We don’t need to wait for the Bears to come to Baltimore to invite our longtime Chicago pal and legendary Sports Illustrated writer Rick Telander to share some Windy City takes of glory and more modern marvels of seeing Ohtani play and his children’s book with former MLB pitcher Steve Trout.
Nestor Aparicio and Rick Telander discuss their shared history and love for Chicago sports. Telander, a legendary sports writer, reminisces about his time with the Kansas City Chiefs and his friendship with Chet Coppock. They talk about Telander’s new children’s book, “The Magic Ball,” co-written with Steve Trout, and its educational value. They also delve into the recent historic performance of Shohei Ohtani in baseball, comparing it to other great athletic feats. The conversation shifts to the Chicago Bears’ struggles, particularly the challenges faced by quarterback Justin Fields, and the potential of Caleb Williams. They conclude with plans for future meetings and a gift of Telander’s book to Nestor’s young sponsor’s son.
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Arrange a get-together for pizza or other Chicago-style food with Telander and other Chicago sports media personalities.
- [ ] Send Nestor the children’s book “The Magic Ball” that Telander co-authored with Steve Trout.
Welcoming Rick Telander and Upcoming Events
- Nestor Aparicio welcomes Rick Telander, a legendary Chicago sportswriter, to the show.
- Nestor mentions upcoming events, including a game against the Miami Dolphins and a Maryland crab cake tour.
- Nestor talks about a breakfast event at State Fair and a discussion about the Orioles with Alan.
- Nestor shares his history with Rick, including their mutual connections through sports and media.
Rick Telander’s Background and Personal Connections
- Rick Telander shares his background, including his draft by the Kansas City Chiefs and his time at Northwestern.
- Nestor and Rick discuss their shared love for sports and the impact of Nestor’s last name in Chicago.
- Rick talks about his friendship with Chet Coppock and a touching story about a cartoon he drew of Chet.
- Nestor reminisces about his time in Chicago and his interactions with various sports personalities.
Memories of Chicago Sports Legends
- Nestor and Rick discuss their memories of Chicago sports legends, including Andre the Giant, Michael Jordan, and the Chicago Bulls.
- Nestor shares his collection of sports memorabilia, including autographed items and belt buckles.
- Rick talks about the impact of Chet Coppock on the Chicago sports scene and his personal connections to Chet’s family.
- Nestor expresses his admiration for Chet and the other sports personalities he interacted with in Chicago.
Rick Telander’s Book and Steve Trout Collaboration
- Rick introduces his book, “The Magic Ball,” co-written with Steve Trout, and explains its premise.
- Nestor and Rick discuss the book’s target audience and its educational value for children.
- Rick shares the story behind the book and the collaboration process with Steve Trout.
- Nestor plans to gift the book to his young sponsor’s son, highlighting its appeal to young readers.
Discussion on Baseball and Sports Memorabilia
- Nestor and Rick discuss their love for baseball and the significance of sports memorabilia.
- Nestor shares his collection of Louie Aparicio cards and other baseball items.
- Rick talks about the impact of baseball cards on his childhood and the nostalgia they evoke.
- Nestor and Rick reminisce about their favorite baseball moments and the importance of sports history.
Otani’s Historic Performance and Athletic Achievements
- Nestor and Rick discuss Shohei Otani’s historic performance in the MLB playoffs, combining pitching and hitting.
- Rick compares Otani’s achievement to other great athletic performances, including Jim Abbott’s no-hitter.
- Nestor shares his personal experiences of witnessing significant sports moments, including Joe Carter’s home run.
- Rick and Nestor discuss the rarity and impact of athletes who excel in multiple sports.
Chicago Bears and NFL Dynamics
- Nestor and Rick shift the conversation to the Chicago Bears and the challenges they face.
- Rick discusses the Bears’ struggles and the impact of injuries on their performance.
- Nestor and Rick talk about the dynamics of the NFL, including the importance of a strong quarterback and offensive line.
- Rick shares his thoughts on the Bears’ current quarterback, Caleb Williams, and his potential.
Final Thoughts and Future Plans
- Nestor and Rick wrap up the conversation, expressing their appreciation for each other and their shared love for sports.
- Nestor promotes Rick’s book and plans to gift it to his young sponsor’s son.
