The legend of Penn State beyond football and stickies

Spending a March evening in State College waiting on Bruce Springsteen and watching Nittany Lions fans prepare for basketball March Madness, Nestor noticed the wrestling thing and asked the longtime basketball color voice of Happy Valley Dick Jerardi to explain “We Are” and talk Big 10 basketball, Bob Baffert and Kentucky Derby hopefuls.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

basketball, game, year, baltimore, big, maryland, nestor, coach, people, penn state, run, play, college, state, shrewsbury, springsteen, philly, team, gary, drove

SPEAKERS

Dick Jerardi, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome back W and T Towson Baltimore and Baltimore positive we are positively into March and you know it’s gonna feel like may here in a couple of minutes. I don’t know what the heck happened was scratch off there it is the Maryland lottery we’re gonna be doing the crabcake tour. This guy is sad few crab cakes in his day. Being a real Baltimore we’re gonna be over cost us on the fifth of April celebrating 50 years of the Maryland lottery. I’ll have some old school scratches. digerati probably remembers these old school instant lotteries from back in the day. Also our friends at weathernation 8669. D nation, and I got my new windows and I’m getting ready for spring has sprung. All right. But Jason Ditcher already around for a couple of weeks. He is one of the voices of Penn State. Dick grew up here in Baltimore. We were colleagues at one point at sports first the news American back in 1984. If I have Show and Tell for you, Dick, I’m going to text my wife and have her bring some show and tell him because I found that old news American you’d be interested in. Think it’s been at the Philadelphia Daily News for forever. He’s in sort of semi retirement. They don’t shoot old horses. They send them to State College to do big 10 basketball. Good How the heck are you and people don’t know who the hell you are. They should Google you because you’re legend and you’re one of my friends. How are you?

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Dick Jerardi  01:15

I’m Nestor. I’m fine. Yeah, it was a great hoop season during the Penn State Games. Got all the way to the big 10 championship game. Got into the second round actually had a three point lead over Texas with four and a half minutes to go in de Moines. So yeah, it was it was a great run, especially the month of March. They played eight games in 18 days was a wild scene from Evanston to State College to Chicago and finally to Des Moines, Iowa. So yeah, it was a lot of fun and watching a team over a period of months get better and better break the big 10 record for most threes in a season have the first all American up there and six decades. So yeah, it was it was definitely a fun year.

Nestor Aparicio  01:55

Tick. I only asked you this and I’ll get into the basketball side of it. I went through this with Leonard Raskin a little bit with Luke on the air. The other day I drove through Shrewsbury, I did some antiquing. And if my wife can come out of the office, I will actually have props for you to show you which as an old news head you’ll appreciate because they smell like the morgue at the news American that’s all I’m gonna say. You know that smell? You know that smell? Yes, I do. Okay, so like an old library for anybody who wants wonders what was the bullpen at the news, American. So I drove up to State College I had only been to State College one time in my life. It was in 1998. It was an awful day Michigan beat the hell out of Penn State. The weather was bad. It was Charles Woodson, Courtney brown levar Arrington that era, only time everyone and I didn’t really see the city because I drove it in the morning. It was a mess. RVs big game fog. You know, I just but I did go into the Bryce Jordan Center. Just stay warm that they probably look at girls. It was 1998. It was a long time ago. So and just to stay dry. Probably that day. I went back up for Springsteen. I went on a Saturday night off to State College and I got to just ask you, because when I think of you no offense, I don’t think of Penn State basketball. I think you probably were doing it for a long time before I realized you were doing it. Because you live in Philly. You’re a basketball and horse racing head for the most part. And I don’t know how you got the gig. Although there was a Philadelphia angle about how you got the gig. But just getting there. It’s such a uniquely weird place. It snowed three times. They call it Happy Valley. I felt like I was in sort of a Disney World for college. I felt like Belushi was going to jump out from one of the I felt like I was in real college for one of the first times ever for a couple of hours. So guys, like you and me with their sons and daughters drinking beer. The wrestling thing was that night and you were playing. It was seven. I walked out of the lodge bar and downtown at 615 to go see Springsteen. The place was buzzing. And it wasn’t necessarily because of Springsteen. You know, it wasn’t because of your basketball game, which was nice, and it didn’t have a good ending. But the wrestling thing, like I learned about about State College in one day, my friend Crowe Lesko, but did you spend a lot of time there before like you were doing this?

