As many know, Bill Cole from Cole Roofing inspired large parts of this Baltimore Positive platform over the past decade. A meandering podcast conversation from Christmas to Qatar kept coming back to Nestor being pressed on how he wound up in the locker room in Pittsburgh doing his job for the first time this season after being locked out by Chad Steele and the Baltimore Ravens ownership.
Nestor Aparicio 0:01
W n s t Towson Baltimore we are Baltimore positive.com. We are celebrating a lot of stuff. First off, it’s the holidays, means I get to eat ham have a good time with my friends wise markets. But more importantly here for this conversation at least. This is the first conversation of the 32nd year of Baltimore radio. I began my career on December the 13th 1991. And as we look ahead here, we’re going to be celebrating in my homeland of Dundalk. I can’t imagine like a better celebration. We’re going to be a Costas in it’s going to be crowded as hell because they got Christmas parties and holiday parties already booked pizza all nervous because we’re bringing over a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jean shocks coming over going to hang out with us all brought to you by the Maryland lottery. Ross gave me these special holiday cash drops. I still have a few Raven scratch offs to give away but I have holiday cash drops to give away from the Maryland lottery as well as our friends at Goodwill. Spent some time at least we’re sitting back last month I got a new Rolling Stone specific belt I gotta show her to as well as our friends at when donation 866 90 nation you buy two and you get two free 0% financing. They’ve given you a better deal than I got. Even back in August. And celebrating will be John Allen one of my best friends who’s put Childsplay back together for M three. He is in the band with Gina shock at the Hard Rock of weeks now. I’ve got a hammer Jack’s documentary coming out and I’ve been a part of that I’m bringing in the executive producer. So in honor of rock and roll and in honor of my pal some would say my con sleeping at Bill Cole from coal roofing I am wearing my nasty bits rock’n’roll shirt that you don’t even you don’t even get the reference. I know right? You didn’t watch vinyl and HBO 10 years ago?
Bill Cole 1:50
Probably not.
Nestor Aparicio 1:52
The band was called nasty bits. So this is actually a pic this is a guitar I get it. No, the band was fronted by Mick Jagger’s kid like the actor and it was the greatest series that nobody watched other than and John Allen John Allen hated it and I loved it. I couldn’t get enough of it. But vinyl look it up on this was the band and it’s a Rock and Roll Week. How are you? Man? I I was like a real media member this week. You’ve been AWOL the last couple of weeks? I guess you’d like the squirrels that are up on my roof or driving you crazy. How are you happy holidays my brother?
Bill Cole 2:27
Good good. Yeah, it’s been a pretty crazy couple of weeks just you know holidays and the year try and steal a couple hours you know for me and the family around Thanksgiving. So it’s it’s been it’s been nice. You know, the footballs hard to watch but but you know who?
Nestor Aparicio 2:50
Entertaining? Looking out when we were driving out of out we hit that traffic. You always said it’s Squirrel Hill. And listen, I learned something this week. You ready for this? One Well, lying is good if you’re a politician because it gets you elected Right? Or at least, you know, tell people what they want to hear. Every single time I’ve gone to Pittsburgh and I’m going to Pittsburgh. You know for football games, probably 35 times back to my oiler days. I was there for the AFC Championship game. I was there for playoff games when Elway came in there and took their soul from rod Woodson and those guys back at Three Rivers. So I’ve been to a lot of Pittsburgh football games and I don’t remember ever spending the night in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh when I was playing with the game to get the hell out. Right? I don’t I’ve never spent the night in Pittsburgh after a game. i Oh, we always leave. We always like whether it was a bus trip, whatever. Have you been to Pittsburgh for games, you
Bill Cole 3:42
know?
8Nestor Aparicio 3:46
Get the car with me Sunday and go up?
Bill Cole 3:48
I don’t know. It’s just never in the cards for me. I don’t know. It was
Nestor Aparicio 3:52
are you afraid? Like it’s a bad experience? Because because he had beers stone and stuff. It’s really not like that anymore. I never felt like it was all that threatening there. It certainly wasn’t like being in Cleveland or New Yorkers. I mean, I’ve been to places that were awful, you know?
Bill Cole 4:06
I mean, I’ve done the eagle game. So I think if I can survive an eagle game, I can survive pretty much anything. So now I don’t know why the black hole back in the day seemed a little bit nasty. It was I would never go out. I would never take that trip just to get abused like that. But you know the Eagles Sure. That’s close enough. I’ll take that abuse.
Nestor Aparicio 4:25
Pittsburgh, though, has not like been set that it’s inhospitable, because there’s always some Ravens fans up there. And you really stand out when you’re wearing bright purple and a yellow building. Right. So I mean, he can look around and see where the crowd is. And I’ve been in that crowd a dozen times. I sat up in the stands up there watching the championship game with Flacco through the pic to Polamalu. So we’re driving back and if you’ve never done it, then you won’t appreciate this but there’s a tunnel. It’s called a Squirrel Hill tunnel. And it sits three, four miles east of downtown. You know what I mean? And you have to go through it. It’s it’s the freeway And it’s always, always always effed up. And I thought to myself, I ran for the mayor of Pittsburgh, all I’d have to do is say, I’m gonna blow this tunnel up, do away with it. And everyone would vote for me. That’s because I’m thinking everyone in the world has been stuck in that tunnel, or going in or out of that tunnel. And as we’re doing this, Luke says to me, Well, that was an entertaining game for being a third string quarterback against a second string quarterback, and you know, and it really was way more entertaining than the Panthers game or some of these games that actually Lamar played in.
