pub on Saturday afternoon my emotions left me two choices – either speak out about the painfully obvious and disgraceful lack of participation by Peter G. Angelos and the Baltimore Orioles or do what the rest of these phonies in the local bought-off media have done: turn a blind eye to the biggest and smelliest orange elephant in the middle of downtown Baltimore and refuse to ask the tough questions. So today is a day when I again unleash my raging fury regarding this sham on Baltimoreans everywhere perpetrated by the smallest of small men of our time in Maryland – Peter G. Angelos. There were roughly a thousand hearty Orioles fans and Brooks admirers at the feet of that gorgeous statue this weekend for a man who literally lifted the first shovel in erecting the modern era of professional sports in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson is a walking living legend and civic treasure and one whose inherent goodness and decency has been wasted over the past 20 years by this awful, mean-spirited and petty ownership group and the Angelos ownership reign of terror that has turned

The Orioles will be better next year — and more new lies after The MacFailure

Nestor Aparicio

Our cool, growing (and still free!) sports media company had another great B2B-Business To Business event last week in Towson with @CoachBillick and an old friend and reader of WNST.net approached me and asked the eternal Orioles question: “So, Nasty, I’ve read all of the issues regarding the Orioles and Mike Flanagan and Andy MacPhail and Free The Birds, but what are we as fans going to do? You need to offer solutions…” Well, virtually every human being I’ve spoken to over the last three years – and I still have a ton of friends in upper management at Major League Baseball and all over the league — has concurred: this just isn’t going to change on the field as long as Peter Angelos is involved in Baltimore baseball ownership. But, of course, I came to that conclusion five years ago when I did the original Free The Birds rally and campaign because in my mind – and time has proven me correct – this was long past the point of no return with the local community and most people of integrity within the baseball community in 2006. And what I’ve come to realize is that this REALLY bugs the

Happy 5th Anniversary to my Free The Birds friends who want change for Baltimore baseball

Nestor Aparicio

I’ve been watching the Baltimore Orioles since 1973 and I’m not sure any of us could’ve predicted what this franchise was to become back in the late 1980’s when Camden Yards was built, our city was starved without football and the Colts had split town. It’s amazing now because most of the people in my company and many of you reading this under the age of 35 do not remember the Colts at all. Or a time when there was no purple. Or when there was no shiny stadia downtown that we all take for granted. I watched William Donald Schaefer fight for all of this. I watched John Steadman politic and report through all of this as a colleague and a kid at The News American. I watched the first shovel go in the ground downtown. I was at that magical game in 1988 when all of this civic planning was announced on the backend of an 0-21 start that invigorated the renaissance of not only the Orioles but this community as a whole. I wrote more than 75,000 words on this topic five years ago. You can read all of it here… I was there for all of

I hope Ripken isn’t next Orioles hero signing up to polish Angelos’ smelly turd?

Nestor Aparicio

On Tuesday night, as Camden Yards sat mostly empty on another beautiful summer night, it happened again. No, not just another “tough-luck, one-run Orioles loss” en route to what could possibly be the worst season of this era replete with 100 losses, but instead the whining, moaning and embarrassingly homerish “media” scam pulled on a nightly basis in my living room by the likes of Jim Hunter, Mike Flanagan, Rick Dempsey and company at MASN. Along with all of the apologists at The Baltimore Sun, WBAL, PressBox and WJZ (the entire CBS “family” is in bed with the Orioles and has spent 14 years making lame, transparent excuses while taking a paycheck) – it’s amazing these employees of Peter Angelos can put their heads on a pillow at night and believe they have any integrity left in their words this community. The crazy part is that there are still hopeless fans in the orange Kool Aid bunch who refuse to even acknowledge that all of these former “heroes of Birdland” are employed by Peter Angelos and will lie to you every night like state run media in Egypt, Syria and Libya. It’s been said many times in many ways but

