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Nestor Aparicio

Getting fired in the Oriole Park press box

Nestor Aparicio

The stories of The Baltimore Sun’s firings are now circulating and the fallout are stories and blogs on the web with tales of the corporate bloodletting last Wednesday. Former Sun sports columnist and WNST.net contributor David Steele tells his tale on the web here about getting fired in the Oriole Park press box. Rick Maese checked in with me last week as well and said he’s taking some “down” time with his family. Both of these guys were true professionals and will be missed around town.

Caps win tonight establishes them as a serious Cup threat

Nestor Aparicio

Part of the pain of being a lifelong fan of the Washington Capitals has been the “tease” factor and the dalliances with greatness. It’s a franchise that has had a long history of tragic, Game 7 losses in April and early May. Tonight, with a rabid crowd and the greatest player on the planet registering a hat trick and a kid in goal who is playing electrifyingly exciting between the pipes, this team seems on the verge of doing some special things this May. Despite a few retaliation penalties in the early going before righting their ship, the Caps played the part of a gritty, determined team — the kind that holds serve in their own rink and now must go to Pittsburgh with a chance to exterminate the Penguins in the Igloo on Wednesday and Friday. No doubt the folks at the Verizon Center tonight will be telling people for years about the night that Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby both scored three goals and the Caps won 4-3 in the most exciting local sporting event of 2009. The building sounded like the roof was about to explode. I went to the game on Saturday, which was a great

Coors Light King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk competition continues today…

Nestor Aparicio

The second round of the WNST.net “Coors Light King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk” competition will commence at 2 p.m. today on “Limited Access.” Neal Bortmes, Geoff Peckham, Christopher Stoner and Jerry Reinhardt will be doing lengthy segments today of “real” sports radio. They’ll have 15 minutes to do radio, discuss today’s topics, take calls, engage WNST listeners and, hopefully, have some fun and move to the Semfinals at Donna’s Tavern in Dundalk next Wednesday night. So, for our semifinalists, we’ll tell them: “YOU’RE GOING TO DUNDALK!” We will have celebs and fun at the two live events. Make plans to join us at Donna’s and/or at the Finals on Wednesday, May 27th at Padonia Station in Timonium.

Mining everything but “The Bird”…

Nestor Aparicio

No doubt, by now you know that Mine The Bird, a 51-to-1 shot, won the Kentucky Derby in the mud with the most emotional athlete I’ve ever seen in Calvin Borel aboard. You surely know that the Caps now have a 1-0 series lead over the Penguins after yesterday’s 3-2 win in D.C. You’re keenly aware of the Orioles continued ineptitude in Toronto (which I’ve thankfully avoided with various other sports obligations) and the fact that Johns Hopkins squeaked by Loyola in lacrosse yesterday. You might’ve even stayed up with the Celtics and Bulls last night in a game that even “non-believing” NBA fans couldn’t help but catch a glimpse. We even took a busload of NASCAR fans down to Richmond last night with Rex Snider to catch the race where Kyle Busch held off Jeff Gordon. And, if you’re on the WNST Text Service, you got the note that former Dolphins (and Cam Cameron) quarterback John Beck is expected to sign with the Ravens tomorrow to compete for the No. 2 job. (So much for the Troy Smith experiment.) I went to the Caps game yesterday and had an awesome time. No press pass. Just went and sat in

My sentamentality says Papa Clem today at Churchill Downs

Nestor Aparicio

For those of you who are long-time listeners to my radio show, you know that I have my own “favorite” today in Louisville in the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby. You probably also know how much I love the Derby and how it’s my favorite sporting event to attend (and I’ve pretty much been to them all). So, today, I gave our WNST.net horse racing blog expert Gary Quill $20 to bet on Papa Clem. Clem Florio was a longtime horse racing analyst and boxer who worked at The News American and The Washington Post. He was recruited from Miami back in the 1960’s by John Steadman. Florio was one of the most colorful and kind men I ever got to know in my days as a cub reporter. Every year from 1992 til 2001, Florio would appear on my show the day before the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes to handicap the race and tell old stories. He was truly a “one of a kind.” So, today I’ll be thinking about him. And, of course, hoping to yell Florio’s favorite phrase at “Papa Clem” as he comes down the stretch on the rail. “OHHHH, you baby doll!”

Angelos and Orioles put the screws to Dodgertown and Vero Beach

Nestor Aparicio

Not that anything should come as a surprise when Peter Angelos and his band of “friendly” attorneys are involved, but once again — more than a thousand miles away — an honorable and hospitable town has tired of dealing with their negotiating tactics and insolence. Here’s a scathing editorial from A Florida newspaper in Palm Beach… These are not my words — and I never make this stuff up anyway. You don’t have to make this stuff up because the stories always seem to have striking similarities when the Orioles attempt to do “business” with good, honest people. This spring training fiasco — documented by the Orioles players in The Sun three weeks ago — continues into its 16th year now, or as long as Angelos has owned the team. Writer Ray McNulty calls them liars, cheaters and snakes. Oh, and he says the way the “Angelos boys” do business is “slimy.” But other than that, he’s ready to have baklava and ouzo and break plates. Apparently, the folks in Dodgertown had no idea who they were doing business with over the past few years in trying to lure the Orioles to Vero Beach. The more things change… Let’s see

