It’s always a great excuse to visit with an old friend when their team is on the path of winning a championship after a life of sports misery. So, seeing the New York Knicks soar gave us a chance to visit with longtime ESPN writer and one-time colleague of Nestor at The Baltimore Sun and lifer Knickerbockers fan Jerry Bembry to discuss his NBA sportswriting life and orange and blue longing since 1973.

Nestor Aparicio and Jerry Bembry discuss their long-standing love for the New York Knicks and the current excitement surrounding the team’s NBA finals appearance. Bembry shares his history as a Knicks fan since 1969 and his experiences covering the team, including the 1994 and 1999 finals. They reminisce about their time at the Baltimore Sun, where Bembry transitioned from news to sports writing. Bembry also talks about his recent work in video production, including documentaries on Coppin State and Kobe Bryant. Both express their emotional connection to sports and their hopes for the Knicks’ success.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Arrange and schedule Jerry Bembry’s daughter as a guest on Nestor’s show (coordinate dates and participation details).
• [ ] Send links to the Coppin State documentary and the Kobe ‘Eight on Eight’ documentary to Nestor so he can watch them (Jerry said he’d send the links).
• [ ] Coordinate a Brooklyn visit and pizza meet-up (walk Nestor around Brooklyn and get pizza together); confirm date and meeting details.

Nestor Aparicio’s Introduction and Upcoming Events

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the show, mentioning the Maryland Crab Cake Tour starting next week at Sorrento of Arbutus.
• He talks about various partners and sponsors involved in the tour, including the Maryland lottery, GBMC, Farnham, and Dermer.
• Nestor mentions upcoming events, including a stop at Green Mount Station in Hampstead on the 24th and plans to visit Coco’s DiCostas.
• He shares his background in sports radio, starting in 1991 with Kenny Albert and his previous work at the Baltimore Sun from 1986 to 1992.

Nestor’s Early Career and Memories at the Baltimore Sun

• Nestor reminisces about his early days at the Baltimore Sun, starting as an intern boy, agate clerk, and newspaper fetcher.
• He recalls Jerry Bembry, who was a journalist at the news side, wearing a wild collection of New York Knicks gear into the newsroom every night.
• Nestor talks about his transition from news to sports, eventually becoming a sports writer at ESPN.
• He expresses his excitement about the Knicks making the NBA finals and mentions Spike Lee as the other notable Knicks fan.

Jerry Bembry’s Knicks Fandom and Memories

• Jerry Bembry shares his long-standing love for the Knicks, starting from their first championship in 1969 when he was seven years old.
• He recalls the lean years in the 1980s when he was a heckler at Knicks games, calling players like Kenny Walker “Street Walker.”
• Jerry talks about covering the Knicks in the 1994 NBA finals against the Houston Rockets and the 1999 finals against the San Antonio Spurs.
• He expresses his excitement about the current Knicks team and their chances of winning the NBA finals.

Nestor’s Reflections on Sports and Media

• Nestor reflects on his love for sports and music, mentioning his travels to see Springsteen and Rush.
• He discusses the challenges of being a sports writer and media member, especially in the current political climate.
• Nestor shares his emotional connection to sports moments, such as the Ravens winning their first championship and the Orioles’ past glory.
• He talks about the unique experience of covering sports events, including the energy at the Garden and the excitement of being at the Final Four.

Jerry’s Transition to Video Production and Documentaries

• Jerry discusses his transition from sports writing to video production and directing documentaries for ESPN.
• He mentions his work on a documentary about Coppin State and another on Kobe Bryant, which is available on ESPN Plus.
• Jerry shares that his daughter, who won an Academy Award for her work on the documentary “Summer of Soul,” is also involved in video production at ESPN.
• He expresses his enjoyment of the deeper storytelling that comes with video production and his plans to continue in this field.

Nestor and Jerry’s Memories of the Baltimore Sun

• Nestor and Jerry reminisce about their time at the Baltimore Sun, sharing memories of working late nights in the newsroom.
• Jerry recalls his early days as a news reporter, covering the police beat and government, and his eventual transition to sports.
• They discuss the support and mentorship they received from colleagues like Jack Gibbons, Marty Kaiser, and Molly Dunham.
• Nestor reflects on the lessons he learned from his time at the Baltimore Sun, which helped shape his career in sports journalism.

Jerry’s Knicks Fandom and the Current Team

• Jerry talks about his emotional connection to the Knicks and his excitement about the current team’s performance.
• He shares his experiences of attending Knicks games, including a memorable game in the 1980s when he was a heckler.
• Jerry discusses the Knicks’ history, including their lean years and the impact of players like Willis Reed, David Bush, and Bill Bradley.
• He expresses his confidence in the current Knicks team and their chances of winning the NBA finals.

Nestor’s Love for New York and Sports Memories

• Nestor shares his love for New York and his experiences of attending sports events in the city.
• He recalls attending a Springsteen concert at the Garden and the unique experience of being at the venue.
• Nestor discusses the challenges of covering sports in the current media landscape, including the impact of billionaire owners.
• He reflects on the emotional connection to sports moments, such as the Ravens winning their first championship and the Orioles’ past glory.

