Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin Youtube Spotify Podcast

Paid Advertisement

Nestor Aparicio

Brett Favre to the Ravens?

Nestor Aparicio

Even though the story broke at the worst possible time for the press — a late Friday afternoon — the “Brett Favre back to the NFL and NOT with the Packers” story is almost too delicious for any Ravens fan to ignore. Message boards are awash with rumors of Brett Favre to the Ravens already. But so are the fans’ hopes in several other places, including former division rivals — Chicago and Minnesota. (And wouldn’t that be a slap in the face, right? Think about Ray Lewis going to play in Pittsburgh or Cleveland?) My sources in Owings Mills tell me that tales of Brett Favre to the Ravens are “crap.” The Ravens’ mantra since Brian Billick’s firing has been “we are building for the long term not the short term.” But, one of ESPN’s main NFL bloggers has already written a huge piece about why Ozzie Newsome should’ve called Bus Cook during happy hour on Friday. I get it. So do you. Big star, Hall of Famer, end of the line, comes to blue collar Baltimore and leads the purple to the Super Bowl in Tampa salvaging the twilight of Ray Lewis’ career among others like Derrick Mason, Trevor

Unitas vs. Cuellar in KOBS today

Nestor Aparicio

We are getting down to the nitty gritty in the Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports contest. Today is Johnny Unitas vs. Mike Cuellar. Needless to say, we expect the Golden Arm to be victorious but the next batch of contests are pretty serious. Art Donvan vs. Frank Robinson Eddie Murray vs. Jim Palmer Ray Lewis vs. Gino Marchetti Jim Parker vs. Jon Ogden Cal Ripken vs. Raymond Berry These are all interesting debates and will be debated at length next week. We are strongly considering changing the voting “view results” as this contest gets closer to the end. Based on the amount of traffic on the site (a lot of people every day) vs. folks actually voting (not a lot), it’s not a total shock that many folks are NOT voting daily because many of the matchups have been “walkovers.” This will not be the case next week. But over the past few weeks, I’ve received many emails from folks who’ve said that seeing the results has discouraged them from voting. They figure, “what’s the point when the HOFer has 200 votes already and the opponent has 12 votes?” I agree. I will be hosting the Comcast Morning

Do you watch MASN and see what I see?

Nestor Aparicio

I was going to title this blog “Why I love Rick Dempsey” just to keep in line with all of the bizarre email and comments I received on my “Why I love Jim Palmer” titled blog. So, I’ll just start this briefing by saying that I DO love Rick Dempsey. And I was watching MASN last night and I gotta comment on what I’m seeing and how lousy these broadcasts are in general. And I’m not watching with my “media” hat as much as just being a fan. The only way I’m allowed to see and experience the team now (thanks to their ban of free speech) is via MASN. It’s back to 1985 for me, the last year when I didn’t have a press pass before Angelos went all Fidel Castro on me for telling the truth about how the franchise has injured the city on summer nights. MASN’s coverage is beyond embarrassing in its nightly pandering and bush league insults to the fan base, especially when Jim Palmer isn’t around. It’s kinda like watching an old “WWWF” match or watching Gordon Solie call NWA action. It’s one giant infomercial that I’m paying a few bucks a month to

Second round of KOBS begins today…

Nestor Aparicio

I’m back from an all-too-short vacation weekend and ready to play the second round of the Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports. Today’s matchup: Brooks Robinson vs. Wes Unseld. Obviously, the chalk picks held the line during the first round but this second round is a bit dicey for many of the Hall of Famers. Almost every day there will be two HOFers pitted against each other. If nothing else, it tells you how rich our professional sports heritage is in Baltimore. I’m catching up on the real world all day and trying to figure out how all of a sudden so many of you want to see Yankee Stadium. It’s the hottest selling trip we’ve ever had at WNST. I’ll be blogging all week and heading to the All-Star Game in New York on Tuesday to provide coverage.  

Ogden vs. McNally in KOBS

Nestor Aparicio

I was actually shocked at how quietly Jon Ogden walked away from the Ravens a few weeks ago. I thought that it’d be a more emotional deal for the fans and that there would be more “appreciation” for what an amazing talent Ogden was in Baltimore. Well, today I’m sure he’ll get his just due in the voting of the Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports contest taking on Dave McNally. But I’m really wondering how he’s going to fare moving forward. You could make a case that no one had a more effective career, especially being the first pick of the franchise. What more could Jon Ogden have done as a Raven? Vote away today as we get to the end of the first round of the competition. *****   By the way, I’m not giving up on the Orioles just yet. They EASILY could be on a three-game winning streak. We’ll see how they adjust to life without Matt Albers and Jamie Walker in the bullpen. And we’ll also see how Adam Loewen fares now that he’s been rushed back. The one ”little” detail that’s been lost on the local baseball audience as the O’s have had great

