Search
Close this search box.
Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin Youtube Spotify Podcast

Paid Advertisement

Search
Close this search box.

Nestor Aparicio

An improving bullpen is a good sign for O’s

Nestor Aparicio

As an Orioles fan who hasn’t seen the franchise play a meaningful game in 12 years, living with the adage “one day at a time” has become a house rule. And for today, the bullpen and a quality start last night by Rich Hill gives a few causes for hope. Hill threw 88 pitches, left the game in the sixth inning with a one-run lead and Danys Baez, Jim Johnson and George Sherrill took care of business, allowing just one Kansas City runner on base over the remainder of the game. Of course, the Royals of 2009 won’t be confused with the 1929 Yankees, either. But a 3-2 win in Kansas City is acceptable and the Birds will send Koji Uehara to the hill today against Luke Hochevar. Be prepared for fireworks: Hochevar (6-14, 5.64 lifetime ERA) gave up eight hits and seven runs in two innings during his 2009 debut last Tuesday against Oakland. And that’s only after Sidney Ponson stunk so bad they promoted this stiff from Omaha. The Orioles go for another series win today. Only the delayed freight train of Zach Greinke could slow them down on Friday night. The new ballpark design in Kansas City

Green spaces & happy faces: Here’s what was truly missing from Preakness 2009

Nestor Aparicio

As you probably already know, the infield was virtually empty today at Pimlico for Preakness 134. It made me sick to see the event virtually disappear, but it also galvanized me enough to believe that perhaps now that the drunk idiots are gone, perhaps the event can be revived over the next generation as a proud, local, celebration of spring and horse racing and our community — an event people with families want to attend again for the rest of their lives. If you went to the race today you know what I’m talking about. It was actually a GREAT event. The weather was decent for most of the day before the rains came around 6 p.m. The beer was cold and priced fairly. The food was diverse and easy to order. There was PLENTY of “open space” as well to lay in the sun, have a picnic, relax, bet the races. And I’ll bet it’s almost universal: the people who went today had a blast! Like all of the smiling people I saw singing along to ZZ Top classics, I had a great day today at Old Hilltop. I saw friends on the infield. I saw friends in the

I’m betting on Papa Clem again…

Nestor Aparicio

For all of the reasons that I mentioned two weeks ago when the horses turned for home at Churchill Downs, I’m betting on Papa Clem again today. And, just because Clem Florio loved women as much as I do, I’m doing an exacta box with Rachel Alexandra as well. I might even throw Pioneer Of The Nile into a triple box and see if I can make some real money today at Pimlico. Weather looks more than dreary so far, but I’m headed over to the infield shortly to see what’s different about the first Preakness where underage kids aren’t holding 10 cases of beer on a beat-up 8-foot table waiting to go inside to run across urinals and have people throw objects at them. It might actually be fun this year. At least, I’m thinking this will be a great day! Stacey Keibler, Charm City Devils, Buckcherry (who I dig, but I’ve never seen) and ZZ Top should make the day a great one. Happy Preakness to all of you who still care about stuff like civic pride and sentimentality. Go Papa Clem!

Coors Light King of Baltimore Sportstalk semifinals airs at 4 p.m. today

Nestor Aparicio

We’re down to the final seven contestants in the Coors Light King of Baltimore Sportstalk competition after Wednesday night’s live semifinals at Donna’s Tavern in Dundalk. Today on Limited Access, we’ll play the five-minute auditions from the 11 semifinalists on AM 1570 beginning just after 4 p.m. and we’ll have all of the videos up in the wnsTV vault by day’s end as well. We have a great show today with our WNST.net horse racing analyst Gary Quill sitting in from 2 til 4 and we’ll have visits from Daily Racing Form’s Marty McGee as well as our very own Stacey Keibler, who is the head honcho celebrity at this year’s Preakness. Now, if we could get the fog to clear…

