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Ravens tell Matt Stover he’s no longer in their 2009 plans

Earlier in the day, Ravens officials said they were still essentially “on the fence” regarding Matt Stover’s future with the team. This afternoon, Matt Stover made it official telling the world that the Ravens have informed him that he’s no longer in their plans. Stover, the last of the “original” Ravens to come off the boat from Cleveland when Art Modell and the Browns made the move east, has made his last appearance in purple. It was clear that the franchise always valued his reliability and professionalism but his leg strength — specifically on kickoffs — was always an issue. He wasn’t going to kick the 56-yarder to win the game, but he wasn’t going to miss the 45-yarder to win the game. One of the classiest Ravens there will ever be, Stover hasn’t ruled out going elsewhere to prolong his 17-year NFL career. At the age of 41, he’s still a solid choice for many teams. Apparently, the Ravens will rely on second-year Steve Hauschka who handled most kickoffs last season. Speculation that Matt Stover could end up with the Jets apparently ended yesterday when Jay Feely signed with Rex Ryan.

Ray Lewis and Matt Birk both in the Ravens’ fold

In the span of 20 minutes, we got two well-sourced confirmations that both of Ozzie Newsome’s shopping sprees today have come full circle. Both Matt Birk and Ray Lewis have agreed to terms with the Ravens in the 4 p.m. hour today. Word is that both Lewis and Birk received a 3-year deals. Lewis was reported at $22 million and Birk at $9 million, with $6 guaranteed. WNST will continue to talk about these huge signings all of Thursday on AM 1570 and comments here are welcomed. I will also be hosting my annual “Pop’s Birthday Celebration” with four hours of tributes to dads everywhere. For Immediate Release RAVENS AGREE TO TERMS WITH LEWIS, BIRK The Baltimore Ravens reached agreements in principle with two Pro Bowl players Wednesday afternoon. LB Ray Lewis will remain a Raven. “We have agreed in principle on a multi-year contract that will allow Ray to finish his career as a Baltimore Raven,” general manager/executive vice president Ozzie Newsome announced. “From beginning to end as a Raven… Wow! To be with the same team with the same fans for an entire career, that doesn’t happen in the NFL,” Lewis said. “The bottom line for me is

Today’s Ravens guest: center Matt Birk of Vikings

According to the Minneapolis media machine, highly intelligent center Matt Birk — he graduated from Harvard — is here in Baltimore talking shop with the Ravens brass today. Hopefully, he’s smart enough to sign here and make our offensive line better. FYI: per Pro Football Talk, Birk is represented by Joe Flacco’s agent, Joe Linta. Incidentally, I met Linta in Tampa at the Super Bowl. He’s a good dude…

Oh, the weather outside is frightful…

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

Any Memories of Whiskey Joe’s in Tampa?

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

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

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

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…

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

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

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

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

Modell shamelessly ignored by football writers

Well, the handful of pro football “experts” are at it again, playing the role of punitive czars as the gatekeepers of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, once again ignoring a lifetime of accomplishments of Art Modell. Once again, Modell has been left off of the finalists’ list Hall of Fame ballot and I’m stunned at their ignorance of the facts and the continued slight of one of the architects of the NFL. I’m at the Caps game right now and using Drew’s computer to blog, but I’m pretty salty about the whole thing and will need more time later to collect my thoughts and write a lengthier missive. But once again, it’s the garbage of the Cleveland contingent led by Ohio’s angriest man, Tony Grossi. They all should be ashamed of themselves and they should turn in their voting cards. Art Modell belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Period.

Second bus to Nashville is almost sold out!

