Coming back home and wanting to see Ravens win the big one here

Longtime sports executive and Baltimorean David Katz comes home for a chat about Ravens Festivus hopes and dreams of Las Vegas Super Bowl. Will Lamar Jackson fulfill his purple destiny? That’s why we watch the games…

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

team, baltimore, week, year, play, super bowl, sports, run, lamar, game, ravens, vegas, david katz, nfl, home, orioles, win, left, point, coaches

SPEAKERS

Nestor J. Aparicio, David Katz

Nestor J. Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home we are wn St. am 1570, Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive.com We are getting back out on the streets beginning February 5 with the Maryland crabcakes. one of a handful of the gingerbread scented Oh snaps I gave away like I think this is all I have left on my holiday Maryland lottery giveaways. I was up at Hollywood casino for the Joe Flacco experiment. And the peacock aversion on Saturday night will be hopefully back there for Super Bowl March we’re gonna be doing the Maryland crab cake tour five consecutive days live unprecedented charitably beginning on February the fifth I’ll have more details for that. This guy probably be at Las Vegas if I know him but he’ll be in Baltimore this week. He’s a longtime sports executive and that makes him sound like a big shots don’t get all overwhelmed with him. I mean, he’s just one of us spikes vo guy now down in Miami, sunning himself after a long time out in Los Angeles, California, running things for Fox Sports as well as Yahoo and other places. He is cats man do and it’s sort of a lifer afflicted Oriole and raving fan and coming home this weekend. What’s up David Katz? How are you man? Good to have you back on the program. I guess if I’m having you on a January either. Oh ish. It’s broken. We have to fix it or hey, I’m coming in for a playoff game and here it’s gonna be cold.

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David Katz  01:31

That’s what they tell me it’s going to be really cold. And this will be the first time I come back to Baltimore. where my parents are not there. They sold my my home my childhood home with 50 years. And I’m staying in hotels and crashing at Friends places the very unusual feeling for me to not have a home base there but I will not be missing. What I hope is the next two weekends of ravens football be coming up for this weekend and hopefully God willing the following. I think

Nestor J. Aparicio  02:00

if I’ve ever really spent the night in a hotel room in Baltimore I have one night I remember on purifi I lived in a hotel for 19 years right so like you don’t I mean like so I you know, I don’t know what to say. But I’m trying to think like I’m just trying to think even when I was single something happened and I wound up somewhere I can’t even I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a hotel room at the Hyatt or at the show. Well I paid a couple with with Marvin on lights before he thought he was getting fired where we drank wine and a pizza. And that’s usually like the Hilton or what but I don’t I’ve never spent the night in any of these. I don’t think so Howard does this a first for you i hotel night and Baltimore.

David Katz  02:37

It’s a very strange feeling. I came up for a game in October I stayed at the Pendry because I wanted the full Baltimore experience Attaboy. And it was awesome. It was actually great to kind of be downtown. I’m a county kid. So to be downtown to spend the weekend there was was great and kind of reinvigorates you. As to all the warm feelings you have for being a Baltimore native so

Nestor J. Aparicio  03:02

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it’s like you asked me what it’s like to like live in Towson now, like I moved to like some awful place like fallston or like sparks, you know, like not in the city anymore. You know, like, I don’t know, I live downtown and I loved it. And there are days I miss it. I was in Manhattan all day on Thursday. See and Billy Joel I went up for the day. And I get my jam, you know of like, walking the streets and doing all that and I don’t know, I find myself in Baltimore. I’m craving a meat cheese like literally right this minute because I haven’t had it a couple of weeks and I’m getting I’m gonna need some meatballs. But yeah, I mean, there was a point where like, when you if you didn’t really live in the city, you’ve and you’ve left the city that you don’t think about it so much, but like then your parents sell their place and you’re like, Hey, I got a place to sleep. What am I gonna do? He sold

David Katz  03:49

it one year too early. This is the year you need to hold on to it between the Orioles and what’s happening here. This would have been a good time to have a home base. Hey

Nestor J. Aparicio  03:57

man, the dude that bought my condo with this view was it is a huge Oriole fan the guy that lives in my old unit that I lived in for 19 years that actually Harold Reynolds lived in when he was an Oriole strangely true story. Alright, so let’s get to this Raven thing dude. And we’ll evaluate the rest of all of this your give everybody a little bit of your back because I want to like I can kiss your ass answers executive sports and digital and all that pictometry where you are in life and basically what this means to you because you’re flying back up for this dude you’re probably on the field in New Orleans probably and I don’t know about Tampa where you were in your life I was I’ve been thrown out I’m doing a completely different thing for for the Maryland food we’re going to do something special something that we’re going to grow with but like do you expect to be in Vegas? You got fly make it give me your a couple of weeks here.