- Rick and Nestor discuss future plans to meet in person and enjoy some Chicago-style pizza and crab cakes.
- Nestor concludes the show, expressing his excitement for upcoming events and the continued friendship with Rick.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Chicago sports, Rick Telander, Baltimore, Maryland crab cake tour, Orioles, Steve Trout, Magic Ball, baseball, Chet Coppock, Bears, NFL, Lamar Jackson, Caleb Williams, sports writing, Hall of Fame.
8
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Rick Telander
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive, positively into the other side of the bye week, when you’re one and five and got a game against the bears. On Sunday, got a game against the Miami Dolphins. Next Thursday night, I got crab cakes to eat. I’m going to be doing the Maryland crab cake Tour presented by the Maryland lottery with our friends. I have the Raven scratch offs. This has been a luckier edition than one in five, I assure you. And we’ll be giving these away at Costas on Wednesday this week, and then we’re doing breakfast next Tuesday at State Fair, sort of between the two games. And Alan’s going to come out. We’re going to talk World Series, we’re going to talk baseball. We’re going to talk who the Orioles manager is going to be, who the Orioles pitchers are going to be, and all of that stuff. This guy is a Chicago legend. He is become a friend of mine through the by and by, I guess, of my Sporting News Radio Days, and my one on one sports, and my Aparicio last name on the south side of Chicago, where it got me a lot of things on the north side where got me booed. Back to the south side. Rick tellender is you don’t even want to begin Sports Illustrated, Chicago Sun Times, Illinois sports writer of the year eight times. He’s in the Hall of Fame for sports writing and sports media excellence and all that stuff. But more than that, he’s like a nice guy and a pen pal all these years later that still writes me notes, handwritten notes, like stepping he sends me books with Steve trout without even knowing my 1979 history with Steve trout. No, I don’t know. And how are you? You look great.
Rick Telander 01:38
I’m great, Nestor, you’re right. I’ve watched you grow through the years, I become an old man. So it’s kind of cool, you know, here we go. I love it. No, I’m in Chicago. You’re in Baltimore. Nothing’s changed, bud.
Nestor Aparicio 01:48
8I’ve known you all of these years, and I didn’t know that, like, and I literally just Googled this before you came on. I didn’t know you were drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs as a defensive back out of Northwestern like I knew you played ball, I did Mike Adam Lee, I did the whole deal on that, and I got all these fun things because, like, you’ll randomly text me a picture of Louis Aparicio on a baseball card in the house.
Rick Telander 02:14
Listen, Aparicio is such a great name, it’s just if it flows off the tongue, nobody ever forgets name Aparicio. So, you know, I’m surprised. Yeah, if you come to the north side, it might not be that good for you in Chicago, but certainly on the south side, you’d be like, royalty. Yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 02:31
I got to get my jersey out and wear it like I do sometimes. This is the heartland statue. So I broke some fun things out because, like, I even have my Louie Aparicio day program that I bought on eBay. Didn’t even know there was such a thing 1970 or whatever VEC must have. I mean, the history of Chicago sports, and you chronicling it, and me flying into it for about five years at the turn of the century, when I was up in north Brook, screaming, doing radio. And I gotta find Mike North this week, and I miss check topic so much as a personal
Rick Telander 03:03
friend. Oh, man, Chet, larger than life. You know, it’s interesting. He’s he has a daughter who works with my daughter, and my daughter has a fitness thing in Evanston, and it’s like her best friend. And I didn’t know, because her name is different, because she married, and I had drawn a little, kind of funny cartoon of Chet when he died tragically in a car wreck, and he’s got a fur coat on, he’s got rings on all that stuff. He’s holding a microphone. It was just kind of a joke, but and I put it online, it was rip Chet. You know, it’s sorry, chet’s gone. I put it, I don’t know, maybe I texted it to somebody. Anyhow, this girl, his daughter, had found that somehow, and I’m like, Oh, my God, she got a hold of me. She was like, you know, in tears, and I met her beautiful young lady, and I found the original little cartoon, and I sent it to her. I put it in a frame and sent it to her of her dad, and she just loved it anyway.