Seven contestants move on in Coors Light King Of Baltimore Sportstalk contest

Nestor Aparicio

After an evening of fun interviews, cold beer and bad hockey and baseball in Dundalk last night at Donna’s Tavern, the Coors Light King of Baltimore Sportstalk has produced seven finalists for the two-month blogging and sports radio competition. The seven contestants moving forward are: Todd Salkowski, Jerry Reinhardt, Luke Jones, Christopher Stoner, Tom Clayton, Lawson Lambert and Marco Romanell. Each of last night’s contestants were given a special “Baltimore Sports Quiz,” which was produced by a WNST interior panel of hosts. We’ll post the actual questions from the quiz on a later blog but the questions were universally deemed “hard” by most of the contestants. Of course, my answer to that was simple: “The JOB is hard!” And it is… Special thanks to our local “mystery” celebrities last night: legendary sportswriter Phil Jackman and former MLB rock star Bill Ripken came to Donna’s Tavern last night and participated and laughed with many WNST listeners and friends and families of the contestants. The format was simple: we drew random names of hosts and then a random interview from a rotation of Jackman, Ripken, Drew Forrester, Bob Haynie and myself. The questions and interview segments were part comedy, part history and

Take the ultimate Baltimore Sportstalk quiz now!

Nestor Aparicio

There are many, many “pre-requisites” for being able to successfully be a Baltimore sports media member (in my humble opinion) circa 2009. Many, many times over the last 17 years I’ve railed against and “outed” various phonies, Johnny-come-latelys and “faux” sports media members in our marketplace. These are the same people who call me the “amateur” when they can’t even grasp basic sports history in the marketplace and aren’t prepared or qualified to take a simple phone call about anything that happened before 2006. As a kid growing up in Dundalk and reading the paper, listening to the radio and watching the 6 o’clock news, I always thought that anyone who worked in the local sports media MUST know more than me about sports. How could they NOT, I thought? “Isn’t that their JOB?” I thought as a young person in the early 1980’s. Well, it didn’t take long as a 15-year old at The News American and then later The Evening Sun and The Sun to realize that knowing anything about sports was secondary to politics, race, gender, education and a whole bunch of other nasty and patently unfair “real world” issues that superceded actual knowledge, dedication and ability.

Orioles finally give the call to Nolan Reimold

Nestor Aparicio

Outfield prospect Nolan Reimold will finally be joining the Orioles in Kansas City today as the team will recall him and send pitcher Bob McCrory back to Norfolk after a rough outing last night against the Rays in a 8-6 loss. Reimold’s numbers at AAA have been staggering. He’s hitting .394 with 9 home runs, 11 doubles and 27 RBI in just 109 at bats and 31 games. The Orioles brass has been adament that Reimold would only be recalled when he could play every day in the big leagues. With the injuries and various ailments to Luke Scott, Felix Fie and now Adam Jones this week, this call-up isn’t as much a “reward” as it is a necessity for the organization who have played the last two games short on the bench. Here is Reimold’s year in stats…

Triple losses: First the Caps, then the Orioles, then Danny Gokey

Nestor Aparicio

Despite the fun we had in Dundalk last night with an evening of 12 semifinal auditions at Donna’s Tavern, it was an ugly night for local sports. The Capitals fell behind early and had one of the most disappointing Game 7 efforts in recent memory. The Orioles got clubbed by the Rays while Adam Jones left the game early with a hamstring pull. And, adding insult to the injury that effectively ended my hockey season, my favorite American Idol contestant Danny Gokey got bounced by the American public in a shocking turn of events. (Somehow, I think Kris Allen got through just because he looks like Brian Roberts!) The Capitals played the entire postseason from behind and last night it finally caught up with them. Simeon Varlamov’s magic ended quite early last night and Bruce Boudreau and the troops must be devastated – if not embarrassed – by that performance in a Game 7 last night. It’s always hard getting eliminated, but not showing up prepared to compete in a game like last night is unacceptable. The home-ice advantage was nullified pretty early last night in D.C. and it will be a tough offseason after losing a game in that

Share the Game 7 madness with us tonight in Dundalk!

Nestor Aparicio

Tonight in Washington D.C., a place where five years ago hockey was a rumor or perhaps a myth, the Capitals will host the Penguins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ second round. I don’t need to tell you that it will be one of the best sporting events of this (or any) year. I can all but guarantee it. Honestly, tell me another sport — other than an NFL playoff game, but even those are influenced by injuries, weather, weird bounces, blowouts, etc. — where you know you’ll be getting what you’re paying for tonight. It’s 3-3. The teams clearly don’t like each other. The penalties have been lopsided in the Penguins direction. The “one name” stars are all out — my man Jim Williams of The Examiner wrote about the incredible worldwide audience for this game — Ovechkin and Federov, Sidney and Malkin. Who’ll win? The pesky Capitals who have been outplayed dramatically but have been incredibly resiliant and realiably cardiac over the past three weeks certainly have a shot. They are the NHL team with nine lives at this point. A home crowd of 20,000 red maniacs, taunting Sidney Crosby and Segei Gonchar not to mention