Jerry’s Experiences Covering Sports Events

• Jerry shares his experiences of covering various sports events, including the Final Four and NCAA regional games.
• He recalls the challenges of meeting deadlines and the excitement of being at major sports events.
• Jerry discusses the changes in media access and the impact of money on sports coverage.
• He reflects on the golden age of sports writing and the importance of objective reporting.

Nestor’s Career and Future Plans

• Nestor reflects on his 35-year career in sports radio and his plans for the future.
• He shares his love for music and his plans to continue covering sports events and producing content.
• Nestor discusses the importance of staying connected to his roots and the lessons he learned from his time at the Baltimore Sun.
• He expresses his gratitude for the support and mentorship he received from colleagues and his excitement for the future.

Nestor Aparicio 0:01
Welcome home. We are W N S T A M 1570 Tassell Baltimore. We call this thing Baltimore positive. You can subscribe, find us, listen to us. We still have an AM radio station at AM 1570 We’re gonna be out doing the Maryland Crab Cake Tour, beginning next week at Sorrento of Arbutus. That’s on the 10th. We will have scratch also the Maryland lottery. We’ll be giving away also our partners at GBMC and Farnham and Dermer, the Comfort guys, putting us out on the road for the Maryland Crab Cake Tour. I got a whole bunch of stuff going on. 24th we’re going to be at Green Mount Station in Hampstead, and I’m putting together some new places, and of course, we’re gonna get back to Coco’s DiCostas. I’m hoping to do some World Cup stuff a little later on this month, as well, in my previous life, lots of folks wonder, you know, how did your hair get so long? How do you know all these rock and roll guys? What’s the sports gig? Nasty. This is my 35th year doing sports radio in Baltimore. Began in 1991 with Kenny Albert, but from 1986 to 1992 I worked at the Baltimore Sun. I was intern boy, agate clerk, newspaper fetcher, Chinese food getter, block searcher for sandwiches at two crazy Greeks. Sometimes they run me over to the 711 to get a hot dog over Broadway. Sometimes I’d be at the KFC up on North Avenue at like 3am Jerry Bembry was then news side, he was a journalist. He came down from New York, and he had a wild collection of New York Knicks gear, and he would wear it into the newsroom every single night, and there was, you know, David Simon’s over there, and Alvarez is over there, and right, right, and Dick Irwin is on doing the police plot, or you’re laughing at me. And then all of a sudden you became like a sports guy, and you’re at ESPN, and you’re writing about the NBA, and this and that, and I just.. I haven’t had you on the program, probably 15 years, dude. ESPN, everything you’ve done, leaving the Baltimore Sun, it is good to visit with you, and you know what I’m doing, and honestly, dude, no, no offense with you, and I’m trying to find Hilsen and his daughter, and like half the other rest of the newsroom, it’s still out there. The Knicks finally made the NBA finals, and I thought, like, I can only think of you and Spike Lee, the only two Knicks people I know. So, how the hell are you, man? Look at all you got. You’ve got all your Willis Reed gear out here, your Clyde stuff. You’re ready to go, man. Oh, I’m

Jerry Bembry 2:26
ready to go. You know, back here is my Bernard King jersey that was given, gifted to me by some staff members at the Baltimore Sun when I was there, because they knew I loved the Knicks so much. And my daughter had a little jersey with the Bembry on the back, so that’s her jersey, and I have my Knicks towel that I bought out. There’s a Knicks hat up there. How many times you

Nestor Aparicio 2:44
take your little girl to the garden to see the Knicks play when they were 18 and 37 on a cold night in January, and I mean to tell you, the Knicks have sucked since Ewing period, like, and you know

Jerry Bembry 3:00
they were, they were awful team, and you know, I go back, I’m a Knicks fan since the first championship in 69 so I was seven years old when they won that title, 73 I was 10 years old, and follow that team, and that’s everything that broke my father’s heart,

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Nestor Aparicio 3:13
is what you’re doing, right, everything that broke Baltimore, probably with the Mets up there, right,

Jerry Bembry 3:20
yeah, that

Nestor Aparicio 3:22
going on, you know, we

Jerry Bembry 3:23
had sports on unlocked back then, so that’s when I really fell in love with sports, watching the Knicks, and this is the Willis Reed, David Bush, and Bill Bradley, Earl Monroe, Clyde Frazier, Jake Barnett, Phil Action Jackson, so it was just a great time to be a sports fan, and then we had the lean years. I remember my brother in the 1980s worked at the New York Stock Exchange, and they had season tickets to the Knicks, and they would give him tickets because nobody else would go to the games. And so we’re sitting in the eighth row, and there’s nobody in the garden, and I was, you know, at the age of 20, early 20s, I was a heckler, man. I used to get on those guys all the time relentlessly. You were the Robin Picker

Nestor Aparicio 4:05
of the garden. I was the

Jerry Bembry 4:07
Robin Picker of the Garden when I got the tickets to go to the games. I was the guy I remember when Kenny Walker came there, and I would call him Street Walker, Kenny Street Walker, Sleepwalker. So, and everybody heard, everybody heard everything I said, so those were the lean years, you know, Ken Banister, Eddie Lee Wilkins, Louis, or so I’m glad that the Knicks are back at this level, you know, I’m saying this, and I have my credential from the 1994 finals when they play the Houston Rockets, I covered it for the Baltimore Sun. That was the first finals I ever covered for the Sun. And then I was there in 1999 when they played the San Antonio Spurs. So, yeah, I have some great memories of following this team, some some bad memories, some great memories, and I’m just so happy that they’re at a level now where they are competing at. At a top level and competing for a basketball championship.