Dick Jerardi  04:11

I did. I covered the football team from 1993 to 2004. Like in the big 10 era, they decided that they needed a full time guy to do it when they went into the big 10. So I did that. I didn’t go on a lot of the road trips because we didn’t have a Sunday paper but I was certainly up there a lot. So yeah, I knew it very well before I got involved with the basketball back in 2004.

Nestor Aparicio  04:34

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Once the first time you went up there as as a Baltimore kid that was a horse racing guy that went off to Philadelphia. I don’t look I know stay college people. My friend Ron Drager, my friend Patty cost they went there, you know sneaky fees we got out of girlfriend that was just from Erie, Pennsylvania back in my Amberjacks days. And I was in love with her and we were five years. Like I never went there with her because like she was so reverent about out the bars and the dig in the cream, like the people it’s called. I mean, you’ve probably found that I was saying, it’s called I don’t think it’s a doubt about that. But there’s a part of it for me that it was exploratory. I tried to get rid of my ticket and quit. And so then once I found out like, Okay, I’m stuck into this ticket that costs too much money with a friend and I wanted to spend the evening I’m like, I’m gonna make a night of it. And he said, we’re not gonna be able to park on a Saturday and State College. And I’m like, Listen, I’ve never really looked at it on the map. I had never Googled it, I’ve never had a reason to go there other than a Springsteen concert. And I found it to just be fascinating that if I had a 17 year old grandkids, somewhere down the line, it’s got the seats, they college, maybe go to school there, or whatever. But you’ve been involved and it’s become much more of a basketball thing. And I’ll leave this to you and talk some big 10 and some SERPs into this because everybody thought they had a punch, Purdue thought they were good, right? It’s been such a strange year for basketball. And I’ve spent the morning today with Gary Williams doing nothing but bitching about the Baltimore media. I watched Gary speak literally this morning to the connects group. So thank you very much, Keith Miller and folks at strategic factory, but Gary spoke for 500 people this morning. And the basketball thing Even he doesn’t understand NIHL or like where this thing’s going. The whole thing feels like it’s changed in five minutes since the plague.

Dick Jerardi  06:20

It has changed completely. The whole sport has changed. I think if you’re not, I mean, look at the University of Miami. They’re a classic example. They have their men’s and women’s teams in the sweet 16. And a lot of it not all of it. They have obviously very good coaches. Jim Larranaga is the men’s coach. But they have a particular person. There’s a great story in the athletic this week by my good friend, Dan O’Neill, about what that particular person has done to make Miami athletics viable through nisl money. And he’s just one person doing it. It’s all legal at this point, as far as everybody can tell. But yeah, if you’re not in that ballpark, at this point, you’re probably in trouble. There are places I mean, ftu and example that can get through FAU into the sweet 16. Penn State, frankly does not have much NFL basketball money, but they have a great coach, that older players who just found a way to play that was great. But yeah, it absolutely has totally changed. I mean, look, it was no longer around right the last five years. ROY WILLIAMS gone Beyhive got Shecky car. J right God, it’s not a coincidence. It’s one of the reasons they got out because the whole game changed.

