Sports with Coleman

days a week clearly not enough. So we do this eight days a week. And if it is a Friday podcast, that would be today, the weekend before Thanksgiving holiday. It's a chance to catch up with someone who I either know or want to talk to. In this case, it's someone that I know, a radio pal, someone who I've never actually physically met, but have been friends with for over twenty years. I have known. This guy is a

fellow sports talk radio gas bag. He hosts Sports with Coleman on in the nighttime hours in Baltimore six to ten. He has covered the Ravens and the Baltimore Orioles for a long time. We have sparked, I go on his radio show. Occasionally. I'll pop up on his show and he uh, this is his first appearance on this show. But let's give it up now for Sports with Coleman. Jerry Coleman is his name, and sports talk radio is his game. So, Jerry, how long have we known each other?

I think it began in the early two thousands, I want to say, but it might have been even earlier than that. I'm not sure. I want to say early two thousands, Jerry, phil me and when was it? It was actually prior to that, Ben, and thanks for having me on. I can now update my resume and add this to it. It should be uh, you know, enough to get me a much better job than I have

right now. But no, it goes back to a local l A station you were working at one that of course started with a K. I can't remember the rest of the call letters, but you would make the calls to the little stringers around the country and say, hey, can you come on and during I think it was the Angels broadcast or pregame show and give us an update from Camden Yards was where I was back in

the day. It was a memorial stadium but you would arrange for that, and then you became, you know, a lot more high profile and than have time to do the dirty work. Wow, I don't even remember that. My memory is so bad, Jerry, I don't. I just remember you doing stuff. It fucked. We we don't even use stringers anymore. I don't think it. Fox Sports Radio, like we at most places have kind of gone away from that.

But we we have similar backgrounds, Like we both did that for a long time, and I have great memories and also some terrible memories of doing that. But I was at games every single night, and it was it was awesome. And in those days you had a lot of access to the locker room and stuff, which was I think Jerry, you would agree a blessing and a curse at the same time. Some of the stuff that

took place behind the scenes very interesting. There were there were numerous clubhouse encounters with me and players and managers, and too many to probably tell the time during this podcast. But yeah, that's where I learned the protocols of you know, when you can and can't go into a locker room. I was always very aggressive, so I didn't ask. I just begged for forgiveness after. You know, there was one time actually when they were the Red Skins and Joe

Gibbs was coaching them back in the nineties. They were playing the Dallas Cowboys at RFK Stadium. I'm talking football now, and I didn't know that NFL locker rooms were closed before the games starts. So I strolled into the Redskins locker room. There was no gate guard whatsoever. But once they found out I was in there, all heck broke loose and I was escorted out. I was chided by PR. I was told never to enter an NFL locker room before the game or without a PR person. So I

learned a harsh lesson there. But yeah, that's where I cut my teeth as being a stringer. You know. We made a joke about it at the time. You would make maybe thirty thousand dollars a year, fifty dollars at a time. Yeah, no, it was, It was true. And it was like every remember after the work stoppage in the baseball strike in ninety four, when they came back in ve and being in l A there were two teams, it was like every they no days off, And I'm such an idiot I never took a day off even

back then. I was I gotta show up and we needed to as a stringer because you made no money and the other thing. And I don't know if this ever happened to you, Jerry, being in Baltimore and going to games in d C and stuff. At some point to try to make a decent amount of money, you had to use I had to work for a bunch of different networks, right your So you'd work for your local station. And then I remember at one time I

was working for sports Fan Radio ESPN Radio. How about that in the early days when they had stuff on the weekends with Tony Bruno, Peter Brown, and Chuck Wilson. I did stuff with those guys, and and there was one on one sports I think out of Chicago was around for a while, and there were a bunch of these things. But did you ever have I had one of the most embarrassing moments I had I've ever done.

