Baltimore is crazy about the World Cup Did anyone work yesterday? It sure didn’t seem like it. I’m not complaining, I was one of many at a local watering hole on Thursday afternoon watching the U.S. take on Germany in their final match of the group stage in the FIFA World Cup. Based on what I saw, Baltimore does indeed have World Cup fever. I guess the local television ratings were right, though I’m still struggling to figure out why there’s such an avid soccer fan base in Charm City. […]

Fred Manfra Aiming For July 1 Return Amidst his amazing call of Nelson Cruz’s home run, Joe Angel revealed that his broadcast partner Fred Manfra is targeting a return to the Orioles radio booth on July 1. Manfra underwent hip replacement surgery in April and suffered a setback in his recovery in May that required a second surgery. “Everything’s going well,” Manfra told the Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck in June. “A pin slipped, and I had a second surgery two weeks ago. Hopefully, this one will take.” The second surgery […]

After Sunday’s game, an emotional Manny Machado initially denied chucking his bat toward the Oakland A’s infield intentionally. There wasn’t a person in the world who believed him — not after seeing the downward spiral of events that began on Friday night and eventually led to his outburst two days later. In response to the PR crap storm that was brewing over Charm City, Machado (and likely the Orioles) decided to apologize in an exclusive interview with MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko. Essentially, this was the video version of Machado issuing an […]

If you’ve been watching Orioles games on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network this season, you’ve likely seen the nightly “This Is Birdland” feature after a commercial break. Essentially, the Orioles broadcasts show a few scenic highlights of a place where O’s fans are located. Some of the places include Annapolis, Towson, Westminster and recently, Washington D.C. As you can imagine, that last one has rubbed some people the wrong way. The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg wrote this week that MASN was trolling Nats fans with such a bold proclamation during their […]

There are a lot of stupid opinions among Baltimore sports fans. Just turn on 105.7 right now, you’re bound to hear one in about ten seconds. I shouldn’t just single out our city though. If I were to be entirely honest, it’s not just Baltimore. Fans are stupid everywhere; it’s just showcased in local sports talk radio. Each fanbase has it’s own unique stupidity. As we rapidly approach the start of the Major League Baseball season (well, the North American start of the Major League Baseball season), I’m reminded of […]

That whole “baseball is dying” narrative is an annoying, lazy and (not surprisingly) false story line about America’s past time. Yet you still see it, read it and hear it everywhere, usually around this time of year. Just last week, ESPN ran a poll that claimed that Major League Soccer was more popular among kids than Major League Baseball. Deadspin quickly debunked that story. Baseball has a rich history and will always have its place in our country. As Terrance Mann famously says in Field of Dreams, “America has rolled […]

Eventually there will come a day when the Washington Nationals won’t be on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. Major League Baseball has got to stop sending the Lerner family checks to financially compensate them for the bad television deal they were forced to sign with Orioles owner Peter Angelos in order to enter his broadcast turf. The whole thing is a mess and likely won’t be fixed until after commissioner Bud Selig is gone, but mark my words: it’s going to happen — even if it doesn’t end pretty. The next […]

Good news seems to be emanating out of the Warehouse of late. No, I’m not referring to the Ubaldo Jimenez and/or Nelson Cruz deals with the Orioles, instead I’m talking about a bit of information released this week regarding MASN’s broadcast (or should I say, “broadcasts”) of the Battle of the Beltways. The combined both that brought together the play-by-play voices of the Orioles and Nationals is no more. That means that O’s fans no longer have to listen to F.P. Santangelo gush over Bryce Harper during an 0-for-4 day […]

I have to hand it to Steve Melewski of MASN. No one is more optimistic about the Orioles than him. Everyone from national baseball pundits, to our local media, to fans that call into sports talk radio stations agrees that no team has had a more frustrating and baffling offseason than our Orioles. Everyone that is, but Melewski. In a world of universal doom and gloom, his strange and unexplainable cheerfulness is actually rather refreshing. Here we are, in the midst of the longest, coldest, most miserable winter, anxiously awaiting […]