TO BUY SEATS ON THE WNST NASHVILLE ROADTRIP CLICK HERE We’re getting all sorts of phone calls, texts and inquiries this morning regarding our Miller Lite Nashville Roadtrips on Friday. We’ve almost sold out our second bus, so HURRY if you want to go. The seats are limited and once they’re gone getting more hotel space, buses and game tickets becomes difficult. We really hope you come along for the fun and the memories! Again, here are the details for the trip: Take the ride in the comfort of a brand-new deluxe motorcoach from Gunther Charters. We will leave Baltimore (White Marsh Park and Ride) at 6 a.m. Friday, Jan. 9th and arrive in Nashville before dinner time. We are estimating a 10-to-11-hour ride. We will leave Nashville at 8 a.m. on Sunday and return to Baltimore in time for dinner. All packages include an upper deck reserved game ticket for Nashville-Baltimore next Saturday, two-nights hotel downtown within walking distance to the stadium and an admission to our Saturday pre-game purple pep rally and party. Gold Package: Two nights at the Sheraton Downtown Nashville… SINGLE: $700 DOUBLE: $625 TRIPLE: $575 QUAD: $550 Purple Package: Two nights at Days Inn at

Ravens locker room giddy for trip to Nashville

The kudos for the continued brilliance of Ed Reed and the poise of Joe Flacco permeated the Ravens locker room following today’s big win over the Dolphins here in Miami. Other than the defensive breakdowns on the late third-quarter drive that nearly got the Fish back into the game, it was a day of celebrations, high fives and memories of what a January run feels like. The Ravens punished the Fins in the first half and only let up long enough to wait for another turnover. No play was bigger than the botched handoff to Ted Ginn, which sealed the fate of Miami and propelled the Ravens back to a second-round playoff matchup on the Cumberland River in Nashville at 4:30 this Saturday. As you know, our buses are filling up fast. You can book you trip here. We will also be announcing a major indoor tailgate party/pep rally in downtown Nashville for Saturday morning for all visiting purple fans. To show his support for the purple contingent on the road, head coach John Harbaugh visited with the fans as he exited the field in Miami this afternoon and went out of his way to praise the road warriors, many

Miami Strategy

Watching the Colts and the Falcons get eliminated last night brings to focus the reality of today’s “do or die” game here in Miami against the Dolphins. It also will revisit the overtime argument about possession and coin flips and the fairness of the current NFL doctrine. Should the Colts have at least gotten ball last night? My thought is “sure”…except when it’s the Colts. Good riddance to them! The Ravens’ path to the Super Bowl got a lot easier last night when San Diego won the coin flip and went down the field and euthanized the Colts’ season. So long, Peyton! See ya in those commercials during the rest of the playoffs! It’s a beautiful morning here in Miami — it’s expected to reach 80 degrees by game time. Our party at Alabama Joe’s last night was outstanding as the bar was packed with purple with representatives from all over the state of Maryland as well as several “expatrioted” Baltimoreans living down here in the land of depressed housing and sunshine. We’ll be blogging he

WNST sets a “pre-game” pep rally & party for South Florida on Saturday

TO BUY SEATS ON THE WNST NASHVILLE ROADTRIP CLICK HERE Hopefully by now you’ve heard about our infamous Super Bowl party at Whiskey’s Joe oh those many years ago before Super Bowl XXXV, so it’s with great pleasure that we announce the official WNST “Pre-Game Purple Pep Rally” in South Florida. We will be hanging on Saturday from 4:30 through the evening to watch the two NFL games at Joe’s distant cousin — ALABAMA JOE’S in Lake Worth, Fla. — on Lantana Road. It’s between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale just north of Boca Raton. It’s less than a mile from I-95. There are so many connections here that we almost HAD to have a little South Florida celebration. The place is a bit of a Shrine to the Crimson Tide, but its slogan is: “If sports were a religion…this place would be a church!” Now, how can you not want to hang at a place like that, right? It’s has some other Baltimore connections as well as the “Tide” lineage of Ozzie Newsome, Phil Savage, Le’Ron McClain, etc. all the way down the line. Directions to Alabama Joe’s are here. There’s also a menu full of really good-looking