Nestor Aparicio  07:31

Well take you’re in Philly. I saw Jay Wright come with the last time I saw Gary J. Right. So Jimmy Pat says it was the Cal Ripken foundation hoops event that they do. Like in September, maybe your October whatever was it? It was early and I went and that’s the day where I heard Jay Wright and the current Villanova coach and they and Kevin Willard I met Kevin Willard shook his hand that day, talking about NIHL. And obviously, the Willards of the world have to be ready for whatever this change is. And it’s interesting. You say the Miami thing because Gary, Gary spoke for 45 minutes this morning. So inside the mind to Gary 80% of it was stuff that happen before 2002. Really. But he did mention the $800,000 for a kid in Miami, and 5 million to get this kid and that and the Mannings kid, 5 million right down to Texas. So what do you what would you teach me? You’re an old fart, but a real journalist. You’re smarter than most people. I know. What if if you if I were to give you two minutes from my audience and say, What do you understand about this? And what’s this wild wild west? Because Gary still talking about it, like somebody in Indianapolis is going to come and fix this. And somebody’s gonna snap in. And I’m like, No, I think this is real. While we’re there. He said that he said the old old white guy thing. He’s almost at guidelines. He said, there’s gonna be there have to be guidelines. And I’m like, well, when they make guidelines, everybody ripped the rulebook up and just FedEx cash. Right? So where’s it going?

Dick Jerardi  08:57

Well, so here’s what happened. Nestor, the NCAA, one of the history’s worst organizations, for years, said, Look, players can’t get anything right. So players and really kind of started around the Fab Five era when they were selling Chris Weber’s jersey. And Chris, whoever is asking a perfectly valid question. Wait a second, they’re still selling a jersey with my name on it, and I get nothing. And they said, Yeah, that’s right. You get nothing. That’s it.

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Nestor Aparicio  09:24

Have you signed here? That’s

Dick Jerardi  09:27

right. Be happy that you get what you get. And to bet and then obviously, sports on television money exploded. In college basketball, college football, obviously, the NFL MLB The NBA coaches salaries exploded. So the players are that say, Alright, hold on a second here. There’s all this money in the game that nobody anticipated and we still get nothing. So the abandoned lawsuit really started this. They said, Hey, we’re we deserve to get a piece. They wouldn’t even They were using their likenesses on the on the video games, they still couldn’t get anything. So as this got into court, judges, and finally the Supreme Court said, This is absurd that the people who are people are paying to go see, get no piece of the action. So each court ruled, obviously that the players are entitled to something. And while this was happening, the NCAA still did nothing, and didn’t come up with any guidelines. No regulations said all it’ll never happen is they lost every case in court. And now it’s at the point where there are no rules, there are no regulations, and it ain’t gone back. It’s the Wild West. And if that’s what it’s gonna be, Gary, I’m sorry for you. But my man, the game that you you coached is over. It’s just a different sport. And there’s nothing the NCAA can do about it. Because every time they try to do something, they lose that other court case.

Nestor Aparicio  10:55

Well, digerati is our guest, the legendary Philadelphia Daily, we’re gonna get to some horse racing at some point as we know it, but you and I are in the big 10 basketball and you’ve been covering how many years at Penn State? Have you been doing color now?

Dick Jerardi  11:08

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This was my 19 Season of doing Penn State basketball. And they’re a bit you know, it’s interesting. Nestor people don’t know this. But the last six years, the program’s really been very good. It’s been a top 50 program for six years now. Six years ago, they won the and it should have been in the NCAA Tournament and really what was sweet 16 team with a bunch of Philly kids as the stars on the team. And then they’ve been in the top 50 in the kenpom every year but last year, and the only reason they weren’t in last year is because the new coach came in Micah Shrewsbury, and all the speed on the team left they because they could go immediately and play. Isaiah Brockington was one of the stars on that team two years ago, he was first team all big 12 in Iowa State last year, Penn State would have been really good last year to add to all the players states. So yeah, this has been a six year run. I think people just discovered them this year because they got to the finals of the big 10 crushed Texas a&m and gave Texas you know, all they needed in round two. But yeah, it’s really been a six year progression. But prior to that it was a struggle. There isn’t any question about that. Throughout the challenge. He did the best he could of course, he’s now at Navy. And then when Pat chambers took over you mentioned said dusky a little while ago, chambers first game was the first football game after the Sandusky thing broke. So talk about walking into a tough spot, not just in football, but in basketball to it. It impacted every part of the University for a number of years, including the men’s basketball program.