David Katz  04:45

Sure. Well, the Tampa game was my first ever Super Bowl that I that I had ever attended. I think at this point. I’ve got something like 20 of the last 22 or some some kind of crazy number. And thankfully you know the the EEG has has credentialed me in my organization for many of those years and I’ve been in the locker rooms and I’ve been on the sidelines. I did spend three years running the digital business for Fox Sports and we had a Super Bowl in Miami and pre COVID the one the one month before COVID.

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Nestor J. Aparicio  05:18

That was the last sort of normal way. Luke and I went down. We had Cuban food. We saw you. You had a little Ray Lewis Ed read you shindig and like, Yeah, I mean,

David Katz  05:28

yeah, hosted the reunion. And we had coached him, you

Nestor J. Aparicio  05:36

know, I hosted that weekend. That was a pleasure for me. Vincenzo Testaverde. Oh, he was the last great guest in Miami. I mean, that was a great Super Bowl dude and Chris Carter had really meaningful conversations with a lot of people and you were part you’re running it you’re part of it right? Well, yeah, it

David Katz  05:56

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was it was very cool to be there as a part of Fox Sports and we had the setup on the beach but also to have the access on the field and when you are the the broadcast network of the Super Bowl, you get unparalleled access. You know, I I had hired Drew Brees, Joe Montana and Brett Farve to sit in a room and do the first ever watch party. They call them watch parties now. Peyton Manning or Manning Cass fun story, I actually offered the opportunity for Peyton Eli and the Manning family to do the first ever NFL watch party. And I won’t get into all the details. We offered them a large sum of money. And everyone in the family wanted to do it except for one person wasn’t sure then decided not to do it. They saw what we did with FAR breeze in Montana. It was a lot of fun. And I walked I walked Drew Brees out onto the field before the game, which was a very interesting experience because that’s where he had played in one, his only Super Bowl. And this was at a time where he had finished what they thought was his last year in New Orleans. And was he going to come back for one more year. So we had him do our event and we walked him down and I was just standing behind Drew, as he kind of walked out on the stage out onto the field actually didn’t have field access. So he had to talk his way out there. They wouldn’t lose ring yield. I had to say to the guard. This gentleman won a Super Bowl here and he’s with us at Fox Sports could you let them on? And he said only if he stands here in the corner. They wouldn’t let him really walk the field. But I’m standing behind drew I have video of this of him just kind of walking out with the buzz before the Superbowl event. And he’s soaking it all in. And I knew in that moment, if I could have bet this, I would have Drew Brees was going to come back for one more year. He was not out of his system. And he ended up coming back for one more year. So yeah, I’ve been blessed to be in and around these games. I was in the locker room last time the Ravens one is as I know you were and there was just something special. That to me, was the most special event I’ve ever had. Because even though I had the credential, I bought the ticket so I could sit with my dad and watch the game. It was his first ever playoff game despite being a lifetime Baltimorean and then I sent him home so I could go into the locker room for the postgame interviews and festivities. And I have pictures in there. And memories that that I’ll never forget. So yes, I will be in Vegas. I bought that ticket A while ago, but I was planning on going whether or not the Ravens made it before they went on what was a very strong end of the season.

Nestor J. Aparicio  08:28

Well, I haven’t made it yet.

David Katz  08:29

So you know, I’m saying like so I I am. I have PTSD, like a lot of Baltimore sports fans over 2019. And over what this whole thing represents this year, I think we are all entirely uncomfortable with the idea of being the hunted as opposed to being the hunter. We are much better as the underdog as the hunter, where we’re playing with a chip on our shoulder because we’re disrespected. And now as the number one seed, you are the target and you are the hunted. And we will see if this team is different from the Ravens teams have passed, which did not handle that pressure particularly well, for a lot of different reasons. So I don’t count any chickens here. Before they hatch. We are going to Vegas, and I’m hoping a lot of my Baltimore friends are joining me but we won’t know that for for another, you know, couple of weeks. David