Watching “The Sun” set in Baltimore…

Nestor Aparicio

It’s been a rough 48 hours in our industry. Sports writing and sports journalism and careers going away at The Baltimore Sun, people we know and read and work with getting fired at an alarming rate. The economy is a mess, newspapers, radio and television revenue models are coming undone and sponsors and businesses are screaming for ROI (that’s “return on investment” for those who aren’t in the sales world). Here at WNST.net, we’re building a business model that works and one that we hope will be sustainable long after The Sun sets. And as The Sun sets, we continue to make our product at WNST better so that we can become the place you come to every day for your Baltimore sports news and information and analysis. When advertisers advertise their businesses here, we actually help get them business. We are accountable. We deliver results. We’ve been doing that for local businesses for 17 years. (If we didn’t, we’d have been gone a long time ago!) We’ve gotten so good at growing our business that last week I got the greatest “compliment” I could ever be given. Big ‘ole WBAL dropped a dime and forced the Ravens to stop

Unleash the fury…Harry Kalas and other “non-radio” tidbits

Nestor Aparicio

First, I hope Ray Bachman has fun doing the show from 2 til 6 today. (He won’t admit it, but he really loves talking sports and doing the show. And he loves when I’m not there.) I’m having a “business/strategy” day of respite and I’ve been catching up on sports since 11 p.m. last night when Bruce Springsteen walked off the stage at the Spectrum. (Set list here…) I watched the Washington Caps win Game 7 on the DVR but only after someone in my life who will remain “unnamed” wrecked my evening by texting me the result while Springsteen was in the middle of singing “She’s The One.” (MAKE A NOTE OF THIS: DO NOT EVER TEXT YOUR FRIENDS A SCORE!!!! A simple, “Hey dude…do you want to know who’s winning?” would suffice. And, honestly, with the score of any game in the universe a click away on my phone why would I want you to wreck my midnight viewing by texting me the result. It’s just unacceptable!) But, I digress… Alas, I did watch the game in its entirety this morning (and it’s NOTHING like not knowing the result) and the Capitals are as lucky to be headed

“Coors Light” King of Baltimore Sportstalk second round contestants announced at 2 p.m.

Nestor Aparicio

At 2 p.m. today on “Limited Access,” we’ll announce the remainder of the field for the second round of the “Coors Light” King of Baltimore Sportstalk competition. In the WNST.net user voting, Marco Romanell, John McKay and Neal Bortmes moved on as the top three votegetters. We will be releasing no less than nine more competitors who have successfully blogged, done quality auditions and are ready to move to the next round, which will be heard on AM 1570 at 2 p.m. each weekday next week. The semifinals will be held live at Donna’s Tavern in Dundalk on Wednesday, May 13. The championship will be held at Padonia Station on Wednesday, May 27.

O’s are slip, sliding away…

Nestor Aparicio

It seems that no one noticed over the weekend while the NFL Draft was going on, but the Orioles are still playing baseball. And they’re actually fun to watch most nights. It’s been a strange start to the season in a lot of ways. Just the crowds — one night there’s a “friends and family” gathering of 5,000 or so like last night, and then on Friday and Saturday night the place was almost full — are kinda strange. But so is the weather these last few days. Global warming at work, no doubt. It’s 2:52 a.m. and I’m watching the end of the replay of the Orioles game in HD. I fell asleep on the game at 8:35 and again at 9:10 earlier this evening in low definition. I woke up, and it was the 3rd inning all over again, this time in HD. They lost again. They blew a 4-0 lead again. With the “Number 1” starter on the hill in Jeremy Guthrie an early four-run lead wasn’t nearly enough. This time it was Matt Albers’ turn to take a spanking, getting shelled for 3 earned runs in just 2/3 of an inning. Tonight the Angels come to

Info on final Ravens pick RB Cedric Peerman here…

Nestor Aparicio

With the 185th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Ravens selected running back Cedric Peerman from the University of Virginia. Some videos here: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqOORe6v1gM[/youtube] And a bio piece here: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uExLaKck2OI[/youtube] Here is a bio: HONORS 2005–Second-team Freshman All-America kick returner by CollegeFootballNews.com … second-team All-State by the Roanoke Times. AT VIRGINIA 2007–Was having a dynamic season until injuring his foot early in the Middle Tennessee game in week six and underwent surgery … was the team’s leading rusher with a career-high 585 yards … was the ACC’s leading rusher at the time of his injury and his 97.5-yards per game average would have ranked second in the league, but he did not play in enough games to qualify … three 100-yard rushing games tied for fourth in the ACC … was the team’s leading rusher in the first five games of the season until his injury … rushed for 137 yards vs. Duke on just 19 carries in the second game … scored on a 58-yard run in the first quarter for UVa’s longest running play in two years … exploded for a career-high 186 yards against North Carolina on 30 carries … his 186 yards were the third-most

