Originally published on Feb 3, 2018
I appreciate you dropping by my part of the world to read my thoughts on where my life and career are headed as I turn 50 this year. I have no idea how or why I’ve managed to collect so many people over the last 34 years as a sports journalist and the past 26 as a sports radio “personality” in Baltimore and around the country but I’m trying to make myself more useful and relevant as I continue my journey in life. Moving forward, I will attempt to find more meaning and some purpose as I navigate this world that has been constructed around my radio station, life and many connections with incredible people.
Maybe you went to Colgate Elementary or Dundalk High with me in the 1970s or early 1980s, or read my rock and roll or hockey work at The Baltimore Sun many years ago into the early 1990s. Perhaps we met through sports – the Orioles, Ravens, Skipjacks, Caps, Terps or locally via our many WNST roadtrips, events, live shows and rallies and parties. Or maybe we connected or “linked” somewhere among the many charity events, parties, civic and business concerns that I’ve attended, hosted or broadcasted from over the years.
Geez, 10,000 of you were with me five years ago today on a riverbank in New Orleans so I know you’re still out there!
Trust me, it’s never lost on me – the unique business and charmed life I’ve built as a Baltimore sports radio personality, entrepreneur, author and sometimes civic activist. I’d like to think that I’ve always stood up for people and causes that I believe in over the years (see: Free The Birds) and the passion and drive that comes quite naturally for me are sometimes too much for some folks’ energy or taste. But no one of substance should question the accuracy, conviction and integrity with which I’ve served my message and journalism over my adulthood.
My track record and history are what I stand the proudest of as I transition into different and deeper conversations moving forward.
The change I’m making on the radio side might seem subtle but it’s a major psychological change from the way I plan to conduct my “content” life moving forward beyond sports.
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One thing I’ve done to protect my own sanity and happiness that won’t change: I’ve stopped arguing with people – especially people who have no idea what they’re talking about or any expertise or substantive information on a topic. I refuse to do it on the radio, on the internet or in real life.
You should try it. Walk away. Instead of arguing with people who are full of shit and have fallen prey to the many lies and are yelling “fake news” to things like facts and science and obvious truths, I simply move on.
Mute! Block! Pause! All are quite effective in my experience.
I’m not anti-conflict; I’m simply anti-stupidity. And life is too short to be spent suffering fools. It’s been said before: “There’s a sucker born every minute” and “You can’t coach stupid.”
Like most people who have been paying attention, I have absolutely no time in my busy life nor any desire to debate