Sure, Angelos is at heart of Orioles misery but 25 others are accountable, too

Nestor Aparicio

This inglorious 14 years of misery, lies and ineptitude for fans of the Baltimore Orioles all over the world has been hard to watch at every level. I’m exasperated with the media corruption, lack of integrity and pure filth of heart of Peter Angelos and his profiteering and lack of civic pride for something that this community held near and dear to its heart — bringing tens of thousands to literal tears in 1991 when the memories of 33rd Street moved downtown. But circa 2011, on a night-to-night basis, the only ones who can change the course of the franchise “in the moment” are the players Peter Angelos is paying millions of dollars, Andy MacPhail has hired and the ones Buck Showalter has morbidly signed up to manage this summer. Sure, Angelos is to blame for this entire mess — that much is self-evident at this point — but that does not exonerate alleged Major League Baseball players from being able to produce in the glare of the bright lights in the eighth inning of a one-run game. Take Friday night’s multiple fiasco-fest with the game on the line vs. the Angels. Nick Markakis came to bat with two outs

Here’s the truth: Baltimore doesn’t want to be told the truth about Angelos and Orioles

Nestor Aparicio

I bite my tongue a lot when it comes to the Orioles. Go back and read the last two or three years’ worth of material I’ve produced when it comes to Peter Angelos and you’ll see that while the losing hasn’t subsided one iota in the standings, my bile, venom and anger have dissipated publicly for lots of reasons. Here are a few: 1.    I’m older and a tad more mellow and I openly realize that while Angelos is one day closer to not owning the team any longer, I’m also one day closer to death. I sincerely hope I outlive him and the losing but as the tragic death of WNST’s No. 1 fan Fergy Commodari taught me last week, life is short so I focus on things I can control. 2.    I’m so insanely busy building WNST.net and all of our web platforms and initiatives that writing blogs every night about why the Orioles suck just isn’t a quality use of my time, energy or ambition. 3.    It’s hard to justify writing these “anti-Angelos” blogs when I have no energy to write about it and you really have no energy to read it. But, that said, it’s during

Here’s why Adam Jones and anyone who thinks like him is a nitwit…

Nestor Aparicio

Two weeks ago Adam Jones, the starting centerfielder for the Baltimore Orioles who also fancies himself a free spirit, world social media maven and loose-lipped athlete, repeatedly told our local fans to come back to the ballpark in 2011 and “knock the s**t outta Yankees fans” when they bring their money to Camden Yards. Being the only real journalist left in Baltimore with a free voice (and, conversely, no Orioles press pass), I wrote a scathing blog here about this very public pronouncement made by Jones on video at www.baltimoresun.com that cost me a local sponsorship and got me roundly slammed by the morons, apes and trolls on various “hangout” message boards and web blogs for “being too negative” about the Orioles. Well, it turns out, a couple of Los Angeles Dodgers fans took the “advice” of Adam Jones and now a 42-year old paramedic named Bryan Stow – same age as me, by the way – is in a coma in a Los Angeles hospital and his two children might never have a father again. Think I was a little too hard on Jones now? Or were the other local “media” members, afraid for their jobs and press passes

Memo to bucked up Showalter: Please just shut up!

Nestor Aparicio

While many of the few hearty souls left in the exuberant Orioles Nation will find great joy in Buck Showalter’s verbal tirade in Men’s Journal against the Derek Jeter and the Yankees and Theo Epstein and the Red Sox, I’m going to take an alternative approach today to a war of words with franchises that have been kicking our civic asses and taking over our city for the past 14 years. Buck, shut up! Please, just shut up! You’re embarrassing yourself and this fan base! In case you missed it, here’s his gem regarding No. 2: “The first time we went to Yankee Stadium, I screamed at Derek Jeter from the dugout,” Showalter told the magazine. “Our guys are thinking, ‘Wow, he’s screaming at Derek Jeter.’ Well, he’s always jumping back from balls just off the plate. I know how many calls that team gets – and yes, he [ticks] me off.” And this is what he had to say about a general manager who has won two more World Championships than he has: “I’d like to see how smart Theo Epstein is with the Tampa Bay payroll,” he said. “You got Carl Crawford ’cause you paid more than anyone