Meet tight end Davon Drew from East Carolina

Nestor Aparicio

With the 149th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Ravens selected tight end Davon Drew from East Carolina. Here’s his bio: Overview Drew took advantage of ECU’s climb to national prominence early in the season to improve his draft stock. The honorable mention All-Conference USA pick is an ideal H-back candidate because of his size and receiving skills (43 catches for 695 yards and three scores). Came to college a successful high school quarterback out of North Carolina and played quarterback his first two seasons at ECU, so he’s still learning his new position. Scouts think his best football is yet to come. Had an arm span of 34 1/8 inches and a hand span of 9 1/2 inches at the combine. High School Helped lead Bears to back-to-back state championship appearances in 2002 and 2003 … Compiled a 30-3 record as a starting quarterback under the direction of coach Chip Williams … The Big East Conference Co-Player-of-the-Year as a junior … A two-time all-conference selection and an all-state pick during senior campaign … Completed 99 of 203 passes for 1,709 yards and 20 TDs while only suffering nine interceptions as a senior … Rushed for 492 yards and

Meet newest Raven Jason Phillips: Inside Linebacker from TCU

Nestor Aparicio

With the 137th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Ravens selected TCU inside linebacker Jason Phillips. Here’s his bio: 2007: Named the State’s Best Linebacker by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football … was also on the Dave Campbell’s first-team All-Texas College Team … a second-team All-Mountain West Conference selection … named all-conference for the third consecutive season … TCU’s leading tackler with 87 stops … has increased his tackle total each season … has 231 career stops to top all active Frogs … his 10.5 tackles for a loss tied for second on TCU … tied for fourth on the Frogs with six pass break-ups … started every game for the third consecutive season … closed the campaign by tying for team-high honors with 10 stops in the 20-13 Texas Bowl win over Houston … had two tackles for losses totaling 14 yards, including a 12-yard sack, against the Cougars … MWC Defensive Player of the Week after recording a career-best 13 tackles, including 10 solo stops, with two pass break-ups in a win at San Diego State … had at least five stops in 11 of 13 contests … posted a tackle for a loss in seven games …

Cornerback Lardarius Webb is Ravens 3rd round pick

Nestor Aparicio

With the 88th overall pick (3rd round), the Ravens selected Nicholls State defensive back Lardarius Webb. A quick wiki on him: Lardarius Webb (born October 12, 1985 in Opelika, Alabama) is an American college football defensive back at Nicholls State University. He is the only player in NCAA Division I history to receive the conference awards of Offensive Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week, and Special Teams Player of the Week in a single season.[1] In 2007, Webb was named a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, an award given to the most outstanding defensive player of the year in the Football Championship Subdivision of college football. He was drafted in the 3rd round( 88th pick) by the Baltiore Ravens[2] High school career Webb attended Beauregard High School in Alabama. Webb played both quarterback and defensive back in high school. As a junior, Webb rushed 1,011 yards with 12 touchdowns and passed for 731 yards and six touchdowns. On defense, he had 47 tackles, two fumble recoveries, and seven interceptions. In his senior season, Webb rushed for 738 yards with 15 rushing touchdowns and passed for 412 yards with four touchdowns. On defense, Webb recorded 52 tackles,

A Great Sunday sports day on tap

Nestor Aparicio

What a great day to be alive! The NFL draft is starting at 10 a.m. The Orioles will send young Brad Bergesen back to the hill at 1:35 to try to actually win a game this weekend. The last two days have been putrid. And, of course, I’ll be pimping the puck and “Rocking my Red” at 2 p.m. when the Caps go back to Madison Square Garden for Game 6 with Rangers coach John Tortorella. The Ravens will introduce new tackle Michael Ohen at 2 p.m. as well. Gonna be a fun day of sports and blogging… Keep it here at WNST.net…

Paul Kruger is the 2nd round pick. Details here…

Nestor Aparicio

I had Paul Kruger on the show yesterday. He had an unbelievable story about being attacked and stabbed about 15 months ago with his Mormon family walking down the street in Salt Lake City. He did a two-year mission in Kansas City. He was a very, very well spoken kid and the Ravens are very, very happy with their first-day haul. You can get to our audio vault here. It’s about 25 down in the vault. Sorry we don’t have linkability just yet! Here are a few awesome stories about Kruger: One from Yahoo here… One from Salt Lake’s Deseret News here… One from ESPN.com… And perhaps the best one here… And a Q&A here… Here’s the first-look videos of Paul Kruger, who Eric DeCosta said is a “great, great kid”: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH-EDC9SNzc[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DtaZmw8lh4[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfzNN7WTFvI&feature=PlayList&p=97AC224E21EB43AC&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=18[/youtube]