KOBS: Eddie vs. Jamal, O’s bus and kicks with David Beckham

Nestor Aparicio

Today is a matchup between two men who, like the soccer players of Brazil, only need one name: Eddie vs. Jamal. Sure, Murray should run away with it today, but I think Lewis was a tad bit underappreciated here as a football player. It’ll be a long time before we see another running back in purple who was that good. Funny, how they both wound up playing in Cleveland of all places, right? And weird how Jamal Lewis actually went to jail and Ray Lewis didn’t and Ray gets all of the heat from the fans in other cities. I’ve never heard a fan yell anything at Jamal about jail even in the worst cities on the road. ****** The WNST bustrip yesterday was fabulous, despite the crappy ending. It was the first Orioles bus trip we’ve done in a long, long time and it was very rewarding. Lots of nice people wearing orange, great fans who drank some Miller Lite Collectors’ brew (they killed off the wheat, my favorite, pretty quickly) and we managed to avoid a rain delay. In the end, we were on our feet in the 12th inning waiting for strike three and an Orioles victory

Scott Garceau will leave WMAR as a full-time sports anchor

Nestor Aparicio

Long-time sports anchor and sports director Scott Garceau will leave his full-time gig at WMAR Channel 2 for a part-time role as a special project coordinator in the next two weeks. My sources tell me that he’ll remain on as Sports Director Emeritus and will continue to do special events like Ravens coverage, lacrosse and the annual Turkey Bowl coverage of Loyola-Calvert Hall. One web outlet has inaccurately been reporting that he’s “leaving WMAR.”  That’s not totally true, although he will not be doing the daily news show, perhaps as soon as next week. Although Garceau may bristle at the notion, this could be considered “semi-retirement” from the daily grind of sports on TV after 26 years in Baltimore, where he came from Albequerque and his home area of the upper Penisula of Michigan. Garceau, of course, was the first “voice of the Ravens” and called Super Bowl XXXV’s victory. An official announcement is expected by station manager Bill Hooper sometime later today. WNST will have all of the details. Garceau has earned legendary status for his quarter century of integrity in sportscasting in Baltimore. I’d say “he’ll be missed” but I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Scott

KOBS: Down goes Reed, down goes Reed!

Nestor Aparicio

I must admit that I didn’t vote yesterday in the Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports contest. Quite frankly, I didn’t want to be the “deciding” vote. Like Al Davis, I abstained. It was a close vote: Mike Cuellar won 56% to 44% over Ed Reed. I think Cuellar deserved to win but maybe it says more about how the folks who are voting feel about Ed Reed. Honestly, we really thought more people who read the site and call in and interact would be voting. The turnout at the polls has been disappointing in the first round, but today’s matchup is Brooks Robinson vs. Bert Jones. Brooks should win, but I think Bert will get some love. We’ve routinely had more than 3,000 people in some contests we’ve held in the past. Our text service alone has this many people. Some weeks we’ve done in excess of 5,000 on block pools, so we know how many people listen, click on the website, etc. We’ve had as many as 12,000 unique users to the site in one 24-hour period. I guess a lot of folks wanted to talk about King of Baltimore but not follow the early round voting

Why I love Jim Palmer, Part 1

Nestor Aparicio

I’m sitting home watching the Orioles game in glorious Comcast HD on Channel 226 tonight and I wasn’t going to blog. I wasn’t going to write about Wrigley Field, or my many memories there or anything about the Orioles. I wasn’t even going to post my video of my trip to Comiskey Park last year (but I still might do that!) Somehow, Orioles pitcher Chris Ray wound up on WNST today (I honestly don’t even have an explanation about how it happened…stay tuned for that!) so I am ever-so-grateful that they’ve finally, mostly ended their VERY one-sided “feud” with WNST. People somehow think I’m at war with THEM? Not true. They’ve been at war with virtually EVERYONE in the community. Clearly, they’ve come to their senses about one more of the many stupid things they’ve been doing to wreck their franchise over the past decade. I love the Orioles. I’ve always loved the Orioles. For the gifts of the summer of 2008, I’m grateful. I’m happy they’re marketing the team, selling a few tickets the past few weeks, getting people downtown to stimulate the city (even in the midst of a few murders three blocks from my home this week),

KOBS voting: Ray Lewis vs. Ken Singleton today!