As purple Festivus season is upon us, alas the real Grinch continues to be Peter G. Angelos

Nestor Aparicio

It’s been 51 months now since the initial “Free The Birds” campaign that we launched at WNST.net in “Year Nine of The Black Cat” and motivated more than 2,000 other brave souls who said “enough is enough” to Peter Angelos and the losing and nasty ways of the Baltimore Orioles. The holiday results are in yet again for another sad orange offseason and I’m feeling pretty confident — as is Las Vegas — that the Baltimore Orioles will not be a playoff team in 2011. And the real reason the team won’t win this year is the same as last year and the year before that: they won’t (or can’t) spend all of the millions of dollars they have managed to extract from this community via their incredibly wealthy and lean “regional sports network” called MASN. We’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars in direct profit that was allegedly to be spent on improving the baseball team for the community to enjoy. But instead of the $150 million payrolls that were promised to “compete with the likes of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox,” that previously earmarked U.S. money donated by Middle Atlantic cable subscribers is in

Are you going to Carolina this weekend? Join our WNST Purple Pep Rallies

Nestor Aparicio

The size of the party crowd kept growing – hence the delay – but WNST.net is poised to host the biggest Purple Pep Rally we’ve ever thrown for any road trip in our history in Charlotte this weekend. Based on the overwhelming amount of interest we needed to find a space big enough to handle all of the purple fans traveling from Baltimore and we’re proud to announce two awesome parties — one on Saturday night at Whisky River at The Epicenter of Charlotte and a Bojangles/Miller Lite picnic tailgate just two blocks from the stadium on Sunday. IF YOU WANT TO BUY TICKETS FOR THIS WEEKEND, CLICK HERE… If you are already booked on the WNST Miller Lite Roadtrip to Carolina your party passes are INCLUDED in our package. There will be no party at the Tilted Kilt in Charlotte — our group outgrew the space there and we had to move the party to a bigger location! I’ve never, ever seen this volume of interest or email for parties. I think half of Baltimore is headed to Charlotte this weekend! These events WILL sell out so please plan to join us and sign up early!!! TICKETS TO BOTH

Dear Peter Angelos: When will you fix this disgrace?

Nestor Aparicio

At the risk of “piling on,” I’ve decided to throw my two cents into the blogosphere today to briefly (insert joke here) discuss the situation regarding the Orioles as they continue their West Coast horror tour where no doubt Adam Jones will be tweeting about how great it is to be in San Diego and how pretty the girls are. Yeah, well I was almost in San Diego, too this week. When I saw the schedule come out last year I looked to do a baseball trip to my favorite city in the U.S. and watch the Orioles play and needless to say I made a great decision avoiding the So Cal and the Bay Areas this June of 2010, especially considering the U2 show on Wednesday night in Oakland was cancelled. I also thought for a while I was headed to the World Cup in South Africa, but alas, duty calls here in Baltimore in the way of running WNST.net. I’m much happier to be headed to Harford County for the day to support soccer and my country, than to be watching this dreadful 18-48 baseball team in sunny San Diego over 7 a.m. eggs and bacon. I built

With Nats-Orioles series looming, we get more stupid comments from Peter Angelos

Nestor Aparicio

It’s another interesting spring weekend for the local baseball aficionados in the area who bring their civic report cards as well as a copy of the MLB standings with them to the ballpark. The Baltimore Orioles are once again visiting the Washington Nationals and this time one set of fans finally cares about the vaunted “Beltway Series” that Peter Angelos swore over and over would never happen. And it’s not Baltimore… Angelos, while sitting with me at The Barn in 1997 and then again various times in the ensuing years, opined that the “Baltimore vs. Washington rivalry” would never happen in my lifetime. Today, with the Nationals beginning to flourish in the NL East in their sixth year of existence and Angelos pocketing upward of $40 million per year off of the transaction, the owner of the Orioles finally spoke out. Angelos was asked in a rare appearance in the daily fish wrap this morning about whether the “rivalry” would ever catch on to be local Hatfields and McCoys. His response: “You never know. It’s kind of early to say if that will happen.” Actually, Mr. Angelos, it’s been six years. The Ravens won a Super Bowl for Baltimore in