Nestor Aparicio  12:40

Well, I saw Springsteen, I went into Bryce Jordan, my buddies, like I like it, it’s all one level. And I’m like, There’s no room in here. The place is ill equipped. I said, I hope there’s not a fire. I mean, nobody could get out. And you know, Bruce rock, the place was incendiary. But the amazing thing of being up there that day. And again, like how many times that you’ve been there before you covered football, that you go for a game or something like our games, I think.

Dick Jerardi  13:02

I want to say yeah, I want to say I’ve been there twice, once or twice for different events. But yeah, I had not been up there. It was no reason. Look, I’m a Maryland guy. I went to Maryland. I was certainly aware of it. But as you found out, I mean, it’s in the middle of the state. It’s in Centre County. It’s in the center of Pennsylvania. That’s where you put the State University. Right. So people can get to it from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and everywhere else. But yeah, it’s it’s it’s a three hour 15 minute drive from where I live. So yeah, it’s not close to anything.

Nestor Aparicio  13:31

Yeah. And, you know, I got up there, I ran into Ross Tucker, at the Springsteen show given me peachy Paterno ice cream, so I felt like I had and I felt like the experience I had would like my wife and be like, Let’s go for game. They’re playing Ohio. So whatever, you know, like, let’s, let’s get tickets we know people, you know, like, we’ll figure it out. And I’m like, pain in the ass the road in red. And there’s like they made the road a lot bigger all the way in Washington City when they fix 50 And you can get there right?

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Dick Jerardi  14:00

So I’ve done a great job with that over time for sure.

Nestor Aparicio  14:04

So I felt like all of that like it’s good. But when there’s 125,000 people there on a Saturday and they are playing Ohio State or whatever, like that’s not like seeing the place so I really do feel like I drove in on a you know, on the road. It wasn’t taillights, I we parked we had some Chinese food, walked around a little bit. It snowed randomly, sort of whenever I wanted to, you know, I felt like I had an experience. I got my 400 bucks worth and it wasn’t just Springsteen singing hungry heart. I’ll promise you, you know.

Dick Jerardi  14:33

Yeah, it’s interesting. One of my good buddies, Pat Romano, who runs a restaurant about that 20 miles outside of State College. It’s called you’ll love this. It’s called we are in I N N. It’s a hotel restaurant. That 20 miles away. He’s a Penn State guy and he he sent after they beat Texas a&m on Thursday. He said Do you know when the game is Saturday? Because he had bought for Springsteen tickets for 2000 and he You desperately wanted the game to be either the late game or the afternoon game. And of course, it was 740. Eastern, so it was the worst possible time. So we went on at 743. Exactly. Not upset and the game started actually more like 815 Because the first game went long. But yeah, it was a giant day. I mean, the wrestling team and already clinched the NCAA title the day before, because they got up somebody wrestlers into the finals. But yeah, that was a classic State College Day. And you’ll like this Nestor, IRI back and state college a little before 6am on Sunday. And the hotel I always stand I called up at midnight, said, Hey, do you have any rooms? I figured they wouldn’t because the Springsteen said no, but I think we somebody’s going to be leaving. We’ll find a spot for you. So I got there at 6am slept a couple hours in and drove Oh,

Nestor Aparicio  15:49

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did they give you Bruce’s room?

Dick Jerardi  15:52

I think they did.

Nestor Aparicio  15:53

I did well, you know.

Dick Jerardi  15:56

Yeah, I don’t I don’t know that. Yeah, I’m not sure what Bruce was saying. Was it just a one night thing up there was he just Saturday night?

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Nestor Aparicio  16:03

It was just a Saturday night just towards center?

Dick Jerardi  16:06

I think he was in Philly a night or two before. So there’s a chance he just I don’t know whether he flies or drives or what he does in between places that close. But yeah, I there was no evidence that Bruce was in that room. But it could have been Bruce.