Bill Cole 5:31
I thought it was pretty horrible. That’s just me. I don’t know. I mean, at some level, you’re, I don’t even know what I’m signing up for at this point, right. Like, I really don’t even know who the team is. And like, who my who I want to recruit to have a good game, you know, it’s just a very weird. I mean, do I want to Sean Jackson, to all of a sudden be the hero or, you know, DeMarcus Robinson, I mean, it’s just a really weird, you know, their names, their names, it is but it is a weird team. They have, you know, the injury bug is kind of like popping up and like Stanley’s out, and then he’s back and, you know, it’s just, JK Dobbins is back, and then he’s gone. And then he’s back. And, like, Dobbins is running. At one point, whatever. He had, like a 40, or 50 yard run or something. I’m trying to remember. But all the only thing I remember about that play didn’t get caught. It looked like the dude couldn’t run. Yeah, like he looked like there’s a busted wheel there like it. Like I don’t know, if his knees not recovered, whether he doesn’t trust it, whatever. He did not look. It did not look natural. You know, I’m like, he’s banged up or something. But but you know, look, it’s a war of attrition, right? I mean, that’s the NFL season, they all get hurt, that next guy’s got to play. You got to figure out a way to get wins. You got to be there at the end. I mean, I don’t know if you want to like to talk about the problem. It is when you’re trying to negotiate your contract, but you can’t actually be on the field. Like that has to probably be a negative in your discussions.
Nestor Aparicio 7:18
But my next column this if it’s not on my timeline, getting me a press credential for a game in Pittsburgh would be on will Lamar Jackson, ever be healthy in December? Yeah, even the way he plays, and we’re over three, really because he was really not healthy three years ago at various stretches in that season. And I think the night you draft him, you’re, and I’m not gonna be you know, I’m not beating up the cost because I think he’s done a great job this year. But I think the night you draft him, you’re sort of playing rotisserie football, not real football. If you think this kid’s gonna run in the linebackers. I mean, look at what happened to Tyler Huntley. Right. Like he got hit in a way that we’ve never seen Lamar get hit like that. Right.
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Bill Cole 8:04
I think the interesting part with Lamar is there’s never the one moment where I don’t remember if it was Sarah Gusa or which one but like, whoever broke Michael Vick’s leg that Delos Thomas Yeah, okay. The is right. So you with Lamar, you never get the moment where you’re like, oh, no, that looked bad. He’s definitely hurt. His is cumulative, right? His is hips, hips, hips, hips, you keep getting hit in the same place. You keep going and that and that. I mean that this is my assumption, right? Like I don’t really know I’m not in the training room but
Nestor Aparicio 8:45
tackle one time in a National Football League game you’d hurt like hell for five days, right? Like literally Sure. Like I’ve been down on the field. I see the violence involved in it. Right. And I just think more of that. Is is ill advised. I mean, it just is it’s it’s the reason no one wanted to draft him. It’s the reason that the shoddy and the brass are a little bit more leery of giving him money than they would a guy who is somebody that is not taking on abuse 12 by choice while they Joe Flacco did everything he could do to never get hit. That’s not the way this is designed. That’s that’s not the way this cake is baked.
Bill Cole 9:28
And it’s the third year where there is no just unlucky incident that gets an injury. It’s literally the just the toll of all the abuse. And I don’t know I mean, to me that’s makes it really hard to build a contract around that.
Nestor Aparicio 9:49
Okay, Cole is here he is cold roofing and Gordian energy. We talked solar last month, as at the end of the year here I’ve got the mug it’s so good all scratched up, but I still like it still feels like a little warm. Pinkie to me on a 22 degree morning off the field here what’s going on with you, man? Like I? It’s holidays, and we’re talking about hams and it’s my anniversary and rock and roll, you
Bill Cole 10:12
know, gotta you kind of like, in passing just mentioned that you got a press credential in Pittsburgh and then we just kind of moved right on by that. So, is there any color that
Nestor Aparicio 10:25
there’s a point in this and this is a good you know, step into step in pull the curtain back, you know, father Bill, you know, please pray with me, you know, I could I could go in that direction with you on a Sunday. I would say this. I just want to do my job. So people were asking me like, why didn’t I ask Harbaugh a question. hardball came into the press room. He’s the only Raven, the strangest part for me and I talked briefly with this about about this with Leonard Raskin earlier in the week. I did what I always do, right? My credential was at the gate. It’s always at we parked across the Taco Bell, we always talk about getting food at that we never do or would after a game, you know what I mean? Like, Luke and I know this drill. We’ve been doing this a long, long time. I’ve been a professional for a long time to feel welcome. There was in the Pittsburgh people are always really nice when they’re checking in and checking your bag. They’re super nice, actually. And it’s always like cold as hell outside, you’re happy to just be walking in the door. So every elevators that all of it is very familiar to me, right? I’ve been doing this, like I said, 30 times. And to know that I’m unwelcome by the team that I’ve covered for 26 years, and that I’ve been treated like manure, and that I’m only there. Because the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers has more integrity than anybody in their building. To acknowledge that I’m a media member acknowledged that I should be there asking questions, acknowledge that it’s not some personal vendetta from a guy named Chad steal the truth, you know, acknowledge the truth. And the truth is that a week and a half ago, I literally and I’ve had all sorts of people reach out to me, lawyers. Just all sorts of people reach out to me and telling me what’s happened here is against the law, right? Or it’s unlawful, what they’re doing, from a First Amendment standpoint, from