Our “Crab Cake Row: A Cup Of Soup Or Bowl Week” brought together two legends who have barely met. Our Luke Jones and the greatest sports cartoonist ever Mike Ricigliano join forces to discuss the ties that bind us together as Baltimoreans and sports fans at Koco’s Pub for The Maryland Food Bank.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
stadium, sports, game, point, luke, bucks, love, camden yards, figure, anymore, bar, dummy, niece, city, fans, tickets, place, ravens, give, crab cake
SPEAKERS
Mike Ricigliano, Nestor J. Aparicio, Luke Jones
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:00
Welcome home. We are at Coco’s in Lawrenceville. I’m Nestor it is. It is our crab cake. Rose says it’s the crab cake tour. I’m like, yeah, it’s sort of a cup of Super Bowl of the crab cake tour. It’s called crab cake row. Rustic is still here. And Luke Jones. Luke has to go at 330. So we’re gonna hold him 20 more minutes and like do something here. Brian has been kind enough for the Brain Injury Association, Maryland to hang out and he’s going to join us at 330 receivers here. And Ron Cassie, a Baltimore magazine editor, who is a, you know, real baseball aficionados. Yeah, he’s, you know, one of the smart people, one of the deep thinkers I know, I love him. He’s on his bike. Heading over here on the bike paths down, gone. Lay Oregon, Dr. Phil out there to do it. Yeah, so Luke’s gonna hang out a little while longer. So I will just say on the tip of our tongue, more than anything as being a guy who’s done nothing but sports in my life until recently, just the fact that sports is so relevant again, that you know, there are people here wearing Raven stuff. There’s people here wearing Oreo stuff, and they both have a legitimate run at this. There’s new ownership. There’s gonna be new breath in this. There’s enthusiasm for Lamar, there’s controversy or whatever for hardball or for DeCoster for are they going to win? Or Is any of that stuff? It there’s a relevancy about it, that when I talk about and I’ve talked to a lot of people this week about positive things, right? We’re Baltimore positive right? But like I had Baltimore homecoming here today and Mandy Snyder, she just took this gig of Baltimore homecoming, talking about like, if your front facing the world and saying what’s good about Baltimore, he say CFG Bank Arena, we got development, the harbor is going to happen. The baseball ownerships going to happen where we didn’t felt like it was never gonna we’ve spent a whole segment talking about that right. So it the revitalization of the city and I’ve been to a man was in San Francisco two weeks ago it’s it’s you know, if I say that out loud some Republican yells about some issue about them it’s just dumb stuff. But it’s struggling man you know, I mean, cities are struggling because business isn’t there anymore. All the glue that held the harbor together for 50 years is going to be different. But getting people their feet on the street getting people downtown or making it relevant making it urgent helping bars think about how much different this would be if the Ravens had won that game. Yes, it does speak for Our Town how important sports is our and can be can be when it’s done. Right? You talk about the bills and I mean, no time you’re in Buffalo. They only have the Sabres, right. To sport thing but and we’ve been that traditionally with the Colts in yours forever. I’ve been doing this 32 years I met her sick dude I met you for I said 39 It was 40 years ago last month. Amazing.
8
Mike Ricigliano 02:49
I met you in January. Luke was like, a glint in his father’s muscle.
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:57
So I’ve known you 40 years and you’ve drawn sports cartoons about all the earth say stuff all the Angelo I mean, you have made you’ve made a living off of dumb prick owners in this town. Yeah, like how awful it’s been the
Mike Ricigliano 03:13
greatest dumb prick owners in any of any American city but maybe at least the best well I don’t know there’s there’s some bad ones see Daniel Snyder too, you know but but but yeah,
Nestor J. Aparicio 03:25
8well, just in there who’s wearing the district on his shirt taking the team out of the city for car to a press conference. It stands up hold me accountable and walks out the side door without taking questions. Yes Right. Dude, I can’t believe I ever had anything to do with you ever. But first.
