About once a year we manage to bring longtime WJZ sports director Mark Vivano off the bench and away from his kids’ Little League games to talk about life after television, press boxes and the locker room at deadline. He joins us at Planet Fitness in Timonium on the Maryland Crab Cake Tour to catch up on good deeds, fair play and foul balls.

Nestor Aparicio and Mark Viviano discuss their experiences in sports journalism and the challenges of balancing work with family life. Mark shares his transition from a busy career at WJZ to spending more time with his children, coaching Little League, and volunteering at his kids’ school. They reminisce about their careers, including Mark’s time at CNN and his interactions with notable figures like Ted Turner. Nestor reflects on the changing media landscape and the importance of local journalism. Both emphasize the joy of being present for their families and the fulfillment of community involvement. They also touch on the impact of technology on children, particularly the rise of electric bikes.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Ask Marty whether he ever did a celebrity basketball game at Channel 13 when Marty appears on the show; record his response for the show segment.
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Invite Jerry Sandusky to appear on the VIV segment now that he is retired (extend the on-air invitation and follow up to schedule if he accepts).
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Purchase a ticket and travel to Yankee Stadium to attend the game with Luke if the Orioles sweep the first three games (plan contingent on sweep).

Planet Fitness and Maryland Lottery Shenanigans

• Nestor Aparicio discusses his enjoyment of doing a show with Mark Viviano and mentions his current activities at Planet Fitness, including wearing a funny hat and playing the Maryland lottery.
• Nestor talks about GBMC sponsoring their road trip and mentions the convenience of being across the street from Costas at the racetrack.
• Nestor humorously suggests putting Zach on a stair stepper and showing him off in the black card spa.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the New Year’s hat and Mark’s visit to Timonium, highlighting Mark’s nice and accommodating nature.

Mark Viviano’s Family and Work-Life Balance

• Mark Viviano shares about his family, including his two kids aged eight and ten, and his wife, whom he praises as a saint.
• Mark talks about his schedule, including his weekly food mission in Canton and other activities in the city.
• Mark mentions Mike Pupo, his long-time sports producer at WJZ, and the various sports directors he worked with over the years.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the provincial nature of Baltimore and the challenges of being an outsider in a small town.

Transitioning Out of Sports Journalism

• Nestor and Mark discuss the challenges of transitioning out of sports journalism, including the impact on family life and the difficulty of balancing work and personal responsibilities.
• Mark shares his experience of receiving a text from his wife about his son’s first hit in Little League, highlighting the importance of being present for family moments.
• Nestor and Mark talk about the changes in the industry, including the impact of social media and the shift in how people consume news.
• Mark reflects on his decision to leave WJZ and the importance of prioritizing family over work.

Reflections on Career and Personal Growth

• Mark shares his journey from working in various cities to settling in Baltimore and the sense of familiarity he felt in the city.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the impact of Ted Turner on CNN and the changes in the media landscape over the years.
• Mark talks about his experience working at CNN and the challenges of dealing with corporate changes and the impact on the network’s culture.
• Nestor and Mark reflect on the importance of having a fulfilling career and the satisfaction of making a difference in people’s lives.

Life as a Parent and Coach

• Mark shares his experiences as a parent and coach, including coaching his son’s Little League team and the joy of spending time with his kids.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the challenges of balancing work and family life and the importance of being present for their children.
• Mark talks about the fun and fulfillment of coaching his son’s team and the lessons he hopes to teach them through sports.
• Nestor and Mark reflect on the changes in their lives and the importance of finding joy and fulfillment in new endeavors.

The Evolution of Media and Sports

• Nestor and Mark discuss the evolution of media and sports, including the impact of social media and the changes in how people consume news and sports.
• Mark reflects on the importance of local journalism and the impact of national media on local communities.
• Nestor and Mark talk about the challenges of maintaining a career in sports journalism and the importance of adapting to new technologies and platforms.
• Mark shares his thoughts on the future of media and the importance of staying connected to the community and the people they serve.

The Importance of Community and Connection

• Nestor and Mark discuss the importance of community and connection in their lives, including their involvement in local activities and events.
• Mark shares his experiences volunteering at his children’s school and the joy of being involved in their lives.
• Nestor and Mark reflect on the importance of staying connected to their roots and the people who have supported them throughout their careers.
• Mark talks about the fulfillment of making a difference in people’s lives and the importance of giving back to the community.

The Joy of Family and Personal Time

• Mark shares his experiences of spending quality time with his family, including playing catch with his son and building cabinets with his younger son.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the importance of finding joy and fulfillment in personal time and the challenges of balancing work and family life.
• Mark reflects on the changes in his life and the importance of prioritizing family and personal time over work.
• Nestor and Mark talk about the importance of finding happiness and fulfillment in new endeavors and the joy of spending time with loved ones.

The Impact of Technology on Children

• Mark discusses the impact of technology on children, including the rise of electric bikes and the challenges of balancing screen time with outdoor activities.
• Nestor and Mark reflect on the changes in how children consume media and the importance of finding a balance between technology and outdoor activities.
• Mark shares his thoughts on the importance of encouraging children to engage in physical activities and the challenges of keeping up with new technologies.
• Nestor and Mark discuss the importance of setting boundaries and finding a balance between technology and personal time.

The Future of Media and Sports

• Nestor and Mark discuss the future of media and sports, including the challenges of adapting to new technologies and platforms.
• Mark reflects on the importance of staying connected to the community and the people they serve.
• Nestor and Mark talk about the importance of finding joy and fulfillment in new endeavors and the challenges of maintaining a career in sports journalism.
• Mark shares his thoughts on the importance of staying connected to their roots and the people who have supported them throughout their careers.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Baltimore, sports radio, Planet Fitness, GBMC, Timonium, charity work, family, Little League, CNN, Ted Turner, sports journalism, media industry, local sports, community involvement, electric bikes.