Nestor Aparicio

What appears to be a mismatch on the field might be a bit closer if folks vote in a popularity poll today. Ken Singleton, as shown in our vote-in round, is a VERY popular old Oriole. From the mid-1970s through the early 1990’s, Singy was either playing the outfield or doing TV sports at Channel 13. He now does YES Network broadcasts for Yankees games and appears on WNST from time to time. Ray Lewis, it could be argued, is the greatest athlete in the history of the city. He’s a very legitimate No. 1 seed. Over the years, opinions about the “off the field” Ray have varied. We’ll see how it goes with the vote, but just think about a purple world without Ray Lewis. Let the voting begin…  

KOBS voting: Brady Anderson vs. Jim Parker today

Nestor Aparicio

Given the firestorm we felt when Brady Anderson was in the inital 28 contestants for the Toyota King of Baltimore Sports contest, today’s voting will be interesting. When Brady was hitting homers and stealing bases (and hearts), he was immensely popular in Baltimore. There were even “Keep Brady In Baltimore” pins and T-shirts all over Camden Yards. One steroid scandal — and Anderson has never admitted to using steroids and never tested positively — and a decade later there’s a definite “anti-Brady” bent we’ve heard from WNST listeners. I never saw Jim Parker play. To me, he was the guy who owned the liquor store. But I know enough to know his legend. Enjoy the voting today… A very sad morning when the first piece of news I got was that George Carlin died. Who among us can say that Carlin didn’t make us laugh at some point? He was a smart, funny man!  

Go Dutch…the ‘other’ orange team

Nestor Aparicio

If you’re bored on a Saturday afternoon, do yourself a favor and throw on the Euro Cup game today between the Netherlands and Russia. After seeing the Dutch passion for their soccer team and all things “orange,” you’ll know why we love “football” on the international stage. At a local supermarket in Amsterdam they’ve given out orange “welpies” or “wups.” They’re silly little orange fuzzy lion creatures and they have become ubiquitous in the Dutch culture. We attended the World Cup two years ago this week and stayed in Amsterdam and commuted into Germany, and seeing the national passion and support the team dwarfed even Baltimore’s purple passion the last week of Jan. 2001. The entire country goes nuts. Even Bruce Springsteen got in on the act Wednesday night (read review here), when he donned an orange lei in support of the Ruud von Niestelroy and the boys in the orange. (Hey, I’ve been pulling for an orange baseball team since 1972, so it’s not hard to wear orange!). There’s also a phenomenal video here on youtube showing you exactly what a “welpie” looks like. It’s in Dutch, but you don’t need to interpret the language to appreciate the sense

KOBS voting: Frank Robinson vs. Matt Stover today!

Nestor Aparicio

OK, so this is a mismatch. But that’s really not the point. Maybe today we should take a moment to consider what an accomplishment it’s been for Matt Stover to STILL be a part of the 2008 Baltimore Ravens. He survived the move from Cleveland (he’s TRULY the last man standing from that fiasco and picket signs and wearing the Reeses Pieces helmets) and he’s STILL kicking in the NFL. And he’ll forever be a Raven. He’s the franchise’s all-time leader in points scored (and it ain’t even close, really) and he’s been a great citizen for Baltimore and an all-around decent dude. As far as Frank Robinson goes, well his credentials here in six seasons are good enough for him to win the whole enchillada in the Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports. Brooks Robinson put baseball on the Baltimore map. Frank Robinson made winning and championships a standard here, even 40 years later. Stover stopped me after a Ravens practice two weeks ago and made this prediction: “Frank Robinson is gonna CRUSH me!” I’m not sure that he’s wrong, but it’d be nice if Matt got at least a couple of votes… Voting for the first round

Happy Anniversary Andy McPhail!

Nestor Aparicio

One year ago today, Orioles owner Peter Angelos hired longtime baseball man Andy McPhail to run the team as the President of Baseball Operations. The changes over the last 52 weeks have been evident, both on and off the field.   Sure, it’s easy to get excited by the fact that the summer solstice is upon us and the club is still actually above .500 if not directly in the AL East race, but the signs that the franchise might finally be pointed in the right direction are self-evident.   1.   The players are having fun again. Gone are the days of the brooding Sidney Ponsons and cranky Miguel Tejadas. In are the bleach blonde hair and retro “Orioles Magic” videos of Kevin Millar. Fun on the field equals fun in the stands, even on the nights when they lose. 2.   Youth has been served. By dealing malcontents like Tejada and pitcher Erik Bedard, McPhail served notice that being a good person and teammate might be as valuable in the clubhouse as a good ERA or OBP. Enter Luke Scott and Adam Jones, who have quickly become fan favorites. One look at the brims of the squad’s caps when George

Random Thursday thoughts and ‘free’ Orioles tickets

Nestor Aparicio

1.    The Orioles can’t stop winning! It’s absolutely astonishing to see them win these games night after night in the fashion that they win them. I haven’t seen anything like it since 1989, and I don’t even remember it being this dramatic on a nightly basis. My son and my wife have talked me into going to the game tonight. I hope I can have some fun. (Special note: If anyone has any extra tickets for tonight, I need four. And I could care less about the bobblehead but I would like a “Hagy 34” shirt. I figure if the team keeps announcing the crowds at 5-7,000 more than are actually there (like last night), SOMEONE must be stuck with a LOT of unused tickets. I’d actually like to USE four “freebies” tonight and not give Mr. Angelos eight of my hard-earned dollars per ducat. I’d rather give the money to you or a charity than him. Or I’ll  buy you beer at the Wharf Rat before the game.  Email me: nasty@wnst.net) 2.    Sam Cassell won yet another championship, this time with the Celtics. Watching him sass Pete Pompey in the Dunbar gym 20 years ago in a game against