All you want to know about Michael Oher here…

Nestor Aparicio

It isn’t hard to find stories on the web about Ole Miss tackle Michael Oher, who the Baltimore Ravens made their pick for the future of the offensive line tonight. He’s the subject of a book. He’s having a movie made about his life. And his story is a human interest story that transcends football. We’ll have plenty of time to discuss his ability and his story in the coming days. His press conference is set for 2 p.m. Sunday in Owings Mills. I’ll be live blogging all day again tomorrow. Clearly the Ravens saw incredible value in Oher slipping down the board. Quite frankly, I don’t think anyone in the brain trust of the organization and the draft room thought they’d get a player this good when they woke up this morning. They’re “over-the-top” excited about having gotten a Top 12 kinda player at the No. 23 spot. Especially with what they deem to be a glaring need at the right tackle position. They essentially gave up pick No. 162 to get him. Not a huge price to pay if he’s a 5-year or more starter. Already, he looks pretty freaking good in purple… I did some aggregating and

Inexcusable 5-4 loss by the Orioles tonight…

Nestor Aparicio

10:01 p.m. — These are the ones that kill ya. The Orioles went into the 9th inning with a one-run lead and George Sherrill on the mound and wound up losing. Big homer from Michael Young. Two outs in the ninth inning. Just a horrible, horrible loss. Rick Dempsey is making excuses. Jim Hunter looks constipated. The purple hats are on display. I’ll never wear one… My cable is going in and out. And it’s just as well… They got a great start from Uehara, big hits from Brian Roberts and Nick Makakis. It still wasn’t enough. These are the losses that make you a 90-game loser. Just unacceptable. Just embarrassing… A dramatic 9th inning win for the Rangers. A homer by Michael Young with two outs in the ninth inning. Texas trailed the entire game. Koji ptched well. They got a lead. They held it. Until the end. As Gary Thorne just said: “Wow!” Buck Martinez is now making excuses. “They did a lot of good things tonight, ” he just said. Just unacceptable. 10:15 p.m. — Dave Trembley is holding court. He’s not being quite as prickly as he usually is. I don’t know Trembley. He’s the first

The Queen of the Diamond…

Nestor Aparicio

We have one female in our “Coors Light King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk” competition. Drew Forrester has openly campaigned for her to make it to the second round. Her name is Christina Tarleton. Here’s her video and here’s her blog. Well, let’s hear it for for 12-year old Mackenzie Brown — my dream girl, an Amanda from Bad News Bears throwback — who threw a perfect game in Bayonne, N.J. today. There’s a GREAT story just a click away… (You gotta love the web, right?) Oh, here’s the Tarleton video… [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNVIDh2hd20[/youtube]

Who will the Ravens pick this weekend? Some clues here…

Nestor Aparicio

You gotta love the NFL. The league hasn’t snapped the football in almost three months and the buzz is as strong for the draft as it is for Week 7 of the regular season. It never ends this love of American football. So much enthusiasm and energy and talk about the 26th pick on Saturday for the Ravens. Amidst that, there are all sorts of stories and storylines: What will happen with Anquan Boldin and are the Ravens really involved? My gut AND my sources tell me that it’s not very likely. The notion that Ozzie Newsome would trade a No. 1 and a No. 3 and then have to back up a brink’s truck for Boldin is highly unlikely. Plus, the cap issues of taking on another superstar making a super premium salary seem daunting. If the Ravens had that kind of money, they should’ve kept Bart Scott, right? Who are the players the Ravens really like and would select at No. 26? It’s always a crapshoot on draft day when you pick so low. The Ravens were greatly affected by the Atlanta trade for Tony Gonzales yesterday because it’s clear that the Falcons won’t be taking tight end

Adam Eaton pitches a gem, Birds beat Pale Hose 6-0

Nestor Aparicio

Well, just when you think you’ve seen it all, right? Tonight Adam Eaton, the former O’s No. 5 starter, went 7 1/3 innings and held even his harshest skeptics spellbound with a dazzling 6-hit, 9-strikeout effort while surrendering just two runs upon his exit in the EIGHTH inning. Lo and behold, the Orioles have won yet another series, beating the White Sox 6-2 tonight at Camden Yards. Everyone got into the act with some offense. Aubrey Huff, Ty Wigginton and even Felix Pie contributed two hits and Adam Jones, Nick Markakis Luke Scott and Cesar Izturis also got hits. I think Buck Martinez did himself proud with this profound statement: “I like pitchers but I’m happy to have seen only three of them tonight!” Amen, Buck! The game was a brisk 2:31 affair. Good pitching. Good hitting. Hasty baseball. There were only about 6,000 there but they were treated to an old-school Orioles effort tonight. Adam Eaton showed some heart tonight. The offense battled early, stranding runners all over the place. But they proved tough. Next up: Koji Uehara and the Rangers and the Saturday “doubleheader” with purple caps. Bring on the summer weather! 9:15 p.m. — Adam Eaton just

If you want to know how the Ravens draft…

Nestor Aparicio

I’ve been fortunate over the years to be able to ask both Phil Savage and Eric Decosta a trillion questions about scouting, film study, the combine and the draft “process” that Ozzie Newsome so proud discusses, but this video — and it’s only 3 minutes long — was pretty good. I just wanted to share it with you.

