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Nestor Aparicio

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

Feel the Magic: The O’s are beating the AL East’s best

Nestor Aparicio

So far, there’s not much to complain about. If the Orioles can just get a dozen more starts like Mark Hendrickson’s gem last night, this might turn into an interesting spring. There once was a time when beating Tampa Bay in April was meaningless. No mas… As I watch the rain fall today — and I can’t believe that they’ll actually play this evening but the forecast is for a late afternoon clearing and an “ontime” start —  the pitching advantage certainly benefits the Birds tonight with Jeremy Guthrie taking the ball against Jeff Niemann. The Orioles are now 3-1 and have managed to hold on late in all three games, contests that in previous years might’ve gone the wrong way. And the bullpen has really kinda stunk all week, which usually means “death knell.” Here’s all you need to know about the offense: Brian Roberts is hitting .438 and Adam Jones and Nick Markakis are stroking it at a .429 clip. The table is being set. I don’t love Jones in the No. 2 hole — he strikes out too much — but if he can continue to make contact and maybe even use his speed to bunt and

Help us find the next Baltimore sports media superstar…

Nestor Aparicio

Let the games begin! I’ve been talking about the “Coors Light King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk” competition for two months and today we will finally begin the tournament where the challenge is to cover Baltimore sports in the new media universe at WNST.net like the professionals do every day. After watching “American Idol” in its totality for the first time this season, I got very inspired about finding creative ways to find Baltimore’s next great sports media stars. Perhaps I’m biased, but I firmly believe WNST.net is the best sports media company in the marketplace for Baltimore sports news, conversation and information. Everyone at WNST works nonstop to be the best – to set us apart from amateur internet bloggers and from “out of town” corporate entities who do not have the best interests of our community at heart. Our hard work is justified and rewarded when our www.Alexa.com reports continues to show us as BY FAR the most-visited sports website in the region on a daily basis. And we continue to battle it out with WBAL.com as the top two sites for radio – AM or FM – in the marketplace. I take my business seriously. I must,

Orioles hold on again, beat Yankees 7-5 to start season with pair of wins

Nestor Aparicio

It shouldn’t have been so close in the end, but tonight was another “Oriole Magic” kinda night as the Birds jumped out to a big lead over the Yankees behind a nice starting effort from Koji Uehara and eventually held on to win 7-5 before a split crowd of orange and pinstripes. Nick Markakis got three hits and the bullpen got sloppy at the end, but the Birds are 2-0 and coming back to Camden Yards at 1:35 tomorrow with a chance to sweep the Yankees to start the season. Here’s my running blog from the game. As always, feel free to comment! 9:59 p.m. — Geez, not much has changed with Dennis Sarfate. Brought on to basically do a ninth-inning mop up, he’s now pushed my American Idol starting time back another 10 minutes and has forced George Sherrill into a game they’d probably rather have not used him. As my Pop would say, “the walks will kill ya!” The Yankees lineup is dangerous — as Derek Jeter just showed. Jim Palmer is railing about the 27th out. The crowd gave Teixeira the rasberries and he just poked an RBI double into the gap and this has gotten frightening.

Finally, Mussina returns to Baltimore & WNST!

Nestor Aparicio

My dear producer Ray Bachman has just informed me that one of my all-time favorite partners in crime and co-hosts, Mark Mussina, is back in the Charm City to watch the Yankees play tonight. He’ll be stopping by the studio around 3:30 p.m. today. I can’t wait to talk baseball with Moose and hear his analysis of the “Teixeira” situation, especially as it regards to his big brother, who is probably Moose hunting on his Montoursville, Pa. farm for the first April of his life. This will be good! Hope you tune in some old-school WNST radio today!