KOBS voting: Mike Stankovic vs. Art Donovan

Nestor Aparicio

OK, so I posted a soccer blog yesterday and I watched soccer most of the day yesterday between pitches of what was another “Orioles Magic” kinda evening. And, sure, I like soccer but necessarily because I loved the Blast as a kid. But Mike Stankovic is the soccer player who has made the greatest “on the field” contribution to professional soccer in Baltimore during our lifetime.  So, today, is a chance to vote for or against him and the legendary Art Donovan. Most of us only know Artie as “Fatso,” the funny old guy who eats hot dogs and drinks Schlitz (not a sponsor of the KOBS contest by the way, but I think Donovan would drink a Bud if I gave him one). But Artie was a Hall of Famer, and apparently a beast back in the day. I’ve seen the black and white film and the flat top. I saw Stankovic play — and play quite well very late in his career when he was coaching and playing for the Baltimore Spirit. So, vote your conscience today and continue to have fun with the debates and the merits of the best pro athletes to ever represent Baltimore.  

Argentina at Brazil (yes, that’s soccer!)

Nestor Aparicio

An entire continent will stop at 8:45 tonight. I know that sounds trite, but it’s true. A couple of hundred million people will be tuning into a soccer match between the two prides of the South American continent – Brazil and Argentina. I don’t need to get into the players – inarguably the best in the world and some of the most famous names in the sport – but suffice to say that it’ll be some of the best soccer that the planet can afford, and a World Cup qualifier no less. The atmosphere will be worth the money to order it on Comcast! Brazil has drilled the Argentines a few times recently, so it’s a grudge match as well. I have to be honest: I’ve been caught up in soccer mania ever since the Euro Cup began two weeks ago. Every day there have been amazing games and watching France get eliminated against Italy was fun yesterday. And the more I get around town the more I find that more people are watching and supporting soccer on the world stage. The games this weekend at 2:45 will be crazy good: Netherlands will take on the Russia-Sweden winner on Saturday

KOBS: Wes Unseld vs. Chris McAlister voting today…

Nestor Aparicio

So, we’ve had two blowouts in the first two days of the competition. It’s not a surprise to us, especially when you’re pitting Hall of Famers against non-HOFers. At least, the best and most popular stars are winning. We’ll see how easy it gets in a few weeks when it’s HOFer vs. HOFer and legend vs. legend. Today, is one of our more interesting first round matchups: Wes Unseld vs. Chris McAlister. Unseld was a major force in his early years as a Baltimore Bullets, while McAlister might be the best cornerback we ever see in Baltimore. While CMac’s many immature tendencies have come to the forefront over the years since the 1999 draft, he continues to play at a high level and is better than many think. Any team in the NFL would’ve loved to have had McAlister on the edge over the last decade. But McAlister is not going to Canton. Unseld went to Landover, won a championship and is firmly enshrined in Springfield, Mass. Voting ends at midnight tonight. I think this one will be close!  

KOBS: Lydell Mitchell vs. Jim Palmer voting today!

Nestor Aparicio

While yesterday’s Mike Flanagan vs. Raymond Berry was a walkover for the Hall of Fame wide receiver, I have a feeling baseball will make a comeback today. Jim Palmer is a favorite of many at WNST, while Lydell Mitchell cannot be overlooked for his contributions to the 1970’s Colts of Sack Pack fame and the Big Wheel. Voting has begun. Every day, we’ll offer you another matchup and a chance to win an annual membership to the Sports Legends Museum. Don’t forget to vote!  

Happy Birthday to ‘Wild’ Bill Hagy

Nestor Aparicio

  The Orioles will be celebrating the life of “Wild” Bill Hagy tonight by distributing free orange T-shirts bearing his name. I could go on and on about Hagy, his fandom, the team’s on-again, off-again treatment of him, etc. But it’s his birthday and I’m going to take the highest road possible out of respect to Bill and his friends and family. He was a good man and he loved the Orioles as much as any of us. Every time I hear the “O” at an away Ravens game, I think of him and what began in 1979 as a place to escape up in Section 34 on 33rd Street. Every “O” is a nod of respect toward what it means to be a Baltimore sports fan. And we can thank Bill for that. We celebrate the life and fandom of “Wild” Bill Hagy every day when we walk into the WNST offices, where Bill’s image and the giant “O” is the first thing that greets you when you walk through our company’s door. I was approached by Hagy’s roommate two weeks ago when we had our Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports bracket show at the Angle Inn

KOBS: Mike Flanagan vs. Raymond Berry… VOTE NOW!!!