8Nestor Aparicio 04:01
No, there’s not anyway. We can’t get off of this because I love Chet too much. And I got to tell you, man, I work with Chet, and Chet was a legend to me. All of you were even Mariotti, even though I grew to a little apart with him as a co worker. But like, I landed in the middle of Jordan, going out, winding up in Washington, right? The bears and McMahon and Dickens was larger than life in the fridge. Peyton had just paid, you know, like, like the Chicago I found, where the Blackhawks, in words, pissing on the community, not putting the games on TV, while the bulls were larger than life. Reinsdorf controlled baseball. You got two teams. The cubs are never going to win. Nobody knew who Eddie Vedder was, right. The White Sox were, like, the little engine they could they built the stadium that was no good. And like, there, nobody wanted to go there. And like, even though the low tastes are delicious, and I’ll always, I got this out for you, Rick, what’s my 1969 Chicago White Sox belt buckle. So. Week, yeah. So you know, Bill Melton, kind of goose, Gossage, Wilbur wood, kind of era. So I’m such a fan of sports, and my last name bought me this ticket in Chicago that I was unaware of. When I showed up, the guys like you would talk to me, but chat, check topic did weekends at the at the radio station, and he was this towering figure. And all of his relationships with Andre the Giant and wrestlers and the circus and rock stars and anything I ever needed in Chicago, Chet would be mad at me if I didn’t ask him for a favor, and, and, I mean, I just, I loved him. So if you I got to get all of you on we all ought to go out for like, pizza one night or something. We’ll go up to
Rick Telander 05:52
Ravinia. Yeah, I’m not a deep disc guy, but sure, pizza anytime you know, thinking of Chet, who would wear a big fox fur coat, and he was a big guy, six, five, whatever, and talked like, hey, here we are at the big barn on Madison Street. They’re bop ready to tee it off, and I’m with my best friend in the world, Nestor Aparicio. You know, everybody could mimic Chet because he was just like, you couldn’t believe he was like a carnival barker, like a showman, like a an auctioneer, and his heart was just gigantic underneath all that he helped so many people. It was really sad to see, you know, and listen to a guy my age. You start seeing him go, it’s pretty it’s pretty sad, but especially the way he did in a car wreck, you know, well,
Nestor Aparicio 06:36
I really appreciate the fact that anytime I pick up and drop a dime on you wherever you are. You send pictures wherever you’re. Tell me about this book, and then we’ll talk some bears. We’ll talk some I got my little Bear’s belt buckle out for you. We’ll we’ll do some ancient history and play some reindeer games here about Chicago, but your book and Steve trout and Steve trouts weird relationship with me, and it involves him pitching against the Orioles in 1979 but I met him one time in life. I met him like signing autographs at the Cubs brand new place, not the whole place, the new one right when they built it out in Arizona. And it was a whole bunch of Billy waves, a whole bunch of celebrities, legends, in a tent, and he was one of them. And give me this story, the magic, the Magic Ball, baseball, myth, legend, and the power to stir a kid’s imagination. Says, Bob Costas, you’re doing kid stuff. Rick, huh.
Rick Telander 07:34
8Well, listen, it started with Steve Todd. I remember he was a Cub. He was a White Sox, and he was also a Yankee. He and his dad, Dizzy trout, now he’s Steve is a left hander. So you know, already you got somebody’s little nuts, right? You’re a left handed pitcher. It’s just the way it goes. His dad, if you have the name Dizzy trout, you know that you’re a little different too. But between the two of them, they have the second most wins in baseball Major League history for a father and son tandem. I can’t remember who number one is negros or somebody you know, like that, but Steve had come we would talk through the years, and he’s always been like an inventor. He comes up with different ways to for kids to throw pitches so that they can see the strike zone, he’ll have day glow painted home plates. He has pillows with White Sox logos on it, things he can use for your head when you’re on an airplane,
Nestor Aparicio 08:32
sort of like Bill Lee, but a little different, but from Chicago. I mean, you
Rick Telander 08:35
know baseball player, but he also writes, and he’s through the years, he’s written some kids books, and this last one, he came to me and he asked me, you know about it? If he if I could help or do something? I said, he wasn’t done with it yet. And I said, what I was helping him? We were talking about stuff. I said, Why don’t we do the book together? The premise is, and it’s his idea. It’s a great one, this magic ball, and we want to do a series of them. It’s really cool. This magic ball came from somewhere, and you don’t know where, and this kid finds it, and it changes his life, and then he passes it on. And at the end of the book, you find out where the magic ball came from. And we’re not we don’t tell anybody yet, because it’s kind of a mystery, but it can talk, and it’s like shocks the hell out of this little kid. So I’d say if you’re anywhere from 12 to age eight, and you can read maybe 13 down to nine, something like that, it’s a great book. It’s got a lot of moral lessons, a lot of interesting stories that Steve came up with. We worked back and forth. We’d meet up, and I would do the writing, and he would have these ideas, and it was really a collaboration. I I tell you
Nestor Aparicio 09:44
what you want me to give this to a kid who’s about seven. Hold it down.