I was in the press box and I was doing these updates from Dodger Stadium, and you know, they're thirty second updates whatever. So I'm doing the update and I nailed it, and I was like, you know, sports Fan radio network. Can I slam the phone down? And it wasn't the Sportsman Radio network, it was a different network, and oh man, I would write down the name of the station because it was U P I, it was a P. It was the fan in New York. It

was I never worked for Fox Sports Radio. There was a lady there that didn't like me that would set up the stringers and she would go with someone else in the market who came behind me. So that was fine. But I did ABC and CBS, and at times I guess it was Westwood One, So yeah, I would have the name right in front of me. I did not make that mistake. I was more prone to butchering players names. In fact, the last time I did one of those was a Capital's New York Rangers playoff game that went

into triple overtime. I had a morning show the next day. The reason I went to do it was because, and here's a name drop alert, Kenny Albert was calling the game for Rangers Radio and he needed a stat person. Why. I have no idea, but the job paid seventy five dollars, so I took it, and I told him, listen, I gotta get up at four or five in the morning. I'm leaving probably midway through the third period, just so you know. He's like, you're supposed to stay through the

whole game if you want to check. I'm like, just pay me up front, and I'll be here for close to three periods. So then we go into overtime. I said, I'll stick around for the first overtime. Then comes the second overtime. I stick around a little for that, but then I leave during a time out and I go to a remote location and I'm waiting for the game to end so i can call in the final report. The goal is scored. The guy who scored the goal I can't even remember, but I butchered his name so

bad on live New York radio. That was the end of my career. And when I told Kenny about this, he couldn't believe it. I literally did the voice or ben from the lobby of what was called the m c I Center back then, and then bolted for my car and back to Baltimore. But I didn't get home until like four or five in the morning, and then was up an hour later, and I said, you know, I'm getting too old to do this stuff. Yeah, didn't you tell me you you traveled around you did stats?

Uh for for Kenny right for TV? Right? Yes, I was his first spot or the first two years. I think this is year like twenty six or twenty seven for him, whatever year they started doing the broadcasting. He and Joe Buck are two among the originals right now. And his first two years on the job, Fox really was spending the money under David Hill. They would fly out the statistician, the spotter. They would put him up

in a hotel for a couple of nights. So I went out to l A, went out to San Francisco, did a terrible job in terms of spotting, was fired after two weeks, but it made a nice living for two weeks with him, and uh we still remain friends here twenty five plus years later. But no way he's gonna hire me to spot a game because I was too busy watching the football game myself. So how how bad were you? Like? What do you remember exactly the

moment you realize this is not good? There were multiple There were multiple calls where he would just name the tackler himself instead of waiting for me to point to the number. Because I was so late in getting to the number, and the same thing with you know, when you need someone to tell you who was the assist guy and who scored the goal on what the time was. He had that all calculated before I could write that down,

so I was really not needed. So you're saying that Kenny Albert has a computer like mind, and you a little you have a radio mind. You have it, yes, and uh, and he belittles me at every moment. He has to have to remind me of that he's superior. What can I tell you? Yeah, so you need to come up. I have Mallard math, which is a version of of actual math. It's a ballpark figure, so you

have you have sports with Coleman math. But I did learn in those days when I was a stringer and I sat near the stat guys that actually knew what they were doing. And I still to this day some of that stuff, like when you're breaking down a football game, some of the numbers are basketball like. I learned a lot of that stuff in those days when I was was a stringer. But you mentioned David Hill and the amount of money that Fox put out, and I met David Hill a few times. Uh, in the early days

when Fox took over the in the nineties. I was at we was at a party one time, and uh, everyone loved David Hill. I don't, I'm not, I'm not. I'm sure there are people that didn't like him, but I never met anyone. I mean that the amount of money You're right that they put out for those those broadcasts was insane. But I do remember being at the NHL All Star Game in the mid nineties that Fox had the rights, and I remember overhearing a conversation and I don't I will not say who it was with.

It might have been with David Hill, maybe not, but it might have been somebody else. And they were lamenting the fact that everything that they had tried to get people to watch hockey on TV had not worked. Remember they had that going puck thing that of course, yeah, yeah, and they were they just couldn't figure it out. They're like,

what do we what do we have to do? They tried everything, and and here we are all these years later, Jerry, and still people not flocking to watch hockey on television now, even though it's moved to T n T and the guy was calling the game the other night. I didn't even know that their games start at ten pm. But he reminded me he was calling his first game from the Key Arena, home of the Seattle Crack, and he said he had not been back there since an NBA