Nestor Aparicio  16:20

All right. Well, that’s good picture already. He’s here on talking all thanks. Big 10 and basketball. Where are you on the Terps. And what they did this year, you had a chance with your own eyes to see him a couple of times, obviously out at the tournament. And take it from the bottom of where you we’ve already referenced the bottom of Sandusky, and how bad Penn State Basketball was for like 50 years. But for Maryland and this and I was with I was with Gary Gary land, and I’m wearing my state fair shirt all morning, today and thinking about and Luke’s really big on this about where the ceiling was for the church and program and where the level of expectation was. And what could Marilyn ever be at Duke North Carolina. Could we ever be the UCLA the east again. And Willard in one year has gone one year in three months now from church and dropping the mic before Christmas? Danny, picking it up kids going everywhere. The beginning of NIHL all of this happening. And he won a game in the 64 and I mean had they not drawn Alabama and not been so awful on the road everywhere they were maybe they could have had a higher seat and and Dick maybe I’d be calling you for a preview of the Maryland and East Jesus game this weekend. And they’d be in the 16th It’s really remarkable in one year what Kevin Willard has done.

Dick Jerardi  17:39

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Yeah, I thought they over achieved and I think you got to give credit to the coach first he got the guys to stay that easily could have left that given what was going on in the program and obviously bring it into Jumeirah Young was the key part of it without him that none of this is gonna happen. They needed to upgrade the point guard position they did. The Philly kids from Roman Catholic and Imhotep did as they were really good for them. I thought they played as well as they possibly could. Yeah, they got a hideous second round trial plan Alabama at Birmingham. I don’t think they were going to beat Alabama anywhere. They certainly weren’t going to beat him in Birmingham. But I think all in all, I think Maryland fans should be pleased. They’re in one of the great recruiting areas in the country in the DMV, no reason that they can’t get some of the best players in the area to come to Maryland, the great tradition, the fact who they play that the gym was electric again this year. It wasn’t the last couple of years. They were I mean, I was down there fairly late in the season. It was a noon Saturday game, and it was really

Nestor Aparicio  18:39

fun. But then the train was rolling. Yeah. And that’s fear the turtle thing. And the thing I talked to Luke a lot about this week, and I was up in Hollywood casino with the Barstool Sports, watching the West Virginia game, and there were people there and there were people there that had gray hair like us that were reengaged a bit, taking the day off getting some suds watching the game, and really enjoying the fact that this isn’t willed to you that you just get to play every March that there was turmoil and a lot of change here. And this could go on anywhere. And there was no expectation, right. Like, that’s remarkable that that they played a couple of games last week, I think.

Dick Jerardi  19:19

Yeah, for sure. And I think look, the the key to the future of the program, obviously is the kid from Baltimore Reese from St. Francis. I mean, he he you could see him Nestor over the last two months figuring it out. And I know that Kevin was really upset when he got into foul trouble against Alabama. He said the game totally changed and he might be right. I don’t think they’re gonna win anyway. But without him they had zero chance. Because Alabama is that good. But yeah, I see I see them heading in the right direction. I think there’s room to move in the big 10. The league has not been very good for the last three years. The last really good year in the big 10 was the COVID year where they had and this includes Penn State they had three or four teams that could have made the final for Michigan. tape was sensational. Merrill was really good that year, and not even got a chance to play. And since that, I mean, it’s just been a nightmare and a postseason, they only have one team and a sweet 16. Again, Purdue gets bounced out by FDU. So the league I think, if you can get more athletic, and get get guys that are willing to play fast, Maryland really couldn’t do that this year, because they don’t have enough bodies. But if you can play fast, I’d be more athletic, you have a chance to move up dramatically in the big 10 Because it’s slow and an on mathletics League and that’s been its problem in the postseason.

Nestor Aparicio  20:34

Well, that’s Look, that was the reputation in the 80s and the 90s. Right, like, and Penn State went into the big 10 years ago, as you pointed out, football and basketball. Maryland makes this thing at heart, your Maryland guy dick, right. So you’ve you’re an old lefty guy, I mean, well, you know, Buck way back then. Right? So seeing the way the Big East became this brawl 30 years ago, and it sort of got legislated out. Well, what will legislate or recruit out big white senators in the Midwest like, I mean, other than they take up soccer, right, you know, like literally, or go somewhere else and play somewhere else where they don’t want to win in March. But the game has changed. I mean, Steph Curry’s changed the game of basketball, right? The way the game is played.