Nestor Aparicio

Every morning during the contest, I’ll be posting a little “reminder” about today’s voting in the Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports. Obviously, we’d love to have as many votes as possible and to entice folks to vote, we’ll be presenting a daily prize at random for anyone who does vote in each 1-on-1 matchup. Today and every day this week, one lucky winner will receive an annual membership to the Sports Legends Museum, where we’ll be having our gala 10th Anniversary celebration and the crowning of the KOBS on Friday, Aug. 8th. Mark your calendar! Today’s matchup is Mike Flanagan vs. Raymond Berry. You can vote here! Needless to say, I didn’t see Berry play but I did see him coach for the Patriots in the Super Bowl and I did hear my Pop tell me story after story about his greatness. Flanagan was a guy I saw take the mound year after year as an Oriole and pulled for throughout his Cy Young campaign in 1979. I also wrote a chapter about him in my book here. As much as I love Flanny and respect his ongoing contributions to the Orioles and the city (whatever they are

Father’s Day and My Pop’s Disdain for the Pirates

Nestor Aparicio

So, it’s another Father’s Day without my father. I wrote an entire book about my Pop, his love of sports and baseball and what it’s meant to my life. So, believe me, I don’t have much more to write other than what he might’ve thought about how I turned out, how my life turned out in regard to his love of sports and what he might think of the last two nights of baseball at Camden Yards. The Orioles of 2008 getting some sort of sick, twisted 29-year old revenge against the ugly Pittsburgh Pirates that only a kid who was 10 years old in 1979 could appreciate. My Pop would’ve been digging the games over the last 48 hours, no doubt! The only thing that could’ve made last night’s win with guys named Markakis, Salazar and Hernandez more sweet would’ve been if the Pirates were wearing those yellow pajamas that they wore at Memorial Stadium during that magical week in my favorite summer of childhood. And, of course, if the stars last night were Benny Ayala, Kiko Garcia and Gary Roenicke. I told some of these stories of my youth on the air with Kevin Eck, one of my

A fond farewell to Jon Ogden

Nestor Aparicio

It feels like it was just days ago that I was on the floor of the Paramount Theatre in New York City at the NFL Draft of 1996. The team colors were black and white and it was a miracle that the Arizona Cardinals ever passed on Jonathan Ogden. I’m glad they did. From that first day, when our company was actually the “flagship” for the first-ever Ravens radio broadcast from the Sheraton when Ogden was drafted, it was an almost perfect marriage – Baltimore and Jon Ogden. J.O.’s family made short trips to the games from Washington, D.C. He loved Baltimore despite his “other life” in Las Vegas on the golf course. He was one helluva Raven and his contributions will certainly be most remembered once he’s gone and someone finally blindsides the quarterback (whoever it happens to be) from left side. Ask yourself this question: “Other than that one night against Dwight Freeney (which we all remember for a few plays), name a game when you ever remember Ogden having an off game?” I can save you the work. He didn’t have any. Starting as a weird, oversized guard in 1996 in deference to Tony Jones, Ogden’s career

So long J.O.

Nestor Aparicio

I’ll be posting a tribute blog in the morning regarding the immaculate career of Jonathan Ogden, which will end at the Bellagio at an 11:30 press conference tomorrow. And man do I have a lot of pictures of J.O. with funny hair through the years! I’ll be sifting through them tonight! It’s truly the end of the beginning of the Ravens. It’s kinda personally sad for me but I’ll write more and probably pretty emotionally tonight. If you were on our text service, you would’ve known about Ogden’s retirement at 10:40 a.m. You can join our text service by clicking here. It’s free. What’s also free is my 2001 Super Bowl book, “Purple Reign: Diary of a Raven Maniac.” You can read the whole book by clicking here. Instead of throwing a sappy blog up quickly, I remembered that I wrote the beginning of a whole chapter about J.O. in the book and I thought I’d post an excerpt here. People come up to me all the time and say nice things about the book. Some tell me they bought it on ebay or whatever. I really appreciate it because I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done in

The people have spoken!

Nestor Aparicio

And Gary Gait has moved onto the next round and into the Round of 32 in the King of Baltimore Sports. Along with Bert Jones, Ken Singleton and a late charge from Paul Blair that pushed him past Mike Curtis, they’ll match up this way for the first round of the KOBS competition: Paul Blair vs. Johnny Unitas Ken Singleton vs. Ray Lewis Gary Gait vs. Cal Ripken Bert Jones vs. Brooks Robinson Keeping with the spirit of crossing sports legends in the first round, we think these are interesting match-ups and the “dropoff” from 1 to 32 when we can find so many All-Star Games, Pro Bowls, championships and class amongst the four “play in” guys speaks volumes for how great of a sports tradition we have. Jones, Gait, Singletn and Blair can all play on my team any day! Gary Gait is the rage of the lacrosse boards (and I wished I’d had the foresight to see the passion on that community but we’re certainly feeling it and welcoming more positive discussion of lacrosse). I’ve been trying to do a lacrosse show on Saturdays on WNST for two years. I can’t find anyone who wants to do one

KING OF BALTIMORE play-in is TODAY! VOTE NOW!