discrimination stamp like all of this, right. So I haven’t really like I hit Joe Douglas in the beginning of the year. And I said, if you’ll let me come cover, do my job. I’ll come I’ll come over the Jets game. I heard nothing back from Joe Douglas. He has a relationship with Chad steel, he worked for the Ravens for 15 years, right. So here’s what’s this is the tribal mentality. Every single person knows that what’s been done to me is wrong. Right? Like every single person knows this. There’s no debate as to whether I’m a media member or not, or whether I’ve done this professionally or whether I do and what what a medium, whatever standard you would you would put forth by any measurement. It’s not Greg Bader and Peter angelos, corrupt people. I would say that I’m a media member. So I literally text Mike and Mike Tomlin and I text each other once a month, you know, in the real world along the course of human events, if you were to go through my phone, you’d see that Mike and I’ve text 25 times in the last two or three years during the plague back and forth. I don’t I had been in a room with and we went we were at we were together. When Bisciotti he blew me off. Bisciotti was at the at the at the at the pool party at the owners meetings and wanted nothing to do with me, and was laughing at me and Chad steele was making funny faces at me like he was gonna get even with me. Tom and I were holding court with the Pittsburgh media and having a laugh. And I always give him the hard time about the we want volunteers not hostages.
Bill Cole 14:00
I gave I hate Mike Tomlin, okay, because I want to hate him because he’s the Steeler coach. But just from knowing you, I know how decent and good human being he is. So that just makes me hate him because I want to hate him. But I know he’s like a decent dude. So like, I can’t hate him. So that just annoys me because it seems like he is. I’m actually happy for him because he’s in a place where his tenure has allowed him to sort of not really care about the silliness. And he seems to just like do his thing. You know, when he was younger, he had a lot a lot of Moxie, a lot of bravado and the sideline step in you know, like he’s we’ve had some pretty good you know, you could do a pretty good highlight reel with
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Nestor Aparicio 14:51
some run ins with right
Bill Cole 14:55
through the what was the here Oh, event that you did.
Nestor Aparicio 15:01
That was back in 15 616 16.
Bill Cole 15:05
I mean, there’s just been enough places along the way where the paths intersect, and then from hearing you talk, it seems like he’s a pretty good dude. So
Nestor Aparicio 15:13
Well, I mean, it’s some of the Pittsburgh guys are like deceit This is he friends with you to piss off horrible and I’m like, you know, I knew him before Harbaugh was the coach. So I don’t I don’t know what to say. I mean, Billick was the coach back when I met him, actually. So I would just say this, I texted
Bill Cole 15:31
Billiken Tomlin together in Minnesota. No, no.
Nestor Aparicio 15:36
Yeah. Um, no, they were not. You’re not far off by by a lot. But by a couple of years. Yeah. So Tomlin I text Tomlin and he knows the situation right. And as a little aside, and this is public, but I just want to speak from my heart. The guy who does chats deals job, Kevin burns job with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a guy named Bert Lawton, great guy. He’s been there. I think 20 years. I mean, there was a PR Director before Bert, but I don’t really know him. I mean, Burke’s been there forever. A bird had a real tragedy, his daughter was hit by car and everybody send the prayers out and, and there’s a lot of trauma. And so he still was really going through. I mean, that’s, uh, everybody in the organization loves him, his daughter. So there’s a real thing happened in there that I wanted to be respectful of, and I’m like, Look, I’m not gonna make myself the story. I’m going to do my job. If you’re gonna let me in to do my job. I’m gonna do my job. So I went out of my way to do my job, right, like, so. I didn’t ask hardball question because I didn’t have a question to ask him. He’s not and he’s gonna lie anyway. And he’s, he’s quick to get off the podium. And the thing about hardball in these post games is when they’re trying to get rid of him and when he doesn’t want to be up there. They bring three more players in to make the planes ready to land. And that expedite getting him off before any real questions come and and all he does is start to praise the players that are sitting next to him the minute they walk in, he goes into I’m gonna kiss my players dairy heirs and they’re the best they’re the best they’re the best they’re the best here have added and then you know, especially after a victory in Pittsburgh like that with a third string quarterback the third string quarterbacks waiting to get the only press conference he ever given industry. Like literally just want a game from I mean, that’d be click lonely type stuff. I mean, crazy stuff. Right? So it really was and he said, This is a one for the ages. And I’m like, I’ve been here for every one of them. Well, I was in there joking around with the five guys who don’t like me either. Three back Hensley, those guys. I mean, they none of them came up to me and said, Hey, do what they’re doing. He was effed up. Yeah, like so here’s the weird part. I go I do my job. I’m there the whole time sitting in the seat pretty much I’ve always sat and they didn’t let me sit like next to Luke. I was like three down. So I was Next at the bottom where beatdown dude, which is cool. I told him we need more media here, not less. I got no no gripe with websites get having access. There’s be more professionals around this football team. And especially by the way, by the time you when I get together next time, this is you talking about me feeding little things at you and throwing things at you. I’m hearing that because Steve shot he’s a little more red than blue, that he wants to get Uncle Larry to rubber stamp, new money and new lease where John and the Angelo’s family are more waiting on Wes. You know what I mean? So there is a little stadium thing happening here. Were shot he’s gonna get oh, I don’t know. 600 million free dollars a little more than coal roofing is getting from the government, or the WNS he’s getting at this point. And so there’s this they don’t want any questions. They don’t. So