Nestor Aparicio 5:04
Well, man, you, you’ve done a lot of work and a lot of sports writing and stuff. And I would say this 35 years into this, anybody that really knows me, I’ve been traveling around seeing Springsteen, I’m running around seeing Rush next week, and Brian, at I love music, and sports to me has become what I’m known for, and it’s what I do, but like to say that I absolutely enjoy it the way I used to, based on the way I’ve been treated as a human being, as a Venezuelan, as a fan, as a community member, as a media me. The media get shit upon in a general sense, from Trump down, but what sports has done for me, I don’t know where that moment would be for me, unless the Houston Oilers come back to life, and Dan Pastorini’s, you know, giving it off to Campbell and throwing it to Renfro, right? Like that, I would feel that way that I felt when the Ravens won their first championship, and I’ve talked a lot about that this week, and Raymond Berry passing this week, and talking about what the Colts meant to this town, there is a point for all of us, and I think it would ever happen if the Orioles won here, where you know, maybe you’d shed a tear, maybe you wouldn’t, maybe you wouldn’t like them, maybe I don’t know, but the stadium’s empty right now, the Orioles going through that period where they had this glory thing, where Palmer still associated the way Clyde was always there, you know, in the suit next to Marv or even Kenny, you know, my dude, and like, and you wonder, is it ever going to happen again? I hope it never happens for the Flyers fans, just between you and me, but you know, but seriously, in the, in the vein of the Orioles, now being 43 years, I remember going to the Garden when the Rangers in 94 were in the finals, and they were yelling, you know, 1967 whatever the year is, that the last time that anything happened, man, for the Knicks it’s been 73 right, like, like, right, I mean, and you know, I grew up, the Knicks were like, you know, household item, that’s why Spike Lee, and it felt like they should have been the brand in New York that would have been what the Lakers had been, or what the Celtics had been, which is competitive enough to at least come up the mountain once more than every quarter of a century for you old guys that have been with it, but sports is hard, and I think it’s hard to stay with it when the team stinks forever and ever and ever, and then you get back on, and you start thinking about Clyde, or in my case, Cal Ripken, or Kiko Garcia, or you know, John Loewenstein, or things that make me happy from 50 years ago. But it, do you feel the same way? Will you be emotional? Will you want to, like, climb poles at 34th and seventh if they win, or would it mean as much to you as it meant in 73 it

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Jerry Bembry 7:43
will mean as much, and yeah, and I’m pretty sure I will shed a tear, and I will be at the parade if a parade happens, and so you’re not cheated

Nestor Aparicio 7:50
from your time in sports as a sports writer.

Jerry Bembry 7:52
Oh, not at all, you know, it’s you go to games and you control your emotions on the press table, because that’s your, your objective to that, but I remember going to that 94 finals, and you’re kind of sitting on my hands, because I know I have to report it objectively, but I know I’m a fan at heart too, and you know we, we had some lean time in the 80s with the with the Knicks, where they had players that nobody wanted, and then in the 90s we had good teams, but Michael Jordan played in that era and denied the Knicks and other organizations from winning a championship, so the Reggie Miller

Nestor Aparicio 8:29
thing was delicious, right? Like that’s still, you know, that that simmers 30 years later, right? Oh

Jerry Bembry 8:34
yeah, absolutely, the Reggie and the shots and the choke sign, so, so yeah, it’s it’s been an up and down journey, and the 2000s weren’t that great. The last time we were in the finals was 99 and Patrick Ewing was hurt, and so we had no shot of winning in 99 He was, he didn’t play in the finals, so you know we, our team, and this is the only time Nestor that I can say we, right? I don’t say what we with anybody else in terms of sports, but with the Knicks, I always say we, that’s why I brought

Nestor Aparicio 9:02
you on, because I know that’s who you are, you know,

Jerry Bembry 9:04
and we have a strong team, we’re healthy, and you know, we’re going against the alien, we’re playing the alien, and when being in this NBA finals, and it’s going to be a tough task, but I really like our ability to bring a title back to New York, and if it happens, I’m gonna be just as happy as anybody out there. You see the Knick fans going crazy in the streets, and I might be one of those guys.

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Nestor Aparicio 9:27
Are you in New York? Do you live in New York these days?