Nestor Aparicio

After last week’s problems with the King of Baltimore Sports ballot box stuffing, today is the first of many upcoming “voting” days. You have until 8 p.m. this evening to fill in your four “write-in” candidates from a list of 10 of finalists. You MUST register on WNST.net to participate. Tomorrow, the actual brackets will be opened for the competition. We will begin the daily 1-on-1 competitions next Monday. May the best man win!  

PLEASE READ THIS ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING KING OF BALTIMORE SPORTS

Nestor Aparicio

I’ve been following the play-in round of the Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports contest just like you. I’ve put three months of planning into the contest (including many late nights) and getting emails and a buzz on the street about whether the contest is on the “up and up” is disturbing to me. And, honestly, I’m skeptical myself about the way the voting has taken place and whether Gary Gait’s voting run (among others) is legitimate. And as the de-facto “commissioner” of the competition, someone has to look out for the integrity of the tournament. We’ve put a lot of energy and love into the contest and we want it to be done the right way and the winner should be above reproach. And there can be no questions about whether there’s any chicanery or tomfoolery going on in the voting process. This isn’t the WWF and Vince McMahon. This is a contest with the purest and more honorable of intentions: we want to find the King of Baltimore sports as voted on by the city of Baltimore and its sports fans. So, after consulting with several of my committee members, I’ve decided that we need to take

Where are the Belmont fans?

Nestor Aparicio

Two weeks ago I had a bunch of folks implore me and write me to do a Belmont Stakes bus. It’s less than two days away and I’m having trouble filling one bus. Four years ago, we did THREE buses! The trip is priced at $115.70 and includes Corona beer, some food, a ticket to a fun day and you don’t have to pay for gas, tolls, parking, etc… We have more than 20 spots left for the big day with Big Brown. I hope some of the good horse racing fans of Baltimore join us. These trips are always a lot of fun! Click here to get aboard our fun bus.    

Why Pittsburgh sucks…

Nestor Aparicio

I wasn’t going to chime in so much tonight, in regard to my geeky love of hockey and respect for the Stanley Cup. I watch a lot of hockey, but rarely write about it. It’s my one guilty pleasure, the last one I have left as a sports fan. Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup. They outplayed the Pittsburgh Penguins badly throughout this series. It probably should’ve been over several times two nights ago. If not for a lucky bounce and the most memorable of overtime periods, the Red Wings might’ve skated their Cup in front of Hockeytown at the Joe the other night. Instead, I’m watching them skate the Cup at the Igloo in front of the Penguins fans. I’m just guessing, but I’d say that all 16,000 of them also have a Ben Roethlisberger hat in their closets they’ll be pulling out in six weeks. And tonight, these same Pittsburgh “sports fans” – many of whom we’ve seen in living color on purple Sundays — were relatively boisterous in booing the Red Wings as they skated the Cup around the ice at the Igloo. Now the part about booing a very nervous Gary Bettman, OK

King of Baltimore brackets are here…

Nestor Aparicio

The registration and contest doesn’t begin until Monday, but here are the brackets and draws for the Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports contest:   COOPER REGION Cal Ripken   Play-in Mike Flanagan   Raymond Berry Brady Anderson Jim Parker Dave McNally  Jon Ogden BILLICK REGION Ray Lewis         Play-in Gino Marchetti   Scott McGregor Eddie Murray     Jamal Lewis Lydell Mitchell    Jim Palmer WEAVER REGION Brooks Robinson Play-in Wes Unseld Chris McAlister  Mike Mussina     John Mackey Boog Powell       Lenny Moore EWBANK REGION Johnny Unitas     Play-in Ed Reed Mike Cuellar      Art Donovan Mike Stankovic     Matt Stover             Frank Robinson FINAL FOUR: Cooper Region vs. Billick Region Weaver Regions vs. Ewbank Region   Some loose criteria: 1. No two Hall of Famers will meet in the first round. 2. No two first round matchups are from the same sport (this could change with play-in candidates). 3. We attemted to mix up eras while ultimately keeping the top seeds separated by era. While arguments can (and will) be made about the equity of the brackets, we attempted to keep the King of Baltimore Sports competition as fair and interesting as possible. We hope you enjoy playing and debating the merits of the best that Baltimore’s ever had

King of Baltimore No. 1 seeds announced

Nestor Aparicio

Tonight at 7, join us at the Angle Inn on O’Donnell Street in Dundalk (right next to the Travel Plaza at I-95) for the unveiling of the Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports Selection Show. Former Ravens head coach Brian Billick will join us for the festivities. Here are the No. 1 seeds, in no particular order: Ray Lewis Cal Ripken Brooks Robinson Johnny Unitas Hope we see you tonight for some ice cold Budweiser specials, some great food and the Orioles-Twins game starts at 8.  

