Chapter 5: The More Things Change

The Kyle Boller experiment was still a thing for the Ravens throughout 2004 and into 2005. In ’04, Boller started all 16 games for the Ravens and while his dedication never wavered, it was rather obvious that the former Cal Bear’s frenetic ways would prevent him from ever becoming the quarterback that his physical skills might otherwise suggest.

The 2004 season initially appeared promising but after an embarrassing loss in New England during which the Ravens offense gained just 124 yards TOTAL, things began to unravel. Despite a defense that might lead one to believe the Ravens were contenders, the team could only split their remaining games, finishing (9-7), good for second in the AFC North but leaving them home for the playoffs.

Locker room fractures began to splinter even more, pitting the defense against the offense. Those vibes carried over to 2005 when the Ravens finished (6-10). Perhaps the most telling moment of the season, a signal that the team had completely unraveled, took place in Detroit during Week 5 when they lost to the Lions 35-17 to drop to (1-3). The Ravens were penalized 21 times and looked like a rudderless ship. Perhaps you remember referee Mike Carey flagging Terrell Suggs for unsportsmanlike conduct when the linebacker confronted Carey. The penalty call from Carey about Suggs’ emotional outburst:

“He bumped me with malice in his heart.”

Malice is defined as the intention or desire to do evil. And the team’s performance felt like evil to its fans. Despite fielding talent to effectively compete, the team fell apart at the seams. The Ravens 2005 season was circling the drain.

And I worried that Ravens24x7.com might do the same.

Fortunately, that didn’t happened and I learned that adversity can also pave the way to increased site traffic. Fans need to vent and who better than a fan-centric site to provide the platform?

Speaking of platforms, things at ESPN 1300 hit a bumpy patch by 2006. Brokered programmers (those who pay for their airtime) such as 24×7, were the equivalent of stepchildren and that’s how the suits at CBS Radio, the owners of ESPN 1300 (I know, confusing, right?) treated us. Without going into details, it became apparent that the only thing CBS Radio was interested in was our money. It was around this time that coincidentally, Drew Forrester from WNST began to reach out to me to see if I might be interested in doing the same sort of brokered arrangement at 1570.

Drew was convincing. The price to move Gametime to WNST was attractive. And so, we made the move to a place on the dial that carried the tagline, “the station with balls”. Our initial 13-week agreement would take us right into Ravens training camp and our time slot, 10AM to Noon on Sundays, would work out perfectly for the upcoming season. At least that was the plan.

Things went well for the first few weeks, or so I thought. The time slot was great. Caller interaction was fantastic. There was energy about the team given the arrival of Steve McNair who would officially put an end to the Kyle Boller Project. A lot of things were pointing towards a successful run at NST.

At this time, I was living in Canton and while driving back to Canton late one morning following a meeting with a customer, WNST’s managing partner Nestor Aparicio, called me. He asked where I was and I shared my whereabouts. In an enthusiastic voice Nestor asked if I’d like to meet for coffee at the Starbuck’s on Boston Street. I agreed, thinking he was going to extend praise for what I believed to be a very solid start for us at 1570.

We stood in line together, exchanging small talk, as the Starbuck barista prepared a variety of caffeine-infused beverages. When we finally sat down at a table, the positive energy wilted like cotton candy in the rain. Suddenly, Nestor’s facial expression was agitated.

“Let me get to why I asked you here”, he said.

And then he laid into me. I’ll summarize the conversation:

Nestor: This arrangement with you isn’t working out. I was in the office today and I heard Ray [Bachman] and Casey [Willett] in the hallway talking about you.

TL: Ok…what did they say?

Nestor: They said you called in asking about protocol. What’s that all about?

TL: I wanted to see if you follow specific procedures regarding interview requests from the Ravens.

Nestor: What did you do before at 1300?

TL: I reached out directly, but I wanted to make sure you subscribe to the same approach.

Nestor: Just keep doing what you have been doing.

TL: Ok, anything else.

Nestor: Yes, a couple of things. Paul Kopelke (WNST GM) said that you keep bugging him to get your commercials recorded. What’s going on with that?

TL: It’s been a few weeks since we started with you. I’ve been asking for these commercials to be completed so that I can honor my commitment to my customers. Without those customers, it becomes a bigger challenge to offset the expense of being on your station.

Nestor: Ok, well that’s Paul’s job so that’s between you and him.

TL: Ok then, anything else?

Nestor: Yes! In a little over a month, I’ve received more text messages and calls from you than I have ever received from Terry Ford, and he has worked for me for years. Why all the calls?

TL: Well, when I started at WNST, you said that I would be welcomed as part of the team, and I would have the resources of the station made available to me. I’m interested in having George Kokinis on my show and I know that you have a relationship with him. So, I hoped you might help broker that interview.

Nestor: If you had George Kokinis on your show, would that make for a better show? Yes. If your show was better would that reflect favorably upon WNST? Yes. Do I want to give away contacts that I’ve spent years developing? Absolutely not! Keep in mind that you are a customer, not an employee.

So much for being a part of the team.

That concluded the conversation. I didn’t hear from Nestor for another few weeks. And then it hit the fan (no pun intended) again.

In May of 2006, I learned that Anita Marks would be making her way up from Miami and that she would be handling the afternoon drive time show on ESPN 1300. She was described to me as an attractive sports talker who had played quarterback in a women’s football league and had posed in the buff for Hugh Hefner’s mag. I thought that she would make an interesting interview subject for Ravens24x7.com and so I reached out to her. She agreed to the interview.

After seeing the posted interview, Nestor called me and popped off like a raving lunatic. He could not understand how I could post an interview about a host on a competing radio station.

After the rant, I reminded Aparicio of a conversation we had just a few weeks prior.

“Well Nestor, the interview wasn’t on WNST, it was on Ravens24x7.com which by the way is MY website, not yours. And you will never have editorial privileges on 24×7. And remember, I’m just a customer. Do you treat all your customers this way?”

A few weeks later at training camp, Chad Steele, now the Ravens’ Sr. VP of Communications, approached me and told me that Nestor called and said that I was no longer on his station (which was news to me) and he asked Chad to revoke my media credential. Now at this time in the life cycle of non-mainstream websites, the only way to be issued a credential was to be affiliated with a media source that was mainstream. So, my credential essentially belonged to WNST.

I was crushed.

“Chad, I’m just out here doing my job. Is there any way to allow me to continue to cover camp until I can find a new home for our radio show.”

Chad obliged and offered me an unaffiliated press pass.

So besides attending training camp, I now had to find a new home for Gametime.

It was time to tuck in my tail and go back to ESPN 1300 with the hopes that they’d have us again.

The more things change, the more they stay the same…

(In Chapter 6, we’ll revisit an amazing 2006 season and some game-changing moves we made at Ravens24x7.com that would propel us to the next level.)

[CLICK HERE for the previous four chapters of The History of RSR]

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