Boos for Teixeira and the ghost of Jeffrey Maier spark O’s to 10-5 win over Yankees

Nestor Aparicio

Well, whatever they did to keep away the New York fans and somehow get orange-colored sweaters into the seats worked. It was a major victory for the Orioles front office, keeping Opening Day from being ruined by a sea of pinstripers. Then, of course, the outcome, a 10-5 win over the Yankees, didn’t suck either. And the WAY they won, right? A stolen home run with all of the imagery of Jeffrey Maier. They chased the Yankees big-money starter C.C. Sabathia in the fifth inning. The bullpen folded just to the brink of collapse but the offense led the way late in the game. It was a blueprint for how they’re going to win this year (if they’re going to win). Get a solid start. Give way to the bullpen. Hit the ball. Don’t kick the ball around. And take their chances. No reason to do play-by-play here – I’m assuming you watched the game. Doesn’t everyone watch Opening Day? But the most compelling part of today’s game was the ability to stay into the game and it was a good dramatic start to the season and it gave Orioles fans everywhere some pride, a nice beatdown of the Yankees

A gloomy forecast — today and for the ’09 Birds

Nestor Aparicio

The sky is gray across the horizon in downtown Baltimore this morning as the Orioles kick off their 2009 campaign amidst a city full of Yankees fans and the inaugural appearance for Baltimore’s homegrown Mark Teixeira as a pinstriper. It was a dark day even before the clouds and scattered showers moved in from the south. The Orioles, who haven’t played a meaningful game since October 1997, appear to be about to put another 162 insignificant games into the record books as the “dark era” of Birds baseball continues, the longest stretch of inepetitude in the history of the storied franchise. The Las Vegas oddsmakers have the Orioles “win/loss” total at 71 1/2, which means if the Orioles play just “18 games under .500” you win the bet. I’m not a betting man, but based on what I’ve seen for six weeks in spring training regarding their pitching, I’d be jumping at the “under” on this proposition. That said, I like this team, these position players and the quality of the character it appears Andy McPhail has assembled. I want to cheer for Brian Roberts. I like Luke Scott and Adam Jones. I’m interested in Felix Pie, although I think

Drinking the orange Kool Aid at Fan Fest

Nestor Aparicio

There are two types of Orioles fans left in the Baltimore area and they are distinct groups: Those who drink the Kool Aid… And those, like me, who have examined the big picture of what’s happened to this franchise over the past 13 years and are pretty angry about its impact on our fun, our lives and the community. With Opening Day looming, everyone who has EVER loved baseball perks up and pay attention. Even if it’s only to notice: “Hey, its’ Opening Day!” Most people in Baltimore realize this team won’t contend but if you love baseball you’ll at least open one eye on Monday afternoon to catch the score. I’d venture to say that 75% of the city will wake up Tuesday morning at the office and know whether the Orioles won. (That number used to be more like 98% in 1998!) Those who unconditionally still drink the orange Kool Air or “want” to drink the Kool Aid probably went down to Fan Fast today at Camden Yards. I opted to not give Mr. Angelos any more money that he won’t spend to get the team a quality spring training facility. Instead, I’m sitting here watching the Fan

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

Nestor Aparicio

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

Programming changes at WNST

Nestor Aparicio

If you’ve been driving around Baltimore after 6 p.m. and have tuned into WNST-AM 1570 you’ve noticed some changes over the last two nights. Our partnership with Fox Sports Radio has ended and we’ve decided to feature our local talent in the evening hours for the foreseeable future and drop the top of the hour flashes, which were dreadful. We will provide local news in and out of every break. Our staff works hard to produce Baltimore’s best sports talk radio and we’re delighted to offer more Bob Haynie and more Drew Forrester to our audience during the overnights when our signal is not at full strength. We hope you enjoy the extra time with our hosts on the radio. (Soon, you might even be able to get rid of me…LOL!) We’ve had some technical glitches during the transition phase and we’re working to correct some of the computer issues and modulation issues and should have it all perfectly crafted soon. You will also be able to hear the programming in the evening via our “LISTEN LIVE” button here at WNST.net More programming notes: We are absolutely delighted to have Thyrl Nelson join our team on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Is Brian Roberts the next American Idol?