Nestor J. Aparicio  09:21

Katz my guest longtime sports executive. He’s down in Miami via Baltimore and Pikesville. A little bit of a Baltimore accent. I’ll still you know, it’s kind of still there a little bit. At least when you come on with me. It’s there. It’s fine. Turn it on, turn it off. It’s all good. It’s a good week, turn it on here. I guess as you make your way up here. I would say this, if I were writing Purple Rain three, and I’m not but if I were this is a fascinating team and that they were never behind. They never had to play from behind. They may not have to. They can win three more games and not have to play from behind. The notion that Lamar has changed into a pocket passer can be that now we found out that Josh Allen can Fake sliding and get back up and run 50 yards, how Lamar has got to try that every week, right? Like, I mean, and if you’re a defender, knock his head off, take the 15 yards. That’s how I coach it, just just blow him up, blow him up, blow up, take the 15 yards, take the fine what it did blow him up, because he can’t. You can’t have that I thought about how crazy that would be. I don’t know how these weeks are gonna play out. But I’ll say this to you and you and you and I get together every three months or so I think we were together right in the baseball run in October. And we sort of you know, check in I put the thermometer in, see where you are and you know where your sports executive mind and your sports fan line and all that stuff that where you would be. And all along I think we believe this would be really hard to do. I remember talking to Dave shine and over the summer about whether the Orioles or the Ravens would be the first ones to have a parade he said neither because it’s that hard to do. I can’t really bet on one or the other in any era no matter how good they are. Because as the Cowboys asked the Eagles how that went last year, and now they’re gonna fire their coach and it’s all over 48 weeks after I mean, Billick was 13 Three that he was unemployed right? You know, hardball has made it a long time Tomlin walked off the dates, you know it pissed off because they’re asking about his contract. So I would just say for me, Purple Rain three in in doing this in writing this would have in my mind, thought like the Joe Flacco route, beat the Andrew Luck, go on the road beat the Patrick mahomes beat the Josh Allen and then beat the Jalen hertz or whomever it is in the Super Bowl. This is like a different kind of story this year with the by with the Bengals being out of the way with the Jaguars falling apart with and teams always sort of fall apart this time of year for injury. You’re down in Miami. I mean, I don’t think the dolphins stunk or couldn’t when they got just so banged up. They couldn’t win. And we’ve been a part of that the last few years right where we didn’t have a quarterback. But this notion that they’re going to play this rookie quarterback and the rookie coach at home is 10 point favorites on a really cold day against the dome team. And I have my own questions about Lamar in cold weather. I really do. I don’t think it’s a benefit at all. But it’s 20 degrees, the Ravens. That being said, it might be worse next week if they win who knows right? I know one thing next week they survive this week, they’re gonna get Allen or they’re gonna get mahomes They’re gonna and I don’t know the Buffalo has no heart of a champion. They have a heart of an almost champion. Same thing as Cincinnati. Same thing is Philadelphia. I mean, until you win, you don’t win and my Holmes is the guy. Yeah, I’m expecting mahomes to go give them hell in Buffalo this week. But the pathway to doing this might be rock poverty. And I mean, by the time Flacco got the kapernick it was like you beat Brady and Manning. That’s a quarterback League. Lamar is the hunt that Lamar is the best of all of them proceed to such MVPs different harder to defend all of that being said, not perceived as better than mahomes. I don’t think as moms as belts, but doing it this way where they’re gonna do it at home. They have a team that might have been out of the playoffs a week and a half ago had things worked a different way. And you know, I respect Houston, but I don’t say this is easy, but this is the path of least resistance that they have found themselves on from playing great football and staying mainly healthy in November, December.

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David Katz  13:25

Look, I think the whole rest versus rest situation. It scares me that this team which had so much momentum that was clicking on all cylinders wasn’t going to play their starters for 19 days or whatever the number is. That seems like a very long time. And between what happened in 2019, what happened with the Orioles when they had the layoff in the FBI, if you will? I think we’re all a little concerned about that as Baltimore fans, and the way it’s gonna play out to me, you know, you mentioned the team has not been down all season. What happens if there’s two quick scores? For the Texans or next week? Let’s say it’s Kansas City and buffalo were down 17 to three at the start of the second quarter, we’re down 14 nothing or 10? Nothing. And we haven’t been in that situation. Is this a team with the maturity to not panic and to just chip away and play good football, smart football and smart coaching? Or is that does the panic under the pressure set in where harm starts going forward on maybe questionable fourth downs in a way that he hasn’t this year? Analytics be damned, but he hasn’t been quite as aggressive this year. Partly because the math is he doesn’t need to he’s got the better team and the better personnel. But what happens because we’ve seen some pressing from coaching and from players in the past and is this you know the new Lamar where he’s not going to press he’s not going to try

Nestor J. Aparicio  14:58

to enter the four quarter down seven points. It gets a little people get a little crazy here, because you’re one mistake away from your season being over, you know what I mean? Like, and they haven’t been one mistake away from their season being over, really since 2009. I mean, last year, yeah. And I’ll give you all that. But they were playing on borrowed money the whole time, they had a chance to beat Cincinnati last year. So that’s good experience for all the guys who played that game last year. And remember the disappointment of walking off a playoff field a loser. So I, I tend to forget that because I never really gave me the chance to win the Super Bowl last year. But they did play in the playoffs, right. So so we, we we want to give them the experience of doing that. And we think well, Lamar has only won one playoff game. And I do think to your point of hardball, sending Billy Cundiff out there to shank a kick with a timeout in his pocket like that, that’s kind of crazy. They’re gonna put him in the Hall of Fame after that, right not a lot, let alone his brother cheating and about to get another 100 million dollars to go run to chargers or whatever outfit that they want to run with. But, but the red flags, the challenges, the managing of the timeouts. crowd noise here what that represents defensively, what that represents on a cold day where people don’t clap, and it won’t be as loud in that stadium. It just can’t be because it’s too cold to be that loud. I know this from from real history. That’s why that dome in Detroit was crazy. Because it was five degrees outside and it was 74 inside. So I know these games play differently, and they are played differently. The Texans are the hot team right now. Right? Any and you knew that when you take a week off at the Ross versus rest, you’re gonna get the hot team, you’re gonna get a team that won, and maybe won an impressive style last week as they did. I don’t know, there’s any reason to love the Houston Texans and 20 degrees with a rookie, rookie quarterback and a rookie coach, all the more reason is, you better not lose to them. Right?