Hendrickson stinks but bullpen holds up, Birds beat Rays 7-5

Nestor Aparicio

Betting the “over” in last night’s game certainly looked like a sure thing over the first three innings but once starters Andy Sonnanstine and Mark Hendrickson left the game the real pitching took over and the Orioles held on to beat Tampa Bay 7-5 last night at Camden Yards. All of the scoring took place before the 4th inning and both bullpens were taxed in the interim, with Brian Bass emerging as the biggest star on the hill, working four scoreless innings after Adam Jones hit homers in the first and second innings of the game. So much for starting pitching: Sonnanstine gave up nine hits and seven earned runs in two innings and Hendrickson’s evening was just as ugly as he allowed six hits and five earned runs in two innings. Felix Pie left the game with an undisclosed stomach ailment and was actually transported to the hospital. Without Luke Scott tonight, they O’s may play with just two bench players. Could a call-up be looming? The Orioles go for yet another “mini” sweep tonight as they send Brad Bergesen (1-0, 4.98) to the hill against Tampa’s Jeff Niemann (2-3, 5.65).

Sports Illustrated calls Angelos “worst owner in MLB”

Nestor Aparicio

Well, at least SOMEONE agrees with me. I’ve written tomes, if not The Illyiad, on the ownership debacle that has purged most of the fans of the Orioles from Oriole Park at Camden Yards over the last 15 years. Now, SI.com and Sports Illustrated have concurred. P.S. The article also calls Steve Bisciotti the No. 5 “best owner” in the NFL. Here is the piece from SI.com…posted earlier today.

Preakness on my mind…

Nestor Aparicio

I’m up early this morning and reading online about the Preakness and where it stands in the realm of the sports world circa 2009. I’ve been googling videos, watching drunken fights, potty races, some bare breasts and (oh yeah) horse racing and a history and legacy that defines sports in Baltimore and Maryland over the last century. This week I could most certainly write my annual “Can The Preakness Be Saved?” blog/column and now that I’m back on the radio maybe it’s time to have a spirited debate about the Preakness and its merits on AM 1570. Does it matter? Do you like the changes to infield? Are you going this week? When’s the last time you went? (Or, when is the last time you went to any track, period?) Why don’t you go? Do you know how to read the Racing Form? If you do go, why do you go? I’m actually going to the race on Saturday and have been asked to participate on one of the stages and interview some of the stars of the event. I’m excited and honored. I love the Preakness but I also readily and sadly admit its incredible decline from once reverent

Game 7 is a go: Caps beat Penguins 5-4 in OT

Nestor Aparicio

The Washington Capitals season will march on after a 5-4 overtime win in Pittsburgh that was one of the more exciting events of the year. David Steckel’s tip-in off a shot from Brooks Laich went past Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at 6:22 of overtime and the Caps have forged a Game 7 on Wednesday at Verizon Center. We watched the action at Silver Spring Mining Company with another packed house of Rock The Red nuts. It’s as much fun as I’ve had in years, especially sharing hockey with a community of like-minded fans. It’s like a little mini-Ravens fan celebration. The game was sensational throughout with the Caps holding leads throughout the third period only to allow the Penguins to force overtime on a goal from Sidney Crosby with 4:14 remaining in regulation. It could’ve been devastating and the Caps even put the Penguins on a power play on a slashing call on Brooks Laich with 2:02 remaining in the third period. The Caps tightened up. They got the game into overtime and found a way to win. Even Alexander Semin came back to life tonight, scoring a goal in the second period. I’ve said it many, many time. Game

Mike Green’s missing stick

Nestor Aparicio

I took a call this afternoon about the disappearance of Mike Green’s offense in the Pittsburgh series. The caller referred to Drew’ diatribe this morning about a “stick” issue. Apparently, his sticks were discontinued. It’s an interesting story because sticks are VERY personal for NHL players. I covered the league intimately for 10 years. Every player brandishes his own blow torch, tape, angle and ruler. It’s a big deal to have to change sticks, like a baseball player changing bats. I did a little research and found the story here for you. Rock the red tonight!