8Rick Telander 09:52
Is that good? Yeah, there you go. That’s it, right there, yeah? Tilda, yeah. It was kind of shiny. That’s it. There’s a tornado. Tornado’s got something to do with. This. We don’t know at the beginning, but Bob Costas liked the book, and he wrote that quote about it. So it’s, you read it in a half hour? Yeah, it’s a cute
Nestor Aparicio 10:10
little book. It’s a It’s not like my book. People pick it up and they’re like, I read no books, you know. So this, give me a starter book.
Rick Telander 10:17
You’re a kid at heart. You’ll like this book. I tell you, read it, you’ll get a real chunk. I mean, you’ll think, oh, yeah, I gotta see what this what, what’s going to happen with this magic ball
Nestor Aparicio 10:27
8in this I have, especially in the era of banana ball, right with stuff. The bananas came here this summer, and I’m not wearing my curio wellness. They’re a cannabis company, and foreign daughter, they’re my sponsor, and Wendy her, she’s a chief cannabis Officer, Chief Brand Officer for us here and educating us. But she came on the show and her boy loves baseball so much. Reminds me of me like when I see him, he tells me the score, who pitched, who in a home run, how guys are doing, what the manager should be doing with kids in the line. The kid’s like, six years old, seven years old. So this is like that. I’m thinking, this is the gift for that kid, right? Literally,
Rick Telander 11:06
when boys, and I would say girls too, and we have the beginning of there. This is for everybody who plays baseball and everybody who does not something that happens to boys, particularly and girls too. When they start to understand numbers, they start to understand the game of baseball, and they can actually talk to their dad or their mom or their buddies about it, because the numbers start to make sense. A hit, a pitch, scores, you know, the way the bases work.
Nestor Aparicio 11:34
My dad taught me math. You know, 250 batting average. If Louis was batting 250 when I was five years old, that wasn’t as good as 313 you know what? I mean, like, literally, and dividing by nine for I mean, just understanding era was complex for an eight year old. It
Rick Telander 11:50
is. It really is. And then, you know, you also have baseball cards. I don’t know if kids still get them, but we used to, I had a Louie Aparicio card, and I would just look at it, and you take it out and look at it. Read the back of it, read the stats.
8Nestor Aparicio 12:02
So, this is a 56 this is, this is, this is the Louie rookie writer. This is autographed by Louie. You know, I say to my wife, right? So this is, this is on the back. Louie took me drinking one day when I was 18, down at the Belvedere in the summer 86 and he signed all the car. Here’s, here’s my 57 Louie, that’s autographed as well. So, you know, so I, I’m with you, man, this was my and I’ve managed to Hobby it out to having these weird belt buckles of my childhood and my rock and roll buckles. But that’s all I collect. I collect Aparicio stuff and small stuff, not stuff that’s big in posters and artwork or whatever, just knickknacks, little things. But there is something that tethers us to this, whatever it is, you know, like whatever your childhood is, even though you’ve had this amazing life as a sports writer or whatever, there’s something about the 59 Go Go socks that probably wet your appetite, right? Just,
Rick Telander 13:03
you know, I remember the all star cards that they had, if you were an all star in like 1958, 5960 61 when I was a kid, you know, I was a little kid, and they would be red with stars, and one
Nestor Aparicio 13:15
was blue with stars. You mean, these right here, like this, right here,
Rick Telander 13:19
8yeah, well, there’s another one.
Nestor Aparicio 13:21
I’ll find it. I’ll find the 59
Rick Telander 13:25
there were guys like red, Shane Dean’s, Wally moon. I love those names. You just say the names over and over again.