this thing is baked up. The way it’s baked up, right? So I go up, I get my cookies. I see Charlie batch rod Woodson gives me a big hug and I don’t hug many people but he’s a Hall of Famer. I’ll hug rod. So and I hung out with the Pittsburgh media. I hung out with the von Paris guys, who are my friends who move the ravens and Steve Gasman. They’ve been moving the Ravens the same three dudes. I’ve been in the press room with for 26 years. You know what I mean? Like literally, and I always hang out with those guys. So I hung out with them a little bit. I had Mr. Rooney’s roasted potatoes and a salad. It was nice big water, awful coffee, but delicious cookies. I didn’t steal any initiative. And i i meandered in the way I always do because of my back and being in the car. I was walking around a lot. This is amazing, dude. It’s amazing. And it’s sad. It’s really, I’m not saying this with any pride. I always talk to everyone in the Ravens organization, right? Whether it’s a digital media, person scouts, front office people, Eric Acosta set if he would put his hand down and I put my hand Hands up, we shake hands. That’s how close he was to me. I heard, I heard him scream out loud and cheer when Marcus caught that. The interception at the one yard line as he’s right behind me. So we can go through the whole list of who travels with the team right? Now one of them looked at, not one of them made eye contact. Not one of them said anything, not on the way to the cookies or the bathroom or elbow bump, or How’s your wife or it’s good to see you or none of them made eye contact with me, people I’ve known for 25 years. So that was the five and a half hours from 10 o’clock till four o’clock then I went down to do my job. I sat in the front row, like I always sit I even offered the seat to somebody instead of if you’ve been sitting in the front row since I’ve been gone. I’ll defer to you. But I sat here for 27 years, and I started to make some cracks about Terrell Suggs being in the room and ray coming in the door and you know, whatever. And hardball comes in the door and checks deals with him or would attach the with look into the back of my head for a couple hours. You can send anything he wanted to say to me too. And hardball came in. And before he got to the podium, he pointed at me and he said, welcome, welcome. And I said, I said that I’m like, Yeah, okay. I’m here because Mike Tomlin gave me a press pass. And you expect me to have any respect for the integrity of any of these, but I’m here to do my job. So I didn’t ask any questions because there were none to be really asking, quite frankly, he was in a hurry to get off the podium and then when that happens, I go into the locker room because Luke stays in the press room with JK Dobbins with the quarterback with the Queen was in there a row Quan Smith was in there. And I went into the locker room and talked to Coleus Campbell and talked to Tyler Linden bomb talk to Marlon Humphrey, I talked to Ronnie Stanley. So I met clay and like talk to him a little bit. And that was kind of nice. He had done my show with the Super Bowl 10 years ago to actually remember me, but I have he’s been here three years, and I haven’t been in a space right to say hello to him. And after a game. It’s not a time to say hi, my name is right guys put their clothes on singing Puerto Rican music it was you know, it was what I’ve done 450 times and ravens games, just strangely bizarre to be fit to feel like I’m Darth Vader. So you’re asking, I’ve just given you the unabridged version of maybe what I would write I guess
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Bill Cole 22:41
it’s weird. I mean, it definitely is bizarre. And, you know, people deal with uncomfortable situations in lots of different ways. You know? I don’t know, you know, they clearly probably listen read here about your reaction, you know, since it all started and so I don’t know, it’s just bizarre. People
Nestor Aparicio 23:06
think I should be silent about it. I’m not, I’m not letting them off the hook. Like I’m just not every week that goes by I’m being discriminated against, held out, sourced out having my business depressed, having my voice suppressed have not being allowed to ask questions as an organization without any explanation as to why right very weird. Very. You know, holidays. I’ve been talking about this a little bit. Because next weekend, or actually this weekend, Raphael Alvarez free plug for him as my brother from the sun. So he does this like stoop speak, you know, readings. During the holidays. It’s very important for him to be a storyteller. And my friend Julia beavers from Dundalk is doing a stooped storytelling about her childhood in Dundalk. And I’m wondering, give me a little Christmas story from the cold family here what what’s unique about your family and holidays because you’ve been doing rooms for 103 years now I keep saying 100 But it’s under three almost 100 for like a couple of weeks right? So what give me a little Christmas Story what’s the Christmas carol at your place?
Bill Cole 24:22
At the expense of making this the portion of the program where people change the buttons and turn something else on like there are no real good stories like it’s all wonderful, it’s fine. It’s great. But I think what what I didn’t understand as a kid that I have a an up close personal appreciation for as an adult now is like the business in the month of December has less to do with the roofing as much as it has to do with just getting the We’re closed out and getting everything sorted out and making sure that the 150 people who helped us do what we did throughout the year, you know, are in a position to have really nice Christmases and holidays with their family. So a lot of it turns. It’s always on the people, but but it turns very specifically to, you know, bonus time and, you know, saying genuine thank yous and making sure that everybody is getting ours leading in, you know, I mean, if we have snow or bad weather or whatever, then, you know, a roofer can’t work the two weeks leading to Christmas, because we get some bad snow or rain or really cold. Like, that means he doesn’t get a paycheck for two weeks, right? So so how does that guy bridge that gap during that time period. So we spend a lot of time working through that sort of stuff. And I work more hours in a day in a week, in December than I do probably any other time of the year trying to get things sorted out.
