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Nestor Aparicio

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

Bad news for local skate and bike community: Dew Tour dusts Baltimore

Nestor Aparicio

I can’t say that I was a skateboarder or a biker as a kid (I left that to my friend Chip Cowan), but I did attend the Dew Tour’s 2007 stop here in Baltimore and got a chance to meet with fellow Dundalkian Bucky Lasek. But it’s not really about what I like (and I really didn’t understand much about the scoring or the rules but I did get to see the Tomato Kid, Shawn White from the Olympics, go wildly up and down the ramps on the southside of our football stadium). The sad news for locals who love the X Games and the bike and skate action sports: the Dew Tour will not be coming back to Baltimore this summer. As someone who lives downtown and sees the daily plight of the downtown business community with how many millions of live bodies the Orioles have sucked out of downtown on summer nights, it was awesome seeing the drawing power of the Dew Tour. The Baltimore Sun said 52,000 people attended last year. And they came early, stayed late and hung around downtown. Trust me, it was a big boon to the city. And now it’s gone as the

Oh, the weather outside is frightful…

Nestor Aparicio

Just five weeks from today, the Yankees fans will descend on downtown and the bunting will be out and the Orioles will celebrate Opening Day. Today, however, I’m sitting here having my first cup of coffee of the week, watching an absolutely stunning beautiful snow event, listening to Drew and Glenn talk about the Terps and Ray Lewis and watching all of the local TV talking heads continue a sick, little Baltimore tradition: “It’s snowing! STOP EVERYTHING!” And if Don and Marty are going to freak out over schools being closed and no one is going to work, then the least I can do is blog and tell you that I’M GOING TO WORK! And I hope you tune me in at 2 p.m.! And today is the first snowstorm day when our website is a destination or a way to reach the radio at home because I have a feeling rush hour traffic will be limited. Especially when for 40 years every time it’s ever snowed in Baltimore, all of the TV stations freeze and they tell everyone to basically “take the day off.” I don’t know how it works in your office, but most people are happy to

Jason Brown will be a big loss in the middle for the Ravens

Nestor Aparicio

The economic reality of the NFL comes to us every March when players we like, players we know are quality performers and citizens, wind up in different jerseys due solely to the salary cap and the league’s ability and desire to disperse its talent equality. (Or at least that’s the goal!) So, late last night (you might’ve received the WNST Text just before 11 p.m.), the Ravens lost another one of their “good” guys in center Jason Brown, who just got overwhelmed with an enormous offer by the St. Louis Rams. Brown, like his wealthy counterpart free agent Bart Scott, was one of the standup guys in the locker room, a movie buff in his spare time and a joy to be around and chat with. He always kept a photo of a brother he lost to the war in the Middle East in his locker. The Ravens will hope that Chris Chester continues his emergence as a starter on the offensive line and would also consider Marshal Yanda in the mix in the middle. No doubt they’ll use a draft pick or two on the O line. It sure doesn’t help with stability — and let’s be honest, the

A trip to the mall and Bart Scott was sold on the Jets

Nestor Aparicio

There will be no statues built for Bart Scott or streets named after him in Baltimore. But he was a really cool, good Raven during the time he spent here. Scott was underappreciated on draft day, worked his way through development, special teams and finally onto the roster for good and now has gotten a bigger contract than his Hall of Fame counterpart Ray Lewis, who was left at the alter by Rex Ryan yesterday when the big contracts were being handed out. Apparently, Rex Ryan, Mike Pettine and Bart Scott all went out for a trip to the local mall near the Jets facility while the agents and financial folks were working out the terms. As a fan, it might not sound like a big deal. But those are three, special dudes there who will no longer be working every day to make the Ravens better in Owings Mills. It’s hard to replace good people… Scott was a kid from Detroit who always had to work a little harder and a little smarter to make his way. He was polite, sharp, loquacious and charming. He was frequently spotted at the team facility in the offseason pushing his kids through

Strange daze for Ray Lewis and the Ravens

Nestor Aparicio

I’ve had the rare good fortune that most of you haven’t had over the past six weeks. Sometimes it kinda gets lost on me that as a media member for 25 years here in Baltimore, I get to do what every PSL owner and fan would love to do: actually sit with Steve Bisciotti and Ray Lewis and ask them questions. In one eight day span last month, I got to sit with Bisciotti in Owings Mills (on video here) and with Ray Lewis in Tampa (one of four videos here) and ask them the exact same question: “Do you think this contract thing could get awkward for you?” Both of them sort of skirted the question. You can see their exact answers for yourself with a click so there’s no need for me to transcribe here. The bottom line is this: I think six weeks later it’s a pretty fair question and I give myself bonus journalism points for asking the question of both men. I really don’t know if anyone had mentally taken the “free agency” train into the reality of yesterday’s situation and lo and behold, yesterday, the day of reckoning arrived and it wasn’t pretty and

Has Ray Lewis vs. Ravens turned ugly already this morning?

