So since Greg Bader and the Orioles’ last remaining flunkies and apologists have again begun to spread “anti-WNST” venom in the web community with lies and false allegations about my integrity or intentions, I suppose it’s my turn to “react” and spew venom. Sorry, I’m not going to get caught up in it and, honestly, I have no time for negativity and nastiness.
The Steelers are playing tonight and we’ve got two events – Donna’s in Dundalk and the Twestival at Ramshead. The Ravens are playing on Sunday. I’m honestly feeling really good about WNST and Baltimore and the changing weather. I’m in a good mood. I’m not going to allow the Orioles and their shallow souls and mean-spiritedness to wreck Opening Week of the NFL season.
The blog that Drew put a lot of effort and words into properly tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
As has been our stated mission from inception: we wanted to help the Orioles. We wanted to extend an olive branch. We wanted to take them up on THEIR offer to come to the ballpark for $1. We wanted to show our sincerity by donating to Nick Markakis’ Foundation. (Drew DID leave out one big issue in his blog. I wanted to give half of the charity money to Living Classrooms Foundation but Drew talked me out of that, saying the “critics” would say there was something beneficial or self-serving on our part by giving money to our own charity.)
Once again, the Orioles have spurned and aggressively rejected (if you doubt that, I’ll post the official “cease and desist” letter we got from MLB’s legal eagles) our heartfelt, sincere and completely transparent attempt to help them fill a few seats in their empty ballpark while they’re 34 games back in the AL East.
All we wanted to do was once again publicly state our support for the city, for the future hope of the Orioles and try to be, as Charley Eckman would say, “right guys.”
So much for kindness but what do you expect in a country where elected officials stand up and scream “LIAR” at the President of The United States and get away with it?
Civility and forgiveness are not always concepts I’ve embraced or possessed but they’re certainly character traits that I’ve improved upon every day over my nearly 41 years on the planet.
My track record for building bridges and sincerity speaks for itself.
I CLEARLY had major problems with the Washington Capitals for a decade. Now, Ted Leonsis and I are email and Facebook friends and he understands my sincerity and love of hockey because he finally took an hour to hear what I had to say. And, I’m overjoyed to participate and help the Caps and NHL become a part of the Baltimore sports landscape. I love hockey. I’ve always loved hockey.
We are currently partners with Towson, UMBC, Loyola, Stevenson and virtually anyone else who would reach out to us and ask for help.
I’ve had a 17-year partnership and goodwill with the Blast — and before them the Spirit.
I have tried time and time again to reach out to the Maryland Jockey Club with very spotty results. Like the Orioles, they have a brand that is a husk of what it used to be but I’ve always maintained that the Preakness is the most significant sporting event we have in Baltimore. The MJC has routinely spent gobs of money supporting virtually every media entity in town except for WNST. But, if they call today and ask for help with the Maryland Million later in the month, we’ll do all we can to help them because we think it’s important for the community.
My relationship with the Ravens has always been more-than-strong over the years, and quite frankly we’ve ALWAYS pissed off their media partners because I expose their general laziness and malaise which has oft-times created friction. (Truth be told we’re the REAL “R****s Radio” and have been since Nov. 1995). Oh, well. We do tell the truth.
Oh, and the former Super Bowl-winning head coach is my business partner and great friend.
I don’t feel the need to list my resume or charitable contributions item-by-item or how many things we’ve done to support the community and be a great partner to hundreds of businesses and people over my 25 years in the media — going back to The News American and The Sun in the mid-1980’s.
We don’t just TALK about making the city a better place — we live it every day in every aspect of our company. We promote Baltimore sports and have great and sincere enthusiasm for it.
And, honestly, my biggest problem over the years has been being TOO honest when there’s always corporate pressure to lie and ignore the orange elephant in the middle of the city full of empty green seats.
But, I leave the bulls***ing to the rest of the charlatans who sell media around the city like WBAL, CBS Radio, Pressbox, The Sun and anyone else who takes a check as “hush” money for the miserable state of the city due to the devastation of a baseball team that drew 3.7 million into the city in 1996 and now draws a little more than 1 million over 80 dates.
So, now after 25 years I’m going to jeopardize my credibility by scamming, scheming and a lying over $1 tickets to a miserable last place team’s baseball games? When there wasn’t a penny to be earned and when I probably “deep down” knew that the Orioles would act like the vindictive, petty people that they are?
And during the biggest football week of the year when it would have been perfectly acceptable to ignore them? (Their own flagship radio station has been ignoring them for six weeks now!)
Like somehow, WNST was “secretly” plotting some ugly event on Tuesday night at the ballpark? Trust me if we wanted to do a “protest,” we’d just do one like we did in 2006.
We’ve tried to use the carrot. We’ve tried the stick. We’ve tried the olive branch. We’ve tried emails. We’ve tried phone calls. We’ve used every means of communication possible to reach these people but they continue to ignore us because they think we’re “unimportant” just like their leader said three years ago.
But no one can EVER say that we haven’t tried. Time and time again, we’ve tried to be civil to these corporate thugs and try to find a way to make them understand that we love the baseball team more than they do.
Well, we’re NEVER going to give up. That much is assured.
But we’re never going to lie for them or accept their false allegations about my character or my intentions or WNST’s purpose or mission to “fix” the team.
We’ll try to bring them another olive branch in April and see if they piss on us again.
Like they always do.
My phone line is open. All they have to do is call. I do email, text, Twitter, Facebook, radio, etc. As most of you know, I’m probably the most accessible human being in the city.
But it’s not their style or their intention to “make up.”
They only know about war and lawsuits and battle. Check THEIR track record on that!
They don’t believe in peace and goodwill and partnerships and trust — and in my mind, that’s the REAL reason the stadium is sitting empty with another last place team in 2009.
They can’t even get along with Cal Ripken and Brooks Robinson.
What prayer do I have?
On to the purple weekend…