Nestor Aparicio 26:14
I worked nonstop during the holidays. And I look forward to it every year, because it’s not it’s different kind of work. Because I’m gonna go into my archives the next couple of weeks and do a bunch of best stuff stuff and find I’m unearthing things for the website. But I use this time of the year to really do sort of spiritual growth and school setting. I mean, I’m big into all of those things that keep a business going 31 years, this is the time when things really quiet down, right. And a lot of times I am traveling, I mean, I’ll be going to Cleveland for the game this weekend. And it will be two days out of my life. But I take work with me to Cleveland, and I’d sit in a coffee shop and just work. You know what I mean? Like and watch the snowfall if there’s such a thing. I don’t there’s something very inspiring to me about love holidays, family food, a lot of things I don’t have, like, I don’t have a big family. I don’t have all that, but I have this time of the year. Football, right. But more than that, there’s time because nobody’s blowing my phone up. Right? Nobody’s working other than you over the next 14 days. Bilkul you know, I
Bill Cole 27:15
there’s an element to that. And I would be remissed also, I mean, I grew up playing a ton of basketball. My girls are currently playing a ton of basketball. So we are spending a fair amount of our weekends and evenings either practicing or playing in games in and around Baltimore City. So
Nestor Aparicio 27:35
holiday Christmas carol tournament
Bill Cole 27:38
will probably will take off two weeks. The problem these days is that they’re still playing lacrosse and soccer and basketball. So really I’m looking at these poor cross How the hell are they playing lacrosse? I’m looking at these poor 12 and 10 year olds who are all have their knees hurt and their ankles hurt and they’re just beat this crap because they’ve been going so hard. So now we’ll we’ll we will shut it down for two weeks around the holiday and come back recharged. But no, it’s it is it’s a it’s a difficult balancing act because I’m with you. It does represent a lot of like, love in fireplaces and turkeys. And you know, like I always joked about or I always laugh at when people talk about the arguments with their family members over Thanksgiving, right? And like, the politics or the you know, religion or whatever the stuff that you do, you need to avoid Aunt Susie because she’s gonna go trumple on you at the dinner table or, you know, whatever that’s, you know, we don’t I don’t have those sorts of circumstances or environments or, like I see it’s nice
8Nestor Aparicio 29:04
that you’d like the people you get together with,
Bill Cole 29:06
ya know what I see them a lot but you know, it’s also sort of just kind of it feels wedged in between right work and the kids sports and you know, the kids have a lot of stuff and the kids have this and the kids so we’re always doing that and you
Nestor Aparicio 29:24
up on Christmas Eve like putting bikes together like a Bob and Carol Brady or No,
Bill Cole 29:29
I have no idea what you’re talking about. I mean, I go to bed and Santa’s just all of a sudden magically makes Cookies, cookies. I’m a big fan of Santa. He’s awesome.
Nestor Aparicio 29:43
Bill Cole is here he’s co roofing and I’m like constantly Aryan. Hey, dude, you ask about Pittsburgh, so like, hey, yeah, do
Bill Cole 29:50
I It’s curious. You know, I mean, it’s just a bizarre.
Nestor Aparicio 29:54
I mean, people think that I’m obsessed with it or like that i I’ve written one piece I’ve done 450 pieces at Baltimore positive since the Chad steel incident, I wrote one piece 35,000 people have read it now. Right. But like, and I talked about it when it’s appropriate, which is, you know, when it’s appropriate every Wednesday when I’m locked out every Thursday when I’m locked out every Friday when I’m locked out every Saturday when I’m not flying to Jacksonville every Sunday when I’m not at the game every Monday when I’m not headed back, that it’s inappropriate every day, right? So it’s an ongoing issue for me. But like, I’ve been here writing about the team very fairly, very accurately without access that I’ve had and should have for 26 years, and they’re getting off the hook. And because of the cult part of this, I’m the bad guy to somebody. I don’t I don’t know to whom, but the only losers are the fans. And I thought this when I’m in the press room in Pittsburgh, and I’m like, There’s seven of us here. That didn’t even send Viviano like WJC doesn’t have any money to send their postgame show at the end of the year because they’re cutting budget, right? So there’s there’s Preston, Jonas, Jamison, Jeff’s reback, the bottom were beat down bow smoker. Wouk and me there were eight, seven without me. And if they put me out of business, and there’s no Luke, there’s even less and three back. By the way, I found this out because I haven’t talked to James Rebeck in six months. He’s been on paternity leave. And he hasn’t really been around a whole lot. So I’m thinking to myself, who was in the room in New Orleans at midnight, because Luke wasn’t there. Or you who’s there asking them questions. And the less media the better. They like it. And they’re really getting off on what they’re doing to me as an organization, people who have had me in their home, people who I’ve had in my home, people that I’ve been linked to people with tears in their eyes over my wife almost dying, it’s wise to not even look at me. It’s gross. As a human experience, I’m 26 years of my life, I wrote a check to them for I was a customer for 20. It’s, it’s, it’s gross. i There’s no other word for it for me. So I can’t portray it as anything other than gross and wrong. But that’s not going to stop me from professionally covering the team. And if they go win the Superbowl, there’ll be a great parade here. Everybody have a good time. Like I’m fine with all of that. But they need more journalists. They have enough sycophants. They literally they have enough people that whatever they do is the right thing, no matter what, because she’s John hardball. And he’s smarter than us. I mean, I that that’s, um, that’s unacceptable to me, as a journalist, as a citizen, as a fan, it should be unacceptable to decent people, you know, decent community people, it should be unacceptable.