Jerry Bembry 9:29
No, I have a place in.. I’m actually in Silver Spring, Maryland. I have a place in Brooklyn too. Still live here

Nestor Aparicio 9:33
then. So, yeah. By the way, Jerry Bembre is here, long time ESPN, undefeated. My dude, I haven’t had a yawn in a long, long time, I mean, before video, so at least I get to see all the next stuff, I guess, from my heart to you, and it’s not even on the quarter off, because you’re not even supposed to win this thing. I’ve been in New York a lot lately, I’ve fallen in love with New York during this century, and when I worked there, Sporting News, 25 years ago, and they put me up at the Marriott Marquis, and $800 rooms, and you. Mickey Mantle, I didn’t like New York then. I had all that anti that Baltimore angst, that Jeffrey Mayer thing was, you know, like all of that going on. And I love going to New York now, and I like drinking beer around the garden. I like going to the garden. I was at the garden two weeks ago to see Springsteen. I always say anything at the garden’s worth more money, because it’s just such a magical experience to be at the garden, even though Dolan’s an idiot, and if he sees me, get my face, it’s my facial recognition, don’t let me in, you billionaire goofy. So there’s part for me where, if that were the prick that owned my team, I, you know, like I’m at that point in my life where these billionaires have gotten this shitler running the country right now and bombing people and doing crazy things that, like, I’m not anti-billionaire, I’m anti-billionaire, taking my picture when I walk in the garden, but I, I would go to the sphere this weekend, I would go to the garden last weekend. It is amazing that the Knicks have been, I mean, the, the Oakley thing, and how their alums were treated at various points, that New York bubbles all of that, but they’re in the semifinals a week and a half ago, and I’m there when things were bubbling, and I remember being there when the Rangers were in the finals in 94 and it was absolutely electric, and seeing that throng of people, and I did a bunch of times with the Yankees too, like the Yankees won plenty, I was at Yankee Stadium three different times when the place went crazy, and champagne’s flying, the White Horse, and Wade Boggs in 96 So I’ve seen crazy stuff, but dude, I remember you walking around the Baltimore Sun newsroom 40 years ago wearing that Knicks jacket that Spike Lee made famous during the early before Ewing was even there, Ewing might have still been at Georgetown at the time, but nonetheless, for you, you haven’t won, like you haven’t had that thing like Orioles fans, and I guess that’s my feeling as I put Oriole Park behind me to say, you get this close, like the Orals got to the ALCS in 14, which I thought during the Angelo’s era a miracle, you know, and didn’t, didn’t pitch a drop, didn’t win a game, barely scored runs, barely scored runs since for you winning this thing. What encapsulate that for me as the writer, Jerry Bembry, because there are very few things left in life where you’ve been chasing your team for 50 years, waiting for them to win, and they get close, you already think they might. This is a tough week. You already said that. You know, they might not win, but my God, what if you win four games to one and catch lightning in a bottle here this week? How are you going to react to that?

Jerry Bembry 12:31
You know, I’m on a text string with a bunch of New York Knick fans, Mike Fletcher, former Baltimore Sun, Evening Sun reporters on that text string, and I mean, we, yeah, that’s right, and we just go nuts on every game, so we’re actually going to the casino on Wednesday to watch the game as a group and kind of take it all in, and so you know it’s a, we’re going to get together, watch the game, be excited, and we all, we all love our chances with this thing, and you know it’s you’re a fan, and even through the lean times, like you get a lot of fans who jump ship, so you know a lot of people will follow LeBron where he goes, or you know, if the Chicago Bulls are no longer good, they’re going to follow another team,

Nestor Aparicio 13:19
that is a modern thing, if Lamar ever left the Ravens, they lose a portion of their fan base because they’re Lamar fans, they’re not Ravens fans. Yeah, right, yeah,

Jerry Bembry 13:28
but yeah, but I’m a die-hard though, I mean, and

Nestor Aparicio 13:31
that’s what I love about you, man.

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Jerry Bembry 13:33
Always been a Knicks fan through the thick and thin, and so to be at this level, you know, and we, for the last couple years, we’ve been close. I went to the Garden a couple years ago when they played the Miami Heat in the playoffs, I think it was the conference semifinals, and just the excitement in the building is just tremendous. And you’re right, you said you went to a concert recently at the Garden, everything is different, the energy is different. I’ve been at Staples, or whatever they call that arena now, and a lot of the other

Nestor Aparicio 14:02
greatest place to see anything, it really is.

Jerry Bembry 14:04
It really is. So I’m excited to see the energy. Sorry, I won’t be there for the games when they, when they get to New York, but you don’t have 10 grand

Nestor Aparicio 14:15
to sit courtside this time.

Jerry Bembry 14:17
Yeah, you know what, in the media seating, little different, Nestor, because in 94 the media set right behind the basket up right now. If you’re not a local beat writer, you’re sitting at the top of the building at this newly created area at the top of the building, and the slightest bridge

Nestor Aparicio 14:31
is that. Yes, that’s it.