David Katz  16:51

That’s exactly right. And I think when you hit him in the foot and hit him in the mouth early, and you’re gonna have to get to the quarterback, then you’re gonna see how they react. But I think this isn’t about I’m not worried about any players. I’m not worried about our coaches, I think we are plus plus, in terms of advantage across the board, we have the experience, we have a team of coaches that know these players, and have put them in positions to succeed. This is the Lamar show, Lamar has to be on his game. And if he’s not on his game, he can’t force the game he wants to play, he’s going to have to move to the other game, whether that’s running, whether that’s doing you know what he’s done in the past, shorter passes, not long passes, whatever it happens to be, but the team has so many weapons, and there’s a lot of variety. And I think the coaching staff is going to be better prepared this time. And obviously without Greg Roman, who basically telegraphed the playbook and the Titans knew exactly what we were going to run having played us previously. The variety that mungkin brings to the table. I watched these games NAS like you do, and it used to be I knew what the team was going to do before they did it. You watch enough ravens football, you know, the tendencies, whether it’s run, run pass Pong, you know, you know, the play this year on any given down, I can’t tell you whether we’re going to run or pass. I can’t tell you whether it’s going to be a screen or a sweep or a longer pass down the sideline. There is so much creativity and uncertainty that you put on the part of the defense that I think we can call a really good we have a lot of tools here arrows in our quiver. And we’re very different team that candidly, one but didn’t play great in week one against the Texas Team where CJ shroud was a true rookie, whereas I don’t think he’s really a rookie now. So it’s going to be a very different game. Lamar stats were pedestrian in that game, even though he’s very efficient as a quarterback 169 passing yards, he threw a pic, he didn’t throw a touchdown. He got sacked four times. So he didn’t have a stellar game. And Lamar is now playing at a stellar level. So I think everything is leading us in a very significant way. But I just want us to kind of get out and impose our will early and not have the pressure of a tight game. Where again, as you said, One mistake can end your season. David Katz

Nestor J. Aparicio  19:17

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is here he is in Miami he’ll be back in Baltimore. He is of Pikesville and longtime sports executive at Fox Sports as well as Yahoo back in the day and you don’t anything you want to plug other than just getting married being in love kind of hanging out down south beach mean, dude, it’s cold up here. Bring your parka bra I mean like seriously, like this is gonna be different kind of visit for you.

David Katz  19:37

My blood is thinned greatly and this this will probably be the coldest game I’ve attended since the game that I saw you the miracle of Mile High. That was the last one.

Nestor J. Aparicio  19:49

We had a picture together at that game. Yeah, the

David Katz  19:54

greatest sports moment I’ve ever it

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Nestor J. Aparicio  19:56

was pretty good to tell that story a little bit. Because like you were going to leave, because you were living in LA First off, it was just really, really cold. Like I can’t. I was in the press box and I had heaters my wife brought the little heaters your break open. We had them in our shoes and our hands. You could see your breath in the press box. You know the cost is behind me with three layers. Aziz got his scarf on. Like, we were freezing in the press, but my fingers were icy in the press box. But seeing that ball go up in the air from the angle we read in the press box was cleared out. Everybody had left the press box, because the game was over. Everybody’s gone to the elevator. The only ones left are Ozzie Eric, me and my wife, everybody else left and that ball went up in the air from my right to my left. I watched it go up. I watched your Kobe get under the ball. And I’m like, I grabbed Jen. I’m like we got a shot like and I grabbed her as hard as ever cry. Well, I grabbed Kevin egg pretty hard at the rate Louis game in Tennessee. You know, one is I remember Kevin and I went had a pretty good that any upper deck that day. But I grabbed her the ball went up. And like you almost missed it or like you had a flight or you got stuck in Denver where it was godly. You had a thing that they were it almost didn’t happen for you. Right Great,

David Katz  21:14

great memory. So I brought my girlfriend at the time up from LA she had never been to an NFL game. We went met you pregame she from LA had she ever been cold. I you know what she was not from LA. But this was definitely one of the colder days she’s ever had. And if you remember in that game, every quarter ended tide. We went up the tide it man. So it was this extraordinary drama The way it was playing out, up until the very end. So I had I had lead contacts, let’s call it that at the time. So when they came out with the time that it was like a two o’clock kick or something. I called my contacted the league and I said, Can I make like a 730 flight out of Denver International? Oh,

Nestor J. Aparicio  22:00

no.