8
Bill Cole 32:47
So, so there’s like two parts of this for me. I mean, obviously, I care about it, and I’m concerned for you, and our friendship makes me want to understand and know, you know, what you’re going through and all that. But then the other part of me is just sort of the curiosity of the universe in business. And that and, and trying to understand the motivations and unwilling to accept that it’s just some, you know, emotional, silly, childish thing. Like, I just want to assume that people don’t succumb to that, but it could I recognize that it could just be that sort of thing. Like, because the NFL is a monopoly, and because they fall under the antitrust laws of this country, they are, they are denied certain decision making power that you know, a private business might otherwise be able to have, right. So they fight that line a lot. You know, like,
Nestor Aparicio 33:56
they own the games, they own the gambling company, they sanction the roll of the dice, and they officiate who wins the bet, right? So I’m just saying that this is all new. And I am We’re five minutes into this. And I’m all that people love betting on football. I mean, hell, they’ve got me interested in it at this point. I know more about it than almost anybody I shouldn’t be better at betting on it, if they really, really were a thing is information and knowing things. I’ve never believed any of that because but they’re in on it. And somebody should be keeping an eye on that on the open. I
Bill Cole 34:35
think it’s I Right. You know, that’s an interesting sort of angle to go down, but just
Nestor Aparicio 34:42
in its surface, that’s where they’re gonna make all their money in the future. I
Bill Cole 34:45
know. I know. But I’m just saying the idea that journalists will help us sniff out the point at which this goes becomes wrestling. Right. Like that’s what we’re trying. That’s what
Nestor Aparicio 35:02
we need great wall was over in Qatar and my friend grant wall was over in Qatar, and I don’t need to tell you that. He is died under very, very suspicious circumstances. Well, you know, he’s a journalist who reported truth about their government. And then
Bill Cole 35:18
we can talk about that. Like, I remember you and I talking about him. Because I think he wore the shirt like you were the one that told me if the rainbow shirt, right where he wore the shirt, they wouldn’t let him in. They detained him. And I was like, Yeah, okay, that’s pretty obvious that that would go down over there. Like, I get that. And then they started talking about that the to die. And I’m like, What the hell? So I start digging, like, no one, I can’t find a single news piece that creates even the slightest innuendo that it’s weird. And my radar was going off, like, immediately, like, What do you mean, the dude died that was handled. In the game. During the game,
8
Nestor Aparicio 36:10
my wife was asleep. And I was asleep. And I woke up, and I
just happened to my phone like you do. And it was 9/3 because I’m old. And I looked down and someone had sent me in on Facebook. And I mean, I really I sat up, and then I went on to Twitter, and then I couldn’t go to bed. I was up to one o’clock in the morning. Sure, um, because there’s just there’s no way he wasn’t murdered in my mind, you know what I mean? Like, they’re gonna have to go a long, long way to tell me that, in that controlled environment, that he caught a cold and had an embolism. I’m gonna have a hard time believing that really I am 48 year old guy who’s been all over the world traveling, covered soccer. I’m gonna have a hard time believing that.
Bill Cole 37:01
Yeah. Well, who’s gonna dig on that? That Netflix, Netflix,
Nestor Aparicio 37:06
you know, and I almost before I got thrown off at Twitter, and that could be next week, because I still don’t know what I did.
Bill Cole 37:13
Third off, Twitter surprise, just started as a journalist thrown
Nestor Aparicio 37:15
off a Twitter as well. Yeah, we’ll do that next week. I would say this, you know, that the journalists were on it. And I almost tweeted, and again, I was thrown off right around the same time. So I didn’t have a personal Twitter, I would say the only one that would investigate grant Wolf’s death would be grant Well,
Bill Cole 37:37
right. But he, I mean, you. So once I started digging, I started looking, I mean, I’m fairly certain that that guy was very well respected. He didn’t appear to have any enemies, you know what I mean? Like, like in, in his universe. But is it even consent? We should probably stop this. This is like, now we’re turning into some sort of like Breitbart website or something.
8
Nestor Aparicio 38:09
No, no, go ahead.
Bill Cole 38:11
I just what I mean, how is it even conceivable that this guy would represent such a risk or, you know, threaten someone that they would do that? Now? Look, I’m not gonna rule out the fact that the soccer people are crazy.
Nestor Aparicio 38:27
He’s threatening their way of life and suppressing women and suppressing people and covering up the death of migrant workers who weren’t paid. You came there. We all know that. Oh, yeah. Right. But we
Bill Cole 38:39
all know it already. Like, so why are you gonna? Why are you gonna whack him now? Like, we all know, we all know, this is sports washing. We all know that. What that country is about? We all? I mean, I wouldn’t
Nestor Aparicio 38:55
worry about that grant was dead.