Jerry Bembry 14:32
That’s it exactly. I sat

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Nestor Aparicio 14:33
there. Listen, I sat there for game seven of Rangers and Capitals a decade ago. I ran into Trump that night, of all things, yeah, yeah, that was, but it was game seven, caps, trots, the whole deal of Etchkin, they lost, they should have won game five, they had game five, they were up with 30 seconds left, and, and, and blew it, but they won the cup the next year, so it’s fun, but I was up there on that glass bridge, it’s the greatest hot. Seat in the world, yeah.

Jerry Bembry 15:01
Yes, right. But basketball’s a little different spoil.

Nestor Aparicio 15:07
We all were, dude. Yes, we were, dude. I covered, I covered Dr. J’s last game at the Spectrum, and last game at the Capitol Center. So I was a playoff game against Jack Sick, my set, and Mike Wilbon was sitting next to me, but we were in the middle deck at the Spectrum, you know, even then Cats owned the team that gave us potato chips, I think, in the pregame spread and flat soda, as I remember it, but on the court at the Capitol Center with Abe, I mean, I was on the row next to, you know, the announcer, I forgot his name, but he had a great, we got a great boy, Mark, what’s his name, Mark? But either way, the announcer at the Capitol Center, I sat on, on the.. I mean, Dr. J would spill into my lap if the ball went the wrong way. I mean, we had seats back in the day, we really did, right? Oh, we..

Jerry Bembry 15:52
it was great, even when I was a beat writer with the Baltimore set, and we sat right near the bench. But I’m gonna tell you a story real quick about Dr. J’s last game, so his last game in New York. I wanted to be there. I think I’m still a news writer for the Baltimore Center. I hadn’t shifted to sports yet, and so I was trying to find an angle to get into the garden, and there was a guy I mentioned him earlier, Eddie Lee Wilkins, who played for the Knicks, who was a guy that made done two years in the league, and I just, I called his hometown paper in Georgia, say, hey, you know, I have an opportunity to go write a feature story, and Eddie Lee Wilkins at the Garden, would you guys be interested? And they said yes, and so that’s how I got my credential to see Dr. J’s last game at the Garden, is through Eddie Lee Wilkins to the Knicks, who is angling

Nestor Aparicio 16:37
back in it, you’re real angler, man, you

Jerry Bembry 16:40
always have to angle, always have to work the angles, and, and I had a great seat. I was like in the third row, you know, covering Eddie Lee Wilkins. So, yeah, the game is different now. It’s, you know, we don’t cater to the media anymore, unfortunately. And I’m not saying cater to, but at least treat them a little differently. And everything is about money, and I miss those days where you can actually be on top of the action, you can hear the conversations on the court, that was a great era of sports, and I solely missed that,

Nestor Aparicio 17:08
you know, John Eisenberg, our former colleague, calls it the, you know, the great era of sports writing, you know, is what he called, yeah, golden age of sports writing, I think is what his words were for it,

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Jerry Bembry 17:20
yeah, and speaking of John, you know, I directed a documentary about Coppin State a couple years ago for ESPN. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but you should if you haven’t. I’ll send you a link, please.

Nestor Aparicio 17:31
My cop and gear,

Jerry Bembry 17:32
oh yeah,

Nestor Aparicio 17:33
sponsored here with Dr. Jenkins. Sure, absolutely.

Jerry Bembry 17:36
And so John Eisenberg was one of the people we interviewed, John Eisenberg, Paul McMullen, and we did a document

Nestor Aparicio 17:43
on Fang, on Fang.

Jerry Bembry 17:44
We did an ESPN documentary on Coppin State, and the rise of that program from nothing in the 1970s going into the 80s, and to building that program where they beat Maryland, and they beat Missouri, and they beat all of these top schools, and became a threat, and they won that 1997 NCAA tournament game against South Carolina. So we, we did it from the rise when the copping, when, when Feng arrived, until when they won that championship. Oh my god, I absolutely need

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Nestor Aparicio 18:13
to see that. Jerry Bernie is here. He and I have been friends and colleagues for 40 years. I, I arrived at the Baltimore Sun on January the sixth 1986 I was 17 years old. My parents had to sign a permission slip so I could join the newspaper, go. And then we went on strike, you know? You know, I was out holding, holding the holding the Spike’s, yeah, out on the back.

Jerry Bembry 18:35
I remember, when did

Nestor Aparicio 18:37
you get there? I, because I was right around that time, we were so

Jerry Bembry 18:40
you got there in 86 I got there in 85 and I was a news reporter, and they hired me to replace David Simon. David Simon was the night police reporter, and they wanted to shift him over to day cops, the world. That’s why I knew you so well. We were always in

Nestor Aparicio 18:55
the newsroom late at night, because I worked 11 to seven, I worked the overnight shift, and I went overnight at Dick Irwin, you know, I mean, and, dude, I damn site brought you some Chinese food back from Young’s. I know I did. I don’t know, you put in the order, but that box was big when I carried it back.