8

SPEAKERS

Mark Viviano, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

You welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore. Positive. I am learning quickly how much fun it would have been had I done a show with Mark Viviano every day in the afternoon, so jealous of the Bulldog. At this point, we’re out here at the Planet Fitness works ammonium, I have a funny hat. I have scratch offs in the Maryland lottery. I’m wearing my farting and Dermer gear. And Zach is going to be coming out here. I might have him, put him on a stair stepper back here, show him off in the black card spa. Also, our friends at GBMC put us on the road to do this. We’re right across the street from Costas at the racetrack, so if you do want a crab cake, you can go over there. Planet Fitness has been my sponsor since way back when it was just like a gym for 995 a month. Now they’re just doing so many amazing things. Here we’re in Timonium. April is one of my all time favorites because she gave me the New Year’s hat, the Times Square New Year’s Eve hat. And, you know, I said to Vivian, I’m like, Dude, you live all the way down in Anne Arundel County, which might as well be like, Annapolis, like, where, like, Costello lives, or whatever, and I offer you to come up. I don’t know why you chose Timonium, but like, You’re, like, just such a nice guy. People, they do know you’re a nice guy, but when it’s really confirmed, when you’re on my show, what a nice man you are. But did you have some like, business up here? Are you delivering things for your charity, or no,

Mark Viviano  01:21

no, it you asked, and I was just looking for a spot in the calendar that it was suitable. You know, I do have two kids and

Nestor Aparicio  01:31

8

little kids,

Mark Viviano  01:32

well, eight

Nestor Aparicio  01:32

kids,

Mark Viviano  01:33

eight and 10. And there are obligations there relative to school pickup and that my wife

8

Nestor Aparicio  01:39

saint. She’s

Mark Viviano  01:40

wonderful. God, she’s the best,

Nestor Aparicio  01:42

right?

Mark Viviano  01:43

8

You got a good wife. I have a great wife. It never stop appreciating the value of that in a man’s life. Never, never

Nestor Aparicio  01:52

makes things easier.

Mark Viviano  01:53

Oh, my God, it’s the best. But anyway, the schedule allowed for it, and I come up to the city every Tuesday for the food mission that we do, it’s out of St casmare in in Canton.

Nestor Aparicio  02:07

It’s right on the square right st Casma.

8

Mark Viviano  02:09

Yeah, it is. And there are any number of other things that I do in the city that you know to me, it’s still just yesterday. I should say Mike Pupo, I should mention Mike pub.

Nestor Aparicio  02:22

Mike was up.

Mark Viviano  02:24

Mike Pupo, 41 years sports producer, W Jay Z finally retired, 41 years on the job at W Jay Z, a time in which he had four sports directors, just four in 41 years, which is unbelievable, and I’m blessed to have been one of them for 22 of those 41 years for him, John Buren, was prior to me right now. It’s Alex glaze and the very first one. How come I’m forgetting his name? Who was before burin?

Nestor Aparicio  02:57

8

Oh, Klaus Wagner, Blair,

Mark Viviano  02:59

not Randy Blair,

Nestor Aparicio  03:01

come on.

Mark Viviano  03:02

I’ll think of it. Mike,

8

Nestor Aparicio  03:04

Charles,

Mark Viviano  03:05

no not Nick. Charles

Nestor Aparicio  03:06

Andrea Kirby, dude, I’m just come God, live.

Mark Viviano  03:09

8

Oh, you’re getting all of them, but you’re missing.

Nestor Aparicio  03:11

I know it wasn’t Jack Dawson.

Mark Viviano  03:13

He went to Philadelphia.

Nestor Aparicio  03:14

Oh, Lou Tilly.

8

Mark Viviano  03:16

Lou Tilly. Thank you. Sorry about that, Lou. I just had a Yeah, it was Lou Tilly, John Barron. Me, is there

Nestor Aparicio  03:23

anybody else that you could sit with that would be able to give the whole

Mark Viviano  03:26

Are you the best? See that

Nestor Aparicio  03:27

8

being able to do that?

Mark Viviano  03:28

That’s one thing that Nestor, that’s one thing that you are. Is your true blue Baltimore. You are one of those guys that just you live it. You know it. Keith Mills is like that.

Nestor Aparicio  03:41

Oh, 100

Mark Viviano  03:42

Keith Mills like I see I don’t

8

Nestor Aparicio  03:44

put me in his league. I’m not that good.

Mark Viviano  03:46

No, no. The point being guys who are from invested in and knowledgeable of the area,

Nestor Aparicio  03:54

always an outsider and fighting against that with people like me in a really provincial town, I think gar so had that going. Hey, Marty was supposed to come over today. Marty, I love you, Mark. Come on before he departs. But you know, anybody that came here and, like, helicoptered in, my wife from Manchester, New Hampshire, anybody that helicopters in, Kevin Byrne, he would always say, what high school did you go to? Because he was from Cleveland, and Cleveland was wired that way. I mean, schmuck came from Orange County, right? Like just all of these imported people would find this to be like a strange, little weird, Pleasantville, right?

Mark Viviano  04:33

8

It’s wonderful for years, my, my, and you’re right. Baltimore is provincial, but once you show that you you want to be part of it. They’ll take you in. They’re great. And I but for years, I would say, No, I’m not from here. I’m from St Louis, like the Orioles or Earl Weaver like you know

Nestor Aparicio  04:53

you were here the first time Josh Lewin came. Right. Yes. Okay, so, and this is Josh. I’m throwing this out because I haven’t had. Had him on, and I can’t really have him on because he works. Same reason I couldn’t have Marty on, same reason, Mark couldn’t come on. Back in the day, they work for a huge, multi billion dollar corporation that was very intimidated by me, and still is. So, you know, they just couldn’t come on. But like, you know, for me, like Sandusky, leaving, at this point, you leaving Marty, leaving this changing of the guard of like running into people who don’t know who Charlie Ekman was, or whatever. Josh Lewin came the first time he replaced Jeff Rimmer. I was cutting my teeth. I probably was pretty competitive with Josh Lewin in 1993 9495 It is unbelievable to hear him on the radio now, and it feels like he belongs here. To me, right? He’s been everywhere. I used to see him in Detroit. We’ve become friends ever since he was in Texas for a period of time, calling games, him calling the Oriole games. To me, I hear him and Holland are in the car, Hollander, you’re such a homer. But you know that I just like when I go out to the gym or I go out to at night, my wife and I get in the car, listen to an inning or three, there is something about like, how Baltimore fits for people who want it to fit. Ron Cassie says that all being a jersey guy. He’s like, Hey, man, if you show up in Baltimore and you show that you want to be here, you know you’re you get welcomed in a way that I think you could have been a star in St Louis, but there’s part of it, doing it here, all of these years, that you claim this is home. That’s something I’ll never have. I’ll never go somewhere else. This is always home for me. I don’t know what that feels like. Yeah, it’s got to be a little weirdly awkward, but then it becomes like, Hey, you and Garcia and guys like that. I’m not going anywhere. I’m here from is Baltimore’s. Vince Bagley,

Mark Viviano  06:45

yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  06:46

by the time that you sit here at Planet Fitness and people come and visit

8

Mark Viviano  06:50

with you, you know the day that I stepped foot in this town was Preakness, Saturday, 1994 when I was asked to come interview for the job at

Nestor Aparicio  07:00

Bal.