Mike Ricigliano 03:45
But first sports cartoon is pure gold as a as a sport city for for ownership group for ownerships. Verse A Angelou
Nestor J. Aparicio 03:56
drawing Steinbrenner cartoons at the post for you. Yes,
Mike Ricigliano 03:59
right. And again, I grew up reading Bill Gallo and Bruce Stark in the New York papers. And I used to love the way Bill Gallo Drew, depicted George Steinbrenner with a German helmet on his head and Mike got it. Yeah, it’s always great. You couldn’t do that. Now. No, you could not do that now. So but but I you don’t really, really control or say and Angelo’s really well, I mean, over the years, I really depicted my
8Nestor J. Aparicio 04:28
radio station has the Peter ometer. He did a Peter meter appear Oh meter. And it was a circle with a spinner on it. And it had all Peters lives and where it would land. Him was like a lie. You know, it was still hanging at the station. And the earthly thing. I mean, Cassie just did a thing on the LSAT. He’s
Mike Ricigliano 04:49
writing a story on it. Yeah, great. Blast
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:51
me because we’re six here. I’m going to tell him out loud you didn’t even know this. He made to Tommy’s the head of the original body dummy lives. In Kenton at the bar and Nacho Mama’s, and the Beanie Baby donkey that you made. It was it was commissioned for me. It was for that game for that day. It was commissioned or it was commissioned for that game. He made it for the 2006 game, right? Yeah, we were just talking about that. And I took it to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl and 11 it has been photographed with Don Shula.
Mike Ricigliano 05:25
8I love that. Beanie. Bob
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:27
lives at the very back bar in the back back corner of Nacho Mama’s in Towson. And he is back there right next to the vodka that he enjoyed. So much. So so over the bar, so
Mike Ricigliano 05:40
appropriate, yes. Very nice. Very nice. Yeah. Anyway, yeah. It’s the 40th anniversary of the of the the barbarous Aw, this year, right. This year in October, it will be but of course, it’s I think it says is it the 40th anniversary of the movie. I think he’s doing the story. We can ask him when he’s here, but I think he’s doing the story on the cold sleeving. But he’s doing like a sidebar on the on the dummy. You know, which is it’s his his anniversary is in October.
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:11
Does he know that the dummies are at Nacho Mama’s?
8Mike Ricigliano 06:13
I’m not sure you’ll have to kind of ask them. Well, that’s why you like
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:17
it make it public because people ask about the dummies. And I mean, even Dan Rodricks the play I took you to I told your mistakes in
Mike Ricigliano 06:26
them and the dummy. Yeah, they have a slide of me and the dummy stadium. Yeah. Great. It’s really good. First slide of our power Morgana in that same town. Yeah, that’s great.
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:41
8I got the first base was Morgana, wah, wah, wah.
Mike Ricigliano 06:46
But that to you point, to your point, I get a picture of it. And also two of the greatest sports facilities, you know, in their own sports in this town too. That’s an another plus sports wise. You don’t think so? What do you mean? Raven stadium and Camden Yards?
Nestor J. Aparicio 07:07
Don’t think the stadium I mean, if there’s that great people would go to him that more than they you know, I mean, like it’s about the teams. It’s about the price. It’s about Mojo. It’s about who you’re going with. It’s about the price and the price. And I think I mean, I
Luke Jones 07:21
do think Camden Yards is a jewel from an aesthetic standpoint now, that’s been diminished with the hotel that went up. And certainly the unfilled product after a while yeah, do get to a point where I didn’t know you’re shooting the product. But the ballpark itself, we can’t dismiss
8Nestor J. Aparicio 07:41
I’m not dismissing it. That great people would go they need a better idea than we have a nice ballpark and we’re gonna
Luke Jones 07:47
win the Red Sox for lousy no one went to Fenway Park either, like let’s not, you know,
Nestor J. Aparicio 07:52
I got you. I’m
Luke Jones 07:54
8just saying from considering the
Nestor J. Aparicio 07:57
asset though. And I’m just saying like, that’s nothing new. Like they’re gonna spend one point. It’s gonna be moot anyway, because they’re gonna renovate three times what they spent on both of the stadiums. Sure, putting up gold plated bathrooms in the case of the ravens, I’ve seen their plan. Their plan doesn’t involve me, you know, it doesn’t involve anybody that’s gonna go down there and pay less than 250 bucks to get near the place. And $30 for coffee. I mean, literally, I’m not being a jerk. And pincher. I mean, that’s just the way it is. I don’t suck at me. They’re making the stadium better. I mean, they did the things that they needed to do in the stadium. When I mean, look, I had I cried about David Monday on the air. He tackled me about escalators when old people in 1999 Couldn’t get upstairs and moving around. And then, you know, Steve, put all this money in. I’ll give Steve you want to give John props. I’ll give you the props spent money on things in the stadium that came out of his pocket. That’s now kind of getting rebated back, but didn’t cast us thought that we need an out of town scoreboard when everybody’s got a phone and the phones aren’t working. They got the Wi Fi working in there. I think that was one of the biggest in in game experience. And I’m not a media guy like him. I sat in the stands with my phone in the rain every week and was chastised and thrown out for it. But the what when the Wi Fi didn’t work, it sucked and when the Wi Fi work the whole experience got better to check stats should do things like that to me. And that’s you don’t even see it. It didn’t cost a billion