Nestor Aparicio

As you know we’re putting together a major competition in an “American Idol-style” search for Baltimore next sports media star. I’ve never been a viewer of American Idol until this season and they’re not getting down to the nitty gritty on the show and it’s absolutely uncanny how much one of the contestants looks like Brian Roberts. Again, I don’t have a press pass and I actually forgot to ask Roberts if he knew about this when I saw him briefly in Los Angeles 10 days ago, but check this out: They even have the same build, haircut, demeanor. When Ryan Seacrest is talking to him, you’d almost swear he’s talking to Roberts. It’s very strange. And Kris Allen has a legitimate chance to win this competition. Our “King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk Competition” brought to you by Coors Light is coming next week. Stay tuned for all of the details. We have 50 contestants ready to rock Baltimore’s world with media talent!

Piling on the Orioles with Glenn’s Vegas odds

Nestor Aparicio

I noticed Glenn Clark’s blog about the Orioles’ Las Vegas odds of winning the World Series and it’s bad enough. But then I went further into the “futures” of Las Vegas and saw some more disturbing trends. Here are the division-by-division odds. Check out how out of whack the Orioles are in their own division, which is more of a reflection of how strong the AL East is in the minds of the gamblers. Odds to win the 2009 AL East Division New York Yankees                    6/5 Boston Red Sox                        6/5 Tampa Bay Rays                       5/1 Toronto Blue Jays                      5/1 Baltimore Orioles                       35/1 Odds to win the 2009 AL Central Division Cleveland Indians                       7/5 Detroit Tigers                             5/2 Minnesota Twins                        3/1 Chicago White Sox                    6/1 Kansas City Royals                   7/1 Odds to win the 2009 AL West Division Los Angeles Angles                   2/3 Oakland Athletics                      2/1 Texas Rangers                          8/1 Seattle Mariners                        8/1 Odds to win the 2009 NL East Division New York Mets                          7/5 Philadelphia Phillies                   7/4 Atlanta Braves                           3/1 Florida Marlins                           10/1 Washington Nationals                18/1 Odds to win the 2009 NL Central Division Chicago Cubs                            1/2 St. Louis Cardinals                     3/1 Milwaukee Brewers                    9/2 Cincinnati Reds                         8/1 Houston Astros                          20/1 Pittsburgh Pirates                      20/1 Odds to

Orioles continue to lie about WNST and press credentials

Nestor Aparicio

At some point, the Orioles will “get even” with me by winning. Maybe that’s in 2011? Maybe that’ll never happen, but that’s not even the point. The point is that they really believe “Nestor and WNST are out to get us.” Nothing could be further from the truth. No, I’m simply here to be honest and to continue to tell the truth about the way the ballclub is run, the way it functions and the way it continues to be a poor community partner for the city and the fans who literally BUILT the franchise between 1954 and 1994. The gobs of empty seats and a daily series of empty phone lines anytime we attempt to discuss the Orioles, their strategies or their rationales paints the true picture of how far the franchise has fallen. The opposite of “love” isn’t hate. It’s indifference. This year the Orioles will almost certainly continue a 12-year spiral downward as a franchise. They’ve all but admitted that there will be less people in the ballpark then there have ever been. I could write for hours or days about all of the lies and cover-ups and shenanigans that the team has pulled over the last

Ravens play “Truth or Dare” with media today regarding NFL Draft

Nestor Aparicio

The Ravens call it the “Pre-Draft Media Luncheon.” I have routinely referred to it as “The Liars Luncheon.” Just after noon today, Ozzie Newsome, John Harbaugh, Joe Hortiz and Eric DeCosta will take questions and give a massive overview of the 2009 NFL Draft. It’s always a relaxed, interesting take on a variety of players and a cool assessment of the team’s needs for the last weekend of April. We’ll be chronicling the luncheon from Owings Mills and I’ll be blogging around 1 p.m. when it begins and I’ll have a full report on “Limited Access” at 2 p.m. on AM 1570 and here at WNST.net I’m sure the first question will have something to do with Darius Heyward-Bey. If you have any questions for the staff, drop a comment here and I’ll do my best to ask the brain trust.