Mark Viviano  07:01

At Bal, the weekend job the moment I want. I stayed down at at the Inner Harbor and I walked outside. It was a postcard,

Nestor Aparicio  07:10

8

where were you working at the time?

Mark Viviano  07:12

I was in Dayton, Ohio,

Nestor Aparicio  07:13

date. Okay, through this before, yeah, but

Nestor Aparicio  07:15

I’m

8

Nestor Aparicio  07:15

just trying to think of how big a job this is for a young kid from St Louis. But I was, you know,

Mark Viviano  07:21

I

Nestor Aparicio  07:22

first big,

Mark Viviano  07:23

8

yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  07:24

that’s a big. That’s the break you’ve been waiting for.

Mark Viviano  07:27

Yeah, big league town didn’t have NFL at the time. That changed. But just I walked outside and I just said, it just feels good here. It felt good like I had never been in Baltimore, but it felt

Nestor Aparicio  07:39

right,

8

Nestor Aparicio  07:40

really.

Mark Viviano  07:40

And subsequent to that, my family, whenever they would Visit from St Louis, they were like, feels like St Louis here, like they there’s

Nestor Aparicio  07:49

a, there

Mark Viviano  07:50

8

is an, one of those immeasurable feelings about the place that I can only describe as familiar, even though I’m not from here, and I’ve told people that many who were born here and live here who say you’re not from here, and I can tell them this, and I mean this honestly, it’s like I’m not from here, but I chose to live here twice,

Nestor Aparicio  08:13

right?

Nestor Aparicio  08:14

You came back from Atlanta

Mark Viviano  08:15

twice. I came back from Atlanta. So if you were born here, God bless you. That’s on your it’s on your birth certificate, I chose to come here, and I love it, and I and I’ve and I’ve always felt and I met my wife.

8

Nestor Aparicio  08:27

You live four blocks of me in her harbor. You turned me on to my dentist. Dr Lieber, prepared my my wife chipped her tooth in Venice, Italy on the fifth night of a 13 day trip. She sent me a picture like witchy pub. She chipped the corner of her front tooth. She had to file it with a nail file.

Nestor Aparicio  08:46

How’d she

Mark Viviano  08:46

do that? She bought a clam.

Nestor Aparicio  08:48

8

I have no idea she like, bit it. Oh, so he fixed it for her this week. He is our dentist, Dr Bill Lebo, down at the Inner Harbor, and you lived above him. I live four blocks away. We were neighbors. For when did you leave the harbor? 15, 2015

Mark Viviano  09:04

I got married in 13 and moved over to Canton, where my wife had a house.

Nestor Aparicio  09:09

Okay?

Mark Viviano  09:10

So I sold the place right

8

Nestor Aparicio  09:12

downtown, 20 years. Oh, yeah, all the 20 years. Oh,

Mark Viviano  09:15

almost 25 if you count, you counting Canton, or just

Nestor Aparicio  09:18

you want 25 Yeah, you live down. You lived in

Nestor Aparicio  09:21

8

the city,

Mark Viviano  09:21

lived in the city. Absolutely loved it.

Nestor Aparicio  09:23

Mark Viviano is my dude. Jeremy Ted Turner, I wanted to ask you that about the Atlanta thing. I’m gonna

Mark Viviano  09:29

get all over the place. It wasn’t a one on one meeting. I would see him in the CNN Center. He would go down to the food courts. He would he’d go to Chick fil A like he would, he had a he had a residence in that in, in that building, but I would see him in a tuxedo coming home late at night from some fundraiser and stuff like that. But I never had like a one on one with him. No,

8

Nestor Aparicio  09:53

I covered the 95 World Series, and when he died this week,

Mark Viviano  09:57

yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  09:58

and he was always, like a bit of an eye. For me. I mean swashbuckling, you know, sitting with Jane out in Montana, very liberal, trying to save the Earth from this, really, you know, Waffle House, Atlanta, town. But this is when the chop was happening. It was 95 they’re playing the Indians. I’m down in Fulton County, by the way, I think. Pub, I swear to God gave me a media his media credential that night for Kevin Eck. I swear to God, pub, if you did, let me know. But, but Kevin Eck was with me during that World Series, and they won the World Series that night, the Atlanta Braves. And I was down on the field when he had the trophy and all that he’s with. Jane had the, you know, coat on the whole deal. And I just like, watch him do his media thing. And just like, so larger than life, yeah? Like, at that 1995 Yeah? Like, if you had to explain to your eight and 10 year old kids about Ted Turner different,

Mark Viviano  10:51

8

they don’t make them

Nestor Aparicio  10:52

like,

Nestor Aparicio  10:52

just like the Rockefeller of our you know what I mean, like that larger than life. And I thought, you know, you work down there, me probably put a microphone in his face at one point.

Mark Viviano  11:02

Here’s what I truly appreciate about the man. He started CNN Sports Illustrated knowing that the Olympics were coming to Atlanta in 1996 he signed on that network in 96 and wanted there to be a bigger sports presence than just Nick Charles and Fred Hickman

8

Nestor Aparicio  11:22

and CNN had a real corner on that, right?

Nestor Aparicio  11:25

Yeah.