Less than 2,000 “real fans” attend Orioles game last night

Nestor Aparicio

The Orioles announced the crowd at 9,299, which is almost laughable if you were a witness to the scene of about 1,500 who actually came down to Oriole Park at Camden Yards last night to observe the two worst teams in Major League Baseball. Thankfully, a picture taken during the 2nd inning at 7:20 p.m. EST is worth a thousand words so here you go: Somewhere, Claude Brochu and the folks with Montreal Expos swag in Quebec don’t feel so lonely anymore. The Orioles have truly become the embodiment of the Montreal Expos. We literally had more Free The Birds people back in September 2006 than there were “real Orioles fans” last night in ballpark. For the record, I’d estimate the Free The Birds crowd last night at about 75 throughout the evening at Phillips Harborplace. It was alarming for many of the folks who don’t come downtown very often to see how desolate and deserted the downtown streets are before and after the games. There is no traffic. There are no street vendors. There are no traffic cops. It’s like there’s no game being played at all. Here’s a video of my evening at Camden Yards last night: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4120mYH0vY[/youtube]

Despite gloomy forecast, Free The Birds set for tonight

Nestor Aparicio

Despite the gloomy forecast for rain, we’re still coming downtown tonight for another Free The Birds gathering to show our displeasure at the current state of the Orioles franchise. I could write tomes here today about all of the reasons the Orioles have been awful for 13 years but all of the folks who are already committed to coming downtown know that the owner, Peter G. Angelos remains the sole existing problem in the organization. To paraphrase: “It’s the owner, dummy…” We’ll be at Phillips Harborplace at 4 p.m. for a pre-game indoor tailgate with free crab balls, chicken tenders, munchies and $3 domestic beers all night. And if the weather holds up — the forecast is a 70% chance of rain tonight — we’ll be among the very few at Oriole Park at Camden Yards tonight to witness a franchise that is almost as dreadful as the Orioles as the Kansas City Royals bring their own brand of Triple-A baseball to Baltimore. We’ll walk up to the game and the only two missions we have tonight are simple to explain: to make our voices and message heard and to have a lot of fun. Pretty simple event. Come to

Six days from now we’ll do “Free The Birds”: Where will you be?

Nestor Aparicio

The time has come to be heard. Over the past four years I can’t begin to even estimate how many people have yelled a simple phrase at me on the streets of Baltimore: “FREE THE BIRDS!” It’s nice to know that a movement that I felt was rooted in peace, baseball, community and the future of downtown could take hold and that so many people thought it was a great thing and wanted to participate, even if it’s just buying a shirt and wearing it to the mall or screaming “FREE THE BIRDS” at me out their windows on city streets. Join our Facebook “Free The Birds” fan page here… Join our Facebook “I’m coming to FREE THE BIRDS 2010” event page here… But civic politics are a funny and strange business and it’s taken me into my forties to realize there are two kinds of people in the world when you’re outspoken: those for you and those against you. And most days, you feel like you only hear from those against you. Honestly, four years ago I thought this: “Who in the WORLD could possibly believe that Peter Angelos has done a good job with the Orioles since 1997?

Free The Birds event is set for May 17th…

Nestor Aparicio

The official “Free The Birds 2010 — The Reunion” is underway now with planning and events scheduled for Monday, May 17th. To make us aware of your attendance, please sign up for the event via Facebook and our events page here. The event will begin at 4 p.m. at Phillip’s Harborplace where we’ll have some happy hour specials and fun. Feel free to buy the cheapest tickets possible and come downtown to make your voice heard regarding the state of the Baltimore Orioles, circa 2010.