Jerry Bembry 19:13
Oh man, because you mentioned the two crazy Greeks, I think you mentioned that I brought

Nestor Aparicio 19:17
you, I totally brought you sausage with peppers and onions or something at three in the morning, and I remember Raphael

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Jerry Bembry 19:22
Raphael Raphael Alvarez introducing me to Matthews over at Eastern Avenue in East Baltimore, which is great pizza, the best, best pizza in Baltimore. So, those, those are the days, and that was, I mean, I really enjoyed that era of the Baltimore Sun, that era of journalism, even even though I wanted to be at a sports product report at the time just to come into the news and cover the overnight shift with the police beat and being exposed to all the chaos that was Baltimore. When did you become a sports

Nestor Aparicio 19:50
writer? It wasn’t long, like I left in, I left on Martin Luther King Day, january 15 of 92 I was there six years and nine days at

Jerry Bembry 19:59
the Sun.

Nestor Aparicio 20:00
Had a lot of bylines, man. Like, it’s amazing how much music I wrote, how much sports I wrote, how much hockey I wrote, like that. Those are my fangs. But I was omnipresent newsroom all night, ready to go get you guys food. I mean, I was just all I wanted to do was work. And still, to this day, I’m still four in the morning. I like to work. It’s my dad and me, you know. I just grew up that way in Dundalk, but like I know you loved sports so much, and you hung out in the sports department, and you were just angling to get into sports. Milton Key was another guy, like a lot of people that wanted to, that used the news to get into sports. I was already in sports, all I wanted to do was hang out with rock stars and hammer jacks and cover hockey games. I wanted to be Ken Rosenthal. I mean, I wanted to be the baseball beat writer. That was where my heart, and, and I really wanted to be a columnist, and I turned out 40 years later to be all that in a bag of donuts. But I am so indebted to you, all of you, all of you that were adults when I was a knucklehead, who taught me the right way to do things, and what a fact is, and what fiction is, and how to ask questions, and how to press on bullshit, and that’s why I say to people to this day, I’m like, I grew up in a newspaper newsroom when I was 17 years old, and all of you were my parents about what’s right, what’s wrong, and what’s fact? So I find myself in this strange situation, but like you pushed your way into sports, and you never, I mean, you never went back to anything other than sports, right? Yeah,

Jerry Bembry 21:31
that was it. And my angle was that you’re absolutely right in describing it that way on my off days working as a police reporter, and then I became a courts reporter, and then I covered government on my off days. I went over to the sports department, said, “Hey, can I cover some high school games for you guys? And so I was doing some of the local high school, I was at Lake Clifton, I was at Dunbar, I was doing those high school games on my off days, and then after years, a couple years of doing that, I remember Marty Kaiser asking, said, you know, do you want to do you want to work in sports? We have an opening, and so I came in and I did Navy football, and I covered copy, and UMBC, and Towson, and all the locals. Were you Elliot

Nestor Aparicio 22:11
Usilac era?

Jerry Bembry 22:12
I was there. I covered that era. I sure did. Oh man, I tell those stories

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Nestor Aparicio 22:17
of going down to that boat house on Tuesday. I covered the team that out in Grizzard, who was murdered. I was

Jerry Bembry 22:22
on, I was covering that squad. Yeah, you and I had a lunch

Nestor Aparicio 22:25
together. I mean, we was whoever was on the beat, maybe Doug Brown couldn’t do it because of something else, and I got, and Jack would send me anywhere. Jack, God, I love Jack Gibbons. Yeah, I love him so much more than he loves me, but I love him, and like he sent me down, he would send me anywhere. He sent me to do a women’s PGA golf final in New Jersey. Wow, because Reg had it coming down here to Baltimore the next year with Annika. So, like, I just became.. I covered triathlons, I covered stuff where I didn’t even know the rules of the sport, and Jack didn’t care. He’s like, ‘You’ll learn, you’ll write. He cared so much about me. You know what I mean? Those, yeah, those guys would send me to stuff I was not qualified to cover. Yeah, you were qualified to cover government or news. You probably were figuring all that out as you were going along, right? Yeah,

Jerry Bembry 23:16
I was. I was figuring out, and even thrown in the mix in the sports department, you know. They, one of my first assignments in sports was to cover an NCAA regional, and you know, you have the first round games, I think it was in, where was it, I was in Boise, Idaho, I think, and I’m covering like a slate of six games in one day, or eight games in one day, I’m like, you know, I’m still covering one game and on deadline, it’s like, how do you do this? I’m at the first game, and not have to go into, get the interviews for the first game, and miss the second, so I didn’t know it, and so it was just kind of thrown into the fire to do it. I may have missed the deadline that day, but remember fact

Nestor Aparicio 23:55
checking when there was no internet? Remember that?