Mark Viviano  11:25

And so it was a sports network. Worked with great people

Nestor Aparicio  11:29

8

in a storm there at the time, yeah,

Mark Viviano  11:30

worked with some great people, and just loved it. I signed off that network in May of 2002 I did the last show, and they turned out the lights, and that was it. But here’s the part that was that was painful about it, is that Ted started Ted benevolent billionaire. This is the guy who said, I want there to be a sports network if we’re having an Olympics in this town. And I’m and I own CNN, that’s what it is. Okay? So I get hired, and within, within months, AOL by his Time Warner, and all of a sudden, the benevolent billionaire, has sold his controlling stake, but was still on the board, but AOL is posting its stock price at the elevators in the building. And Ted never did that. Ted, you know that, and the stock price was not doing well. So when

Nestor Aparicio  12:23

you went there, if it was a bit of a big family shop,

Nestor Aparicio  12:26

yeah,

8

Nestor Aparicio  12:27

the kind of changes we’ve seen with the Orioles and the Ravens and

Mark Viviano  12:29

professional sports, and it was, it’s and then everything changed, and everything just felt and I hadn’t it was the guys who had worked there a long time. I relied on them for the true feeling of what it was, because I had been there a short time, but it was a bummer, and and Turner said, so Turner just didn’t like he he sold, but he sure hated to see the way it went, because it was still his baby, you know. But so that was a bummer. And then, of course, they turned out the lights, and I was blessed to be welcomed back to Baltimore, and which was a no brainer. When, when over

Nestor Aparicio  13:04

there six years Atlanta,

Mark Viviano  13:05

8

no, two and a half.

Nestor Aparicio  13:06

Oh, that’s all

Mark Viviano  13:07

just two and a half years. Yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  13:08

so

8

Nestor Aparicio  13:08

you left when the Ravens won the Super Bowl. You were gone.

Mark Viviano  13:12

I was still down there. Yeah, I

Nestor Aparicio  13:13

think you visited us. Maybe you were at you were in Tampa for the for the game. No,

Mark Viviano  13:17

8

I was not in

Nestor Aparicio  13:17

Tampa. I feel like I saw you somewhere. All Star game you probably saw.

Mark Viviano  13:22

You might have seen me at a certain trial down in Atlanta.

Nestor Aparicio  13:25

Oh, the Ray Lewis thing.

8

Mark Viviano  13:27

Yeah, I was covering that

Nestor Aparicio  13:29

for

Nestor Aparicio  13:30

you doing, yeah. Well, vivis Here, give everybody your real life. I mean, you’re chasing little league. We’re not going to talk a lot of Orioles and ravens like you’re not married to it in the way you once were doing sports radio every day or whatever, but like your real life and your exit from this, this was one of the really smart things I was going to ask you. So Mark, if you had Jerry Sandusky here, what advice would you give Jared? Because that would be like the thing to say, like he’s following you out the door. Same thing Marty. Marty’s Marty’s got, I mean, Marty and I are very close. I mean, you and I know each other. Marty and our friend, like real friends. And I’ve, you know, Marty and I have had a drink together recently. He was gonna come by today, like his wife, Alabama grandkids, pulling him, like all of that. He’s a little further along, been there a lot longer. All of this survived through the error that you said. Now I’m out a lot of people. I don’t know where the end of the your era, the anchor man, Cunningham, all of you, when I don’t know what the new era will be, it’s going to clearly be different. You know, already is. But like the advice to give to people that have done including me when my time comes. Yeah, that I don’t do this anymore every day, and he like, I don’t know what I would do with myself. You know what? I mean, so

Mark Viviano  14:47

8

Well, that’s

Nestor Aparicio  14:48

one of the reasons I do it. Is because I love it. I love seeing you. I hit you once, twice. I mean, I get to see all my friends on the air. Sponsors still love me. People are kind to me. It’s like what I want to do. I. But you stopped doing it because family, kids, these things that you had visions to do, man, I hope you’re having the greatest time. I hope Sandusky has the greatest I mean, hope that for everybody that stops doing this thing that felt like I saw you with a little earpiece at three in the morning Foxborough, you know, like, I know it wasn’t as glamorous as marks in your living but

Mark Viviano  15:22

it’s still a passion. It’s still something we love to do,

Nestor Aparicio  15:24

still a wild transition in life.

8

Mark Viviano  15:27

It is

Nestor Aparicio  15:27

to go from that to whatever the next thing you’re going to do, right?

Mark Viviano  15:31

And I can, I can tell you this, and I’ve shared this with any number of people who are approaching a decision in their life that they’re going to stop doing the thing that they’ve done for a long time. Don’t walk away from a job. Walk towards something more important. My, my family, I I’ve told the story I’m sitting in the press box at Oriole Park. Love being at the ball game. Love baseball. Love covering. Had done my live shot. I’m up in, up in the press box, probably having a an iced coffee, looking out at this beautiful warehouse, and like, this is, this is what I wanted. And I’m so blessed to be here. And I get a I get a text from my wife. It’s a video of Michael getting his first hit in Little League. She’s there. I’m not and where I should have just been overjoyed to see my kids swing a bat and get a hit. It struck me, I’m not there.

Nestor Aparicio  16:26

8

You’re at work.

Mark Viviano  16:27

I’m at work. Love my work, grateful for my work, but and my wife is a saint. She’s taking when you do the job that, that I did, Sandusky did, Cunningham. Did you leave your house at 2pm if not sooner, and you don’t get home till past midnight, and

Nestor Aparicio  16:43

if the kids get home from school at two o’clock, that’s it. That’s it. That’s it.

Mark Viviano  16:47

So you see him for breakfast, you walk him to school,

8

Nestor Aparicio  16:49

and you were Marty could call Jay Newman and say, Can we move the newscast to a more convenient time?

Mark Viviano  16:54

Can’t so blessed to and my story is a little bit different in that I got married at age 49 so I’m a I’m the old dad, you know, I’ve got young kids while, you know,

Nestor Aparicio  17:06

thought about this a while before he did it.

Mark Viviano  17:08

8

Well, true, true, but, but when it hits you that still

Nestor Aparicio  17:11

doesn’t make any more prepared to do it or less. Well, the time involved is the time involved, that’s

Mark Viviano  17:16

right. And, but when you’re not there and you’re not getting the time back, you don’t get the time back to be with your kids if you miss the time, the time is gone, and there’s gonna be a time where they don’t even want to be around you anymore

Nestor Aparicio  17:27

soon.