Nestor Aparicio

Adam Schefter of NFL.com just posted a bombshell on the Ravens and Ray Lewis on the league’s official website. Schefter, quoting ties close to Lewis, says that Lewis is miffed beyond repair at the offer from the Ravens and the negotiating and that Lewis will not be coming back to Baltimore. Essentially, Schefter says that Ray Lewis will sign anywhere BUT Baltimore. Or potentially retire (which we find VERY hard to believe). I’ve been saying for years – YES, YEARS – that when it was time to end his playing days in Baltimore that I would be shocked if it ended with peace, harmony and that long-awaited “statue” of Ray Lewis wearing his No. 52 at M&T Bank Stadium. It’s fairy tale stuff and gives us the warm fuzzies but it’s always been a longshot given the economic climate for a 34-year old linebacker whose legend will now outweigh his future contributions. My views are well founded and well researched after 13 years of following Lewis’ career here and his business dealings. Ray’s play on the field has been superhuman. His “off the field” decisions have always been a bit suspect and flawed. I have simply called Ray Lewis “mercurial.”

Let the NFL Free Agency games begin!

Nestor Aparicio

This morning if you awoke to read any website with NFL-related headlines, it appears that the world is upside down and the apocolypse is near. Albert Haynesworth found a cash-rich suitor in Daniel Snyder down in D.C. (yes, he’s at it again!) Linebacker Bart Scott is off to see Rex Ryan and potentially get overwhelmed with a generous offer by the New York Jets. Peter King of SI.com is reporting that No. 57 will get $8 million per year in a deal that could be five or six years in length. Jason Brown and his agent released the “news” that the Ravens aren’t interested in him anymore, when the truth is that they were never “not interested” in the free agent center/guard. In fact, they made him a multi-million dollar offer. Brown will apparently be in St. Louis today. It all makes good radio and good web rumorama. But the truth is that this free agent game hasn’t changed so much over the years. It’s just that the Ravens and several of their key players are involved in the fray in a major way this weekend and this year. Let’s be honest: today is the first day that Ozzie Newsome

Ravens release Chris McAlister this afternoon

Nestor Aparicio

As has been suspected, reported and speculated, the Chris McAlister era in Baltimore has come to an end. ProFootballTalk.com first reported that McAlister will be released. His $8 million base salary was too much for Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh to stomach. His antics at the team’s hotel in Miami were legendary and it was no secret that Harbaugh thought the team was better off without him. And, of course, the team came four minutes away from going to the Super Bowl without him. Newsome met with McAlister earlier today in Owings Mills and told him that he would be released. Here is the Ravens’ official press release: Feb. 16, 2009 For Immediate Release McALISTER The Baltimore Ravens terminated the contract of CB Chris McAlister this afternoon, it was announced by Ozzie Newsome, the team’s general manager and executive vice president. McAlister, a three-time Pro Bowl standout, played 10 seasons for the Ravens after being selected in the first round (10th pick) in the 1999 draft. A starter on the 2000 Super Bowl championship Baltimore team, “C-Mac” produced 26 career interceptions, good for third place on the franchise’s all-time list (behind S Ed Reed, 43, and LB Ray Lewis, 28).

More on Baltimore’s Jim Schwartz: The Lion King

Nestor Aparicio

Perhaps you heard my reunion last week with Arbutus native and Mt. St. Joe grad Jim Schwartz, who has beeen a regular for years on our Friday afternoon shows on WNST. If you missed it, it’s in our audio vault. The new coach of the Detroit Lions was featured over the weekend with a magazine-style piece in The Boston Globe about his roots to Bill Belichick among other things. It’s a good read.