Ryan Freel latest ex-Oriole to be “overwhelmed with joy” to be gone

Nestor Aparicio

As predicted, it didn’t take Ryan Freel long to squawk to the Chicago media about how miserable his experience was as an employee of Angelos’ Army in Baltimore. He was traded by Andy McPhail for speedy outfielder Joey Gathright on Friday afternoon. His more vitriolic quotes apparently came “off the record” but he did say that he’s “overwhelmed with joy” to no longer be an Oriole and he told the Cubs equipment manager to “burn” his Orioles equipment bag. Oh, and he said: “I don’t want any Birds around my locker.” Read the whole piece here…

Bullpen melts down to Yanks after strong outing from Koji, Orioles lose 5-3

Nestor Aparicio

4:43 p.m. — Well, I was feeling good when Felix Pie got on base for the third time today but it wasn’t meant to be. The Orioles got a nice effort from Koji Uehara today but the Jamie Walker-Jim Johnson combo couldn’t hold the lead after the 7th and a pair of homers from Robinson Cano and Johnny Damon beat the Orioles 5-3 at Camden Yards. The Orioles are now 13-19 and are 7-17 since beginning the season 6-2. They get a rare off day tomorrow and will resume action Tuesday night at Camden Yards with Andy Sonnenstine (1-3, 5.79) and Mark Hendrickson (1-4, 5.13) going to the hill. Below is my running live blog. 4:32 p.m. — I agree with most of the comparisons of George Sherrill to Don Stanhouse, who gave us thrills in the summer of 1979. The only difference? This 2009 team stinks some 30 years later. Either way, he put a couple on and managed to silence Johnny Damon with the game in the balance. They’re already down two with Rivera en route. They need a happy ending. But they have the dreaded 7-8-9 hitters coming to the plate. Not a good scenario. I need

Orioles can make all Moms happy today with Yanks series win

Nestor Aparicio

The Orioles have the chance to make all orange Moms smile today with a potential series win over the Yankees at Camden Yards after an impressive 12-5 win last night. Once again, the middle of the lineup is sizzling and even on nights when they give up a less-than modest five runs, they can beat around mediocre pitching with the likes of Phil Hughes, Edwar Ramirez, Jonathan Albaladejo and Brett Tomko. (Makes you ask, “Where have you gone Jeff Nelson and Mike Stanton?”) Adam Jones and Nick Markakis are both batting .353 now, and have been rock stars since Opening Day. They are both now making a strong bid to be in St. Louis for the All Star Game. Aubrey Huff hit a homer last night and I’m not convinced last year was an aberration. Go back and read my blogs. He was one of my favorite “non Orioles” to watch when he was in Tampa Bay. He always put up big numbers and I think with ducks on the pond so often this year, he’ll be productive. Even if he still thinks Baltimore sucks as a place to party after dark. Hey, even my boy Gregg Zaun is batting

All 13 King of Baltimore hopefuls invited to Donna’s in Dundalk on Wednesday

Nestor Aparicio

If you watch “American Idol,” then you know the phrase, “You’re going to Hollywood!” If you’ve heard our “Coors Light King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk” you now know the phrase: “You’re going to Dundalk!” We decided to not eliminate any of the 13 candidates and have all of them come out to Dundalk do a “live” segment in a crowded tavern with celebrity judges and a whole group of WNST staffers. So, on Wednesday, everyone is invited to come out and meet, greet and cheer for your favorites in our competition. The party starts at 7 p.m. and each of the 13 will have a “mystery” assignment. As you can imagine, we have some surprises up our sleeve. Plus, Donna’s Tavern in Dundalk has a great stage, excellent food and friendly folks. Here is the note I sent out to the hopefuls on Saturday: Hello future King (or Queen): After deliberating through the week and reading and listening and watching your work, we’ve decided that cutting people from the “Coors Light King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk” competition at this point would be counterproductive to the process in a few ways: 1.    I sense all of you are committed