Let’s check back in on the “State of Baltimore Sports Media” with Orioles sitting at 2-14 on NFL Draft Day

Nestor Aparicio

So this media situation is exactly what I tried to warn everyone about back in February. I spent a week with my “State of Baltimore Sports Media” blogs attempting to take 27 years of my knowledge as a kid from Dundalk who loved sports and journalism and has spent a lifetime trying to build a better platform for integrity and honesty in an effort to enlighten folks about why we think WNST.net is a great way to communicate in 2010. The Orioles are 2-14. It’s almost unthinkable — unimaginable given the “enthusiasm” that was sold by the corporate suits over at CBS Radio and the MASN “partners” of a 13-year running sham known as Peter G. Angelos’ Orioles. Don’t worry, the rest of the local media that takes checks from King Peter and the crew aren’t off the hook here, either, for hiding the truth and burying the story about last week’s Ripken blowup. The Orioles are 2-14 and there’s not a negative word – not anywhere. There’s no call for the manager’s head. The owner – completely unaccountable and in hiding longer than the guy in the cave in the Middle East – never answers questions. The Ripken story

Hey Orioles fans: If you’re angry, sign up for Free The Birds 2010 now…

Nestor Aparicio

People have been asking me all week, “What’s the problem with the Orioles?” This is a recurring civic question that I’ve known the correct answer to for about a decade. It’s the only “variable” that has remained consistent in Baltimore baseball since 1993. The problem with the Orioles has been, is and will be — until he dies or sells the team – Peter G. Angelos. I didn’t need a 1-11 start and the first sniff of a simmering feud with Cal Ripken to know the gospel truth about the Orioles or any business in America in 2010. It starts at the top. If you’ve watched “Undercover Boss,” you know what I mean. I run a business. I spend all day, every day talking to fellow business owners. Peter Angelos has been very, very consistent in how he’s run not only the Orioles, but his law firm as well. He’s in charge and there’s only one name on the door. Fair enough. He owns the team. He’s allowed (and expected) to be in charge. Anyone who even implies that Andy MacPhail is “in charge” is just stupid and hasn’t been paying attention. But at some point the people who are

Cal Ripken & Ken Rosenthal vs. Peter Angelos: Who do you believe?

Nestor Aparicio

It was only a matter of time. This orange collision course of wills regarding the Orioles and Peter Angelos vs. Cal Ripken finally exploded late last night when Ken Rosenthal leaked a story on FoxSports.com that claimed via several MLB sources that Ripken and Andy MacPhail met earlier this week regarding some kind of employment/partnership within the organization. Rosenthal: “Angelos, however, nixed the idea in a separate conversation with Ripken, telling him, according to three sources, that he did not want Ripken to receive credit once the team returned to prominence.” So, what exactly transpired here this week between Ripken and the current Orioles regime? And how did Ken Rosenthal wind up back in the middle of a Baltimore baseball triangle with the owner of the team and Cal Ripken? As is always the case with Angelos, there’s a “morning after” dispute as to what happened and he has since answered with another one of his famous press releases feigning innocence and an open invitation to Ripken. Having been through the wars of Baltimore sports media since 1984, I’ve lived through the Rosenthal-Angelos wars of the 1990’s. I saw it all first hand and there was a time when I’ll

Curb Your Enthusiasm: The theme of Ravens’ fanbase this week

Nestor Aparicio

I’m not an expert on much, but Baltimore sports and enthusiasm are two things I’ve spent my entire existence since 1972 immersed in here in the Charm City. And even though the Ravens are traveling to New England this weekend for an honest-to-God, NFL playoff game, I’m sensing this is the least-exciting postseason run in the history of Baltimore sports. I have more ways to take the temperature of the city than I care to admit. From emails and AM 1570 to thousands of people on Facebook, Twitter and in a variety of web locales — this is a tepid metropolis right now regarding the Ravens. I’m just looking for some purple string lights around the region and I’m not “feeling the love” for the 2009 Ravens. Where’s YOUR purple, Baltimore? Now before you say, “Nasty – I’m fired up for the game on Sunday, what are you talking about?” I will respond with facts (not low blows…). Fact: There are still many flights into Providence, Boston and Manchester all day on Friday and Saturday. Fact: There were still seats left on my bus a few hours ago. I reserved NINE buses for the weekend. I’m using TWO. Fact: Seats