David Katz  22:02

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Unfortunately, they said, they said, Oh, for sure you’re gonna be able to make won’t run past five, whatever, you’ll make the eight o’clock flight 730 flight, no problem. So I booked it fly up, fly back. And this game out if you also remember, it was taking forever for them to spot the ball and reviews. And it was just like the most laborious game ever. Administratively before all the craziness. So we get to feel like

Nestor J. Aparicio  22:30

a five hour game. I mean, it

David Katz  22:32

was it was it was maybe longer than that. And when you get to the end on if you remember this, but you know, the Peyton had the ball. We had like one time out left, all he needed to do was convert one more first down and the game’s over. So I looked at my girlfriend and I said, if we don’t leave now, we will not make our flight and I’ll have to rebook our flights, get a hotel room, all to watch two and a half more minutes of Payton taking a knee and us losing a game. I’ll be pissed off Ray Lewis his last game, I’ll lose my mind to have to go spend another $1,000 On top of that. So I said, should we go? Let’s go.

Nestor J. Aparicio  23:11

This makes all the sense in the world because I’m thinking about it at that moment. Because at that moment, there are five times in that game, you’re convinced we’re gonna lose. At least you you were convinced we lost, not going to lose your convention. We’re going to lose we had lost yet right. But yeah, I mean, just this game

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David Katz  23:28

is over. And then we walked down the stairs, we’re outside were to have the luxury of being in a press box. We’ve been sitting outside since we got in at 8am That morning, having drinks with you at the tailgate, and then we’ve been out the whole time. So we get down to the bottom and I look at my watch and I’m thinking to myself, I run out of this stadium. And how am I gonna get a cab? This is like pre Uber. How am I gonna get a cab? Am I gonna make it? And then the real thing that hit me having lived in LA for 20 years, was I hear the stories of my friends who left the Kirk Gibson game early, because there was no way the Dodgers were going to win and they heard the home run from the parking lot. And I turned to her I left the

Nestor J. Aparicio  24:10

Lenny Dykstra home run game at Shea Stadium early, just so you know, I did. It happens.

David Katz  24:15

I left I turned to her and I said, if this is my Kirk Gibson moment, and I work in sports, and I miss it. I will never forgive myself. Screw it. I’m getting the hotel. We’re spending the night we’re going back up to our seats. Gangnam Style was the number one song in the world at that time. The stadium was playing at the timeout Gangnam Style. That Stadium was shaking. And I come back and all the the Broncos fans are hazing me Oh, you’re coming back for more? What a loser. And they’re just taunting me. And when you settle back into our seats, and I just stand there and I witnessed the greatest sports moment I’ve ever seen. When Peyton did they decide really not to throw the ball and Not to go for the first down they get conservative Peyton arm never forget,

Nestor J. Aparicio  25:04

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you know what I’m gonna do for you. I’m gonna do for you as a gift to you here at Baltimore positive. I’m gonna get Brandon Stokely on a Monday we’ll talk to him about it. Okay. What do you think about because I’ll do it under the guise of it’s all Super Bowl 35 and the catch and all that, but I’m gonna hit Brandon with that because Brandon, like talk about that.

David Katz  25:24

And there it was. And then by the way, we went to two more overtimes. Let’s not forget, that was the end of regulation. And then it was an overtime where no one scored and then another overtime before we our rookie kicker, Justin Tucker, put us through, but what a game what an experience.

Nestor J. Aparicio  25:44

And just one for the ages. He is David Katz, his cats man do out on the interwebs and still loving sports and loving with her. So let’s get executive minded here because you were the one Todd Monken left Greg Roman, right, all of that crazy time in the sport right now right with Bella Jack and the cowboys and big jobs and who knows what happens at the Eagles after what they did. And you know, Tomlin walks off and maybe that’s his way of saying, I’m either gonna get a new gig here or I’m gonna go get my another gig because like he’s not going to play with a one year deal and live under the am I going to the playoffs or the 18th year in a row or whatever the number is, right? So all of these seats start to shake a little bit. I mean, if Andy Reid wins another one, or doesn’t maybe there’s movement there, right? So you have all of these Pete Carroll Seattle, Mike rebels knocked down a job. Everybody thought that my dude Dan Quinn was gonna get a job to pull up the guys and almost won a Super Bowl. Damn right. And he I like him. He’s a Saulsbury guy. He’s got some local ties, and then they go out and put the turd of a lifetime up with the cowboy so it’s hard to hate the cap. I like bones fossils so much. And I I liked Dan Quinn so much just can’t like the Cowboys. So you got to feed this like the Eagles you can’t like, like Jason Kelce. I’m like, I’m fine. But I think a roof warm again. It was hard enough that rooting for the Browns last week, it feels like I still need a bathroom, all of that. And now that it’s over with but coaching. And the notion that there’s royalty and the hardball bloodlines, right at this point. If especially if hardball wins three games here and you get his brother share and his brother comes back and they’re gonna play in the championship game next year. It you know, in the AFC because that’s probably going to take an AFC job. Maybe you won’t I don’t know. I don’t I don’t know what your Jim Harbaugh have you back in Michigan cheatin more, I don’t even know. But the coaching thing and how Brian Billick would always say to me, he said this to me so many times. I can give you a line. I’m not going to let them bring a truck up behind my building and take my coaches out of here. That’s how he would always say it. They’re not going to bring you all here to haul Marvin in racks and Mike Smith and Jack Del Rio. They all became head coaches, every one of them you know every one of them. And I do by the way, Chad fish just got a big job in Washington. And he was another guy in the tree right I’m Facebook friends with Chad fish. Anthony Weaver said