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

Now The Washington Post is piling on Gary Williams

Nestor Aparicio

Another missile comes flying onto Route 1 and into the Comcast Center every day it seems, as Maryland Terps head coach Gary Williams contunues to get pelted for the poor recruiting and lack of success in the ACC and in getting the Terps back off of “the bubble” and into the NCAA Tournament and March Madness. Today, it’s The Washington Post’s turn to begin what could be a lengthy series about how the Terps have fallen from the nation’s elite on the hardwood. Clearly, Williams’ personality has been an acquired taste for many in the regional media and now that the team has lost its way on the floor, many who have been stung by him in the past are taking their turns using him like a pinata. Today’s piece is a long, magazine-style take on the plight of the Terps.

A great show coming at 2 p.m. today…

Nestor Aparicio

This blog is a great way to give listeners to “Limited Access” (our new show name if you haven’t heard) some heads up about what’s coming on the show each day. Today, we have John Rallo, Tom Verducci and Jim Schwartz booked onto the program already. It is shaping up to be a classic and I can’t wait to get started! Every Thursday at 2 p.m. my old childhood buddy and MMA expert Rallo comes in for a UFC and mixed martial arts segment but we’ll also mix it up a bit and today is no exception with the Verducci visit. Schwartz is one of my best friends in sports and he just took the Detroit Lions head coaching job and has been blowing me off (including changing his cell phone number!) ever since I got the initial text saying he got the job. I will crank up the Judas Priest and be giving him a very hard time for his all of friends and family in Arbutus who also haven’t heard from him. Old Schwartzie must be drinking from the 0-16 firehouse in Detroit. And I have to be kinda nice because it was his connection that got me

More national media pile on Gary Williams

Nestor Aparicio

The story about Kendall Marshall is now a few days old but it’s making the email rounds so I thought I’d pass it along for your Terps reading. Penned by Jason King of Yahoo! Sports, this is an interesting read from an interesting perspective. Most of Gary Williams’ critics would say it’s a recruiting issue, the team’s demise from the elite of the ACC and the absence from March Madness annually. I’m just passing it along.

Another bad news day for Orioles as Alomar & Tejada are front and center

Nestor Aparicio

There’s no doubt that “Roberto Alomar” and “AIDS” will be among the most googled phrases on the internet today, as these outlandish and crazy rumors start flying now that the N.Y. Post has outed a story of an ex-lover who has made allegations galore about the former Oriole All Star and potential future Hall of Famer, Roberto Alomar. Among them, the $15 million suit by his ex-girlfriend Ilya Dall alleges that Alomar had AIDS and had unprotected sex with her after being raped by two Mexican men. (Like I said, it’s a racy one!) There are links everywhere and no doubt this will be a bloggers’ paradise today on the world wide web. While you are reading about Alomar on the New York Post, be sure to click on the insert piece about Darryl Strawberry’s sex life, circa 1986 and a preview of his upcoming book, “Straw: Finding My Way.” Here’s a sample paragraph: Strawberry writes the goal on the road was to “tear up your best bars and nightclubs and take your finest women . . . The only hard part for us was choosing which hottie to take back to your hotel room. Lots of times you .

In defense of, or a possible defense, for Michael Phelps…

Nestor Aparicio

One of the best parts of this website’s appeal is our ability recommend fun stories and items to our listeners — just like it works on the real web. LOL. A listener sent me over this humorously accurate “defense” for Michael Phelps if the South Carolina authorities come knocking in Fells Point this weekend. I’m (puff puff) passing it along to you… This legal eagle seems to think Phelps is safe for now.

So lemme guess: you skipped the Pro Bowl again?

Nestor Aparicio

I spent the afternoon yesterday at Sylvia’s house in Parkville watching the Pro Bowl, eating chicken wings and pizza and drinking Miller Lite. Honestly, I’m glad we did make a date to watch the game with her many Ravens buddies and waiting for a random big play from a guy in a purple helmet or to get a look at the many Ravens staffers donning Don Ho-style red Hawaiian flowered print shirts. The entire coaching staff from John Harbaugh and Cam Cameron right on down looked like Peter Schmuck at Camden Yards on a summer night. But the Pro Bowl sucks even when you’re with people you like in a really cool basement (Sylvia won our “Miller Lite Purple Palace” contest last month). We all know that. Vanilla defenses. Lots of “no shows,” including our own Ed Reed. Even the quarterbacks stunk yesterday, with everyone from Peyton Manning to Kerry Collins to Drew Brees to Kurt Warner throwing these wobbling dying duck passes all over the Honolulu turf. Brendon Ayanbejdo played more base defense in the Pro Bowl yesterday than he did during the entire NFL season. LeRon McClain missed at one shot at the endzone and got in on