Redskins come to Baltimore to kickoff preseason ’09 sked

Nestor Aparicio

The Ravens just announced their preseason schedule. With the exception of the third preseason game in Charlotte, all of the exact dates are now set. It’s surprising that the Redskins are coming back to Baltimore after balking at this annual “Governor’s Cup” idea over the past decade. The NFL controls several of the games on the schedule now and have mandated that the teams play in the preseason because of the proximity and financial savings to the teams and the league. Here is the official press release: For Immediate Release RAVENS ANNOUNCE 2009 PRESEASON SCHEDULE The Baltimore Ravens announced their preseason schedule Monday afternoon, a slate that kicks off the 2009 campaign with consecutive home games against the Washington Redskins and New York Jets. The Ravens will host the Redskins at M&T Bank Stadium on Aug. 13 and then welcome the Jets on Aug. 24 for a nationally-televised contest on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. Additionally, Baltimore travels to Carolina in Week 3 of the preseason (date TBD) and closes out the preseason in Atlanta on Sept. 3. “It’s a good schedule against quality teams,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “We know our fans will like playing the Redskins because of

Last call for WNST sportswriter and media star blogger search

Nestor Aparicio

I’m back on the air at 2 p.m. today and we’re getting closer to finalizing all of the contestants in our upcoming “King (or Queen) of Baltimore Sportstalk Competition.” Later this week, we’ll be announcing the details of the competition as well as the first-place prize for anyone who thinks they can do sports media on the radio and on the web at a professional level circa 2009. Make no mistake about it: I’m the Simon Cowell of this competition and it will be a grueling competition with so many people serious about wanting to be more than a “blogger” on a website no one reads. Many of these letters have been passionate and full of confidence. I’ve gotten about 100 resumes and cover letters — all with varying degree of expertise, quality and composition. Some folks can’t complete a written sentence without typos, usage errors and punctuation problems. Others claim complete “amateur” status and are more well-done than the “professionals.” It really has been interesting going through all of the applicants this week to test the waters. This is the last chance to enter the competition so if you’re “on the fence” or know about a potential contestant, please

It was 25 years ago already? Wow…

Nestor Aparicio

I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of March 28, 1984 and not get at least a little emotional “tug” when I think of that picture of the Mayflower vans rolling through the snow in Owings Mills with our football team headed toward Indianapolis. So instead of “geezing” and telling old stories and crying the blues over the Colts and the horseshoe and the records and all of that stuff today, I’m really more just shocked that it’s been 25 years! A quarter of a century! The Blast were cool, the Orioles were good, the hair was big, the Preakness was like a Super Bowl… The bittnerness has faded a bit for me. (Thankfully…) Otherwise, I’d have written a longer blog… I suppose it’s worth noting if you wake up and look at the calendar and realize it’s a significant “date in sports history.” But it doesn’t have the sting it once did, the whole Irsay-Colts thing. I’m glad I’m mellowing in my 40’s…

Roger Goodell wants to play 18 games…do you want to watch them?

Nestor Aparicio

As a parting shot of the NFL Owners Meetings, commissioner Roger Goodell lobbed a hand grenade in the direction of the players with the formal word that the league is looking very seriously at expanding its schedule to 18 games. There are all sorts of roadblocks, negotiations and dollars that will need to be worked out for this to become a reality. The current collective bargaining agreement states that the players play 20 games in service to their respective teams. It does not state how many are “real” and how many are “preseason.” Let be honest: the NFL does a LOT right in regard to fans. But the preseason games are the biggest scam in professional sports. For any of you PSL holders out there, think about how much you’ve spent over the last 13 years in buying “mandatory” preseason tickets that either become a giveaway or a paper fire starter for your Labor Day cookout. Goodell was merely stating the obvious: NFL fans think the preseason sucks and the league could benefit financially and spiritually by playing 18 real games and 2 preseason games. Now, the coaches clearly need some time to get the players ready for the season