Birds get complete effort, beat White Sox 10-3 to get Bergesen a debut win

Nestor Aparicio

The Orioles looked like a different team tonight. A great start from a promising young draftee after five years of striving to get this opportunity. The meat of the lineup produced big-time, the bottom of the order chipped in and the bullpen was perfect. End result: Orioles 10, White Sox 3. Brad Bergesen gets the win. Aubrey Huff hit two homers. Nick Markakis and Luke Scott were terrific. And despite the long-ish rain delay, it still was a memorable night. Drew started blogging during the rain storm. I picked it up in the sixth. Hope you enjoy our coverage, especially if you missed the game. 11:17 p.m. — Huff continues to pile on. He’s hit two homers and driven in four and the rout is now three outs away from being over. It’s 10-3 and they’re icing down the champagne for Bergesen, who did a nice job. 11:03 p.m. –So just who is the star of this one? Bergesen who is going to win his ML debut? Or Markakis who is 4-for-4? Or Luke Scott who is 3-for-3? Or Aubrey Huff who hit a tape-measure dinger an hour ago? Lots of stars tonight. Heck, even Zaun and Izturis have contributed

Former Baltimore Clippers great Kent Douglas dead at 73

Nestor Aparicio

As many of you know, we threw a Caps viewing party last night at Silver Spring Mining Company in Perry Hall. The camaraderie surrounding hockey is amazing and I ran into former Baltimore Clippers player Steve Wirth, who most puck people know from Mt. Pleasant and his mid 1970s days on the ice. He told me that Kent Douglas died last weekend and he didn’t see anything about it around town or in “the paper.” I told him that The Baltimore Sun probably doesn’t have a person in the building who has even heard of Kent Douglas. Well, sadly, a simple internet search verified Douglas’ death last week in Canada. Some background on Douglas, who served as a player/coach of the Clippers from NHLPA players site: Kent Douglas played two seasons of junior hockey with the Kitchener Canucks of the OHA before embarking on a seven-year apprenticeship in the AHL and the WHL. Just over three of those seasons were spent under the tutelage of former defensive great Eddie Shore whose Springfield Indians were to hockey players what boot camp was to recruits. Douglas emerged from Shore’s program as a tough and heady defenseman who caught Punch Imlach’s eye in

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE! King of Baltimore Sportstalk continues…

Nestor Aparicio

Hopefully, by now you’ve seen some of the video or heard some of the interviews and auditions or read some of the great blogs we’ve been featuring here at WNST.net over the past two weeks as the “Coors Light King of Baltimore Sportstalk” competition rolls on this week via our blogosphere below. With the Orioles, the NFL Draft, the Caps and the Stanley Cup playoffs, lacrosse, golf and many other sports blossoming here in the early days of spring, there’s PLENTY to write about and watch for our prospective crew of 27 entrants into the KOBST parade of talent. (Yes, we had 54 actual applicants and only 27 have actually “followed through” with the energy to participate! We’ve already eliminated half of the original “field.”) Many folks have inquired regarding how the competition will work, and although there are several spots on the website with the rules and voting regulations, I just wanted to reiterate that voting for the “Top 3” bloggers will end on Thursday evening. We will announce the “Top 3” on Friday morning. Over the weekend the remaining candidates will have a chance to blog for four more days through the NFL Draft and on Tuesday at

Red Sox complete 4-game sweep, batter Orioles 12-1

Nestor Aparicio

1:50 p.m. — The Red Sox are getting well this inning off of the O’s bullpen. Mike Lowell just added another single. Update on Radhames Liz: 1/3 IP, 3H, 6ER, 1BB, 2HBP. His ERA is now: 67.50. 1:45 p.m. — The Bad News Bears weren’t this bad. Youkilis just sent a “seeing eye” pop that bounced an inch from the RF line to score another run. This one looked like it had a message of some kind. Just a crazy swing of the bat. Add another ER to Liz’s line… 1:39 p.m. — Liz just bounced one in front of David Ortiz that hit his leg. Here comes Matt Albers. He inherits the bases loaded and one out in the 7th inning. Liz: 1/3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 W, 2HBP … His ERA is now 47.25. Oh, and there’s three more ducks on the pond and Kevin Youkilis is awaiting like Alberts is raw meat. Jim Hunter just said: “Not a good outing for Radhames Liz.” Yeah, ya think? That’s a helluva observation, Jimmy! 1:36 p.m. — Another single, 9-1. Radhames Liz is NOT a Major League pitcher. Now Matt Albers is warming in the bullpen. At this

A night of old-school bloody ‘rasslin’ in Philly

Nestor Aparicio

As many of you know, we did our first-ever “Wrestling Bus” last night to the TNA Lockdown PPV in Philadelphia last night. My dear friend Kevin Eck is far-better versed in educating you about the card, but it was a fun night with a sold-out busload of wrestling fans who were as smitten with our Superstar Billy Graham and Bruno Sammartino videos as they were Mick Foley’s barbed-wired baseball bat. There was lots of blood — a staple of the TNA promotion — and lots of cries for more blood from the notriously ruthless Philadelphia crowd, who cut their teeth on ECW’s violence nearly 15 years ago. Every match last night was held in a six-sided steel cage. I’ll work on getting some videos up, but meantime here’s a shot of our crew meeting and greeting some of the TNA talent prior to showtime. Oh, and a special thanks to Rick from Reisterstown for the “cinema.” And if you haven’t seen the movie, “The Wrestler,” you really should. A shame Mickey Rourke didn’t win the Oscar. The movie was moving and poignant and thoroughly believable.