Bill Cole 38:58
Yeah. So you think maybe he was working on something that and found out about something and somebody decided they didn’t want it to get out? And they knew that because of
Nestor Aparicio 39:07
a retribution. He’s here and we’re not going to let them leave?
8
Bill Cole 39:11
Yeah, that’s, you know,
Nestor Aparicio 39:13
I mean, like, that’s not Breitbart. To me, that’s not even off the reservation. That’s what happens to Khashoggi in that part of the world when you know, that you are going back to the other part of the world and spreading more lies, truth, whatever their perception of that way of life. I mean, it’s a different, it’s a different society. I mean, it really is and, and, but but again, journalists take on risks, right. And I had a journalist poop upon me on my Facebook page for my stance in regard to shining a light on what the Ravens have done to me in my organization and my business, right, that I should say, turn the light off and Go Shut up, that I just sound whiny. No, no, no, I’m reporting truth. And I said, a quiet journalist is useless, right? A silent journalist is dead. Like literally like, the minute you stop speaking truth, you no longer are a journalist, you’re just a guy in the corner with nothing to say. And I think that the grant wall thing, from a, from a global standpoint for me that the instant it happens, everyone in his space is thinking this, there’s foul play involved here. You know, like, why wouldn’t we believe that from this part of the world, knowing that part of the world? And now all of a sudden to your point? Well, the body’s coming back, there is an autopsy, I am following all of this grant was my friend, right? I mean, a friend of a friend of a lot of friends, right? So his family, the State Department’s been involved, the Biden, like all of that has been involved. I don’t know what the result of that is going to be. But certainly, if there weren’t journalists, and there were a such a thing as trying to get rid of a journalist from a corrupt government, that sports washed that bought off everything that detained him all of that if there was a government that would want to kill a journalist, and we want to kill a famous journalist, and we’re gonna kill a journalist from this part of the world who reported truth and was one of the only ones in North America that went through the BBC went there. The truth? Is it being reported by Fox News, Fox is making money off, it’s sitting there in front of the castles. So I mean, they cried on the set, but then they move on, and we’ll wait for the autopsy. But what will that mean, six months from now? I don’t, it’ll mean nothing. They’re having. They’re having a final on Sunday. And if there were a journalist that they wanted to kill, it would have been great. Well, that that’s just the fact.
Bill Cole 41:47
Okay, I hear you, like I said, my radar went off when even just from the t shirt, right, like even just the fact that he had had his run in with them over the t shirt. And yes, I can appreciate that. Certain countries, certain cultures certainly have a different value proposition around human life than others. I get it. I mean, there’s a war in Ukraine right now that represents sort of, like not the 2000 version of how we value human life. So I can appreciate all that, but like, from my simple perspective, FIFA has nailed this. Like, like the World Cups been great. Like, there haven’t been any. I mean, the most exciting sort of, you know, questionable part is the Argentina dude, like firing the ball into the bench, and, you know, maybe a little bit of a scrum ensuing after that, and it’s like, Americans are gonna be all over
Nestor Aparicio 42:59
that there’s been less diving in this tournament, like, outward diving. And they’ve legislated that through sport, right? Like there’s less hitting of the quarterback in the NFL, right? Like there’s, there’s less time between pitchers in baseball, right. So, you know, making the sport better. As an American. I like it more than I liked it eight years ago, 12 years ago, 16 years ago. But you know, the weirdest thing. Is this the extra time and who legislate like, it’s good. Yeah. Yeah.
Bill Cole 43:29
But like, the fields, like I can remember and maybe not specifically, but we have we have experienced professional sporting events where the turf is a mess. And it actually inhibits the game.
Nestor Aparicio 43:48
Pittsburgh every year. Yeah, whatever. Right? I mean, sandbox up there
Bill Cole 43:52
for a lifetime. So So here, you know, you’re worried about the stadiums. You’re worried about the fans. I mean, they show the fans a lot I get it, it’s television, they have a way of managing this but there’s certainly seem to be in a whole lot of Argentinian people there. Like there’s you know, every team is well represented every team the people seem to be having a crazy time.
8Nestor Aparicio 44:16
We just give some love to Morocco just for about well,
Bill Cole 44:19
you have an underdog in the Final Four you got I mean, they seemingly nailed it and I can’t understand why you would potentially jeopardize all of that to all
Nestor Aparicio 44:34
didn’t necessarily need to be government sponsored right or even thought to be government sponsored. Right? Like, just be a bad actor, you know, could be like whatever you know, like, I will find out we’ll find out and a friend well died of natural causes at the age of 48. dropping dead in the middle of a quarterfinal match where Argentina is playing the Netherlands in front of everybody in the media watching him getting dragged out of the press box. There’s video of his death. Then I don’t need to see. You know if all of that happened because of natural causes in the middle of Qatar after he was detained, and after he was the only journalist from this part of the world to go over and write the truth about what’s going on
Bill Cole 45:15
this, again, like I said, my journalist has
Nestor Aparicio 45:17
been locked out of what I’ve been doing for 26 years. I don’t, I don’t like this, I have a different sense of appreciation for what an injustice can be done to journalists, you know, just in general, just injustice. And the fact that Fox takes all this money goes over there as a media organization and pretends none of it happens, because they’re in on the partnership. And they’re supposed to be a news organization and free part of the world. I mean, look, we’ve jumped ship on Fox, I know what they are. And that’s unfortunate as well. But But look, well take $200 million a year from Saudi Arabia. All thing going on,
Bill Cole 45:58
hold on. I mean, there is no shortage of corporate sponsors changing on the wall behind the field. I’m sorry, the pitch pitch the entire game. I mean, I saw McDonald’s there. I’ve seen Kia I’ve seen I mean, a lot of Qatari or whatever, a lot, a lot of companies that I don’t know or have never heard of, or whatever. But McDonald’s is there front and center. Every game on that wall. Like are there consequences to that? Nine? Yeah, probably not.