Breakfast with Jim Schwartz and the NFC coaches

Nestor Aparicio

The NFL Owners Meetings are about to wrap up out here in Dana Point, Calif. later this afternoon and the final day brings the opportunity to dine and schmooze and interview the NFC coaches, which of course took me to the table of new Detroit Lions coach and longtime WNST.net contributor, Jim Schwartz. As an Arbutus native and Mt. St. Joe grad, I feel I owe it to Baltimore (as well as to Schwartz’s many friends and relatives) to get as much of the video up as possible. I’m running to grab a plane but I have about an hour’s worth of great stuff — ranging from draft perspective to the 0-16 Lions to Schwartz’s view on Mark Teixeira and his new time management techniques. It might take me two days to get all of the videos up on the site but they’ll be coming soon and I’ll be releasing a few a day for the next week. I’ve literally shot 2 1/2 hours worth of notable interviews, including more stuff with Rex Ryan, Marvin Lewis, Mike Tomlin, Mike Smith and tons more footage of yesterday’s sitdown with John Harbaugh, who had his brother Jim and dad Jack here for

Exclusive John Harbaugh breakfast footage here at WNST!

Nestor Aparicio

It was an early morning here in Dana Point, Calif., but very much worth the early wakeup call. Every year at the NFL Owners Meetings all 32 NFL coaches are made available during breakfast for “sitdown” interviews and a general rap session and B.S. conversation with the media. Due to the newspaper economy being on the rapid decline, the number of pure journalists is down making access almost unprecedented. Today, it was the AFC so we’ve spent the morning with Marvin Lewis, Mike Tomlin, Rex Ryan and, of course, our own John Harbaugh. I’m working hard to platform and post the videos from the morning “rap” session and hope you enjoy all of the information, which is fresh and exclusive to WNST. There will be at least a dozen separate videos coming throughout the afternoon here in the wnsTV video vault. They’re not tightly edited and some of the questions were a little hard for our microphones to pick up, but I think you’ll enjoy having “breakfast with John Harbaugh” in a very informal, cool setting here in Southern California. I’ll be writing more in a little while…lots going on here including a fun visit with David Modell, who is

FINALLY…Baltimore gets a World Soccer match!

Nestor Aparicio

Over the past decade fans in New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. have been treated to a European “friendly” football matchup and finally Baltimore and M&T Bank Stadium will get ours: Chelsea will face A.C. Milan on July 24 in downtown of the Charm City. Here’s the press release from the Ravens, who are promoting the event. BREAKING NEWS: Chelsea vs. AC Milan to play at M&T Bank Stadium! On Friday, July 24th at 8:00 p.m, Chelsea, of the English Premier League will take on AC Milan, of Italy’s top division Serie A at M&T Bank Stadium. This match will mark the first soccer event to be played at M&T Bank Stadium. A sell out crowd is expected and as a PSL Owner, we would like to offer you the first opportunity to purchase tickets for this exciting event before tickets go on sale to the general public. General public sales begin today, Tuesday, March 24th at 12:30 p.m. Special VIP hospitality packages are also available on both an individual basis and for groups of 30. VIP package, club level and lower level midfield purchasers will get access to a private practice session on Thursday, July 23rd from 6-9 p.m

Titans — not Ravens — will open season in Pittsburgh on Thursday night

Nestor Aparicio

Some breaking news from the NFL Owners Meetings: It will be the Tennessee Titans, not the Ravens, who will draw the short straw of opening the season on Thursday Night’s kickoff in Pittsburgh as the Steelers hoist their sixth Super Bowl banner at Heinz Field. There has been weeks of speculation that the Ravens would be the “preferred” opponent for the Steelers but the Ravens made it clear that they preferred to not play a nationally televised evening game in Pittsburgh for the fourth time in five years. My sources tell me that it was a “competitive balance” issue more than being “afraid” to go to Pittsburgh, which the Ravens will do anyway at some point this season as they do every year. The Ravens thought it was unfair that the league has continually made them sit in a hotel stewing on the road all day and then being forced into short rest the following week. The mandate from Ravens’ management was simple: we’ve gone up there enough for evening games so make them come down and play in Baltimore for a nighttime game for a change. I don’t agree with the Ravens position, but as one team official told