The Orioles try to avoid ‘the broom’ for breakfast

Nestor Aparicio

To say the weekend in Boston has been counterproductive would be an understatement. Yesterday at Fenway, Koji Uehara was very, very good, allowing just two runs in 7 innings in what was the best start of the year for any Orioles starter. But unfortunately, Jon Lester was even better, stifling the O’s bats and holding them to just four hits in seven innings while striking out nine Birds. Even Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff stuck out twice in trying to solve the young lefty. Prior to yesterday’s quality start by Uehara, which also gave the bullpen a much-needed respite, the starting pitching has been dreadful of late but yesterday it was the bats that fell silent in taking the O’s down to defeat. The top of the order has been phenomenal but the bottom has been unacceptable, even on a bad NL team where the pitcher would be batting in the No. 9 hole. Gregg Zaun is hitting .129. Felix Pie is hitting .161. Cesar Izturis is hitting .162. And the one thing you never can count on but always looms large — good health — has become an issue with red-hot Adam Jones now out of the lineup with

Caps and O’s both lose again…

Nestor Aparicio

10:45 p.m. — The comeback came up short. In the end, it was the BoSox bullpen that held the lead that Josh Beckett delivered and quelled a 9th inning rally via Jonathan Papelbon. Orioles pitching surrendered 12 hits and four walks, losing 6-4 at Fenway Park tonight despite four innings of scoreless relief. It wasn’t a 22-4 whitewashing — like the Yankees suffered today at home to the Tribe — but it’s another loss, their third in a row, that has them at 6-5 on the season. Adam Eaton now has a 11.25 ERA on the season, going just four innings tonight and allowing nine hits and two walks. And again, the bottom of the order has been ineffective offensively with these anemic averages: Gregg Zaun .133, Felix Pie .179 and Cesar Izturis .162. Koji Uehara will go back to the hill tomorrow against Jon Lester at 1:35. 8:50 p.m. –One thing you CAN say: the dangerous hitting can chase down the bad pitching on a lot of nights. Josh Beckett is walking in runs and getting thrashed by orange bats here in the 5th inning. Four runs in, one runner on and nobody out. And, yes, we have activity

“Rock The Red” with WNST and Caps at Silver Spring Mining Company Monday night

Nestor Aparicio

We attempted to put together some “Puck Bus” activities for the Capitals playoff games this past week but we just couldn’t acquire the tickets to pull it off. So, instead, we’re offering all Baltimore-area Caps fans a chance to come out and “Rock The Red” in unity on Monday at Silver Spring Mining Company in Perry Hall for Game 3. Hopefully, a Caps victory today will tie the series and Alex Ovechkin and company will be going for a series lead on Monday. We will also be having a group outing on Wednesday night at the Hunt Valley location of Silver Spring Mining Company for Game 4. We will have Michelob Ultra specials for both events and hope you wear your red and come out and enjoy watching the Stanley Cup playoffs with other “Puckheads” as we “Rock The Red.” As you may know, Silver Spring Mining Company is owned by former NHLer and Baltimore Skipjack, Gary Rissling, who still loves the sport and has made a life in Baltimore after his days playing in the AHL during the mid-1980’s. Let’s make Silver Spring Mining Company a REAL hockey bar on Monday night in Perry Hall and Wednesday night in

O’s blow early 7-0 lead, lose 10-8 to Red Sox in Boston

Nestor Aparicio

These are the losses that bust you up, the ones you never understand. Except that over the years, evenings like tonight have become so commonplace that they’re shrugged off en route to 90 losses. The Orioles blew a 7-0 lead tonight, allowing the Red Sox 10 runs on 12 hits and even sprinkling in a devastating error by Aubrey Huff to lose 10-8 at Fenway Park tonight. The “BALTIMORE” jerseys were somehow absent tonight (good luck on the explanation for that one). The Red Sox were wearing bright red “warm up”jerseys and blue caps with the cartoon pair of Red Sox with white trim. They were sharp, but looked like a world championship softball team. But I’m sure they’ll sell some hats. The Red Sox have suffered the first two weeks with an anemic offensive attack and yet while David Ortiz continues to struggle — he struck out three times tonight — Jason Bay and Dustin Pedroia led the way for the Sox tonight battering Jeremy Guthrie out of the game in the 5th inning and hammering the bullpen led by Danys Baez. Matt Albers got into hot water in the 8th but escaped like Houdini. The Orioles are now