8

Mark Viviano  17:27

So

Nestor Aparicio  17:28

you think

Mark Viviano  17:29

so. So it was a no brainer, and God bless W, Jay Z, they offered me a new three year contract and all this. I’m like, No. The only job I ever wanted, the only job I ever did, I just it didn’t mean to me what it needed to mean for me to be away from my family.

Nestor Aparicio  17:46

8

How long you been gone? Two years, three years. It

Mark Viviano  17:48

was a year and a half now. So it was, it was, it was August of 20

Nestor Aparicio  17:52

these are the 18 months you got back that you would have been running around, chasing Lamar Jackson, John Harbaugh, Jesse Minter, yeah, on and on and on and on, right?

Mark Viviano  18:01

Got to do it. Glad I did it. More importantly, I’m I’m life is great. Tell

8

Nestor Aparicio  18:06

me about your kids, man, so that little league time by coach. Viv, it’s

Mark Viviano  18:10

crazy, it’s fun. It’s the it’s one of the travel teams for the Severna Park greenhorns for my 10 year old.

Nestor Aparicio  18:17

Don’t be a crazy parent in Severna Park. Always

Mark Viviano  18:20

8

the thing is, glad you said that. Great parents. We got great parents. And to me, it’s the goal is to help them learn the game, love the game, become good teammates and play good baseball. And they’re 10. We just, we just had a tournament up in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Okay, so I

Nestor Aparicio  18:44

didn’t get to go to Hershey when I was 10.

Mark Viviano  18:46

Maybe either,

Nestor Aparicio  18:47

you know, to play baseball, right?

8

Mark Viviano  18:49

So the day before the tournament starts, the families all go up there. The kids are having the time in their lives, or they’re on the roller coasters. They’re eating the funnel cake. They’re

Nestor Aparicio  18:58

high on chocolate.

Mark Viviano  18:59

Yeah, they’re 10, they’re 10, then we’re staying at this hotel we stay at has an indoor pool, it’s got the breakfast buffet. It’s like we haven’t even touched a baseball field yet. And these kids are having that time in their lives, so that when we get to the baseball field and they, you know, we ran into some like these elite select Pennsylvania clubs that are just like, oh my goodness, these guys could be playing high school ringers. Well, it’s okay. I mean, it’s good for the kids to see these kids are your age, and look how good they are. It’s good. It’s good for them to see that. But I say all this to say they’re 10 years old and they had the time of their lives. You know? Yeah, we didn’t win a lot of baseball games, but they played good. They tried hard, but they they, they were together as buddies, 10 year old buddies, doing the fun stuff, doing the goofy stuff. And that’s a that’s beautiful thing to see. My eight year old. He is, God, he’s he’s just brilliant little. He’s a deep. Thinker. He’s like, this little eight year old philosopher, I

Nestor Aparicio  20:03

8

need an intern. Oh, he’s ready to go into the industry.

Mark Viviano  20:06

He’s just, he’s just all the two, two kids, totally different. He likes to ride horses like, you know, okay? And if, if you told him,

Nestor Aparicio  20:16

give you the assets.

Mark Viviano  20:18

I was like, Christian, you can’t ride horses today, but you get, you got to clean the saddle and you got to brush the horse. He would do it all day. He just loves that. He’s just like he so, so

8

Nestor Aparicio  20:28

you could take him to the Preakness, and he would think that’s the

Nestor Aparicio  20:31

best.

Mark Viviano  20:31

Oh, he would love it. And I got to share with you this again. This is a dad story. You asked me how life is. So the other what I do still, I’ve been, I’ve been out of the business for a year and a half, I still look at the clock certain times of the day to say, what would I be doing? So I’m at home one day. It’s 430 in the afternoon, that’s prime time crunching. You either you’re either interviewing Orioles, or you’re getting ready for a live shot out knowings, Mills for the ravens,

Nestor Aparicio  20:57

8

your makeup on

Mark Viviano  20:58

all that stuff you’re doing all that you’re crunchers, you’re typing your script, you’re sending them. I was

Nestor Aparicio  21:03

Garcia’s producer or intern, so I remember, Oh, so you

Mark Viviano  21:06

know,

8

Nestor Aparicio  21:06

I know what the newsroom feels

Mark Viviano  21:07

there’s all this stuff going that’s

Nestor Aparicio  21:09

what I loved about I love that part of your job

Mark Viviano  21:11

8

was fun. No, so emergency, there’s a rush, and there’s like, this is what I this is what we’re doing. It’s 430 and I look at the clock, and I’m on the kitchen floor with my eight year old building one of those prefabricated cabinets, and he’s into it, and I’m into it. I’m like, this is where I’m supposed to be nice.

Nestor Aparicio  21:32

I

Mark Viviano  21:32

love this,

Nestor Aparicio  21:33

perfect.

8

Mark Viviano  21:34

I love this. I’m with my kids. And then after that, my 10 year old goes, Dad, can we go play catch? Yes, so

Nestor Aparicio  21:41

it’s 640 tonight when the Orioles are playing major league baseball on a 71 degree night in Severna Park. Your kids would way rather be having a catch with that than watching the Orioles play in empty Miami tonight or whatever, right? And this is the challenge where I’ll bring you into the pro conversation. Because, by the way, Mark Viviano is here. We’re playing a fitness I’m wearing the funny hat. I’m doing the Maryland lottery, Maryland treasures. I’m giving VIV the horses, although I should give you the boardwalk. And this is the this is the Bay Bridge. Your kids are going to bug you to go over. Oh, we do. It’s all brought to you by GBMC and our friends at far in the Durham as well, you know the pro sports thing. And I thought about this because this is a weird week, right? Because I’m feeling my age and my oats and my thoughts and Luke and I don’t get to have any fun anymore, right? I mean, Chad steel and the Ravens, we don’t go on trips together. You know what? I mean, if the Orioles are ever in a World Series, I’ll be home watching it on TV. Tickets will be $1,200 will be $1,200 to get in. Luke might have a press pass in left feet. You know, you know, you know the drill, right? So this used the last thing Sandusky said to me, last time I talked to him, before I got thrown out, was in the press box. I think I told you, just last summer together in Las Vegas, when we all had masks on 21 you were still working, right? It