Absurd thoughts at midnight watching hockey…

Nestor Aparicio

Only the Stanley Final going two overtimes could keep me and the entire country of Canada up half of the night. And there’s no end in sight… Zetterberg? Crosby? Malkin? Someone, anyone – SCORE, please! Hockey at this level, with this kind of passion and want is what it’s all about, being a sports fan. It’s what makes the Stanley Cup finals so special. Sure, I could fall asleep on it (and it feels like hours ago since Adam Jones hit that ball over Jacoby Ellsbury’s head), but I might miss the raising and kissing of the Cup. I don’t think I’ve missed a live Cup raising in over 20 years. (C’mon, have you missed a Super Bowl in the last 20 years? Well that’s what the Cup raising night is like for me.) Every time Detroit touches the puck it’s exciting. And Pittsburgh is playing like they mean it after squandering a 2-0 lead and then scoring late to press overtime and stave off elimination. The Penguins are more like cats than like birds. If they somehow get this series back to Pittsburgh, they should be commended. I’ve written them off three times already in this series (twice tonight

Brian Billick comes to Angle Inn in Dundalk Tuesday night for KOBS

Nestor Aparicio

The Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports bracket selection drawing will be held at the legendary Angle Inn in Dundalk Tuesday at 7 p.m. We’ll have a surprise “commissioner” as former Ravens coach Brian Billick will join us at the Angle for a Budweiser and some fun Baltimore sports conversation. We’re planning on doing the brackets and then watching the Orioles-Twins game at the bar while we munch on some delicious food. We hope you can make it over to 5805 O’Donnell Street (it’s right behind the Travel Plaza and easy to find). If not, we’ll have all of the festivities up on wnsTV later in the week. BTW: My four “play-in” candidates are: 1. Mark Belanger 2. Earl Monroe 3. Bert Jones 4. Ken Singleton I was stuck on Rafael Palmeiro and Peter Boulware for Nos. 5 & 6. This contest is going to be a lot of fun and it’s already stirred up some classic debate. Make sure you vote this week (you can vote once a day this week!) and get ready for “Bracket Week” beginning next Monday, June 9th.      

Finally, the BALTIMORE Orioles…

Nestor Aparicio

My b column for tomorrow’s editions… The Orioles have – ahem – stumbled a bit recently, falling three games below .500 with yesterday’s third loss in a row to the Red Sox and into the cellar of the A.L. East but their residence in the standings was hardly the biggest story surrounding the franchise this weekend. Sometime on Saturday evening word “leaked” from The Warehouse that the franchise and its beleaguered ownership group have finally come to their senses and restored the word “Baltimore” back to its rightful place on the crest of the Orioles’ road jerseys beginning in 2009. We can only guess to the frequency of use and design of the uniforms, but we’ll pick that debate up on another day. Guessing about this is leak is the only option since no one in the organization is allowed “per M.L.B. rules” to make an official announcement regarding this momentous and positive occasion because it might disrupt jersey sales for the remainder of the season. And the Orioles never answer questions from me and revoked my media credential before last season so they’re always “unavailable” for comment. The team has apparently made the biggest ideological decision of the last

The official ‘play-in’ list for King of Baltimore sports is here…

Nestor Aparicio

As expected, the debates have been fast and furious this week regarding the “Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports” contest. While the initial 28 names have been relatively easy to identify (and if you doubt Brady Anderson’s credentials it’s only because you haven’t seen his stats), here’s where the hard part comes — picking the last four “play-in” candidates to fill out our brackets for our “bracket week” starting June 9. The actual daily 1-on-1 matchups will begin on June 16. All next week the names below (and maybe more) will be available here at WNST.net for your voting pleasure. The voting will be open all week and you can potentially vote once per day for four players per day. (During the actual daily competition, you’ll only be allowed one vote per day as well! There will be no “stuffing of the ballot boxes” in this contest!) We are releasing the list today so that you can peruse the list and tell us who we’ve missed. And that’s “if” we missed anyone… If there’s enough steam for someone not on the list, he will be added. WNST has no agenda other than creating a debate and a legitimate competition

WNST King of Baltimore Sports “List of 28” announced

Nestor Aparicio

(Listed in alphabetical order): Brady Anderson Raymond Berry Mike Cuellar Art Donovan Mike Flanagan Jamal Lewis Ray Lewis John Mackey Gino Marchetti Chris McAlister Scott McGregor Dave McNally Lydell Mitchell Lenny Moore Eddie Murray Mike Mussina Jonathan Ogden Jim Palmer Jim Parker Boog Powell Ed Reed Cal Ripken Jr. Brooks Robinson Frank Robinson Mike Stankovic Matt Stover John Unitas   Wes Unseld Beginning on Monday, a list of more than 30 “play-in” candidates will be released. WNST.net users will be able to vote for four “play-in” legends from the list all next week. The top four vote-getters will fill out the remaining slots in the tournament. WNST.net will also announce the No. 1 seeds on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. On Tuesday night, we’ll gather at the Angle Inn in Dundalk at 7 p.m. to announce the brackets/pairings. The brackets will be complete and ready for selection on the morning of June 9th. The daily 1-on-1 competitions begin on June 16th. The contest will end with the crowning of the King of Baltimore Sports on Friday, Aug. 8th with WNST’s 10th Anniversary at Sports Legends Museum.