dollars to do I went to every game there ever was and paid for it every game ever from the beginning, even preseason games, and I sat my seats and it’s fine it’s great. I love my seats that’s one thing but that’s personal to me. But I walked in the same gate went to the same place I didn’t utilize but I walked the parts of the statement don’t really Joe four months ago that I’d never been because why would I be there wasn’t part of what I did. Just wasn’t my my thing for 25 years right? Um, I don’t know that they know the answer. Because I’ll tell you what it’s not. It’s not Lamar. It’s not winning. It’s not $10 tickets, because Dude, I got screenshots of every single week, you go to a rave, get anytime you want it for 10 or 20 bucks this year, save for two or three bills get you big games, good team comes in, they would they would move the meat of the lions game move the meter because the lions brought 15,000 fans. It’s not a tough ticket. It’s not desirable people like it on TV, all the things we talked about, but that they got to figure out how to get people down to and that same thing with the Inner Harbor. I’ll say that same thing rarely CFG bank figured out we’re gonna bring in John Mayer, that’s gonna bring people to attend. I mean,
Mike Ricigliano 10:41
isn’t that a problem that a lot of teams right now.
Luke Jones 10:45
Right. It’s like we were talking about previous conversation. We were talking about the Orioles with Masson and streaming and figuring out TV in 2024. Because it’s only getting worse. You know, you have to completely reimagine what that’s gonna look like. But that’s every end there
8Nestor J. Aparicio 11:00
is going to be some bundle, where you’re nice and maybe a niece or nephew. I’m not rooting one way or another for you. But when they’re 14 years old, and you want to take them down, and you’re not gonna be to be my age, then not that’s not it’s not that old to be my age. I want to point that out, you can
11:19
really write you
Nestor J. Aparicio 11:21
know, when we get to that point, what what’s it going to look like? What’s the level of interest? What’s the what’s the cost of entry, and more than that, and I think it’s going here if you’re asking me and I don’t, what would I know about media? I, to me, the they’ve been living off the public TV for so long, and so many people in larvell that don’t like baseball have been paying for it through their cable television, and they eat your that. And Chris Davis got rich off of that after Brady Anderson and Rafi Oh, Paul America, like that’s where the money came from. Right? Or money didn’t come from $25 beers. Certainly not in white, lower middle class, baseball fans from Dundalk or Middle River who $20 beers outrageous. I see them turn their nose up at $6 beers and Dundalk, right like so. It’s cheaper on the outside the games on TV, they’re going to try to really stuffed up the rectums of the people who watch on TV now. So that’s all they have. All they have is sorry, it’s 599 $599. This year, it breaks down to $3 a game. It’s kind of the way they break down coffee, we spend too much for it. It’s only $3 a day, it’s only three hours a game. It’s $3 a game dude, it’s three friggin bucks a game, and you’ll get it on your duty did you get to do all these please go and watch it one place, right like so you all you want to do is watch it wherever you are. And you need Wi Fi to do that. If you’re in Cambridge, God bless you, you know, or your some backwoods place you. Shrewsbury. Like where I live. I would say what I’m seeing from them now is if you buy the 599 package, Luke will give you the JR Oriole thing to bring your kid and we’ll give him a free cheeseburger from the the chicken tender place or the royal farms, this kid’s club or whatever. But what they’re going to do is make you get bent over to have the games on TV, and then incent you to come down to the ballpark where they can then bend you over for $25 beers. And like getting you to the ballpark for five bucks or 10 bucks. That’s going to be your Benny, your Benny is you buy the $600 thing Deluxe come to the ballpark for free. And so you get $20 beers, right? So they’re gonna get their season, they’re gonna get your season ticket out of you, your grandkids, that’s the way the Mets are going to sell them, right like they’re going to. And that’s going to be your cost to entry and that’s when it’s going to fall apart. Because you’re going to turn your nose up Middle River is going to turn their nose up, they’re gonna find some way to steal it. We’re gonna go back to what my father would tell me. And by the way, I’m releasing the book of My Father on March 5, my dad’s birthday, my 2006 why I love baseball. My dad would tell him because my dad was born in 1999. He said in Scranton, when he was a kid, the big fights the tiny Dempsey and the loose fights in the 30s. There’s one place in a neighborhood that had the radio, and they would all go to the house and listen to the fight. It’d be like when I got closed circuit back and Mike Tyson and you come over to Kane Street. Yeah. Watch Mike Tyson, Buster Douglas or Michael Spinks, all 92 seconds of it. You know, I paid 59 bucks and collect five bucks for everybody at the door. That’s right. And we get the fight. Right. I mean, I don’t know who’s doing that on a Tuesday night for baseball game. I don’t know what they’re gonna do to Marcella here. If she wants to have the Oriole game on here as I see the NBA network up here. I mean, where’s $50 million coming for Lamar Jackson from Gillette or shake or Coors or the like we’re so Roger can make 80 million a year like at some point I am on naysaying, the bubble is gonna burst But baseball specifically. And if we were at Radio row this week with smart people because the NFL wouldn’t let them in. They would tell you that the NFL is gonna start banging people five, six years from now on streaming, if you want the Super Bowl, it’s 10 bucks, then box, it’s only 10 bucks per box.