David Katz  28:08

your friend of mine we spent a lot of time in LA together when he was with UCLA and then the Rams Jed has done a phenomenal job

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Nestor J. Aparicio  28:16

yeah but the tree right hardball now has bowled in the hardball family and McDonald’s going to have a pic of three jobs right when this is all over with and they’re all going to hold up waiting. We’re all going to figure out next week who they really want. The Falcons haven’t hired anybody or whatever Tennessee. There is a real chance that and I don’t know what John’s terms are with these guys, they might lose five or six coaches and not let alone they’re gonna wind up losing players right? They’re gonna have to tag Mata BK I don’t want to get too far ahead and I’ll call you a month after the parade when you’re still getting champagne out of your hair and your two tickets to paradise hangover and your cigar out in Vegas. We’ll talk about it but it is a little now or never. And it’s always now we’re never when you’re in this position now. Right? Yeah,

David Katz  29:01

I mean, look, it was now or never the year I thought Ray was gonna retire Lee Evans drops the ball kind of misses the field goal. And I was I’ve never been more heartbroken around a sporting event that I had nothing to do with other than be a fan than that moment. Because not just that the loss and what it meant. It was what it meant for the players. We grew up watching those iconic players. I thought that was it for Ray and Edie and those guys, and then they were able to come back the next year on a team that wasn’t as good as the team the year before and when at all. So it’s a very mercurial sport and the way things play out there is despite what they say in the media, and the ads, there is no script for this. But yes, it feels there feels like a sense of urgency because you make it through and everyone’s knock on wood seemingly healthy for the most part outside of you know, JK and and it just feels like this team is poised to do it. So these are those mo and you have a quote unquote down year from a home’s where his receivers can’t catch the ball. And Kelsey is distracted by Taylor Swift. And it just seems like and the bills don’t look as dominant as people think they are, because they want a bunch of games here at the end. And they certainly had been tested and made it through, but they haven’t played a great dolphins team and things like that. So there is no phenomenal team out there that I look at that, I’d say, Man, the ravens are not as good as the ravens are on paper, the best team in the NFL, and we need to execute and it should be our year. And if it isn’t, man, that’s where it feels even even worse, because you know how rare these moments are. So let’s try to enjoy the next what I hope is the next few weeks, where the world starts, you know, again, talking about us and our team and our city, and all the moves we’ve made, and how smart we are as an organization. And let’s try to try to make it make it work. And then my question for you is, if the ravens are somehow able to put this together and win one, what does that mean for us? Does our ownership, you know, to Steve Ashada, who I think is truly the best owner in the NFL, or one of the best owners and all professionals

Nestor J. Aparicio  31:14

on your show one day, but go ahead.

David Katz  31:18

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What, what does he do? Does he sell the team? Is he done? Does he tap out? Or does he say man, I need more of this,

Nestor J. Aparicio  31:27

by the way? That’s, um, I think he taps out. But I think there’s a big price to tap out and people waiting in line I happen to know people are waiting in line to take it. Yeah, I would think that if you want again, you know, I mean, even John at some point, he ain’t gonna want to do this. I don’t think he’s that close to. It looks like John still having fun with this. But I don’t know because I’ve been thrown out which really should speak to it could have been you. So just think about that. So David Katz is here. He’s Kathmandu, you can find him out doing all good things on the interwebs all good things in his real life and in Miami. I’m happy he took all this time off this sports executive stuff and found some happiness. And did he give me some stone crabs here? Just Well, I mean, what happens here this time of year?

David Katz  32:12

I don’t even need to pack them in ice. I just got to get them to Baltimore and they’ll stay chilled. So works out perfect.

Nestor J. Aparicio  32:18

Yeah. Bring out a little mustard for me though. Oh, yeah.