Jerry Bembry 23:57
Yeah, that’s right, that’s right, that’s right. And so, so yeah, thrown into the mix to really learn how to do that. I covered the Final Four, my first full year in sports, which was, which was great. And so, yeah, they gave the Baltimore Sun gave me some opportunities, Jack Gibbons, Marty Kais, Molly Dunham, just a great, great people to work with. We had such a great staff there, and, and, so, yeah, I enjoyed my years at the Baltimore Sun, man. Just a lot of great memories there,

Nestor Aparicio 24:25
you know. These days, with what you’ve done in feature writing and long form, and going out and sourcing out stories at ESPN, give me just a little update on you, and what you’ve learned at all, because we haven’t talked about any. I mean, we talked about the Knicks, and what it means to you, in your heart, and your fandom, and like, and that’s why I brought you on, but I mean, you’ve covered heavy issues, and you know, certainly your entity’s taken on heavy issues culturally that I’ve already alluded to here in this thing, you know, we’re in a weird space with sports, and about to with this sports washing of World Cup coming here, that like.

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Jerry Bembry 25:00
Like

Nestor Aparicio 25:00
the bad guys and the mafia with the money, they’re running our government. They’ve ruined sports. I don’t know what this Rubenstein guy is for my baseball team. I remember when Bashadi was a real guy from Severna Park. Now he’s a guy who doesn’t wear socks on a yacht and banning the media, you know, doesn’t show up, doesn’t front face the fans, you know, the Justin Tucker sleaze from, let you know, like just, just all of it. It’s made me not cranky or angry, just not so jaded and wide eyed that I can be a fan boy after doing this work for 40 years. Jerry, you know, I mean, I’m not 15 and in the newsroom anymore, running around in my Oilers jersey, you know what I mean, right,

Jerry Bembry 25:40
right, right, yeah. My approach now is that I’ve done two, two documentaries for ESPN, so I did the documentary on Coppin State back in 2021 and last year I did a documentary on Kobe Bryant, that’s on ESPN Plus, and it was a different approach to it, it’s it was called Eight on Eight, and it was like eight individuals who are just people who had these random encounters with Kobe Bryant, and so I’ll send you a link to that one as well. So that’s my what I want to approach the business now. I think that covering sports on a day to day, you know, I can do it, but I get more enjoyment from the video aspect of producing and directing, and so that’s that’s the lane I’m into right now. My daughter, we, she, she co-directed the Coppin State documentary with me. She won the Academy Award on them, so the poster for Summer Soul. She was a producer on Summer of Soul with Quest Love, and they won the Academy Award, her team. So, and she, she’s a producer with ESPN right now, and so it’s, it’s in the family to get her

Nestor Aparicio 26:44
on the show. Then she’s shot in the family, she’s

Jerry Bembry 26:47
the big shot right now, but, but yeah, kick you sideways,

Nestor Aparicio 26:50
say once the Knicks lose in the finals, I’ll get your daughter, but if they win, I’ll get you both back. All right, oh

Jerry Bembry 26:55
yeah, absolutely, absolutely, but yeah, see, it’s it’s a, it’s a different approach to storytelling, you get deep, little deeper into it with the video aspect, and that’s what I enjoy doing right now. So, that’s I can see that being my future, doing more documentaries and more video production.

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Nestor Aparicio 27:12
Man, he came a long way from wearing that Knicks think, you know, running around with Dick Irwin on the murder beat in Baltimore. Yeah, that’s

Jerry Bembry 27:19
right. And my daughter wears that jacket now? It’s up in New York now, and so every now and then she’ll drop by my place, especially when the Knicks are hot, and she’ll put that jacket on. So, so, yeah,

Nestor Aparicio 27:28
she looks like Spike Lee in that jacket, because everybody looks like Spike from that jacket.

Jerry Bembry 27:31
Yeah, I guess from a height standpoint, probably. Yeah, Spike won the show

Nestor Aparicio 27:35
before. I mean, you’ve encountered Spike a million times down the court, right?

Jerry Bembry 27:38
Oh, yeah, he’s diehard passionate. My place. place in Brooklyn is not far from his studio in Brooklyn. My place is Clinton Hills, and he’s in Fort Greene, and out of down the street from where his dad, you know, his bike grew up. So, yeah, Brooklyn is even though the Nets are in Brooklyn, Brooklyn is strongly behind the New York Knicks and the whole city, and I’m meeting Nick fans everywhere who are coming out of the woodwork now, because the Knicks are winning, and so it’s a really, really good time for the city.

Nestor Aparicio 28:09
I got a color TV, so I can see Knicks play basketball. That’s right, that’s right. I collect, I collect on early 1970s belt buckle. So there’s so there’s my last question. It’s not a trick question, and I don’t know the answer. Okay, okay. So, you know, when I grew up, early 70s, you know, I liked reading and stuff. My parents turned me on to the electric company, and I remember they had a hot shot thing that Willis Reed did, and Morgan Freeman was a part of the electric company back in the day, and they had a whole Knicks thing about Hot Shot, and they featured the Knicks, and I was five years old. My dad hated the Knicks because of the bullets, and because of, you know, and all of that. I, my aunt lived on Knickerbocker Lane in Newark, Delaware, all of my childhood, so I would go up there and see Knickerbocker Lane, and I’d say Knickerbocker. I don’t know what the hell a Knickerbocker is. Can you do? You know what a Knickerbocker? I don’t. I really don’t. It’s like a Hoya, or like some of these sports things that I’m like, you know? I know what a Raven is. You know, I know what an Oriole. What’s a Knickerbocker? I don’t really even know.