Luke Jones 15:11
8They won’t do it for the Superbowl. They’ll do it for every game but the Superbowl.
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:14
Already a peacock peacock right here, you know, and I went off to Hollywood casino to watch it. I don’t know how important that game would be to me how much I really would have paid to watch the game.
Mike Ricigliano 15:25
I mean, I was very angry that I couldn’t watch it just because it seemed like it was going to be a classic NFL ice bowl game, you know, like, watch it? No, I didn’t watch it.
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:36
It’s the first football playoff game you’ve ever missed in your life.
8Mike Ricigliano 15:39
It’s one of the only ones I’ve ever missed in my life. Yeah, of course, the player
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:42
is three years old, he’s pissed off, he’s done. That’s my threshold, and we might get on my credit card. And I wasn’t playing that I’m gonna get online and cancel it and and shove it to shove it, you know, and I hope that the Rubenstein to shove it part of it the shove it that shove it part. They can’t. The Oreos can’t have I’ve already told you I was a shove it for 30 years. I want to come back. I don’t know what the offer is. And I’m telling you the offer is going to be way different for your niece and nephew niece or whatever, then it’s
Luke Jones 16:13
to figure out it’s a changing world. I mean, it is I mean, look at how think about things that we took for granted even me as someone who’s young, that’s doesn’t exist anymore. You know, I saw I was browsing social media this morning. And someone was lamenting the fact that high school kids can’t see their team’s box score in the news, the local newspaper anymore. Live streaming is not a thing anymore. Right? Okay, there is a live stream. But you can’t save that for prosperity like, Oh, I know what to think about. We just talked about playoffs, you don’t get tickets anymore. I mean, think about I know you’ve collected ticket stubs I have like, so like things that we just took for granted, either in our adult lives or certainly as kids like, it’s a changing world. And I don’t mean that in a bitter way. Although certain things I don’t like but it’s changing. So sports has to adapt just like other forms of energy. Whatever
Nestor J. Aparicio 17:09
8the day, no one goes great Adley rutschman getting this money or Gunnar Henderson, just understand by year eight, you are going to pay you’re going to if you want to enjoy it, you’re gonna have to pay for it. Same goes grab get your anything else you buy. And we like It’s like
Mike Ricigliano 17:24
rolls with it better than old guys like but yet
Luke Jones 17:27
at the same time, like going back to what you said people will reach a threshold. And I’ve said this for years talking about Thursday night football in the NFL, and especially now that it’s on Amazon. Don’t watch it, it’s a lousy product, stop watching it, the league will see that the numbers tank and then they have to reevaluate. So like at some point in time us you have to speak as a consumer Freebirds. So I’m already there. I’m not saying that. Like I’m not saying that for the Orioles or for the Ravens or just in general, if it’s something that you don’t like, don’t consume it, don’t you talk about it on social media while you’re continuing to watch it. You’re giving them exactly what they want, you know, so. And this lends itself to what you’re saying. JC
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:06
I mean, you get to me.
8Luke Jones 18:07
I mean, you’re just you’re just getting to a point where it’s like, okay, you’re either going, it’s something that you value, and you will continue to do it, or you’ll continue to pay more, or you will and that all these leaks just like the movie industry, music. I mean, think about it. Both streaming, what was the last time you went to a record store? How many record stores even exist anymore? Compared to 10 years ago, let alone 23
Mike Ricigliano 18:29
My favorite stores
Luke Jones 18:33
now, but yeah, it’s great that you can pull your phone out and go listen to your favorite song instantaneous, Andre?