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David Katz  32:19

Plenty of that. For you with I

Nestor J. Aparicio  32:23

guess the big picture in this is seeing the other side and seeing the NFC side. I feel like this is a little treacherous, right like navigating Houston as a 10 point favor and a cold day. You know, they should win. If they they better. I keep saying they better win. They better win. They better win. Next week navigating mahomes. Allen, whoever wins will be the hot team. Right? Whoever wins will look awesome. Because this is a slugfest on Sunday night if we’re sitting around waiting for it. But then there’s the Super Bowl side of it. Man. What happened in Philadelphia, what happened? What they did to San Francisco, what they did to Detroit during the course of the year. You mentioned not being behind they were hot behind for a minute or two with the Rams, you know, lead they did have to play a little catch up with the Rams. But they have steamrolled teams. I cannot fathom them getting to a Super Bowl and losing. Like if they were to navigate this side. It would feel like two weeks of let’s fire up the band for the parade. And I know it’s not that we mentioned Dan Quinn. It’s not that easy, either. But it does feel like the NFC side of the Packers, right like and the Buccaneers and I’m thinking to myself, these aren’t good football teams. These are certainly aren’t elite football teams.

David Katz  33:33

I think Patrick Queen said it best when he said it’s basketball on turf. That is what the NFC appears. And when you play a completely differently structured football team, which is built from the trenches out, which is meant for physicality. I don’t think these teams are prepared for the way the manner in which they get hit the ferocity in which they get hit. And the relentlessness in which they get hit. And that’s why Lamar is whatever he is 21 and one against the NFC it’s not all tomorrow, though Lamar has been great. It’s a combination of two things if you don’t see Lamar a lot, it’s really hard to prepare for him. And it’s a second thing which is you don’t play up against defenses that are that physical very often. And the NFC is not the physical League. Occasionally there are physical teams that make it through but it is not a physical league. And I think that is why look at who the 40 Niners lose to this year they lost to the Browns right? They lost to us. And did they lose the either the Bengals or the Steelers? They lost to one of them I think as well. They didn’t have a great record against the AFC north. It’s a different style of football and especially this time of year now they’ll have the benefit of playing in a in a dome stadium out and out in Vegas. But still you get hit in the mouth like that. It’s not going to feel pleasant.

Nestor J. Aparicio  34:51

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Fans are not going to feel pleasant about this. You said you’ve been to Super Bowls to Dad Yeah, it cost a lot of money cost disney world money. It was a couple grand I ranch trips are three to five grand which it’s not chump change. It’s a big deal. It’s it’s become Tahiti money, dude. You know what I mean? It’s a $10,000 ticket. It’s you know five days in Vegas getting scalp for everything in a sterile environment to fly into the desert if you love Vegas grade or whatever, I I don’t know I like I don’t know many are people are gonna people call me Are you doing a trip I’m like if I did a trip it’d be 15 grand now like and like, and God bless you if you have 10 grand to do it. People just went to Europe. They played out on the west coast a couple times this year. Right. So they’ve Pete the fans have fans have money ready for the Orioles? At various points, too. You know, I’ve seen the ticket prices dropped this week, every fan and I think it’s not that we’re gonna scout their tickets to somebody else. And now they’re all like, I want 250 Well, it’s gonna be 15 degrees, you might get 100 bucks for tickets. People are maybe saving up a little bit, but I think there’s gonna be an incredible sticker shock about Vegas see them

David Katz  35:58

this will be the most expensive sporting event in the United States history. This will be the most expensive Superbowl ever for a combination of factors. The NFL has raised steadily raised over the last five years, they saw the secondary markets, they saw what ticket prices were going for. They said give me some of that they increase the face value. If you can even get a ticket from the league, the face value for a lower bowl seat is going to be 567 grand face value before it goes on the secondary market. Upper Deck you’re looking at several $1,000 for the quote unquote get in price at face which no one’s going to be able to get on top of that. This is one of the smaller stadiums in the country. Allegiant stadium is a fantastic stadium. I’ve been there for for the Ravens game when they played out there a couple years ago. It is a great stadium. It is accessible, it’s easy to get around. It’s a great place to watch a game but it’s also very small supply and demand. These ticket prices are going they’re gonna go very high. And now the question is like if it’s Detroit and they have seen whenever it’s gonna be beyond if it’s San Francisco they got a ton of money there. Green Bay I don’t know not quite as much but they’ll still have a bunch of fans who are interested in seeing this version of the Packers the Cowboys was going to be the one that if it was cowboys Raven bank rake the bank beyond with the cowboys out those prices are certainly going to come down a little bit but yes be prepared it’s going to cost an absolute fortune to go to the Super Bowl this year and there’s no way around it and

Nestor J. Aparicio  37:39

they got to Joe Stone Crab in in Vegas I’ve been I get some stolen data catches your he’s cats man do still doing the good work still loving the Orioles still loving the Ravens baseball ran a corner we gotta lease now. So at least a for I’ll shut up for five and a place in the Dominican as of this morning, right? So you know you’re wearing your Oriole, look, city connect gear there, I see what you’re doing. You know, there’s, if it doesn’t work out here this week or next week, or God forbid three weeks from now. They’re stuck. There’s a baseball season here which