Nestor Aparicio 13:32
62 you like your 60? Yeah, all right. So I’m going through my collection here. That’s why I brought it out, because I knew you would love it. Rick, you know, I
8Rick Telander 13:41
had a collection, you know, it’s one of those sad stories. My mom probably threw it out. It would be, I’d have it all over the
Nestor Aparicio 13:49
wall. You need to tell me, she did some good things too, right?
Rick Telander 13:52
Yeah, no, it’s baseball. Is fascinating game that way. I remember talking with Theo Epstein, you know, after he Well, as he was building the Cubs, they hadn’t won the World Series yet, and we were talking about baseball, and I said, you know, baseball is just, it’s kind of a simple game. He said, Oh God no, oh no, no. I mean, he was dead serious. He’s like, it goes on and on, and he’s right, there were, there were some plays. How about that play in the Milwaukee game where the ball bounced, hit the wall, hit the his glove hit the wall, bounced back, and nobody on base knew what to do. Whether it was an out. I don’t know if you saw that play. It ended up being a double play for the brewers. Even the Brewers didn’t know exactly what had happened. An infield fly rule is so complicated. Like did you try to catch the ball, does the guy, the guy first need to advance all these things that going through a little kid’s mind go through an adult’s mind, because the rest of the game is so simple. You hit you pitch it, you hit it. It’s either hit or not. But then you get into the details of it. Oh my god. It just, you know, it can warp your brain. It’s and I think it’s one of those. Things that, like forever, you never forget your connection with the beginnings of the sport. For you as a kid, particularly, I got a friend who’s got a 10 year old son. I think he just turned 10. He’s into baseball, like, like a little baby is into a teething ring. Or, you know, like a drug addict is, you know, to heroin. He’s, he’s so into it. He knows everything, and he loves it, and he watches it with such, you know, ardor, I guess, and he plays the game. He’s in a, you know, travel team. So everything he does, he projects onto the screen, and vice versa. And it’s just, it’s a magical time for him. He was a Cub fan. I told his dad. I said, well, the little, poor little guy has not had his heart broken yet, which is, I mean, that’s essential to being a Cub fan. So he got it this year. He thought the cubs are going to win the World Series. Sorry, son.
Nestor Aparicio 15:52
8I’ll get to the bears in a minute. Rick telander is here from the legendary Windy City, Chicago, where I made half a home for half a while, half a century ago, at least. It feels that way. I must ask you, as this world series begins, because it the Toronto, Canadian part of Canada versus the US, which is way baked into this thing in LA and how they beat the Yankees and Trump and all you know, everything that bakes into this, but Otani, and I mean nothing against flatter your springers pursuits or paint this any way you want to paint it, but the Otani achievement last week of pitching six innings of 10, strikeout, one run ball and hitting three home runs in A National League Championship Series game, I like my dad played like street ball against Pete Gray, right back, right. Okay, the one armed guy, the one armed guy, the kids. Okay, so my dad 1919, Scranton, Pennsylvania, played against Peter. My dad went and saw Babe Ruth play on the train to New York City at the old Yankee Stadium when my dad was a boy, right? So, and I have this Aparicio baseball name, and like, whatever, the things I’ve witnessed, I was there the night Joe Carter hit the home run in Toronto. I’ve seen 52 World Series games in person or something. You’ve probably seen 100 and whatever, could you travel forever? So you were at these moments where these things happen, right? Whatever. No hitters. I’ve walked out of a couple. I haven’t been the one or whatever. But, I mean, I’ve seen the Yankees win the World Series at Yankee Stadium several times. I saw George Bush throughout the pitch after night. I’ve seen crazy stuff. But on an achievement level, to me, Jim Abbott’s number one, I will never see that. To me, the Jim Abbott thing, I just, I don’t even know what the hell that how that happened. And then there’s the bo Jacksons and the two sport people that are freaky, but the Otani thing of pitching and hitting at this level, from a baseball perspective, I don’t even know where to put it, and you’re a little older than me.