“Free The Birds” – It was 3 years ago today…

Nestor Aparicio

I was planning to do a three-year examination of the impact of Free The Birds today. I was going to hash out all of the issues – past, present and future – and reiterate my goals with our dormant movement to make the Orioles come to grips with the reality of their fledgling and all-but-evaporated fan base. Our goal has never wavered: we want the team fixed and we want not only a winning product ON the field, but an ownership group committed to the fans and the community OFF the field. But, quite frankly, in the midst of all of the excitement over the Ravens in San Diego and the sheer volume of work I do on a daily basis, I really don’t want to waste any more time with the Orioles this September. I have other more interesting things to write about with the purple birds starting the season 2-0 and doing what the baseball team can only dream about in 2009 — inspiring the sports fans in the Land of Pleasant Living to dream about a championship and a community galvanized. But, really, isn’t that the biggest problem? No one seems to give a damn about the

In case you were wondering how empty Camden Yards was last night

Nestor Aparicio

I didn’t go to the Orioles game last night and apparently neither did you. I did watch most of the game, including the Orioles rally from being down 5-0 early to win the game against Tampa 10-5. Jason Berken survived the early battering to work into the 7th inning and earn a rare victory. Brian Roberts and Matt Wieters both broke out the big sticks and each had three hits. The boxscore is here… The stadium was dreadfully empty — maybe the worst crowd in the history of Oriole Park at Camden Yards — and of course the Orioles lied about the attendance again, calling the crowd 11,575. There weren’t 11,000 eyeballs in the stadium last night and they advertised throughout the game on MASN for more of the mysterious $1 tickets for tonight and tomorrow night but were very carefully not show any foul balls. Here’s a picture of Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata throwing out the first pitch. Note the nice shade of forest green in the background in center field. This was a stadium that all WNST followers were “uninvited” to attend. Just pathetic… But this is what happens when the ownership of the team can pocket

Our pledge: we’ll continue to try to “help” the Orioles

Nestor Aparicio

So since Greg Bader and the Orioles’ last remaining flunkies and apologists have again begun to spread “anti-WNST” venom in the web community with lies and false allegations about my integrity or intentions, I suppose it’s my turn to “react” and spew venom. Sorry, I’m not going to get caught up in it and, honestly, I have no time for negativity and nastiness. The Steelers are playing tonight and we’ve got two events – Donna’s in Dundalk and the Twestival at Ramshead. The Ravens are playing on Sunday. I’m honestly feeling really good about WNST and Baltimore and the changing weather. I’m in a good mood. I’m not going to allow the Orioles and their shallow souls and mean-spiritedness to wreck Opening Week of the NFL season. The blog that Drew put a lot of effort and words into properly tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. As has been our stated mission from inception: we wanted to help the Orioles. We wanted to extend an olive branch. We wanted to take them up on THEIR offer to come to the ballpark for $1. We wanted to show our sincerity by donating to Nick Markakis’ Foundation.

Sadly, Orioles force cancellation of “See The Birds”

Nestor Aparicio

UPDATED 10:43 p.m.: After we had already elected to cancel the “See The Birds” event next week, WNST just received an official “cease and desist” letter from some attorney at MLB telling us that we’re not allowed to help the Orioles fill a few thousand of their 40,000 empty seats next Tuesday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. So much for gratitude or fan friendliness. I guess they don’t want to see real Orioles fans in their upper deck. Well, they are who we thought they were. Their shady business practices are on full display this morning. Sadly, the WNST effort to bring 1,000 people to the Orioles-Rays game for next Tuesday night has been thwarted by the team, who refused to sell our group their heavily advertised $1 tickets (which, as we pointed out last Friday, don’t really exist). We will be refunding more than $1,000 collected today to the many who wanted to come to the game with a fun group and donate to Nick Markakis’ Foundation. I’ll be writing more about this sad turn of events later (or maybe not — I’m a little wrung out with these clowns), but many had been inquiring and trying to