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Dick Jerardi  21:24

Well think about this decade, he’s probably going to be the National Player of the Year, if he enters the NBA Draft, he can enter it, but he ain’t gonna get drafted. So that that tells you how the whole sport has completely changed. And the big 10 hasn’t changed with it. It’s still a big man centric league in a sport that’s completely changed to favor the guards. And it’s the one of the reasons why Penn State the main reason Penn State had its success this year. They were the smallest team in the league. Yet they decided early on and the first game master they made 18 threes. That was a school record. They made 18 threes later against Indiana. They crushed the old big time.

Nestor Aparicio  22:02

They wouldn’t let him shoot at three correct? Yeah, they’ve never been advised that 9090 For the mental proposition of basketball,

Dick Jerardi  22:10

right? It was a whole group of coaches that never adapted to the three night being one of them. Rolling mass tomato being another John Thompson, you could go on at the great coaches and in the late 70s into the early 80s. He didn’t

Nestor Aparicio  22:22

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like the math, they didn’t like the analytics in their mind.

Dick Jerardi  22:25

Right. And that’s why Rick Pitino is still coaching today at 70 because he figured it out before the rest of them did. And he got a Providence during the first year to three to the Final Four. That never should have happened. But he understood threes he his team would make like seven or eight a game continues he was playing like Georgetown and Villanova wouldn’t take five again. They just they didn’t understand it. They do that’s not basketball. Well it is wake up or get get legislated out. That’s what happened to those guys. But Penn State figured that out this year. Their coach Michael Shrewsbury has NBA background. He was with Brad Stevens in a Celtics. He knows the value of the shot and his players. The best guys on his team were three point shooters. So what’s he going to do try to throw it into the post? No, he’s he’s got it. Basically what he did was let other teams score from the post. And he said, Well, you can score a lot of twos will score a lot of threes. And it up, we win you lose.

Nestor Aparicio  23:20

Detroit, he’s here. I’m gonna hold him this bonus time here for just I need a little horse racing from you. And then I asked him show and tell that’s very, very significant to your heart as well. So yes, horse racing, where are we give me the horse and Baffert and just honestly, horse racing goes away here for a couple of months. Now these days, we don’t have a sports section here anymore, you know?

Dick Jerardi  23:43

Understood. So here’s where we are forte. The two year old champion won the Breeders Cup. He won his first race of the season the fountain of youth. You’ll run again to the Florida Derby in a couple of weeks for Todd Pletcher. If he wins, he’ll be the heavy favorite going to Churchill Downs. And you ask about Baffert. Baffert is once again banned from the Kentucky Derby. His ban ends when the race ends this year, he can run horses everywhere else in his own name, he will have something in the Preakness and he will be there this time. You won’t have to be you won’t. He’s not suspended anymore just by can’t run it at Churchill Downs tracks. So Baffert has a three or four pretty good three year olds all being trained now by Tim yak teen, who will train them to the Derby and then turn them back over to Baffert. And Bob will appear in Baltimore and we’ll go and eat some crab cakes at Michaels. While he’s watching the horses. The two year old, the two year olds ready at Timonium right after the Preakness. Yeah, you will get to see Bob again this year at the Preakness is Best Tours. However, Arabian Night Nestor is off the derby trail two for two I thought he was the horse that was going to win the race. He’s got some kind of problem. We will not see him for a while but remember the name Arabian it might be the best of the bunch. I look

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Nestor Aparicio  24:59

hold that Tuesday for Preakness week and Derby, we will get together. So, serendipity follows me everywhere I go, you would agree, you know? I was a chunky 15 year old kid when you met me in the news, America remember? You remember meeting me, okay? Absolutely. Okay, so 1984 I need a picture already who by the way the our first byline has my first byline of Theresa Andrews has your name, repeat TROs name. You guys are making your picks on your racing because I was on page nine that they were the racing was