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Jerry Bembry 29:18
I can’t even tell you, Nestor. Yeah, cuz I I want

Nestor Aparicio 29:23
to find out what is a.. I hope it’s not anything really bad. I think it was like Knickerbocker shorts, halfway shorts. I thought there

Jerry Bembry 29:32
was like an older looker guy, older looking guy dressed up in a certain way in a different era. Knickers,

Nestor Aparicio 29:41
knickers are pants, or my, they’re like the pants that go below your knees, like, right, right, right. So, are you ready for this? Knickerbocker, according to Miriam Webster, established in 19 or 1828 Knickerbockers, knickers number two is a descendant of the early. Dutch settlers of New York, a native or resident of the city or state of New York, used as a nickname. If you are a knickerbocker, you are a New York settler.

Jerry Bembry 30:10
Yeah, and so the logo I’m looking up, the logo that I remember, and you probably can’t see it here, but that’s the New York Knicks logo. It’s like it’s an old guy with the knickerbockers on, so that’s what I remember. So he did have

Nestor Aparicio 30:23
Nicky, he did have Nick’s on, like short pants,

Jerry Bembry 30:25
yeah, yeah, he had to like the Knickerbocker shorts. And yeah, we discussed this

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Nestor Aparicio 30:29
dude. And this is the logo on your hat. So this is the old school. This is that’s right. This is a 1969 NBA Properties Belt. Wow, that’s great.

Jerry Bembry 30:39
That’s great

Nestor Aparicio 30:40
ways to Clyde, who’s the greatest guy in the world. I mean, the greatest

Jerry Bembry 30:43
guy,

Nestor Aparicio 30:45
so terrible

Jerry Bembry 30:45
dresser, but he’s a great guy. No,

Nestor Aparicio 30:49
he is Natalie attired, and I’ll never have you say anything else. Jerry Bembry is here, the man, the myth, the legend. This is a Jerry Bembry joint. They’re going to play at least four games in the NBA finals. Good luck with Wembley. Good luck with the whole thing. I’m pulling for you, you know? I mean, I’m not.. I’m not a hater. I love New York, you know.

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Jerry Bembry 31:09
Yeah, I listened. Wemb is going to have a ton of opportunities to win his title, let my Knicks and their veterans on that squad come away with the title this year, and I’m pretty.. I’m pretty confident they can do it. One

Nestor Aparicio 31:22
of the greatest shirts I’ve ever seen. I was in New York the first about a month ago, seen Springsteen. I saw him in Jersey at the Newark. I had never been to that building, cavernous building, but I’m walking down 28th street, my favorite pizza place, place called Truditas. They brag about Brooklyn Pizza, but it’s a 28th and Broadway, 22nd Broadway. I’m walking North Traditas, T R A D I T A, best pizza in New York. I love it. Get a margarita. So I’m walking up 29 I got my box, and I’m feeling like Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever, except I’m not, I’m not over in Brooklyn, but I’m eating my pizza, and I look up and a guy’s got a shirt on, sweatshirt, and it looks like I heart New York, like I love New York, but it said, and you’re a writer, so you’re gonna love this. I are heart and why irony with the heart, and I thought it is irony that I love New York so much, and I love, and I said to my wife, there you go, there’s your, there’s your idea for a birthday gift or a Christmas gift for me. Yeah, irony that I love, you know. So, good luck to you. All right, and I appreciate you. I need to see that cop and state peace. I need to get your daughter on, and at some point I need you to walk me around Brooklyn and show me around, get me some pizza. Okay,

Jerry Bembry 32:39
sounds good. I’m gonna send you those links today, and yeah, we’ll get some good pizza in Brooklyn. Absolutely,

Nestor Aparicio 32:43
40 years of Jerry Bember, he and I used to sit courtside, and you know, I was telling an Elliot Usalax story. I always tell my wife I would go down there that one year that I covered Navy football with you, 8889 out in Grizzly, and we would go down there on like Tuesday or Wednesday, and we would have the media day, and they would have steaks, and they would serve us all steaks and potato, you remember this, and as a media guy at 21 get a steak dinner for lunch on a Wednesday in Annapolis, made it worth the drive, and we was right, it was totally on the, you had to go past all the marine barracks and this and that and naval this and the academy that and Marine Corps stadium, and we get down there and Elliot Usalaq would come up to the podium, he’d say, we had the boys today in the pool to stimulate their appetites. You and the media have yourselves a steak. Get over there, get yourself a steak. It’s pretty good, Elliot Usala, huh?

Jerry Bembry 33:35
That’s pretty good. That’s pretty good. 38 years

Nestor Aparicio 33:37
later, Jerry Bembry is my dude, ESPN, formerly of the Baltimore Sun, currently a Marylander, pulling for the New York Knickerbockers, and I learned what a Knickerbocker is, and you’re one of them, because you’re a real New Yorker. I’m Nestor. We are WNSDA in 1570 Towson, Baltimore, and there is your NBA Finals preview.