Michael Phelps fallout continues with 3-month suspension

Nestor Aparicio

Our Alex Thomas has called it Waterbong Gate and it’s certainly continues to seemingly have no end as Michael Phelps has been suspended from competitive swimming for three months by USA Swimming and Kellogg’s has dropped its sponsorship. Read more here…

ZZ Top and Buckcherry will play the Preakness Infield

Nestor Aparicio

Just got back from the Maryland Jockey Club and the two biggest pieces of news: 1. You’ll have to pay for beer and alcohol in the infield & 2. ZZ Top & Buckcherry will be playing concerts in the infield. There was also a big announcement about a Pro Beach Volleyball pit there that the local folks from Corrigan Sports will coordinate. So, bikinis, rock and roll and alcohol will still be involved with the Preakness and Pimlico. We’ll talk about it on the show all afternoon. Here is the press release from Mike Gathagan at Maryland Jockey Club. PREAKNESS INFIELDFEST TO ROCK PIMLICO MAY 16 ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMERS ZZ TOP AND GRAMMY-NOMINATED BUCKCHERRY HEADLINE INFIELD CONCERT ON PREAKNESS DAY BALTIMORE, 02-05-09—The Maryland Jockey Club today announced at a news conference in the Terrace Dining Room at Pimlico Race Course that it is redefining the Infield experience on Preakness day, May 16, 2009. Preakness InfieldFEST will feature a concert with three rock performances, including Rock and Roll Hall of Famers ZZ Top and Grammy-nominated Buckcherry, along with a pro volleyball tournament and an interactive section prior to the running of the $1 million Preakness® Stakes (Grade I).

Pimlico set to make big announcement regarding Preakness infield

Nestor Aparicio

Drew and I will be heading over to Pimlico at 11 a.m. for their “big” announcement regarding some changes to the infield on Preakness Day. I haven’t been alerted to all of the details, but apparently some big concerts and “changes” are blowing into Old Hilltop on the third Saturday of May. Incidentally, why today for a press conference? Well, it’s exactly 100 days until Preakness Saturday. Which means it’s also 86 days until the Kentucky Derby, my favorite sports event of the year. We’ll have wnsTV on the scene. I’m on the air at 2 p.m. with John Rallo and UFC and we’ll catch you up on the latest with Preakness doings…

Marc Clarke of Big Phat Morning Show will co-host with me on Wednesday

Nestor Aparicio

Former 92Q morning show host Marc Clarke of the Big Phat Morning Show will be my co-host from 2 til 3 on Wednesday on AM 1570. I know there are a lot of fans of the show out there and thought it would be fun to get to know Marc and have some fun during the “dog days” of February. And considering the way the Terps played tonight — or maybe more the way the Tar Heels shot the three-pointers? — we’ll probably have a lot to talk about. Marc writes a blog now for The Baltimore Sun and thought it’d be fun to come in talk some sports. If you dig Mark (or know someone who does), hope you tune us in.

Chasing The Boss in Tampa

Nestor Aparicio

Well, after years and years and YEARS of waiting to meet and/or ask Bruce Springsteen a question, today it finally happened! I got to ask Bruce a question and WOW what an answer I got. Bruce Springsteen called me a “dummy.” I’ve never been more honored!!!! I’m running like a maniac on Radio Row right now, trying to blog, do a show, platform videos and keep the random fans that keep banging into our table and knocking it over. (We have a location that is dangerously close to the NFL Network main set and the Faith Hill/Tim McGraw sighting here caused pandemonium!) Videos are coming soon… BTW: As excited as I was about getting to ask The Boss a question, I think Ray Bachman also has been having fun down here on the main floor busting my chops on the radio and getting to do a 1-on-1 with Joe Flacco, who won Rookie of The Year honors here today. Joe looked mighty dapper in his suit (a RARE scene, seeing Flacco all gussied up!). It’s been a great, fun day in Tampa.

Live from Tampa…minus the purple!