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:39
8Because he’s getting ripped off. Right. Right. Well, and
Luke Jones 18:43
you see how that’s had to be reimagined. And I don’t know, the nuts and bolts of that. But the music industry is very different now than it was 20 years ago or four years ago. So you know, I mean, I look, if I had the answers to this, I wouldn’t be sitting right here. I don’t make billions right now figuring that out. Bari to crabcake Oh, yeah. By the way, crabcakes amazing Coco’s
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:06
road for you. But But yeah,
Luke Jones 19:08
I mean, this is, and I don’t even think this needs to be a doom and gloom conversation. It’s ultimately not talking as media guys for a second, we’re just fans and consumers and watching it for them to figure that out. Because ultimately, you’re either gonna, you’re gonna keep me or I’m gonna go away. And if I go away, chances are my kids or my nieces or whoever is going to go away, you know, so
8Mike Ricigliano 19:32
and also, as you said, you know, maybe it’s better for us as fans if we want to go to a football game that the tickets are only 20 or 30 bucks because of the availability.
Luke Jones 19:43
I’m glad you said the word availability, I was gonna bring this up, and we’re already seeing it. Camden Yards is gonna have a smaller capacity when the renovations are done. You know we’re at right now. It’s about 4546. It had been up as high as 48 at one point in time, it’s probably going to I’m guessing I don’t know this. This There’s not any inside information I’m guessing their capacity is going to be more like 40. When this is all said and done, you’re gonna see probably the left field upper reserved, I think is probably going to be turned into Bar Restaurant common area, the
Nestor J. Aparicio 20:13
birds are ready to retire.
Luke Jones 20:15
8Again, just to guess, but we’ve seen how they haven’t sold those tickets in recent years other than for a handful of games. But I think you’re gonna see that and this happened in Cleveland, this has happened they’re going to reimagine space. It’s all about now having social gathering kind of place you’re
Nestor J. Aparicio 20:31
going to want to go down there and have a different experience like that. There’s
Luke Jones 20:36
a carousel there’s there’s spaces for young fans there’s you know, Senator, I mean, they have the center field bar restaurant or the centerfield bar area, there’s
Nestor J. Aparicio 20:45
place to my walk in the stadium.
8Luke Jones 20:47
I mean, it’s it’s it’s not the best place in the world to watch the game if you’re really set on watching the game. But it’s a great vantage point. Like it’s cool to, to be up there. It’s so you know, but but this is how it’s all changing. And you said it, a big part of this is going to be oh, we’re going to shrink the capacity, we’re going to drive up the demand because you’re going to be less availability. Now that won’t matter as much in May on a Tuesday night. But you better believe that’s going to matter in September if they’re in the middle of a pennant race, having a weekend series with the rays or the Yankees or the Red Sox. And it sure is gonna matter come October when there are 40,000 playoff tickets compared to 47 years ago, so yeah, you know, I mean, it’s, I’m, again fascinated to see how it’s gonna play out. I mean, it’s no easy answers for
Nestor J. Aparicio 21:31
anyone. Yeah, unlimited possibilities. All right, for saying I’ll see you in about 20 minutes. Hey, Grace, he’s coming. Luke elbow bumps, gets get some soup for the road man. Luke Jones is here. All of his fans and admirers or stop by we’re Coco’s porn Olara Ville Harford Road in more fans, admirers and I have this point you know, they love you I read on YouTube and a guy with all the hair not so much but the loop guy he knows a lot. Marilyn Monroe is making this happen Brian Hughes gonna be our next guest we’re gonna talk about head trauma brain injuries not just in regard to football but in regards to like life and important things don’t fall on the ice and do stupid stuff like that this winter. I’m going to be coastal five state fair all day on Thursday, Friday we returned to Pappas in khakis Ville come on out. I’ve got a more lottery tickets and I know what to do with Ross left me stacked and I’m ready to get him away have some people when our friends are when their nation 866 90 nation and Jiffy Lube, multi care you come with canned goods, dry goods, good goods for the Maryland Food Bank and we give you a cup of soup or bowl free of charge. It is crab cake row back for more it’s gonna feel like radio row momentarily. We are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore and we never stop talking Baltimore positive