Live from Southern California…

Nestor Aparicio

It’s been a chilly trip all the way around. It’s cold in California this week. It was freezing at Dodger Stadium last night and Laguna Beach is no better. I’m spending the next three days here in Dana Point at the NFL Owners Meetings, chatting with coaches, executives and owners from around the league. Most of the media has commented that it’s “quiet” here this week, with no major rules changes or negotiations to be held. The only potential “landmark” concept is the notion of making the regular season a 17 or 18-game affair, with the elimination of those dreadful preseason games. It appears that changes to overtime possession aren’t coming right now. There’s too much support to keep the current (yet flawed) system. But it’s truly the calm before the potential financial storm as the NFL Players Association has named its new leader in DeMaurice Smith last week. Commisioner Roger Goodell is addressing the entire contingent this morning with a “State of The NFL” speech, which no doubt will be addressing the sagging economy and the paramount issue of a new collective bargaining agreement with the players, which could be a dog fight over the next 18 months as

Orioles pitching woes continue: Hill won’t be in rotation

Nestor Aparicio

Orioles pitching coach Rick Kranitz told the media this morning that LHP Rich Hill will not begin the season in the starting rotation due to lack of work. Hill threw 25 batting practice pitches earlier today but time is running short for the team to find five major-league worthy starters to begin the season as the Yankees come to Camden Yards in just two weeks. Read more here…

Angelos wants to “save” horse racing and Preakness for Maryland

Nestor Aparicio

“The Preakness is going to stay in Maryland. Period. It’s not leaving. Guaranteed!” Those are the words that Maryland State Senate president Mike Miller told the local media earlier this week. I hope that he’s right. I’ve long been a proponent of finding ways to salvage what’s left of the dying local industry of horse racing but most importantly adding some future luster and pageantry back into what was once an annual “Super Bowl” for Baltimore and Maryland. But it’s not just about the Preakness or the long-tailed reach of the economics of having horse racing go extinct in our state. It’s not about jockeys and horses and vets and farms and people. It’s about whether anyone in the public truly cares enough to support horse racing with their wallets in a world where bets are available online, just a click away around the clock. If a “supertrack” is ever created, will anyone come back to horse racing or try it for the first time? Will it ever be a true money maker worthy of spending several hundred million dollars to resurrect a sport that hasn’t really mattered in our community in a quarter of a century? This morning, The

Orlando Pace coming to Baltimore?

Nestor Aparicio

Ozzie Newsome continues to recruit, court and host more veteran NFL players. The next two days figure to be busy as word leaked late tonight that veteran St. Louis Rams tackle Orlando Pace is scheduled to come to Baltimore, according to NBCSports.com. In addition, the Ravens have also cut Samari Rolle and signed Chris Carr. On Thursday, the Ravens will hold a press conference with Ray Lewis, Steve Bisciotti, John Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome officially re-welcoming No. 52 back to the only home he’s ever known in Owings Mills. The line of questioning and what the press conference indicates will be of great interest to many Ravens fans who saw Lewis’ negotiating tactics as an embarrassment to his legendary status here in Baltimore. All the talk of the Jets and Cowboys will no doubt be revisited, even if the event does figure to have a “time limit” on it due to it being held during halftime of the Maryland Terps’ first-round game against California in Kansas City. But Ozzie Newsome, just as he said a few weeks ago, clearly isn’t done with the free agency period.

Ravens sign former Eagles tight end L. J. Smith

Nestor Aparicio

Several media outlets are reporting that the Ravens have signed veteran tight end L.J. Smith to a 1-year, $1.5 million deal to potentially join Todd Heap in the team’s corps. Read more here… This might’ve been moved forward by John Harbaugh’s years with the Eagles. Strangely enough, Harbs hasn’t attemted to raid any of the Philadelphia roster over the past 13 months.