Rex Ryan receives permission to interview with N.Y. Jets

‘Tis the season to gain head coaching employment in the NFL and with the 11-5 regular season finish and the Ravens headed back to the playoffs in Miami this weekend, it’s not a shocker that defensive coordinator has received permission to interview for the head coaching position with the New York Jets. As first reported by the AP, Ryan is expected to interview for the job in New York at some point in the near future. Earlier this week, NFL.com’s Adam Schefter reported that Ryan would be a lead candidate in St. Louis, once the Rams fire interim head coach Jim Haslett who replaced Scott Linehan in midseason. Ryan, along with tight ends coach Wade Harmon, were original hires of Brian Billick when he took over the head coaching job in January 1999. It’s very unusual to allow an existing assistant to interview during the week of a game but perhaps Ryan will have time to interview after the Ravens victory in Miami on Sunday. Many times “deals” are cut to wait for specific coordinators, as was the case when the Ravens waited three weeks to interview Brian Billick after his Vikings lost in the NFC Championship Game. Last year

Charter trip to Miami update

My inbox and phone and text are flooding with people inquiring about the possibility of a group trip to Miami for the Ravens game this Sunday at 1 p.m. Here’s all the information I have at this point: First — there IS no trip yet. I’m working feverishly on the financial reality of this. Getting a chartered jet for a few hundred people ain’t easy and it ain’t cheap. There are no “$99 each way” kinda charters. If this trip happens — and it’s still an ‘if’ at this point — it will be at least a $600 per person trip (my first quotes on flights alone were in the $600 each range), depending on a lot of factors including a hotel night, various airport fees, potential ground transportation and game tickets. It could be as much as $800-$1000 per person if we do an overnight on Saturday. (Some of the charters are much cheaper if you leave at 3 a.m. or some odd hour but they’re unavailable with bowl football taking a bunch of planes.) I’m not trying to turn this into a “Priceline” issue. I’m just being clear on the reality of getting a chartered jet on four

Ravens will play in Miami at 1 p.m. on Sunday

Here’s the skinny on the Ravens 2009 Postseason Festivus schedule: The Ravens drew the 1 p.m. game on Sunday in Miami. If they beat the Dolphins they would return to Nashville to play the Tennessee Titans in the early game on Saturday, Jan. 10th at 4:30 p.m. As for next weekend, San Diego will host the Indianapolis Colts at 8 p.m. on Saturday night. The NFC schedule is set: Atlanta travels to Arizona at 4:30 on Saturday and Philadelphia will play the Vikings in Minnesota at 4:30 on Sunday. WNST is attempting to organize a last-minute purple charter flight to Miami, but we will not have more information until midday on Monday. The individual flights to South Florida are jam-packed for the holiday weekend. We are not optimistic or pessimistic, but will attempt to make it work if at all possible. We realize that everyone’s wallet is a little light these days and this trip would be a $600 to $800 trip. (Chartering planes ain’t cheap!) Feel free to drop me a note if you have interest in traveling to Miami next weekend for the Ravens’ first-round playoff game. If the price makes sense, we’ll do it. There are two

What a great day to be an NFL fan

If you’re looking for the “juice” in being a sports fan – the payoff, if you will – today is that day. All of the affection, all of the combine coverage, draft coverage, training camp coverage, PSLs, tailgating and Sundays spent at the game or in front of the TV comes down to one day. Today. It all either pays off – or crushes us – later today. And, wow, what a great schedule of games and interesting side stories in so many places. Can the Detroit Lions stave off the eternal damnation of 0-16 by beating the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field? (Kinda reminds me of the Week 16 “Kenneth Sims Bowl” in late 1981 between the Colts and the Patriots. We kindly called it the “Stupor Bowl.” And the Colts STILL drafted two stiffs in Johnnie Cooks and Art Schlichter in the worst draft class in NFL history!) Will the New York Giants lay down for the Minnesota Vikings or will the Bears be able to win in Houston and sneak in? Will Carolina be able to go into the Superdome and bring back an NFC South title? Or will Atlanta win an unlikely division title by