Nestor Aparicio

The reality of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl visit has finally set upon the land here in Tampa, as we’ve spent the day setting up our Radio Row coverage for the week from here at the Convention Center. Downtown Tampa has changed dramatically over the past eight years since the purple Gasparilla Festival here in January 2001. Lots of buildings, new hotels and empty-looking condos sitting dormant on the open market. Our Coors Light coverage will begin at 6 a.m. Monday morning with Drew Forrester doing the Comcast Morning Show until 10 a.m. and I’ll be live from 2 til 6 each weekday this week with one exception. Forrester and I have already alerted Ray Bachman that he’ll be the special “guest host” during the 2 p.m. hour on Thursday when Bruce Springsteen holds his special pre-halftime press conference here in the Media Center. We expect well over 100 guests during the week here in Tampa, including Brian Billick’s co-hosting duties on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Virtually every NFL star in town drops by the Radio Row setup, which is noticeably smaller and more compact this year with the down economy in national media. There just aren’t as many media

Maybe Barack has brought sanity to the Warehouse

Nestor Aparicio

A new president…a new show…could it be a “new” Orioles organization? For the first time in three years I attended an Orioles press event without being thrown out! Now, I don’t want to jump to conclusions and think that they might actually be “opening up the gates,” but I did make it into the Warehouse for a full hour of today’s Nick Markakis press conference and even got to ask a question without being escorted out by the orange police. Hey, it’s a start? I didn’t start the war or continue it. I just report on what I see and what I’m told and what I think. So far, so good. I’m gonna credit this “thaw” to President Obama. Markakis has grown his hair a bit and was his usual mellow self, very appreciative, quiet and honest in his assessment of the Orioles and their future. Andy McPhail gushed about Markakis’ future here in Baltimore and accurately said this was “the most important priority of the offseason.” I’ll write more later…back on the air at 2 p.m.

What’s in a name?

Nestor Aparicio

Today is Day Two of being “back on the air” for me. Yesterday was a lot of fun and just prepping for a daily show brings back many memories of the 13 years where I did four hours a day every day with guests, calls, concepts, promotions and laughs. So far, I’m really enjoying the thoughts of being back on the radio for a while. And people have been super nice with a bunch of kind emails, well wishes and general happiness. But with the new show comes a few questions, including what the name of the show should be. I literally never gave it any thought until I went back on the air and bristled at the thought of calling the show the “Sports Forum,” which was its name for all 13 years of its existence (except for the two years when I did “Nasty Nationwide”). It’s a new show, a new time and I’m 40 years old now, so anything “Nasty” is off limits at this point. I just want to be Nestor and do a show and have some fun interacting with people who grew up (or are who are currently growing up) loving Baltimore sports. So,

I’m ready for a new challenge

Nestor Aparicio

I didn’t do the show on Monday. My voice sounded like the chick from “Throw Mama From The Train” and I’m crampy and aching and tired and emotionally spent. I’ll be back on the radio at 2 p.m. today and will try to bring some new perspectives to what we’re trying to do here at WNST.net and with our radio station. There are a lot of exciting things happening at WNST with ownership, Brian Billick’s commitment to the community via Living Classrooms, our creative energy and the one thing that’s been the most fun for me personally has been meeting so many of you at our parties from Miami to Nashville to Pittsburgh. So many people — we had over 5,000 people attend our three parties just in the past nine days — have been so nice and just seeing the diversity of our community – the REAL people, lifers, and fans of all colors, races, creeds, sizes, shapes, ages, genders from Baltimore and it’s surrounding area – has been inspiring to me. I want our company to be the sports place on the web that you trust for accuracy, authenticity and most of all the notion that all of

“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

Who wants to go to Pittsburgh on “the cheap”?

Nestor Aparicio

It’s been one of the wackiest weeks of my sports life to say the least. This has been the most improbable, unexpected turn of events I can ever remember in sports. Other than the 1989 Orioles (a team that never even played a playoff game), this 2008-09 Ravens team will go down in the annals of local fandom as one of the greatest ever, no matter how this plays out on Sunday. (That said, I think the Ravens are going to win on Sunday. I really do!) Every person I know here in Baltimore thinks that they’re going to the game in Tampa. And I’ve seen $200 tickets sitting online for this Sunday’s game for 24 hours and no one from Baltimore is buying the tickets. I’m absolutely shocked, to be honest with you that the prices have dropped but even more shocked that there aren’t a line of a thousand buyers at $200 per ticket. As a matter of fact, I’m stuck with a handful of tickets (and I’ve taken calls from a few others who have far more than I have) for the game and no one wants to buy them here in Baltimore. And these must be