Mark Viviano  23:03

was not that game, no, it was not a, not a paramount game,

Nestor Aparicio  23:06

8

Okay, fair enough. But it was sun. It was ESPN, Sunday night or Monday night, Monday night game, right? And we flew. I was 120 degrees outside in Vegas. I saw Kim Harry. He’s trying to get me to clear to get in, everybody in the press box had to have a mask. But everybody’s stadium didn’t so as so I went up to Sandusky Femi was calling the game. There were only three of us there, me, Jameson and Jeff’s reback were the only Baltimore media members there, brand new stadium, the Allegiant cookies, all of that going on. And Sandusky looks at me over the buffet up the top where they had the food out, and he’s like, this is as much fun as it used to be. Is it literally the last thing Jerry said to me?

Mark Viviano  23:47

I don’t know

Nestor Aparicio  23:47

if Jerry wants to come on now that he’s retired, Jerry, I’d love to have you on VIPs here, but and Marty will be here at some point, sooner or later, they all come to me and talk to me, but the notion that this was so much fun, like, if you have my notebooks from back in the day when you worked here the first time, the thing I kept in my ass pocket, that was my my calendar to put dates in the day the Oriole calendar would come out. I would write the home games in green, the red. Red was the away games the Ravens when they came to town, I got a purple pen and I would put the Ravens games in, oh my god. They’re playing in Green Bay. They’re playing in St Louis to start the season in 99 Scott Mitchell, you know, like all of these, they’re all a memory for me. They’re all a flight there. They’re now a backstage pass, or a media pass, or a parking this, or ticket stub or whatever. I don’t know where that is over the hill for me. You know what I mean, like in collecting those next memories. So last Friday, I get flipping with Luke on the air. I’m like, Look, it’s early in an Oriole season that, let’s be honest. This might not go well. It might not end with us having the. To chase them around in Kansas City and playoff games. So I’m like, they’re in Yankee Stadium. They’re teetering right now. It’s going to be 75 degrees at Yankee Stadium on Monday night. You and I can get on the Mega but we have to drive it’s 35 bucks. Gonna cost the company 300 bucks to put us up for the night. Come on, man, I’ll buy a ticket. Let’s go be boys. Let’s go up to New York. Now, Luke’s been doing this 17 years, in the contest to do this. He’s like, I don’t really want to go. You know how Luke is, right? I don’t really want to go. And I’m like, Look, man, if they sweep the first three games, we’re freaking going. I’m making you go if they if they can sweep the Yankees on Monday night. And of course, it’s six nothing in the second inning of the first night. I text Luke, I said to my wife, I’m like, you know, I just, I just wanted to go have fun. I just wanted to go buy a $12 ticket. And even on Monday, can

Mark Viviano  25:53

you get 112? Bucks?

8

Nestor Aparicio  25:54

12 bucks to get in Yankee Stadium. Now was 50 on Saturday because they gave the Mandalorian May the fourth pub giveaway, and that’s this variety ticketing, and I didn’t do it. And Springsteen played Tuesday night and at the islanders rank tickets went to 45 bucks for Springsteen. I didn’t. It was 80 degrees in New York, and at this point, all I want to do it’s I sound like a Sheryl Crow song is, have a little fun. Yeah, you know what I mean, because sports, you knew me at a time who had more fun than me. You had to

Mark Viviano  26:31

work. Has to be fun, though. I mean,

Nestor Aparicio  26:33

I had so much fun with sports, and I don’t understand Katie Griggs and Sashi Brown and Chad steel and these people that are involved. You were in Arlington tonight that you were flipping with an F about what these teams represent and where the fun is. And for you, like, if fun is being on the floor, at our age, building things with your kid, and fun around sports is coaching a little league team, and teaching your kids ball like sports was so much fun for all of our lives. There is a point where, like Jerry said that to me, the last time I saw you at a press event was probably in Arlington, up on the roof when they were mistreating me and my employee and my company, and you witnessed it, you weren’t happy with it, and you’re out of it. Now, I just the first thing I sent you 20 minutes ago is like, I just hope you’re having the greatest time of your life, because we had a really good time doing the work we’ve done the last

Mark Viviano  27:31

8

and that’s just the thing. I think you’re reminiscence of all those things, and you’re still able to enjoy what you do. You meet people, you you draw people in you have conversations, meaningful conversations, that for me, I look back and I just feel so blessed that I got to do it, because that was the job I always dreamed of. I wanted to do it, and I got to do it for going back to I started. I got paid in college to do high school basketball games on a radio station up in Monroe City, Missouri is like, and I was, you know, they may have given me gas money

Nestor Aparicio  28:06

to Iowa, right?

Mark Viviano  28:07

My first job was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, covering Big 10. And, you know,

Nestor Aparicio  28:12

didn’t you go to Montana or something? No, somebody else.

8

Mark Viviano  28:15

The Pete Gilbert went, okay. So I was in Iowa, Dayton, Ohio, here, CNN, back here.

Nestor Aparicio  28:22

Okay,

Mark Viviano  28:23

yeah, that was, that was mine. But,

Nestor Aparicio  28:25

8

and if you could have drawn up your baseball card done, you

Mark Viviano  28:29

would never

Nestor Aparicio  28:29

would have traded anything, right?

Mark Viviano  28:31

I would have, I had never been to or dreamed of working in any of the places I ever worked. And the only opportunity, of course, my dream was, when you know my father was still alive, was to be on TV in St Louis.