WNST Purple roadtrip in the works…

At the risk of jinxing our victory efforts tomorrow, I’ve been fielding an array of emails, Facebook IMs and texts regarding the Ravens playoff possibilities and whether WNST will be putting together roadies to Miami, New England or New York. Obviously, a Ravens victory (or a Pats loss) is imperative in any of this but since it appears we’re all planning ahead…just in case, right? LOL… The biggest issue in planning any of this stuff is three fold: 1.    We don’t know if they’re going to win so we can’t hold much of anything. 2.    We don’t know what day or time they’ll play. 3.    We don’t know what city they’ll play in. And, again, they have to WIN first… Here is what we know: If the Dolphins win, we will NOT be planning a WNST “Miller Lite Purple Roadie” group trip but we will be planning some kind of pep rally in South Florida at a location TBD. The flights in an out of South Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach) are all pretty much sold out. Without chartering a plane (which is not surprisingly extremely cost-prohibitive) getting any significant group of people into South Florida (save for

ESPN reports Flacco is having a very Merry Christmas

ESPN just posted a news story stating that Joe Flacco has earned over $3 million in incentives via his play this season as a rookie with huge hurdles and rewards in his contract. You had to know that as a first-round pick Flacco and his family would be financially secure but no one could have predicted this kind of success so early. They also reported that he’ll earn $20,000 for each victory in the postseason. Whatever the Ravens are paying him this season, they have gotten a bargain for all of the excitement Joe has provided Baltimore. Calm, cool, collected…modest…that’s our Joe!

Purple Palace finalists named later today

We are finalizing our internal tally and trying to find three finalists in the “Miller Lite Purple Palace” contest. We will be contacting the finalists by the end of the day and shooting wnsTV videos this weekend for next week’s online voting, which will be done by YOU, the WNST and purple palace fans. Stay tuned for more later in the day. Meanwhile, click here and take a look at the purple wonderland in our community. Some of these videos and pics were amazing!

Getting a grip on the Festivus activities

So, it looks like we’re getting into the playoffs. Well at least we can talk that way for a few more days and as a 10-point favorite against Jacksonville this weekend (and please note the gametime change to 4:15 p.m., which means the coldest possibilities for us) the Ravens should win. Heck, if they don’t win they don’t deserve to be in the playoffs, really. So, assuming that the Ravens are going to win this week and advance to the playoffs I started putting together playoff possibilities onto a cocktail napkin on Sunday and this is what I came up with…and I can’t imagine the NFL scheduling gods could have cooked this weekend up with a whole lot more drama than what they have – several cool matchups and playoff spots on the line in both conferences. Indianapolis can now pack their bags for Denver or San Diego. But that Sunday night game is gonna be a good one. You gotta think that the Chargers have all of the momentum and the home field. What a story that would be, digging out from 4-8 to make the playoffs. Kinda unheard of… Clearly, Nasvhille and Pittsburgh are just sitting tight, taking

Check out the cool purple videos with your football today

Like the rest of you, I’m monitoring all of the Sunday NFL action today, albeit running through an airport or two en route back to Baltimore from frigid Dallas. When we arrived here on Friday, it was 78 degrees. This morning it was 19 degrees. Right now, it’s about 34 degrees. It’s amazing what a “pep in your step” we all get when the Ravens win a game like that. From what I’m hearing and feeling at home – via WNST.net and Facebook – I get the vibe that the city is jacked up for the holidays and next Sunday’s game against Jacksonville. (My wife is talking about busting out the purple rope lights!) I spent most of the morning watching the “Miller Lite Purple Palace entries.” It’s AMAZING some of the stuff we’ve gotten for entries. Click here if you want to see all of the contestants. Feel free to comment here as well. We’ll have our three finalists selected (the WNST staff is feeding back) tomorrow morning. Usually, on a Sunday like this we’d all have to be watching some of these snowy games with a rooting interest, cheerinf madly for a team that would help the Ravens’