Rick Telander 17:56
Yeah, there’s a lot of substance to say that it’s the greatest single athletic performance ever, because it entailed pitching and hitting. And I guess you have to go back to Babe Ruth, who was, you know, a great hitter, obviously also a good pitcher. Now I, you know, way before my time. I don’t know how great a pitcher he has, haven’t studied the stats or how many home runs he might have hit while pitching, but, you know, in lot of games now, the pitchers don’t come to bat, so, you know, that’s it. You’re never going to see a pitcher bat. What he did, what Otani did, is just so, so bizarre, you But you bring up Jim Abbott, and you know, I wrote a I spent a lot of time with Jim Abbott and wrote a story for sports, illustrated that didn’t run, and I couldn’t figure out why, for years and years, is because of the baseball strike. Nothing won because that was shortly after he threw a no hitter, you know, missing a good part of his hand the way he had to do his glove. Astounding performance. What a nice guy he is, what a great guy. Just fabulous human being. His wife was terrific too. I went to their house in Greenwich, went with him, and they’re sitting there, and they’re both sitting there reading books. She’s he’s reading Hemingway and she’s reading some novel. I mean, it was just, it was just wonderful. I really like him. So you bring him up as a great thing. But just back to sheer athletic performance and skill. I guess you’d have to say the only thing to be equivalent would be somebody in football who’s playing, you know, maybe like Travis Hunter, if he can be a great wide receiver and a great defensive back, because you usually play one side of the game, Ohtani playing pitching so well. I mean, that’s, that’s great. 10 strikeouts, one hit. I mean, one run, but three home runs is like nuts in any game ever. And to do the two things together, you really have to scramble to try to try to think of something that might have been more transcendent. I tell you the truth, I can’t really, I mean, just. People who’ve done like, Great running back jobs, great quarterbacking jobs, coming back from being down, people who’ve done track and field, amazing things. But this showing both sides the skill, full skill set, I don’t know.
Nestor Aparicio 20:13
Deion Sanders has turned into such a carnival barker and such a weird character that it takes guys our age to really sit and scratch your head and see Hold on, dude. Dude played defensive back was the greatest ever. He returned punts and kicks might have been the greatest ever. Would have been a wide receiver if he wanted to been a pretty damn good one. Might not have been Jerry Rice, but would have been Jerry pretty good and oh, and then he would go and, like, play in the World Series for the reds or the Braves, and hit 289 and hit 20 doubles and steal 42 like, I like. We don’t think of him like that. We think of him as this, the NFL network thing. It jumped the shark like Fonzie for me, Rick, but Bo Jackson too, and having it taken away from him. Hey, look. Brian Jordan, right, who played for the Falcons and played for the Cardinals, didn’t do it, but did it at an all pro kind of level, not a Hall of Fame level. But those are amazing things. But Rick, you are real athlete, man, every little league. Mark Terrell kowski, you know, with my little league, great, best player in the league. He’s a pitcher and a hitter. He played shortstop, played every manager’s kid, played third base or shortstop, and pitched until they were 15 or 16 or eight to whatever. I don’t know why. Like Mike Messina, who was a really good hitter and played for the Orioles, and to your point, never got to show anything till the inter league play got a hit the first time. He think he might have given off a Smoltz in Atlanta, and he and his brother would always make the case, because Mike was recruited to be a kicker by Joe Paterno at Penn State. Yeah, he was a kicker and a defensive back, like you defensive back. He was a fast, white guy and Stanford recruit. He could have walked on and played football at Stanford, but, but the thing with Messina, he didn’t get the hit. But Messina might have been able to hit 242, and be a second baseman too. You know what I mean? Like, like, if he would have wanted to do that, yeah, like, and, I guess others could have, but like nobody has, and maybe it’s the Japanese thing too. Rick, you know,
Rick Telander 22:26
it may be, I think it’s certainly coming from that culture where they felt it’s okay. Because I thought he would have been allowed to here. This may sound stupid, but I got to ask you, Nestor, what are the rules now in both leagues, for when, for pitchers for designated hitters and pitchers for hitting, who hits? When would a pitcher not even hit in a game? Right? He’s a pitcher. I
8Nestor Aparicio 22:50
guess. If you run out of guys on a bench or designated hitter, or you’re like, you can’t put them back in, you know,
Rick Telander 22:56
the regular lineup, though, if you have nine batters and there’s a DH, instead of the pitcher,
Nestor Aparicio 23:02
right? Could you substitute the pitcher to bat? You mean, well,
Rick Telander 23:06
8I mean, he’s say he pitches nine innings, he’d never come to bat, right? If there’s a DH,
Nestor Aparicio 23:12
well, I mean, listen, for every Pedro Martinez or every Bob Gibson or every Don Drysdale or whatever, there’s a whole side of that argument in regard to the violence in the game and coming inside. And, I mean, we could go all day on baseball too, but I hate you about the bears, believe it or not, because we’re five year dude. I mean, like, this is really tough, because our baseball team a mess all that. But I would just say for Chicago, the fact that the bears can’t get up and move 40 years later. Now, in 40 years since sweetness and you cover in the bears, that’s an amazing thing. Like the Orioles at 42 years, or even the Blue Jays at 32 years.