8

Nestor Aparicio  28:44

You want to be Joe Buck, well,

Mark Viviano  28:46

I just wanted to be on TV in St Louis. And my family’s all in Missouri, and they offered me a job after I had just signed a contract. They didn’t offer me a job. They offered me an interview at Channel Two in St Louis after I had signed a contract extension at Bal and that station discontinued sports like,

Nestor Aparicio  29:09

oh,

Mark Viviano  29:09

8

a year later, yeah, they and there’s been all sorts of rearranging. So it was

Nestor Aparicio  29:13

your industry. You know, it’s like if I had stayed in the newspaper industry, right? Like my dear friend Dave shining, who I had on recently. I mean, the Washington Post is shut down at sports

Mark Viviano  29:22

like New York Times. New York Times

Nestor Aparicio  29:25

is

8

Nestor Aparicio  29:25

talking about Ted Turner. You know that 25 years ago, that

Mark Viviano  29:29

turned off the lights? Yeah, absolutely. W

Nestor Aparicio  29:31

NST will be a lot different when I’m not here. You know, the way it is, right?

Mark Viviano  29:35

8

Will there still be an NST when you’re not here?

Nestor Aparicio  29:37

Well, ask Luke, you know. Well,

Mark Viviano  29:38

I mean,

Nestor Aparicio  29:39

you know it won’t be, and this speaks to a family, but it won’t be my kid doing this work,

8

Mark Viviano  29:43

right, right?

Nestor Aparicio  29:43

So, and it won’t be your two kids with a stick Mike at Channel 1325, years from now, in the same way that Mark grew up,

Mark Viviano  29:52

no

Nestor Aparicio  29:52

8

wanting to be that guy, right?

Mark Viviano  29:54

No, it’s not. It’s different, and it’s good dude in the end, we should just be a. To just be happy for what we have been able to do and you’re still doing. I have no misgivings about any

Nestor Aparicio  30:06

most fun you ever did as a sports, as a working WJ, zpa, whatever. Like when people ask about the thing you did that was the most fun. What do you tell them?

Mark Viviano  30:17

Most fun? You know? What fun? I’ll go back. I’ll go back. One of the most fulfilling and difficult things I ever did when I was working in Dayton, Ohio on Friday nights. High school football in Ohio is crazy. Dayton is near Cincinnati. These you would go to these rural high schools where there’d be 10,000 people at these games. And there might have been 8000 people that lived in the town

8

Nestor Aparicio  30:43

in Lima or wherever,

Mark Viviano  30:44

yeah, up around there. You all those towns, we would do highlights of 12 games, all the scores, cruise all over the place, and put together this epic show that people died for.

Nestor Aparicio  30:59

And it’s videotaped. All videotape.

Mark Viviano  31:02

8

It’s not on your cell phone. There were no cell phones. It’s none of that. And people had to rush home from the game, and they did so they could see their team’s highlights. And to put that together was an epic production that required so much planning and cooperation and coordination, and at the end of it, we’d go across the street at this one restaurant that had chicken wings and beer, and we were just like, we did it again. And it was fulfilling. It was meaningful.

Nestor Aparicio  31:31

The newspaper ever that was the same way,

Mark Viviano  31:33

same thing. So

Nestor Aparicio  31:34

then the next day, my dad’s reading it. Man, yeah, that’s

8

Mark Viviano  31:39

big

Nestor Aparicio  31:40

guys. The greatest thing the paper out, you know, literally.

Mark Viviano  31:44

So what has changed is that now, with these phones, like when, when we broke the story of the Ravens move or the Browns moving to Baltimore, if there had been one tweet, if there was Twitter, if I’d put that out on Twitter, it had been gone, nobody would have cared. Whoever broke the story, it would have been usurped and just repurposed. And it’s like, yeah, browns are coming to Baltimore, whatever. It’s just different. Where people get information, how people get information, the immediacy of the information newspapers. Man, that’s a tough gig. Man, when everybody’s got everybody wants to know what happened in the last five minutes, not what happened last night.

Nestor Aparicio  32:24

8

I’m still a news hound, but I mean, that’s so 1015, years ago that the LA Times would break a story, and within five minutes, you know, whoever was reporting as Ken Rosenthal reported, or whatever, they would just stop giving accreditation, which in our industry was gospel, right? Like you would never claim someone else’s story in the same way you wouldn’t be a comedian stealing a joke,

Mark Viviano  32:49

right, right?

Nestor Aparicio  32:50

My God, you would just be excommunicated,

Mark Viviano  32:52

yeah, but I You’re right. You’re there are so many different elements that are different. But I hearkened back to that Ohio time because it was the it was the perfect size market where people wanted to see their own elevated in a broadcast. This wasn’t the Bengals and the browns or the reds and the then Indians or Ohio State. This was local kids and people cared, and the only place they were going to see. It wasn’t online, wasn’t on their phone. It was with a if they ran home and turned on. Wdtn, yeah, and watch No. Well, there were other stations trying to do the same thing. But, I mean, the fact is, people

8

Nestor Aparicio  33:32

channel two was covering your game that night. You went home and you saw the

Mark Viviano  33:36

and people cared. And that’s a thing people cared now,

Nestor Aparicio  33:40

from done though, you have to tell me. I mean, when your predecessors, channel 13, your predecessors, when Bob Turk, Jerry Sanders, you know, Al Sanders, Jerry Turner, when I was in middle school, 1979 or 80, they had a traveling basketball team, Klaus Wagner, those guys, he collapsed it or Randy Blair collapsed at one of those events. Right? They would come over and play the holly bird faculty basketball team, and channel 13 coming to Dundalk to play a charity

Mark Viviano  34:15

8

Big Deal

Nestor Aparicio  34:15

basketball game. And you would bring a camera, and you would shoot eight seconds of B roll, of Bob Turk signing autographs in the lobby, and a couple of our teachers would make a jump shot. Everybody in the school was tuned in that night and for a month leading up. And I can pull out my eighth grade yearbook. I swear to you, it’s true. The channel 13 came to my middle school, sure, and played against the holly bird all stars.

Mark Viviano  34:42

And that mattered. And

Nestor Aparicio  34:43

it mattered a lot. It

8

Mark Viviano  34:44

mattered a lot. Now nobody

Nestor Aparicio  34:45

was watching Channel 11 or two that night,

Mark Viviano  34:47

right? Well, and think about this, and I say this to be I’ll include myself if, when I was still at W Jay z2 years ago, if we said we were going to Dundalk. High School to play the faculty crickets. We would care. I don’t think anybody would care. Now, Baltimore is a little different. In certain pockets of the area. Do have a connection, but that the young people, they don’t, they don’t know, they don’t care, and that’s okay.