Ravens beat Dallas 33-24, throw a purple party in Dallas

It’s become a joke amongst the local media, calling the Ravens “mighty men.” It’s John Harbaugh’s favorite “term of endearment” and corny catch phrase for his team. Tonight in Dallas, they were indeed mighty men, dropping the vaunted Cowboys like a bad habit at home on their special night and the hyper-emotional closing of Texas Stadium. The Ravens were impressive in dispatching the local stars, 33-24 to urinate on the biggest party in the biggest state in the swan song of the state’s greatest icon on a brutally cold evening. Tonight, the real “stars” were wearing the purple helmets with the B’s. Strangely enough, it was punter Sam Koch who not only did his thing booting the ball effectively all night (including a 61-yarder) but it was the trick draw play on a field goal fake that stole the show and changed the momentum of the game. Really, who in the world was expecting that? A brass balls move if there ever was one by Harbaugh and the crew. If this team makes noise in January, they’ll look back on this bounce back from that Pittsburgh fiasco and see the huge emotional breakthroughs. They finally beat a quality opponent on

Strange, nostalgic day to be in Dallas

It’s a crazy day to be in Dallas. They’re shutting their stadium tonight amidst a potential season-wrecker if Joe Flacco, Ray Lewis and the Ravens come in a steal a victory. It’s the Ravens’ first-ever trip into Dallas, the final city they’ve never played in over the 13-year history of the franchise (not counting the Minnesota preseason game two years ago). And the civic pressure is on here in “Big D.” You can almost feel the anticipation for this game if you just drive around town and hear people talking. If the 2008 Dallas Cowboys lose their final game in Texas Stadium to get essentially bumped from a playoff spot, they’ll be all-time chumps. Especially on the backend of Tony Romo’s January meltdowns and T.O.’s loudmouthed nonsense. This game is significant here — the lead story on every TV channel and the headline of every newspaper. A big giant “love in” is scheduled for the pre-game and the in-game. The pageantry they’re putting on – and you do know that EVERYTHING is bigger in Texas – will rival what we did for the Orioles in Baltimore on 33rd Street back in 1991. If you really want to vomit and hate

If you’re heading to Dallas this weekend…

Getting lots of Ravens emails this week from folks heading to “The Big D” for this weekend’s game. My pal Bobby Nyk is throwing a purple party on Saturday for any traveling Ravens fans who might wanna drop by for a pre-game pep rally. Here are the details: “Meet Ravens fans in a safe pregame “tailgate” at the All Star Sports Bar in the Sheraton Grand Hotel DFW (the closest hotel to the stadium) before the last game to be played in Texas Stadium. Food and festivities begin at noon on Saturday with shuttles to and from the stadium.  TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE TO THE GAME from the Sheraton with a super package.  JOIN Bobby Nyk (Señor Sportsmanship) for his 157th consecutive game, and meet lots of great people.” It’s the Ravens first-ever trip into Dallas and they’re closing down the stadium this Saturday night on national TV. Should be a good time. I’ve also got my travel group from Towson Travel coming along. FYI: If the Ravens go on the road the weekend of Jan. 3-4 for a playoff game, WNST will be doing a roadtrip to New York, New England or Miami…send me an email if you want

Who has the best Miller Lite Purple Palace?

OK, we’re down to the nitty gritty in the “Miller Lite Purple Palace” contest. You can click here to see all of the palaces we’ve collected so far and the entries have been AWESOME! You could spend an hour here on WNST.net just looking at all of the cool submissions! This weekend, we’re going to sift through all of the entries – and YES, you still have four days to get your entries in to us – and we’re going to select a “Final Three.” I’m going to be dropping by these folks’ places next week to shoot some holiday videos inside their palaces and making three “finalist” videos, which we’ll screen on wnsTV. Then, it’s all up to the votes… We’ll have a winner in two weeks and those folks will be showered with WNST love – a visit from the WNST staff for some playoff football, a trip to Green Bay next year to see the purple take on Wisconsin’s cheeseheads and an autographed Kelly Gregg jersey to add to their purple palace. Go look at the purple Festivus magic on the entry page and get those final entries in before Sunday! Feel free to drop some comments