Hope you come and “See The Birds” with us next Tuesday for $2

Nestor Aparicio

The Orioles $1 ticket promotion gave us a great idea over the weekend. You can read or view my lousy experience from Friday here but this isn’t about crushing the Orioles for yet another foray into dubious marketing. This is about doing the “right” thing and if they’re going to offer tickets for a dollar I’m happy to give them a dollar and go to the ballpark. We’ve all been Orioles fans all of our lives. We all want the team to get better and the city to get stronger because of it. That’s been my personal mission ever since “Free The Birds” began three years ago in the midst of their ninth consecutive season of losing. Now, at the end of their 12th consecutive summer of meaningless baseball, this “See The Birds” campaign is our pledge that we ALL want the Orioles to return to relevancy and bring joy to the people of Baltimore with a product that makes us proud. Last week, they offered $1 tickets and blanketed their “bought off” media market with their offer – ostensibly to try to get that LAST remaining naysayer or guy with his kid who wants to “See The Birds” one

Orioles latest scam: the $1 ticket ain’t a buck at all

Nestor Aparicio

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZXHzZvqNUo[/youtube]I was watching the Orioles game against the Rangers tonight. Why? Because I love sports and there’s nothing else on. The Orioles are advertising $1 tickets. All I needed to do was go to their website. They made it sound easy! I thought it over — and I still think a LOT about the Orioles as any of my Facebook friends will attest — and said, “Hey, I’d like to go to the ballpark and as much as I’ve refused to give them ANY money over the past two years, maybe I’d consider giving them two freaking dollars and taking my wife or son to one more game before next April.” My son called me from the beach yesterday and was pestering me about going to a game. We haven’t been to a game together this year because he’s been making dough at Seacrets in O.C. Well, as you can imagine, I was skeptical regarding their honesty and integrity in offering seats for a dollar. Could this be “for real?” And you know what, my skepticism — yet again — is warranted. I followed the prompt through the billing process and lo and behold, my tickets suddenly totaled up to

Orioles continue to sink even lower than we thought possible

Nestor Aparicio

As the biggest critic of Orioles ownership over the last decade, I’ve purposely refrained from being particularly hard on the team in 2009. Unfortunately for you, the WNST fans and true Baltimore sports lovers, they have me right where they want me. I’m back on the radio without a press pass to their games and no one is going to tune into my show if all I do is tell the truth, and bury them for their ineptitude, mean-spiritedness and general incompetence over the past dozen years for four hours every day. And at this point, what do I have to lose? Short of them killing me, what do they have left to take away from me? The team is awful (again), there is not an iota of pride remaining in being an Orioles fan and I’ve watched about 90% of the action this season and I’m here to tell you that it has NOT been a fun or memorable summer for baseball here in the land of pleasant living. And really, telling the truth — see the paragraph above — is NOT what Baltimore wants to hear from me about the Orioles. It’s like a broken, freaking record —

Orange fireworks: Players and Trembley flip Peter Angelos “The Bird” today in The Sun

Nestor Aparicio

I’ve been saying for years that Fort Lauderdale Stadium and the Orioles’ sub-par Florida spring training situation is by far the biggest sin of all of their many sins and finally the folks over on Calvert Street are doing some “investigative journalism” with the orange birds. The club’s No. 1 promise to the public is that it’s doing everything possible to commit all of its resources to fielding a winning team. That’s the goal in baseball: winning a championship. You always want to give your team the best chance to compete. The Angelos family hasn’t done that for the entire tenure of their ownership in regard to the significance of spring training as anything more than a line item expense. The mere fact that they’re the only organization in the sport to have “two camps” in Florida that sit three hours apart is telling enough. It’s bad business. It’s bad baseball. It’s just inexcusable, unacceptable and dumb. Fort Lauderdale Stadium is a dump. It’s a disgrace. It’s been a disgrace for the entire balance of the 15 years they’ve played there. I’ve worked many, many a morning and pulled many 12-hour days at Fort Lauderdale Stadium doing radio and covering

Happy 90th Birthday to my Pop!!!