Nestor Aparicio  35:16

8

Like see Anchorman. There probably is a scene in Anchorman about the staff going out for the team softball game. You know what I mean? Because, like, that was, I, when I get Marty on,

Mark Viviano  35:27

that was marketing that was part of the market.

Nestor Aparicio  35:29

I’m gonna ask if Marty ever did a celebrity basketball game at Channel 13. I promise you thought such a thing existed. He was pub Turks, Sunshine club, and probably begat, you know all of your your meteorology with the Orioles at 12 o’clock in the morning, right, right when they bring the field trips down or whatever? Oh, yeah, outreach, yeah. But all of our industries have changed. I don’t, I don’t know what the future is.

Mark Viviano  35:52

I don’t it what’s funny now that I’m I got kids, the parents say, Oh, you were on TV this and that the kids no clue. Mr.

8

Nestor Aparicio  36:01

Mark.

Mark Viviano  36:03

My favorite title is Michael’s dad, or Christian’s Dad. What

Nestor Aparicio  36:07

do they call you? Coach Viv, Mr.

Mark Viviano  36:08

8

Coach Mark. Coach Mark, on the baseball field. But at school, I volunteer at the school and recess monitor. And the kids run up, they’ll go

Nestor Aparicio  36:17

recess monitor. What it

Mark Viviano  36:19

Yeah, just you. Just like the teachers.

Nestor Aparicio  36:21

Are you the COP of the playground?

8

Mark Viviano  36:23

Yeah, cop, I’m more like the referee.

Nestor Aparicio  36:26

Would you call yourself recess?

Mark Viviano  36:29

Recess? Monitor?

Nestor Aparicio  36:30

8

Monitor, yeah. Monitor means you wear the orange bag

Nestor Aparicio  36:34

and

Nestor Aparicio  36:34

you’re like the bobby Brady of the operation. You know, I’m

Mark Viviano  36:37

just there like the kids, if they’re if certain group of kids are playing basketball, they’ll always split it up, boys against boys against girls. And I make sure it’s fair, like, I’ll step in. I’ll go, No, you that’s a foul, you know,

8

Nestor Aparicio  36:48

like,

Mark Viviano  36:49

or they’ll come, you know, to, you know, third grade girls are running up to me. They’ll say, you want to, do? You want to do you want to see you. Can you help us find our invisible horse? I’m like, where is it? Well, it’s invisible. You got to lead me to it. Like, you just play with kids. Like kids are amazing. I’m fast and then, and then they run up to you, and they’ll go, Hi Michael’s Dad. Hi Christians dad. That’s all I wanted.

Nestor Aparicio  37:12

Viviano had a press pass. Now he’s looking for an

Mark Viviano  37:14

8

invisible horse. It’s true.

Nestor Aparicio  37:17

Your kids are like, like, really at it. Like, you could take them to Disney World, you could take them anywhere now, and like, they’ve, they’ve made it to that point, right? Like, six and four little bit, like, maybe Ocean City. They, you know, you got to watch them in the water or whatever. They’re like little humans now, right?

Mark Viviano  37:33

We’re going to, we’ve, we’re trying to expand. And we’ve done a lot of Florida, combined with spring training, which I don’t

Nestor Aparicio  37:42

say

8

Nestor Aparicio  37:42

they’ve done, like some cool

Mark Viviano  37:43

down Florida. We do ocean city every year.

Nestor Aparicio  37:45

Hershey, her dad.

Mark Viviano  37:46

8

We’ve done it last. Last few years we’ve done Seattle, San Juan Islands,

Nestor Aparicio  37:51

okay,

Mark Viviano  37:51

of Camelback Mountain, out in Scottsdale.

Nestor Aparicio  37:55

They like to do they walk in the woods without doing hiking,

8

Mark Viviano  37:58

hiking. And this year we’re going out to Yosemite,

Nestor Aparicio  38:02

you get long legs, man, these kids get little

Mark Viviano  38:04

legs. Oh, they’re good. They’re gonna, they’re gonna learn to move.

Nestor Aparicio  38:08

8

I see like VIV like little kids, like ducks behind you,

Mark Viviano  38:11

here’s, here’s the thing. Or humor me on this. And maybe some of your

Nestor Aparicio  38:15

lists. We’re old as hell. Now you have patients that you just would not I mean, I was a parent of 16 different

Mark Viviano  38:20

gigs. Oh my gosh,

8

Nestor Aparicio  38:20

totally different. Yeah, God

Mark Viviano  38:22

bless you for making that work. The thing now with kids, again, being the older Dad and I don’t want to sound like the old man, get off my lawn. Have you seen these electric bikes? These kids have

Nestor Aparicio  38:34

no

Mark Viviano  38:35

8

you haven’t seen them?

Nestor Aparicio  38:36

No.

Mark Viviano  38:38

Unbelievable. These kids have, like motorcycles

Nestor Aparicio  38:42

for an eight year old.

8

Mark Viviano  38:43

Well, that’s

Nestor Aparicio  38:44

your 12, son,

Mark Viviano  38:45

none.

Nestor Aparicio  38:46

8

That was the gun rule done. That’s your 12. It’s like Willy Wonka,

Mark Viviano  38:49

pedal, pedal your bike. These are kids. They’re everywhere now. Well,

Nestor Aparicio  38:54

I mean, I lived in a city they would get on those damn the VA the limes or whatever.

Nestor Aparicio  38:59

They

8

Nestor Aparicio  39:00

were like, Come on, kids, walk over to Little Italy. Thank you. Walk, man,

Mark Viviano  39:05

just walk. But I’m talking about 810, no, not eight year old tan and up middle schoolers. They’re, like, they

Nestor Aparicio  39:12

get a big wheel, at least give something to move. They got these

Mark Viviano  39:14

8

electric bikes. And they’re, they’re going like, 3540 miles an hour

Nestor Aparicio  39:18

with a helmet.

Mark Viviano  39:19

No,

Nestor Aparicio  39:21

that’s really dangerous

8

Mark Viviano  39:22

well, and I can’t be mad at the kids. I gotta go parents. What are we thinking? What are we doing here?