Orioles deny Teixeira will be in their MASN skybox

This whole “Mark Teixeira will be attending the Ravens game today as a guest of Peter Angelos” rumor has taken on a whole strange life of its own in the modern day news cycle. Here’s the deal: Roy Firestone (or someone impersonating him) wrote on a message board that Teixeira would be a guest of Angelos at the game and would be taking a physical on Monday. Several message boards picked up on it. ESPN reported it this morning on “Sports Center” when Hannah Storm read it. I then fired off a WNST.net text to about 4,000 people about “many media outlets are reporting” the story. Alas, to the rescue comes the team’s official website, MASNsports.com and Roch Kubatko, who are refuting any existence of Teixeira in their box or that an invite ever existed. It’s pure fiction, the Angelos family tells their employee, Kubatko. Now this would be believable if the Orioles had the reputation for telling the truth. But they don’t have that to fall back on. So your guess is as good as ours as to whether this is real or imaginary. Teixeira could certainly be home this week and wanting to see the Ravens play the

A win today paints Baltimore purple for the holidays

The next 24 hours are yet another example of how great it is to have the NFL in Baltimore. Every watercooler and chat room and bar conversation in the city is buzzing with talk of Ravens vs. Steelers. There are Ravens hats and jackets and flags out all over the place. Indeed, as the holiday music plays, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. The anticipation, the buildup has truly been a lot of fun for anyone who loves Baltimore. It’s the most significant regular season game that’s been played in Baltimore since the Toni Linhart fog game against the Dolphins on 33rd Street. It’s the biggest game of the NFL weekend and the rivalry is starting to get some true national heat for the first time since Baltimore got back into the league in 1996. We’ve ALWAYS hated the Steelers, but now they kinda hate us as much. It’s a legit “Hatfields” and “McCoys”! And at 4:15, it’s all on the line. The season, in some ways, comes down to the next 60 minutes of football against the team we all love to hate! It’s almost perfect! So, you know what happens if we win? A piece of

Does Joe Flacco have “that fire”?

In this new era of the Ravens media access under John Harbaugh, there have been many changes. Some subtle and some kinda “right between the eyes.” One of them is the lack of “all access” sound from the bench even for the Rave TV crews. I honestly don’t think very many people watched any of the team’s pre-produced shows over the years — at least very few people have ever talked to me about any of the shows — but the one glaring omission this season that was always “must see” TV for me in the past was Wired. (For the record, whenever I’ve watched their internal shows I’ve always enjoyed them. Larry Rosen does a helluva job. And I really miss Wired!) And I completely understand what Harbaugh is trying to accomplish by boxing out “distractions” caused by the “me” vs. the “team.” Don’t think the “What’s My Name?” and “RAVENS” reply isn’t lost on me. Billick and I talk about this stuff all the time. I totally get what Harbaugh’s goals were with these steps. (But that said, I miss “Hard Knocks” as well…) Knowing most of the guys on the team pretty well over the years, it

Induct Art postmortem…

It’s been a busy couple of days in my real life and I haven’t had a chance to write a full follow up to my tireless efforts last week to bring awareness to the fact that Art Modell is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and should be. (Special thanks to the many of you who have inquired about my Mom. Thankfully, She’s doing much better!) The facts about our “Induct Art” campaign are pretty clear: We tried hard. We educated. We made our case. We supported it with the expertise of many people who agree that Modell should be in the Hall of Fame. We printed 20,000 signs. We distributed them. We encouraged people to cheer at the beginning of the second quarter. We froze promoting the cause. And… Well, it all happened kinda fast. I heard the roar building behind me. I saw people standing and clamoring. The Ravens did their usual cheerleading, marketing between the quarters. I heard an “INDUCT ART” chanting brewing for sure. But then a few things happened rapidly. First, Jason Campbell snapped the ball pretty quickly. Second, it was 3rd and long and our defense was on the field so the

Miami Strategy

Watching the Colts and the Falcons get eliminated last night brings to focus the reality of today’s “do or die”

Charter trip to Miami update

My inbox and phone and text are flooding with people inquiring about the possibility of a group trip to Miami

Induct Art postmortem…

It’s been a busy couple of days in my real life and I haven’t had a chance to write a

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