Nestor Aparicio 46:37
But wiser gave them money. And then they came the publisher said, beer, right. Yeah, you know, Bill Cole’s here, we’re talking, you know, we do stick to sports. Don’t wait around here.
8
Bill Cole 46:50
We find the intersection of sports and life. Sometimes I think like, like, here’s since we’re on soccer, like I became aware that Dallas is doing like $300 million worth of upgrades to the stadium for for woke up. And I’m like, did they just build that stadium? Like that stadium? Maybe it’s 10 years old. And it wasn’t like $100 billion. Or, like, I don’t even know how much it wants to build it. And now they’re gonna dump $300 million to be to do to push the seats back a little bit because
Nestor Aparicio 47:30
well, I mean, even the Blasio needs remodeling, you know, they come in and fix the butterflies every three months, you know. But for anybody wondering why you and I were all wrapped up in the World Cup thing, and Terry Haseltine, who still hasn’t spoken to me talk about representation as to why we lost here. I mean, there could be a whole book on when four years from now, when this World Cup comes to America and Washington and Baltimore are not a part, but Washington will be a part of it. Baltimore have his face pressed up to the glass, when we should have had six or eight games here. And what that would have meant for Morocco to be
Bill Cole 48:02
down like St. You know, yeah, we’re gonna have to go to Philly to watch. Right. It’s
Nestor Aparicio 48:07
not going to Philly. I’ll go anywhere, but I’m not going to Philly. I’ll go somewhere else with you though. Well, we’ll have a good time. Man. Yeah, I sunshine.
Bill Cole 48:16
I have watched more soccer since Thanksgiving than I have in my entire life.
Nestor Aparicio 48:21
And you’ve enjoyed it, right?
Bill Cole 48:23
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. You know, my 10 year old a watch. She’s into it. So they’ve got this pretty cool, like sticker book where you can collect the stickers of all the players of all the teams. So like, that’s the like, there’s some retro old school next to that, that I really appreciate. Dude,
8
Nestor Aparicio 48:41
Messi scores a pair in the final and they went through one or whatever. And he does the trickery that he does. And I mean, pretty amazing. It really is amazing, right? I mean, like, it’s really special. And, and I you know, I love Argentina. I love Buenos Aires, I love Messi, I, you know, like, I feel like I need to see him play that if he comes in plays for Miami. I’ll go throw 100 bucks wherever I can Philadelphia wherever it would be to go. Just watch him and be in His presence. I did that with back home. For sure. So hey, dude, I appreciate you. I know we ran long here. Don’t call us a call. Tell me what you do. Other than BS with me and talk about sports washing and my media pass and like Tomlins generosity, and like all that, by the way. I don’t. That’s the wrong word. generosity, integrity. Sorry. He didn’t do anything generous, he did the right thing.
Bill Cole 49:31
So right now, I would say again, it’s sort of the same reoccurring message broken record that I give you every time I call like, you need right you need to plan for your roofing work. Let’s get the discussions going now. So you can you know, get it done in 23 if you need it. And then while we’re talking about that, you should at least understand the economics of solar on your roof and figure out whether it’s right for you because we can help you sort all that out.
Nestor Aparicio 49:55
I got a solar prospect for you, by the way. Oh, yeah. To hit me it’d be unfair. Okay. I got a new sponsor that I add literally, this sponsor, I’m not gonna give it away took me out onto his roof to show me the roof, like and I’m like, I’ve never been on the roof of a business. Maybe I should. Maybe you need Bill Cole. So I’m standing out there on the roof surveying and I’m like, I almost text you.
Bill Cole 50:18
I should have just gave him a price and we’ll figure it out.
Nestor Aparicio 50:20
We’ll call call roofie Gordian energy my pal and we went, we lingered longer, but that’s okay. It’s the holidays. It’s my 31st anniversary. In Baltimore radio, by the way to be 25 years August 3 that I’ve had the station. So 31 years on Tuesday and celebrating on Thursday with our friends in the Maryland lottery the holiday cash drop tickets. Ross brought these by fade these last week. We’re going to be a Costas on Thursday with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gina shock of the Go Go’s John Allen is going to be with us. There’s a rumor that Eddie Lauer Steve ports are going to come by and bang on the drums and play the bass and sing we got the bead and sing our lips are sealed and vacation all. So that’ll be Thursday at Costas also our friends at hammer jacks are going to be a they’ve done a documentary with Louie. It’s gonna be fun. We’re going to talk we’re gonna laugh. We’re gonna drink eggnog or eat crab cakes, and it’s gonna be a good time. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery, our friends of goodwill and window nation. I am Nestor. We are wn St. am 1570, Towson Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore. Positive