Suddenly, I’m a Detroit Lions fan…

Nestor Aparicio

Everyone at WNST is delighted and happy for our very own Jim Schwartz as he accepts the head coaching job of the Detroit Lions today. I got the text from Schwartzie around 3:45 p.m. and we’ll look forward to watching his progress as he takes over the worst team in NFL history. It can only go up, right? For those of you who don’t know, Schwartz has been a regular contributor and supporter of WNST for nearly a decade, ever since his role as Marvin Lewis’ assistant from 1996 through 1998 on Ted Marchibroda’s staff with the original Mean Machine Ravens. Schwartz left to go to Tennessee as as a defensive assistant and has been the defensive coordinator there for eight years. He has always been a staunch supporter of Baltimore sports and has faithfully called in to WNST every Friday through all of the years. He says he calls in so all of his friends and family in Baltimore know how he’s doing because he doesn’t have time to check in with all of them every week and it’s his way of checking in with his Mt. St. Joe boys. A hearty congrats to the myriad of Schwartzes in

Any Memories of Whiskey Joe’s in Tampa?

Nestor Aparicio

With the Ravens on the cusp of going back to a second Super Bowl (and I know there’s still 60 minutes of football this weekend in Pittsburgh), I’ve been doing my own reminscing this week about the memories of eight years ago and all of the fun we had. From Nashville to Oakland, from Tampa to the parade, the images burned in my mind will last forever. But I do have one problem: I can’t locate ANY pictures or videos from two events — Whiskey Joe’s on Jan. 28, 2001 and the parade that followed on that cold, nasty day downtown at City Hall. If anyone has a few snapshots or videos they’d like to share, I’d love to get copies sent over to me so we could post the old pictures if the Ravens do what we think they’re going to do on Sunday in Pittsburgh. No better time than now to try to find some of those pictures, right? Also, if you have any memories or stories you’d like to share about that incredible week, just post comments here and I’ll let the world see your amazing memories of Tampa and the original Festivus celebration.

Pittsburgh bus and party update

Nestor Aparicio

BUY SEATS ON THE MILLER LITE PITTSBURGH BUS TRIP HERE! We have just a handful of seats for our WNST Miller Lite Pittsburgh Bus Trip on Sunday. We are feverishly working on throwing a gigantic indoor tailgate party in downtown Pittsburgh. By early this evening, we’ll have all of the details here at WNST.net and tickets for the purple pep rally will be on sale here via pay pal. Here are all of the pertinent details for the bus trip. Trip leaves at 8 a.m. from White Marsh Park and Ride. We will make an 8:45 a.m. stop at the I-70 Park and Ride (the one OUTSIDE the beltway toward Frederick) for pickup westbound. This is a RAVENS FAN bus. Trip will drop off and depart from the Pittsburgh Hilton across the river from Heinz Field. We will depart one hour after the game from the Pittsburgh Hilton. We expect to arrive in Baltimore at 3 a.m. Monday. Trip includes ride to and from Pittsburgh, one upper deck reserved ticket and limited Miller Lite, food and drink from a WNST sponsor. If we throw a pre-game tailgate party at an event location, you will also be granted admission to the

Rex Ryan spends his off day with Jets and Rams

Nestor Aparicio

As we predicted earlier in the day, it was indeed today that Rex Ryan spent his “down time” with the N.Y. Jets and St. Louis brass in the hopes of being their next head coach. Obviously, this can be a tricky situation, coaching who are still in the hunt for this year’s Super Bowl to interview for their next job. It’s weird. Everyone who has ever gone through it has told me that. But this morning reps from both franchises flew into Baltimore and spent a few hours with Ryan. By this evening, when the game between San Diego and Pittsburgh is over, Ryan will be back on track to lead the defense to an AFC Championship Game and a chance for another Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh and San Diego travel and party plan info is here

Nestor Aparicio

While I sip on another cup of coffee this morning here in Nashville and watch the NFL action unfold, I’m busy plotting next weekend’s WNST purple pep rally and parties and exploits in Pittsburgh and San Diego. Obviously, it’s impossible to have anything set in stone when we don’t know where the game will be. Here’s all of the current information I have as of noon EST: Let’s start with Pittsburgh, since that’s the more realistic trip for everyone in Baltimore. We WILL have a Pittsburgh bus. It will probably be in the $500 range. We will leave on Sunday morning and return after the 6:30 p.m. EST game. It will keep the prices lower and there’s no real need for an overnight trip and dealing with hotels, etc. We will have some beer and food on the bus for sure. It’s a four-hour ride to Pittsburgh and we’ve done this bus trip about 10 times over the years. I am considering trying to find a central location in Pittsburgh to throw a party. Hey, we’ve done it before several times but never for the heated AFC Championship Game. Stay tuned…we’re gonna do something like we did last weekend. If