State launches new marketing initiative

Nestor Aparicio

In a long-overdue announcement, the State of Maryland held a press conference this morning to announce that they’re getting serious about luring major events to the region with the formation of a joint coalition between the Governor, the Stadium Authority and a marketing group formed specifically to generate sports-related tourism and revenue here. I attended the press conference and will discuss it on “Limited Access” at 2 p.m. today. The basic premise was a website launch and an organized outreach that will lure events — both recreational and professional — to venues throughout the state. A good idea, I think. We’ll see what the benefits are beyond the obvious: AC Milan and Chelsea at M&T Bank Stadium on July 24. (By the way, they’ve sold 52,000 seats so far for the event!) Here’s the press release: STATE EXPANDS SPORTS MARKETING, LAUNCHES MARYLAND ‘HERE TO PLAY’ Cal Ripken Jr., State officials unveil comprehensive sports marketing database Baltimore, Maryland (May 8, 2009) – Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development Secretary Christian S. Johansson and Maryland Stadium Authority Chairman John Morton, III were joined by Cal Ripken, Jr. and more than 100 sports industry executives at Oriole Park at Camden Yards today

Orioles make it two in a row with mini-sweep of Twins

Nestor Aparicio

It wasn’t a textbook victory last night for the Orioles (12-17) but they’ll take wins anywhere they can find them. After an evening of soggy weather and a six-inning win on Wednesday night, the Birds came back to Camden Yards and finished the mini-sweep with a 5-4 win over the Twins led by Melvin Mora and unlikely Lou Montanez. Mora homered in the second and got on base in the eighth before Montanez singled to left to account for the game-winning RBI. The usual speedy work of Brad Bergesen on the hill picked up the pace of the game, but he was in trouble most of the evening and worked some Houdini magic to avoid big innings. All told, the Twins managed 14 hits off of O’s pitching — including 11 off Bergesen in just six innings — but could never plate runs in bunches. Reliever Chris Ray struggled in the 7th inning, allowing the Twins to tie the game after inheriting a one-run lead, but Jim Johnson was stellar in the 8th inning to vulture a victory and George Sherrill managed to finish a sweaty 9th to earn fifth save of the year. Afterward, manager Dave Trembley gave praise

Remembering Cal Ripken and China…

Nestor Aparicio

It’s been more than 18 months since I traveled halfway across the planet with Cal Ripken and his crew for the Beijing baseball mission. With the release of “A Shortstop in China,” it’s given me a chance to “relive” some of the fun I had in the Far East as well. I’ve heard spectacular reports about the movie, created locally by the Renegade guys who were our constant companions in Beijing. They were fun and they are widely featured in my “movies” from China. Below are my memoirs from the fun of traveling to a different culture and seeing the world. Of all of the videos I’ve shot for wnsTV over the two years of WNST.net, these are by far my favorite films. Sure, they’re all about 10 minutes long, but if you wanted to know what it was like to see China and be with Cal Ripken for several days, I hope these paint a vivid picture of what was truly a trip of a lifetime for me. I enjoyed living them and I enjoyed making them. Honestly, what good is going to China if you can’t share the experience with others? I hope you check them out if

Orioles and MLB continue to insult fans with “rainball” at Camden Yards

Nestor Aparicio

While you and most everyone you know was asleep last night, the Orioles, MLB and umpire Randy Marsh were seeing to it that a regulation major league game was played last night at Camden Yards. In an embarrassing display of disregard for the fans and the players in a game that “officially” went until 12:19 a.m. this morning, Marsh spent six hours of the evening through four rain delays to get the Twins and Orioles onto the field for six innings of water-logged baseball and the Orioles stole a 4-1 win. Today, on “Limited Access” at 2 p.m., we’ll be discussing how it’s evenings like Wednesday night and the utter disregard for the paying customers and their own athletes that continue to find Oriole Park empty most nights.  Can you imagine having a full-priced ticket for last night’s game and having to endure an evening at the ballpark where it rains all night and they insist on playing the game against any common sense? As expected, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was red-faced with anger and livid that the game ever began — and anyone who looked at the forecast and/or the radar could’ve seen that the chances of playing a

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

Preakness on my mind…

Nestor Aparicio

I’m up early this morning and reading online about the Preakness and where it stands in the realm of the

Mike Green’s missing stick

Nestor Aparicio

I took a call this afternoon about the disappearance of Mike Green’s offense in the Pittsburgh series. The caller referred

8

Paid Advertisement

Podcast Audio Vault

Spotify Apple Youtube
8
8
8

Paid Advertisement

Scroll to Top
Verified by MonsterInsights