Rick Telander 23:55
Yeah, hey, you got to suffer, Nestor. It’s part of being a fan. But, I mean, look at it seemed like the, you know, the ravens are on their way to becoming a dynasty. And, you know, I people saying, well, maybe, you know, it’s time for Harbaugh to go. He’s been successful. He’s been there too long. You know, all those things start to come up. And it’s basically because, it seems to me, and I haven’t followed the Ravens that closely because your quarterback got hurt, right? I mean, isn’t that like 90%
Nestor Aparicio 24:25
of it? It’s 90% of your chance of winning when you get three points in 60 minutes and Tom Brady’s, you know, making fun of your operation on national TV and just saying, like, what was there a backup plan, Cooper rush? I mean, it hasn’t. It’s really exposed the backups of the ravens and maybe their draft a little bit, and where they’ve spent their money on aging.
8Rick Telander 24:46
So you blame, you blame the front office for this kind of mess.
Nestor Aparicio 24:49
The offensive and defensive lines aren’t stout enough. And I think that that’s going to be their that is their downcoming.
Rick Telander 24:56
I mean, Ravens have always been known for their defense. I mean, it’s just always been at the. Defense, defense, but then money
Nestor Aparicio 25:02
8on your guy, roquan and Matt a BK, and it has to work.
Rick Telander 25:06
And, you know, Jackson is just, he’s such a dynamic quarterback. I remember when he came out of, it was out of Louisville, right? Sure, yeah. And people said, well, he’s not gonna be able to run like that, because we watched him in in college, and said, Oh, it’s Louisville, you know, it’s not Ohio State. He did the same thing. And when he is active, and he doesn’t have a quick release, he’s got, I kind of like, it’s a fluid, slow kind of passing thing. But when he’s on, he’s really great. And of course, his running ability is just astounding. And the whole key in the NFL, with all these more and more great athletic quarterbacks, you can run, but you got to be careful you don’t get killed, and you better slide before they hit you, and you better, you know, just hope that one of these 400 pound guys doesn’t fall on you. So it’s always very dangerous, and that can bring us, me around to what’s happening right now with Caleb Williams in the bears. He seems a little out of sorts. This last game was a very bad one. Even though they won, he had his lowest quarterback or passer rating of the season. He’s a very, you know, Swift athlete. He’s like Patrick mahomes. He’s not as good as Lamar Jackson, clearly, but it seems like he’s afraid to run. They’ve told him, just don’t do it, because you’re going to get hurt. And one play, I was just counting, you know, to myself, I counted 10 seconds he’s running around before he threw the ball. I mean, just here, here, here, all over the place. You know, you’ll see mahomes do stuff like that. But God, now you’re going back.
Nestor Aparicio 26:40
Jesus, well, extending the play is what they do, Rick, I’ve got to go because I’ve got another I want to promote your book. I love Rick telling anytime I will get to Chicago, you’re one more excuse for me to get out there and get some Pequots pizza, because they don’t dump the sauce in the middle. They do it the right way up there. Steve trout, along with Rick telander, the Magic Ball, baseball, myth, legend, and the power to have to start a kid’s imagination, and very easily available if you need to find it, find me. You won’t get a nice little handwritten note from Rick on the inside the way I did, but, and I am going to gift this to Wendy’s kid. Max. You got a gift? Hey, I appreciate you. And we got to get pizza together
Rick Telander 27:18
for real, and crabs, crab cakes. I’ll bring
Nestor Aparicio 27:22
them with me. I’ll mule them out. You let me know. I’ll do I’ll bring them from all my sponsors, and let you do a Chicago taste test, all right? And I’ll do it on the coldest day in hell in Chicago. Is what I’ll do always, because it’s always cold. He’s hell in Chicago. I am Nestor. We are W, N, S T am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. Be colder in Baltimore for one and six on Sunday night. I promise you that you.