Dick Jerardi  25:30

pizza one of my men, one of the greats. So you got

Nestor Aparicio  25:33

to come down to the Guinness factory next year. And we do the Baltimore sports writer get together but they always do it on a Saturday and fall. I don’t know where you are. But

Dick Jerardi  25:39

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when I let me know about you got you got my phone

Nestor Aparicio  25:44

on him runs it. And I’m Molly Glassman. I’m on it. We’ll get you here. Mark. All the greats are there. So I went to State College because I got stuck into this ticket that I bought last year long story right was trying to get rid of it. Nobody. So I I go I go along with my buddy Craig. I’m going through Shrewsbury, my son’s an antique er and you know, I collect all old belt buckles, rock’n’roll belt buckles. Do you know about my collection? Not wearing today. I’m wearing the cars today. I kind of read for Gary Williams this morning. So so I’m looking for these in the Shrewsbury antique and I go in, and of course, they have sports stuff. I saw a Baltimore clippers banner that I want

Dick Jerardi  26:26

him last year a

Nestor Aparicio  26:30

little out of my price range of 75 bucks. And then they had this, this bottle opener that was a skate that had the HL logo and the old clippers logo in their late 60s That literally it was a giveaway and you opened bottles with it. It was like for your bar at your house. Right? Hell of a giveaway better than any bobblehead? I would think right? $225 no good. So I go to the back and they had a 1968 Cold album with Chuck Thompson. It was like 10 bucks and like, I don’t know the phonograph to play it. But you know, cuz I put it on the radio. We listened to it and whatever right you know, even when, so then I found this. Are you ready? Are you ready for this?

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Dick Jerardi  27:09

Oh, John Steadman Don

Nestor Aparicio  27:11

madmen. Can you see what it is? It is it’s why I opened it up dude. And I touch it like I’m touching. Like Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones when he was touching. Yeah, absolutely. So I want to show you this. Series 1966 It says here. The Orioles won the World Series John Steadman. This is the souvenir issue. Can you see that right there?

Dick Jerardi  27:35

Yeah yeah. Oh,

Nestor Aparicio  27:39

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how much for I found this. This was $5 dick. Yeah, you buy this right you pick it up right?

Dick Jerardi  27:48

Auto percent. Okay, so the other this is this is prior to them sweeping the Dodgers. John Steadman says the Orioles will win the World Series. This

Nestor Aparicio  27:57

is October the second 1966 John Steadman says it says here the Orioles will win the World Series. Pretty, pretty pressing for us. Is the Baltimore Sun meet sweep of world

Dick Jerardi  28:12

I got that I got that paper. I still haven’t one nil. Dave McNally.

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Nestor Aparicio  28:18

Have you ever seen this particular front? Because this looks like a first edition. This looks like the legitimate version of the cover. They never use this cover. There was another picture of McNabb and Brooks jumping into his arms, right? Yes, nothing. I’ve never This is the legitimate This is the real original one. So I bought them and I brought them home and I didn’t open them because I got home at two in the morning because I was driving all night and they’re deer on the road. There was a Taco Bell and and so I get home. I don’t open them until I’m on the air with Luke. And I did this as a shtick on the radio Monday morning because like it’s not a real season yet. Nobody cares about the rest yet, but they will in a week. And so I broke this out and I opened it and I told the story. And I’m like, Look, I don’t know like but the original one. And when I opened it the other papers fell out of it.

Dick Jerardi  29:08

Wow. There it is. Yeah, right. That’s the one

Nestor Aparicio  29:12

sure that this is the souvenirs the one on the mugs and shirts. Yeah, that’s right.

Dick Jerardi  29:20

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Nestor do I have this right. They went one nothing Frank hit the homerun to win the game. Is that right? Frank Roberts totally

Nestor Aparicio  29:25

get the box score. Hold on. Right here. The box score right here. The Oreos. One one to nothing. And yeah, the homerun? Correct? That’s correct.

Dick Jerardi  29:34

Right bladder isn’t the greatest. It’s the greatest Oriole of all.