Rangers deal Orioles and Caps bad losses

Nestor Aparicio

A touchdown and a field goal and the Orioles would’ve been right back in last night’s endeavor at The Ballpark in Arlington. For the third time in as many series, the Orioles imploded in the final game, getting their pitching officially battered by the stout Rangers in a 19-6 drubbing. They’ll have the day off today before battling the Red Sox four times over the weekend at Fenway Park. Meanwhile, earlier in the night the Caps gave up an ugly third-period goal and failed to capitalize on their power play, losing to the “other” Rangers 4-3 at Verizon Center. Game 2 is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Below are my notes from an evening “Rocking the Remote” with the O’s and Caps: 10:37 p.m. — If you’re going to lose, why not do it in legendary style? Ian Kinsler has just tripled to complete the cycle. It must be something about the Rangers, these blowout games. It’s 15-4 in the 6th inning. At least it’s not 30-3. Not yet, anyway… 10:27 p.m. — Jim Palmer just said Chad Moeller has “put the wrong fingers down” too many times this year. And he’s now heading toward 0-3 as the

Vote for your favorite hopeful in King of Baltimore Sportstalk

Nestor Aparicio

We’re almost halfway through our first round of tryouts in the “Coors Light King of Baltimore Sportstalk” competition, having six more competitors in the studio on Tuesday. Today, we’ll have our only female competitor, Christina Tarleton, plus five more hopefuls: Chris Stoner, Ryan Sebring, Marco Romanell, John McKay and Tom Clayton. All of their blogs are now viewable in the blogosphere below. Most of our contestants for the Cruise Lady/Royal Caribbean trip to Bermuda from the Port of Baltimore have been blogging regularly about current sports events and you can follow their writing as well here at WNST.net. I’ve been very encouraged by all of the nice, competant people I’ve met in the last five days and I’m looking forward to three more days of “getting to know you” auditions between 2 and 4 p.m. each day. And, obviously, if you missed any of the auditions you have two choices: you can watch their five-minute monologues at wnsTV or listen to the tryouts in the audio vault to the left. Hope you’re enjoying and feel free to vote early and often for your favorites. We will announce the Top 3 votegetters next Friday and they will receive an automatic bid

Orioles are 6-2: Jones 2-run blast, big 10th inning lifts Birds to 7-5 win over Texas

Nestor Aparicio

Another exciting game. Another tight win. Another night where the bullpen was used and abused but this time — other than George Sherrill — the entire unit delivered in a 7-5 win in 10 innings in Arlington to push their record to 6-2. Alfredo Simon got hurt early. Homers were flying early. And the Orioles hung on. Blow by blow below… 11:29 p.m. — Dennis Sarfate admitted to having an inner-ear infection and basically said he was “really relaxed” during his effort and was “on cloud nine” after he got medicated from the staff during the game. Sarfate said he told Aubrey Huff, “Is that all you’ve got?” after Huff freight-trained him on a foul ball. Palmer said, “Whatever he’s on I want to be on!” It’s amazing they let Palmer keep his job. It really is. He’s priceless. I love it! 11:24 p.m. — Jim Palmer says it all. Don Stanhouse. Whole pack. “Mr Excitement”? Whatever you want to call him, fine. Let’s just give him the save and make the team 6-2 in the standings with their third series victory to start the season. Now Rick Dempsey is talking about Stanhouse. I have no idea how many listeners/readers

Roadtrips to Ravens 2009 Roadies coming soon…

Nestor Aparicio

6:52 p.m. — The Baltimore Ravens 2009 Schedule: Sept 13 Kansas City, 1 Sept 20 @San Diego, 4:15 Sept 27 Cleveland, 1 Oct 4   @ New England, 1 Oct 11  Cincinnati, 1 Oct 18  @ Minnesota, 1 Oct 26  BYE Nov 1   Denver, 1 Nov 8   @ Cincinnati, 1 Nov 16  @ Cleveland, 8:30 ESPN Nov 22  Indianapolis, 1 Nov 29  Pittsburgh, 8:20 NBC Dec 7   @ Green Bay, 8:30 ESPN Dec 13  Detroit, 1 Dec 20  Chicago, 1 Dec 27  @ Pittsburgh, 1 Jan 3   @ Oakland, 4:15 Flex schedule kicks in after Nov. 22nd We will be releasing information regarding the New England bus trip by the end of the week. We will also do Green Bay and Pittsburgh. We will do pre-game parties in most cities. More details will be coming in the weeks ahead. 6:48 p.m. –Well, here’s the schedule & text: From WNST.net: Sept: 13KC 20@sd 27CLE Oct. 4@ne 11CIN 18@min 26bye Nov. 1DEN 8@cin 16@cle 22IND 29PIT Dec. 7@gb 13DET 20CHI 27@pit Jan.3@oak www.buyatoyota.com 6:29 p.m. — Reports coming in that the Ravens have (logically — they’re business partners) given WBAL Radio the “leak” on a Sunday Night Football game in Baltimore against Pittsburgh

The NFL schedule is coming tonight! Do you want it first?