David Katz  38:10

is beautiful. I know. It used to be so depressing when the Terps were bad and there was no you know, March Madness to look forward to and the Orioles you knew were going to be bad. But now it’s it’s a little bit of an embarrassment of riches to have the number one seed in your various conference slash division in the two big sports for the city. What a blessing. So we got to enjoy this. This has been an unbelievable season. We have an unbelievably fun team to watch on top of it. It is such a pleasure to watch these guys play on both sides of the football. And let’s not forget this is this is entertainment and entertainment business and we truly have many of the most entertaining players in the sport on both sides. Well

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Nestor J. Aparicio  38:52

and emerging players to Kyle Hamilton and guys that are going to be ze flagged guys to get have a coming out party along with Lamar and along with Odell Beckham and I mean no Quan Smith would be a coming out party for him because he hasn’t had his flowers, you know. So it’s a great football players. Great football players step up in the big moments. So we have big moments beginning at 430 on Saturday, David Katz, formerly of Fox and if you want to promote anything, or do you know nothing, nothing. Look,

David Katz  39:19

I still have my company, the postgame. We work with leagues, teams, athletes and brands. We do video production and social media work and media rights advisory. So we’re in and around the sports space. And I spent all my time thinking about how this sports media landscape is changing. You know, you had a game on peacock exclusively on peacock. It was the most streamed event in the history of streaming in our country.

Nestor J. Aparicio  39:45

And you can find it at Hollywood casino because I’ve given him six bucks. I’m one of those I mean, Nah, just you know, like I thought it was the NFL does a lot of things that you know, are a bunch of guys get together in a boardroom but when it actually sits on this Read. It’s offensive. I mean, you know it is it’s offensive. Some of what they do is offensive. For sure.

David Katz  40:06

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Yeah, that look, they do it because they can. It is the national pastime now, fans cannot get enough of this sport. And you add in what Fantasy has become you add in sports wagering and all of that stuff. It’s only making it bigger. It’s only making it so that you care about games you never in the in the past would have cared about. And the network’s know this, this is truly the only Mussi programming. And when you look at I think of the top 100 shows on television last year, I think 93 of them are the NFL. So what are you going to do?

Nestor J. Aparicio  40:39

Right, right. You don’t have the biggest series, you have the thing above the biggest series, right? Because it’s, it’s ongoing, and it lasts all weekend. And it’s 10 hours a day, Saturday, 10 hours a day, Sunday, 10 hours a day on Monday, even when it snows they figure out a way to you served Martin Luther King Day. So and I’m sure we have not seen the last doubleheader on Martin Luther King Day, which I’m sure they’ll wrap a bow around it and get some money away. And there’ll be a 430 kickoff every year for Martin Luther King.

David Katz  41:06

Remember when Christmas Day used to be Christmas Day, I remember Christmas Day was Christmas. That was an NBA that was an NBA experience. And then this year, the NFL kicked the college football playoff off New Year’s Eve, because of the NFL, and then they move to New Year’s Day, which is probably a better a better setup. I’ll tell you one more thing you’re gonna see. They’re going to add one more week to the season. Okay, they’re gonna they’re gonna add one more week to the season and the way this because 17 just isn’t the right number. 18 is the right number. Look, I’m to all my people out there. But 18 is the right number. And what’s going to happen is they’re gonna push it back one more week. They’ve already moved by the way the Grammys has moved off of this week, the NBA All Star is kind of sitting there waiting, they’re going to end up moving. And the Superbowl is going to end up on a holiday weekend which everyone said they should have made the Superbowl weekend a holiday weekend, a national holiday. They’re going to move it to Presidents Day weekend in the middle of February, and everyone’s going to have Monday off and Sunday is going to be Super Bowl Sunday. That’s where it’s going. You know it you can see it at some point they got to get the CBA but there’ll be more money there when these new TV deals kick in. And everyone will sing Kumbaya, but that’s it two preseason games 18 regular season games ending on Presidents Day weekend. What’s more American than that?

Nestor J. Aparicio  42:24

And Superbowl 69 in Wembley Stadium. So there you have it. David Katz is here. He will be monitoring Super Bowl 58 We’re almost there. It was 11 years since the last one in purple rain too. I’ve done the Apollo Creed I see him in the gambling ads now Carl Weathers she’s been on the show Ngobeni no rematch or Purple Rain too. So there’s a Purple Rain three cats. You write it all right, I’ll be I’m gonna be doing the cup of soup or bowl. We’re gonna be doing some charity beginning of February 5, not radio row crabcake row done locally all week long. beginning February 5. I got my Costa shirt on. We’ll be there on February 6, kicking things off and fake these on the fifth will be a Coco’s on the seventh, which is Wednesday, Thursday to State Fair in Catonsville. And then on Friday, hopefully, purple Friday Super Bowl purple Friday will be a Pappas and Cockeysville. That’s February, the ninth I am Nestor we are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore. Positive Stay with us.