Nestor Aparicio  29:37

So this was $9 The Baltimore Sun was $9 and it is also the evening sun headline.

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Dick Jerardi  29:46

Oh, nice. All of this

Nestor Aparicio  29:49

for $9. Okay, and I get to read it. American I opened this optic, and when I open this up it’s a third The two page Oh, H section. And when I open it up, there’s there’s a gig in here. I’m figuring little Louis was here. This is the reason I’m in Baltimore is because like you’re played shortstop. He’s a Hall of Famer Aparicio. Retire No. Like that. anything better than fingering through an old newspaper when you’re an old newspaper got the smell. They smell like the morgue. And you know why they smell like the more get the news American. There’s a blue dead color print and 19 Wow, that’s impressive. Whoa, what? This to Sunday? One Yeah, this was the headline from the day one. And here’s Wiley bunker, firing blanks at those po Dodgers and stead writing about it.

Dick Jerardi  30:49

I don’t think there’s scored a run in the last three games that day, the Dodgers,

Nestor Aparicio  30:53

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bonkers arm hurt, dodgers, pained, more steady. So when we get together and you and I get cheese steaks and grease all over our hands at that joint, and we go watch basketball at the great cholesterol. I will bring these heirlooms treasures for you picture.

Dick Jerardi  31:14

And I will take you to Joe’s in Fishtown about five minutes from the palustre and you will be very excited.

Nestor Aparicio  31:20

Is it gonna make me flatulent? No, okay, I’m just

Dick Jerardi  31:26

Joe’s is those that has it all correct. Used to be up in northeast, they close that place, but they have another place in Fishtown which is just a little north of Center City

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Nestor Aparicio  31:37

to take town to Philly.

Dick Jerardi  31:40

Yeah, and I don’t know, I don’t know pick town well enough. I mean, I know where it is, but I haven’t been there in so long. I know it’s become like an upscale kind of a place right? Which is hard to imagine. But maybe maybe that’s a good analogy.

Nestor Aparicio  31:51

Great pizza there. A teacher already has great pizza where he is he’s in the City of Brotherly Love the only guy well not the only guy because bucked all left here too. But one of the few that left the land the pleasant living for those delicious pretzels up there and all that competitive sports and all of that testosterone that makes Philadelphia Philadelphia he’s also the voice of Penn State basketball and a big 10 Legend dick I love you you’re one of my originals you’re my OG and we got to get together soon all right palustre You will make

Dick Jerardi  32:21

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sounds like a plan Nestor let’s make it

Nestor Aparicio  32:25

to the plastron you and I get to shoot some baskets there would that be fun?

Dick Jerardi  32:28

I can get in there whenever you want

Nestor Aparicio  32:31

let’s do that that would be like like

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Dick Jerardi  32:35

I know the right people my lawn I’m up on the walls in there man I’m I’m big in that in that joy your names on the wall in the plaster my pictures up there? Yeah.

Nestor Aparicio  32:45

All right. Well, I’m coming up. I’m coming Tommy calm. Well, here’s what here’s what Tommy calm was putting the Rumblers back together on the 28th of April. Up in Ardmore, so and so if you could do the April 28 Or even the morning of the 29th I’ll get a room stay the night because Tommy makes it but I love Philly. You know my thoughts to you on losing Super Bowls and World Series. It’s it’s been

Dick Jerardi  33:10

Yeah, it was. It was a great year with bad endings. But other than that, I mean they had the best team in the Superbowl didn’t win. did not have the better team in baseball almost one and the soccer team by the way lost the MLS Cup of the afternoon the Phillies lost the World Series. Only in Philadelphia

Nestor Aparicio  33:27

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1969. You remember well, here Yeah, sure. Yeah. By that 68 season, like Chuck Thompson below. Lead that great team

Dick Jerardi  33:39

with a bad ending.

Nestor Aparicio  33:40 Yeah, my dad, my dad, you know, he didn’t like that very much. I am Nestor. He was stick we’ve been entertaining you we are Baltimore positive.com. Stay with us here today in 157