Nestor Aparicio

It’s probably my favorite day of the year. The NFL schedule will officially be announced at 7 p.m. I’ve had a 13-year track record of getting it before anyone in the market and the past two years — with our text service ready to send it out directly to you on your phone — we’ve been able to service the WNST community and Raven Maniacs with it before it’s available anywhere. (Here’s the joke of the day. I had a Ravens official text me this morning and ask me to send it to them when I get it before they do.) Who knows? Maybe this is the year that I DON’T get it first. But I have my moles out all across the country. And either way, it’s kinda fun for an old-school journalist and reporter like me. I know the deadline. It’s 7 p.m. Now, can I get it to you before NFL Network does? Hmmmm… We’ll see. But I do like my chances. And by 7:30 tonight we’ll all know what days we can begin to plan for San Diego, Oakland, Minnesota and Green Bay. We will DEFINITELY be doing road trips and parties on the road during

Orioles Magic goes to 5-2! Orioles almost blow six-run lead, hold on to beat Rangers 10-9

Nestor Aparicio

In a twisting, turning game that was long on offense, short on pitching and entertaining to the end, the Orioles outlasted the Rangers’ late attack to win 10-9 over the Texas Rangers in Arlington to go to 5-2 on the season. The Birds jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning and had fallen behind 4-2 by the fourth inning. Led by four hits from Aubrey Huff and three from Brian Roberts, the Orioles scored eight runs in the 4th and 5th innings and held a 10-4 advantage and Koji Uehara was rolling into the 6th inning when he fell apart giving way to Danys Baez and the bullpen of arsonists. The Rangers scored five unanswered runs late in the game and had pulled within 10-9 by the 9th inning. The Rangers got two baserunners on in the 9th inning and even pulled off a double steal before George Sherrill gave everyone a Don Stanhouse-like scare (thrill?) before fanning Marlon Byrd to end a 3:16 epic. The game featured 27 hits — 16 by the Orioles, including four by Huff who is doing a nice interview with his co-worker Amber Theoharis. Great defense by Nick Markakis. Great defense by Brian Roberts.

Join Brian Billick and Eric DeCosta tonight at Padonia Station for draft talk

Nestor Aparicio

A time-honored tradition, we proudly present our official WNST “Pre-Draft Breakdown” tonight at 7 p.m. at Padonia Station with special guests Brian Billick and Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta in Timonium. You will be able to hear and view all of the proceedings later this week on WNST AM-1570 and WNST.net in the audio and video vaults. We’ll be doing at least an hour of rambling conversation about drafts — new and old — and assessing and breaking down the purple possibilities for next weekend’s NFL Draft, which begins at 4 p.m. next Saturday, April 25th. We’ll also be doing our Draft Day celebration at Padonia Station. Hold your Monday, April 27th for a post-draft live show with Eric DeCosta as well. Our host location is TBA. Hope to see you tonight.

King of Baltimore Sports contestants will appear all week at WNST.net

Nestor Aparicio

If you look to the left in our video vault, you’ll see the auditions and “getting to know” segments for our three contestants from Friday’s “Coors Light King of Baltimore Sportstalk” competition. Barry Barnes, Justin Keys and Geoff Peckham made it through their “five minutes of fame” and are now actively blogging in the module below our main blogosphere. All of our participants have been writing about the Orioles, the Stanley Cup, the Blast, the Masters, the NFL Draft and other topics with great verve here at WNST.net. I sincerely hope you read some of their work and vote for your favorites later in the week. We’ve had a few contestants drop out of the competition and a few more enter over the weekend. Here is the updated schedule of appearances this week: MONDAY: Neal Bortmes (2:15), Rick Crabbe (2:30), Andrew Frank (2:45), Luke Jones (3:15), Bryan Knouse (5:45) TUESDAY: Chris Allsep (2:15), Nick Miskelly (2:30), Jeremiah Moyer (2:45), Todd Salkowski (3:00), Phil Williams (3:15), Chris Russo (3:30), Jay Trucker (3:45) WEDNESDAY: Christina Tarleton (2:15), Tom Clayton (2:30), Marco Romanell (3:00), Ryan Sebring (3:15), Chris Stoner (3:30), John McKay (3:45) THURSDAY: Mike Williams (2:15), Lawson Lambert (2:30), Vic Ganderson (2:45),

Eaton beaten badly, Bass was a fish — Birds lose 11-3 to Rays

Nestor Aparicio

All was not completely lost. The Orioles managed some offense — too little, too late — in the 9th inning as they eliminated the doughnut from behind a bad effort today in an 11-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays to cap their opening homestand at 4-2. Orioles pitching allowed a whopping 17 hits today and the Rays looked almost vengeful for the two beatings handed out by the Birds behind good pitching on Friday and Saturday. Keep in mind, the Rays beat the Orioles 15 of 18 times last year. A win today would’ve matched last year’s total. I wrote a live blog as I’ve turned an eye toward The Masters this afternoon, the one day of the year that I attempt to appreciate golf and culture. Below are my observations from a day of baseball with the O’s. 4:01 p.m. — I’ve been monitoring Phil Mickelson’s miraculous run this afternoon with one eye on the game. But I’ve now managed to switch over fast enough to see back-to-back homers by Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena. Brian Bass is making Dave Trembley and Andy McPhail look bad for sending Matt Albers away last night. It’s 11-0. The O’s have

The Queen of the Diamond…

Nestor Aparicio

We have one female in our “Coors Light King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk” competition. Drew Forrester has openly campaigned

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