In case you weren’t in Nashville…

Nestor Aparicio

The scene today at Graham Central Station could’ve only been followed by something as amazing as today’s win over the Tennessee Titans and the dramatic fashion with which it all unfolded. Matt Stover’s kick. Joe Flacco’s pass. Todd Heap’s catch. Fabian Washington falling on the ball. Rob Bironas missing the field goal. The crowd taking over the streets of Nashville in a virtual sea of purple and marching on LP Field en masse crossing over the Cumberland River. Baltimore made a powerful impact in downtown Nashville this weekend. It was a takeover, something akin to what the Red Sox and Yankees do to Baltimore. The cops had to come out onto 2nd Avenue and break up the sea of purple. Apparently, they were stopping traffic outside of Graham Central Station and car-tipping was a fear. The only tangible difference between a Red Sox Nation holdup of our city three times a year was that once we got inside LP Field, we realized there were probably only 5,000 of us total. We took over the primary block of bars in Nashville, but the 70,000-seat stadium was plenty blue and red and at the end when Heap made that catch, it was

The joys of Nashville and a playoff weekend

Nestor Aparicio

So this morning I’m pretty freaking excited. I’m packing my bags on a journey that might be one of those trips I remember for the rest of my life. A true playoff vibe, in a cool city that I always love to visit, Nashville – what’s not to love? If you’re not excited about the Ravens now then what are you waiting for? This is what it’s all about. One hundred and twenty minutes from the Super Bowl. A win brings either a trip to San Diego – America’s greatest city – or Pittsburgh, where the passion and tension of Ravens vs. Steelers for all the marbles would be a meeting of the century for any Baltimorean. But as Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers once said, “There ain’t no tomorrow baby, there’s just right now!” And now is Nashville, home of beautiful Southern women, country music and a great hospitable environment for football. I don’t like country music at all but there’s always been something intriguing about Nashville. I’ve had girlfriends in Nashville. I’ve done business in Nashville. And most significantly, I have many of my best friends in town, which is how I found Limelight and Graham Central

Joe Flacco vs. Bert from Sesame Street

Nestor Aparicio

While surfing for some of the garbage being said about Steve McNair on the internet today, I tripped across a funny link comparing our civic hero Joe Flacco to Bert from Sesame Street because of the “unibrow” factor. There’s a very funny link here. And if you’re a real Sesame Street lover — for the record I was more of an Electric Company guy on PBS — you’ll dig this link to the “real” Bert. I know that Joe doesn’t like for his kid brothers and sisters to make fun of him but I have a feeling this one is going to wind up on the kitchen refrigerator in the Flacco household back in New Jersey. Hey, I didn’t create it. I just shared it! Do you find the resemblence striking? LOL…

McNair changes his mind, decides to host the WNST Pep Rally in Nashville Friday night

Nestor Aparicio

It’s been a very interesting 48 hours here at WNST.net in a lot of ways. First, we’re preparing to take the largest contingent of travelling fans we’ve had in years into one of my favorite cities, Nashville. We expect to have a blast with three completely sold out buses! And Steve McNair has told the Nashville media that he will indeed host the WNST Purple Pep Rally in downtown Nashville Friday night at Limelight. We didn’t spend a lot of time talking about it on WNST earlier Thursday — we’ve got a football game to play on Saturday that’s more important than anything else — but it was apparently a TOTAL MESS in Nashville, especially being oversensationalized by the local media and the internet has exploded with all sorts of stories, tales and fiction. Here’s a link from WMAR Channel 2 here in Baltimore tonight with more. Even Deadspin got into the act today. My side of the story hasn’t changed. WNST was going to Nashville and was going to throw a party or two for the Baltimore fans. Like we’ve always done. Like we’ve done in Pittsburgh, San Diego, Indianapolis and even Miami last weekend. We found Graham Central

Chasing The Boss in Tampa

Nestor Aparicio

Well, after years and years and YEARS of waiting to meet and/or ask Bruce Springsteen a question, today it finally

What’s in a name?

Nestor Aparicio

Today is Day Two of being “back on the air” for me. Yesterday was a lot of fun and just

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