Nestor Aparicio

On a morning when the coffee buzz is about Ray Lewis and Matt Birk getting signed and Terrell Owens getting released — and I can’t believe any serious or rational Ravens fan would think signing T.O. is a good idea — my thoughts have been about my father on what would’ve been his 90th birthday. As many of you know, I dedicate each March 5th broadcast on AM 1570 to my dad and in 2006 I wrote a book about my father and his influence on my life and what it’s become. I’ve said it many, many times: my father is really the one responsible for building WNST. My career and my passion for sports and Baltimore is all a result of those trips on the No. 23 bus from Dundalk through Highlandtown and the connection to the No. 22 over to 33rd Street. It has now been 30 months since our “Free The Birds” march on Camden Yards. I’ll save the report card for the changes it enacted for closer to Opening Day. But I wanted to “reprint” the book here online over the next few weeks. There are 19 chapters about how I was raised, my love of

Reminder: Tribute to Dads everywhere is two days away

Nestor Aparicio

As many of you know who have followed me and/or WNST through the years, March 5th is my Pop’s birthday. He was born in 1919, so this Thursday he would’ve been 90. As a tribute to him — and Dads everywhere — we have made a 17-year tradition of dedicating our March 5 shows to my father and your father as well. Just wanted to give everyone a head’s up because it’s the most asked-about day of the year. I’m in the process of recapaturing and platforming on WNST.net the text from my 2006 pre-Free The Birds 19-chapter book on why WNST exists, why I love sports and all that my Pop taught me about the world through sports and baseball. If you remember the book or any of the shows I’ve done in honor of my Pop, I hope you tune in on Thursday and share a story or two. I think my Pop would be proud that we stood up and did the right thing in regard to the baseball team almost 2 1/2 years ago and the book and that entire event was because of my Pop and his dedication to the Orioles and to Baltimore sports

R.I.P. to The Baltimore Examiner and “So you wanna be a sports media star?”

Nestor Aparicio

Where have the old-time “voices in sports media” gone in our community? Who are the commentators who “matter?” Does ANYONE’s opinion on radio or TV or in the newspaper or on the web matter?  Did it ever? And where is the internet heading and what lies ahead for the next generation of sports media in Baltimore? These are all topics and questions on my mind as The Baltimore Examiner closed its doors on Valentine’s weekend. So stands the old white “masthead” lights over the harbor tonight — the light in the ‘r’ is ironically burned out on Pratt Street — and another dream has been vanquished for another “out of town” media entity whose management thought they would whisk into Baltimore, urinate on highly unpopular (yet unchallenged) bully of The Sun, which is such a corporate “lamb” these days that it’s in bankruptcy, and dominate the market with a concept and a primary medium whose time has clearly passed. Today’s blog will not be about sports as much as it will be about local sports media and how it works in 2009. And how much of a “mess” it is these days to be involved in old world media. For

“The lack of organization. The lack of discipline. The lack of overall professionalism. I was shocked, and I couldn’t believe it.”

Nestor Aparicio

These are the words of Leo Mazzone, regarding his two-year prison sentence in Baltimore. Lemme start this blog by saying that I know Leo Mazzone and I got to know him a bit back when he was the Braves pitching coach and I was a baseball zealot in the 1990’s. I always traveled to do my show and because the Braves were always good, I was almost always around the Braves. And the Braves were loaded with Maryland talent — at one point having Arundel’s Denny Neagle and fellow Dundalkian Mike Bielecki on the same staff in the World Series. I’m still quite friendly with those guys and they had the kind of dispositions that made them just like me — they were pretty normal, regular Baltimore boys. John Scheurholz, another Baltimorean who got away, was always around and was fun to trade Baltimore stories with. And Mazzone was a Marylander and a huge football fan as well as the mentor to Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Greg Maddux. Mazzone was the EXACT guy inside the game that the Orioles love to say they still appeal to with their “brand.” He loved the old Orioles Way and is one of

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