WNST Baltimore Sports Radio

NOW AT BAT

On The Show Today:
1. Dan Connolly - covers MLB - Baltimore Sun
2. Aaron Wilson - Covers the Ravens - Carroll
    County Times - Co-Host of the Saturday Morning
    Ravens Football Show
3. Steve Kyler - covers the NBA - Hoopsworld.com
    SportsRadio 1470 Tampa
4. Casey Willett - Ravens Report / Orioles Report
5. Your Calls 410-481-1570

WNST Bus Trips

ON DECK @ WNST

Coming up Tomorrow on WNST:

2 PM to 6 PM
The Rob Long Show
brought to you by Coors Light

-Casey Willett Ravens Report 4:30

6 PM to 8 PM
The Fighting Ungers

Audio Vault

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

WHEN IS THE NEXT WNST PARTY?

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2008

O'S HAPPY HOUR
THE NEST formerly DSX
200 W. Pratt Street 21201
410-528-1119

Join "Nasty" Nestor Aparicio for a Yankees vs. O's happy hour from 5-7 p.m. Look for $4 Corona & Corona Light specials & giveaways.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2008

CHARM CITY ROLLER GIRLS
CCRG ALL-STARS VS. CAROLINA ROLLERGIRLS ALL-STARS
DuBurns Arena
1301 S Ellwood Avenue, Baltimore

Doors 6 p.m., Bout 7 p.m.
Tickets: General Admission $10, VIP $20, Kids under 12 - $5
www.brownpapertickets.com

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2008

WNST'S 2ND ANNUAL FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT
McAVOY'S (formerly Putty Hill Station)
2531 Putty Hill Ave, 21234
410-882-0500

Join WNST's Thyrl Nelson and Ken Zalis from fansfantasyfootball.com and Chicken Box Friday from 7 - 10 p.m. for our 2nd annual fantasy football draft party. Look for Coors Light Specials and giveaways.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2008

GET READY! GET SET! GET FIT!
5K RUN/WALK - 1M WALK
Johnny Unitas Stadium
Towson University

Begins at 8:30 AM.

Join WNST and the Baltimore County Department of Aging for Get Ready! Get Set! Get Fit! 5K Run/Walk - 1M Walk and help support and expand fitness centers and exercise programs in Baltimore County Senior Centers. The BCDA welcomes all interested in life-long fitness - runners, seniors, their children and grandchildren. Each registered participant will receive a custom designed “T” shirt and an invitation to the breakfast afterwards.

To register or for more information on the Get Ready! Get Set! Get Fit! 5K Run/1M Walk, visit the registration web site or call 410-887-2594.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2008

DOGFEST 2008
featuring Paws On Parade, Bark In The Park, and the 5K-9 Fun Run
Shawan Downs
1401 Shawan Road, Cockeysville

To benefit animals in need of care and shelter. Sponsored by the Humane Society of Baltimore County.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2008

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY'S
JOHN STEADMAN MEMORIAL
TOURNAMENT OF HOPE
Hillendale Country Club
13700 Blenheim Rd, Phoenix

For further information or to volunteer contact Mark McElrath at 410-933-5172 or mark.mcelrath@cancer.org.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2008

1ST ANNUAL FIOFEST
CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT
Turf Valley Golf Resort
2700 Turf Valley Road, Ellicott City

Enjoy a spectacular day of golf followed by a Jimmy Buffet style dinner reception to benefit The Michael A. Fiorelli Foundation for Esophageal Cancer. For details go to fiofoundation.org or call Cindy Henson at 410-538-4555.

WNST Bucks - Coupons from our sponsors!

Blog & Tackle: A small personal tribute

Location: Blogs Blogs Chris Pika's Blog
Posted by: Chris Pika	6/17/2008 1:19 PM
If I could impose on the WNST community for a moment, I wanted to mark the passing of my uncle, Albert, earlier on Tuesday. "Uncle Al" was just a regular guy, an Army veteran, a blue-collar supply truck driver who shared an enjoyment of sports with me – one that was passed down to us from his father -- my grandfather. Al cheered for the Ravens, Orioles, watched sports on TV and rooted for whatever team or school I worked for. He proudly wore a Saints or Falcons hat to work at Porters Supply Company and got a kick out of stories from the Super Bowls and other events I was a part of. Every Sunday, he got a call from whatever city I was in to tell him about the game and check to see how the Ravens did. He never really understood the business of sports, but always said he’d play gladly quarterback for the Ravens to make the kind of money NFL players get these days. He thought that he could do just as well as Kyle Boller or Steve McNair. “I could throw an interception just like he did and get paid that kind of dough,” he said several times to me when the Ravens were on the losing end this past season. I got a laugh from thinking about a 60-plus-year-old man in a Ravens jersey and glasses taking a snap from center and cashing the paycheck. One of my fondest memories was my trip back home with the Falcons to play the Ravens in 2006. He and my mom had pregame sideline passes and he got to see an NFL game up close and meet many of those I worked with in Atlanta. I enjoyed watching his reactions to the preparation each team goes through and the sheer size of the modern-day NFL players. It was the last time I saw him in person, but we spoke every Sunday (and many days in-between) just the same and traded stories, jokes and talked about the games. In short, he was no different than any of us who are from Baltimore. Family and the ties that bind -- which include sports -- were important to him. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and the people he worked with at Porters. A simple man with simple tastes of laughter, love and sports. All of us have an “Uncle Al” in our lives somewhere. It might be the crazy cousin, or the aunt who dresses in purple on Sundays, the brother-in-law who has Ravens tickets in the upper deck and invites you to go once in a while or just a regular fan like the late “Wild Bill” Hagy, whose birthday is today. Or like Al, someone who didn’t step inside a modern facility outside of Memorial Stadium but just a few times, who followed by way of the television, radio and newspaper, sat on the stoop in the summer and listened to the Orioles game on the radio in a simpler time -- someone who would have enjoyed the debates about who is the “King of Baltimore Sports.” (For his money, it was Johnny U. while I thought Brooks was the man.) One of our last conversations was after Jim McKay passed away. “They don’t make them like him anymore,” he said. “But, we’re all getting old.” How true. “Hey, it’s just a game,” he would remind me after tough losses left me in a not-so-great mood on the team bus when I called from the road or the press boxes in New Orleans or Atlanta. Then, we shared a laugh about something silly and caught up about how the week before went for both of us and how my wife was doing. Then he would eventually ask, “Where are you next Sunday?” Where I will be this coming Sunday is honoring the memory of a gentle soul who was one of the many people who make up the unique fabric of Baltimore. He was a worker and a grinder who never asked more from life than to enjoy the simple things it offered and the occasional winning daily lotto ticket. Thanks for the good times and Godspeed, Uncle Al. I’ll carry all of those Sundays with me always. --Chris Pika

Permalink \| Trackback