Just like the WNST logo: purple and orange together in one parking lot

Nestor Aparicio

Just got a press release regarding NFL Draft Day activities in downtown Baltimore. Looks like the Ravens continue to “cozy up” to the Orioles, who are in woeful need of some purple to fill up those empty green seats in April. Your Baltimore Orioles — finally reaching out to the community in the most obvious ways that have been ignored for 13 years. Ravens and Orioles Team Up for Double-Header Baltimore’s two biggest sports franchises have teamed up to offer fans a unique double-header. The Baltimore Ravens and the Baltimore Orioles have packaged together the Ravens’ Spring Football Festival with an Orioles’ home game against the Texas Rangers to offer fans two great events for one ticket. On Saturday, April 25, the Ravens will hold their 12th annual Spring Football Festival, presented by Verizon Wireless, at M&T Bank Stadium from 3-7 p.m. The family-friendly event consists of various elements in which fans can participate, including interactive on-field activities, a locker room tour, player autograph sessions, Poe’s Mascot Game and watching the 2009 NFL Draft live on SmartVision and TVs throughout the stadium. Immediately following the football festivities, the Orioles will host the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park for a 7:05

Steve Bisciotti’s Thursday dilemma: Ray or Gary?

Nestor Aparicio

I sorta knew that Bob Haynie’s “schlep rock” (or whatever the hell he calls it) would be at work on the Maryland Terps this weekend when the Baltimore Ravens called a 4 p.m. Thursday press conference in Owings Mills to march Ray Lewis out to the local firing squad for questions about loyalty, community, commitment, Hall of Fame inevitability and his future plans as a “Baltimorean” among other inquires. But now word broke around 11 p.m. last night that the Maryland Terps will be in the second half of their game against the California Golden Bears in Kansas City at that hour on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. So, that begs the question, where will Steve Bisciotti be at 4 p.m. on Thursday? Hmmmm… Bisciotti broke his long silence on the Gary Williams/friendship/support/vote of confidence front last week, getting front page love in The Sun with “I love Gary” quotes and basically stating that the reason he’s a Maryland financial backer during these tough economic times is because Gary Williams is the coach. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I gotta think Bisciotti’s never, ever missed a March Madness postseason game? He’s the biggest Terp fan

Brian Roberts feels at “home” in Team USA Jersey

Nestor Aparicio

I’m following up on all of the residue of the NCAA March Madness draw and filling out my own brackets and doodling this evening and my TV is tuned to the USA-Netherlands elimination game in Miami. In the same awkward ballpark that I watched the Ravens beat the Dolphins in the wild card round about 10 weeks ago, there are about 5,000 people — and I might be accused of kindness with that estimate — watching as the Orioles’ own Brian Roberts has been an 11th hour “call up” due to the Dustin Pedroia injury. It’s, of course, a preview of the kinds of crowds he’ll see at Camden Yards next month here in Baltimore. Lots of empty seats must help his game as he got a helluva good look at the ball in Miami. BRob — always the pro — singled to right field in his first at bat and went on to go 3-for-3 with a pair of walks in five trips to the plate in Team USA’s 9-3 win over the Dutch. Roberts also looks spiffy in his USA duds. The World Baseball Classic interests me more than it did last time because I’m actually planning on

Baltimore still has three chances to dance in NCAA bracket madness

Nestor Aparicio

Clearly, it has not been a banner year on the local men’s basketball circuit. Maryland has been a choppy, up-and-down ride for three months. UMBC, Towson, Loyola and Coppin have all been disappointing during the regular season, to say the least. And Morgan State, again the best team in their conference, has been the most consistent squad since November, even managing to slay the giants from College Park along the way. But, in the world of March Madness and conference tournaments, it’s these last-gasp few days of “Tournament Week” that decide the true “success” of a men’s basketball teams’ season. Towson and Coppin went on little runs but came up short. The Terps have won a pair of games in the last 48 hours to now have a legitimate hope that they’ll be dancing on Thursday or Friday. With just more than 24 hours remaining before the NCAA committee fills out the only brackets that matter, our state and region still has three chances to “dance.” UMBC starts things at 11 a.m. this morning with a tall task of going to a nutty gym in Binghamton, N.Y. to slay the No. 1 team in America East on ESPN2. As you

Programming changes at WNST

Nestor Aparicio

If you’ve been driving around Baltimore after 6 p.m. and have tuned into WNST-AM 1570 you’ve noticed some changes over

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