Are the Penguins just the Steelers on skates?

Nestor Aparicio

OK, so here’s where the “fan” in me comes out. I’m sitting home tonight wearing out the batteries in my remote between the Orioles-Yankees game and the Penuins-Red Wings Stanley Cup final matchup. It’s really going to suck when hockey is through for another year. It sucks every year, but the saving grace is seeing Lord Stanley’s chalice hoisted to the heavens again. In that vein, it’s tonight that I’ve finally “picked a side” in this interesting (albeit lopsided before tonight) matchup. I’m not a Penguin hater, despite my feelings for all things Steelers and Pirates. (And if you need to ask about “why the Pirates?” you’re under the age of 35 and don’t remember Omar Moreno’s wife…or Willie Stargell…or 1971!) But tonight, seeing their sea of white — a major “WHITE OUT” by any standard set in Winnipeg — I’ve decided I should be a more hardcore Red Wings fan, especially considering it looks like the Penguins are back in this series (they’re up 2-0 as I type) and very, very chippy tonight. (By the way, the dozen or so cats who are wearing RED in a sea of unending white have some serious stones at the Igloo tonight.

King of Baltimore Sports gets underway…

Nestor Aparicio

Our summer promotion, “The Toyota Live Web King of Baltimore Sports” is now underway, as I’m sure you heard on WNST yesterday. We’ll be releasing more information daily regarding The King, which will begin in earnest on Monday and go daily through our 10th Anniversary celebration, which will be held at Sports Legends Museum on Aug. 8. We are also celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Baltimore Colts first team championship of the modern era and the 25th Anniversary of the most recent Baltimore Orioles world championship. We are planning on having a grand gala on Aug. 8th so mark your calendar. The 32-man brackets for the contest will be unveiled on Tuesday night at the Angle Inn in Dundalk. Here is your food for thought for the day: below is the list of all of the candidates we could cull for the final list of 32. So far… Tomorrow, we’ll release the 28 “first-ballot” entries. Next week, you can vote for the final four “play-in” contestants in right here at WNST.net. We figure that there have been about 5,000 different people who’ve worn the name “BALTIMORE” on the crests of their jerseys over the past 50 years in Baltimore.

Clem Florio (1930-2008)

Nestor Aparicio

I received word yesterday that Baltimore and the world lost one of its iconic lovers of horse racing and boxing on Sunday night when Clem Florio died in Hollywood, Fla. from pancreatic cancer. I wrote a tribute to Clem about 10 days ago. I actually chatted with his daughter, Clemma, on Sunday afternoon before his passing and she said that he loved the past year of his life in Florida with the warmth and even made the occasional trip to Calder during his illness, when he also suffered from dementia. There are several links on the web to Clem’s life and story, most notably pieces that Michael Olesker has written for The Examiner here and here. Vinnie Perrone also wrote a fabulous tribute here. Clem was my resident horseman and boxing afficionado during the 1990’s and he was truly one of my favorite people on earth. There was no way to spend time with Clem and not find it enjoyable. He was as engaging and kind and animated an individual as I’ve ever known. He was just great company! One friend wrote on an email thread last night: “I’m thinking of all the cliches here, but, damn, it ain’t easy

Brett Favre to the Ravens?

Nestor Aparicio

Even though the story broke at the worst possible time for the press — a late Friday afternoon — the

Ogden vs. McNally in KOBS

Nestor Aparicio

I was actually shocked at how quietly Jon Ogden walked away from the Ravens a few weeks ago. I thought

Why I love Jim Palmer, Part 1

Nestor Aparicio

I’m sitting home watching the Orioles game in glorious Comcast HD on Channel 226 tonight and I wasn’t going to

So long J.O.

Nestor Aparicio

I’ll be posting a tribute blog in the morning regarding the immaculate career of Jonathan Ogden, which will end at

The people have spoken!

Nestor Aparicio

And Gary Gait has moved onto the next round and into the Round of 32 in the King of Baltimore

Why Pittsburgh sucks…

Nestor Aparicio

I wasn’t going to chime in so much tonight, in regard to my geeky love of hockey and respect for

Clem Florio (1930-2008)

Nestor Aparicio

I received word yesterday that Baltimore and the world lost one of its iconic lovers of horse racing and boxing

8

Paid Advertisement

Podcast Audio Vault

Spotify Apple Youtube
8
8
8

Paid Advertisement

Scroll to Top
Verified by MonsterInsights