idiocy. I don’t sanction stupidity.
I don’t do Beavis and Butthead radio.
If you really think that Jeremy Conn knows more or can offer more true insight into the world of sports on your afternoon drive, then I’m probably not your cup of tea. My show probably isn’t for you.
If you think Steve Davis or Ed Norris really know more about Baltimore sports or can better inform you than me, then I’m probably not your cup of tea. Of course, if you like politics and “unrest” banter, that’s also something they do over there.
But when it comes to sports, one of us is playing chess; one of us is playing checkers.
One of us operates around the clock on passion. One of us simply punches a clock.
One of us actually has a blog that you’d read. And you’re here reading it now.
One of us writes books about championships and tweets from the locker room wherever the Ravens go and would do that from the Orioles locker room (but I’ve been banned from doing my job after 21 years of reporting on the baseball team).
And the folks at 105.7 The Fan – not to mention every other fraud down on Calvert Street and over at Pressbox and beyond – all seem to think that it’s OK that a legitimate journalist has had his access banned for speaking the truth.
That is the ultimate indictment of their integrity – watching me and my media credentials hung in the town square by Peter Angelos in 2006 and all of them have kept their mouths shut and their wallets open during the last decade.
Only cowards behave in this fashion. And certainly no journalist or legitimate media entity should ever turn a blind eye to tyranny or intimidation but, remember, Mr. Angelos writes them a significant check and is a cranky business partner.
My work over 31 years of covering Baltimore sports speaks for itself. I’ve always stood up for the fans (even when many of them don’t even understand the risks I’ve taken or the stances I’ve made on their behalf). I’ve always told the truth. I’ve always asked smarter, tougher questions and demanded accountability. And I refuse to pander to stupidity or lower my bar for information and facts.
The others simply cough and enter through the press gate at Camden Yards.
Be careful who you trust with information!
I’m locked out from doing my job after 21 years of covering Baltimore Orioles baseball.
Meanwhile, a station full of bartenders over at CBS Radio has full access as a flagship to the Orioles and doesn’t even use it.
I think the word is otiose.
Meanwhile, 105.7 The Fan is M.I.A. as an entity when the Ravens travel more than two hours away from Baltimore. And the rest of the time they’re cozying up with the worst sports owner in the history of the city and muted from opining in any serious fashion about the future of the baseball franchise, which is once again in very turbulent waters.
And, of course, if they report any real facts about the Orioles and how they operate, Mr. Angelos might call Bob Philips and threaten to break up again. That is, if WBAL would even have them back again? In case you haven’t noticed, the radio broadcast rights of the Baltimore Orioles have been like a hot potato over the last decade since John Angelos got cozy with Bob Phillips years ago.
And here’s the bottom line on Orioles broadcasts on the radio – they’re simply not moneymakers or drivers of an audience any more. And as an art form, they’re terrible and have been ever since Jon Miller got fired for telling the truth. And they’re a lot of work. And they’re unpredictable programming with rain delays and late games.
Oh, and then there’s the part about your free speech and being able to take legitimate phone calls about the baseball team being muted the nanosecond you think about going into a business arrangement with the Angelos family. Steve Davis might remember a little of this from his WBAL radio days. I certainly remember it.
Now, us right-thinking folks on the internet realize that you can’t mute what is said about anyone or anything in 2015 the world of social media. But you can control the quality of the information and the level of intelligence in the discourse of your own content.
And there are many ways to do that without taking random phone calls of