game there when the Sonics played there. But yeah, t n T s starting their hockey now on Thursday or I'm sorry, on Wednesday evenings at ten pm. And who knew except the announcer. Yeah, I have not seen any of those, uh, any of those hockey games. But I usually wait till like Christmas. Basketball, you definitely wait till Christmas. Absolutely, but hockey. I love going to hockey. The King's out here in l A Are not very good, but I

guess the Ducks are off to a good start. But you go back in the stringer, back in the stringer days, Ben, because Baltimore is just a two sport town, and really, when I was doing a lot of the work, it was a one sport town. The Colts had bolted for Indianapolis, which is why I went down the Rhodar f G just to be around professional football as we were waiting

for a team to come back. And then you had the Bullets and then Wizards, and of course the Capitals and I would go to select games there and of course to about seventy too close to eighty oriole games a year, just like you with the Dodgers and Angels. Yeah, and I know you you were born in Atlanta, right, But have you been in Baltimore your whole career? Have you been always like a Baltimore radio guy? Pretty much? So? I was born in Atlanta, lived there the first seven

years of my life. That actually we moved because my family was in the liquor business. My dad took his talents to West Hartford, Connecticut, where I lived for three years, and then in nineteen seventy seven we moved to Baltimore, and uh, that's where I started elementary school here and then moved up to middle and high school and then went to Ithaca College and then out of Ithaca College because Syracuse wouldn't let me in. That's the reason I'm

not a part of the dreaded Syracuse mafia. Didn't have the grade point average ben they wanted more than a two point out for some reason. They also wouldn't let you start on the college radio station until your junior year. Where at Ithaca they had a jv and a varsity there was an a M for the JV and an FM station for the varsity, and uh I got started in year one there and then right out of college started stringing and then started to lay in radio jobs

part time and then eventually full time. Well, it really is one of the reasons, Jerry, that we have maintained a friendship for all these years is that you are not part of the Syracuse mafia. You are not part of that. Every radio station I've worked at, I've I've worked odd jobs at different places in sports media, and there's always been a handful of Syracuse people that worked there, especially in the Northeast. Man, my goodness, it is can escape yeah everywhere. I mean, it is a license to

get a great job. Now, not everyone at Syracuse has a great job, but I mean the networking, the people that have come out of Syracuse, it is insane. And h that college radio station, but I'm proud. So you didn't go there. You went to a smaller school, and I went to, of course, the great Saddleback College where in those of the West, Yes, yes, so I it's

actually the Syracuse the Harvard of the West. But the cool thing about that is they had a little FM station, and you know in those days, they've let you right on, like you took a couple of classes and they put you on there. Now it's not like that anymore. That the station's more revenue driven, shall I say, Jarry, you know they're trying to make some money. Yes, I understand

that a lot of college radio stations have gone that route. Ironically, what it's supposed to be for the students now for revenue. But the big guy on campus when I was at Ithaca was Carl Rabbit. He was a senior. I was a freshman. He paid me very little attention until he got a small time TV job in Harrisburg. Excuse me, Harrisburg TV. We would come to Camden Yards and be my best friend until he worked for ESPN and then

they never knew me again. Well that's the way it goes, right, I mean you get to yeah, yeah, we've we've all been around those people that the little nice and then when they reached a certain level, there's they're in that rare fight air and they're like, oh, you're just a radio guy, get out of here. You know where I'm a big TV star now, how dare you leave me alone? Yeah? But we all know guys. We all know guys too that are at much higher levels than the people I'm

talking about that are also actually nice. You find those in between, yeah yeah, but we remember the ones that are mean and douches and things like that. Oh yeah, the air holes always stand out to me. Yeah, yeah, that's a well. It's the same concept with the news business, right if it's if it's good news, that's at the end, that's the kicker story at the end. If it's bad news. That's why I always say you you know this too, Jenny,

from being in those locker rooms. The better stories in the losing locker room, right you go in there, there absolutely is. And that's what I miss about going into the locker room right now is because it is so I don't know what the word is polished. I guess as one of the words I can use, and I'll just reference the local teams like the Ravens. They will bring out the best talkers, the least controversial players too.

You know, you hear from each and every week unless you may make a hardsh request, because again, they want the sanitized version coming out of the locker room. And when you enter the locker room, PR can't control that. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And are the locker rooms even open? I know, no, yeah, yeah they're not open. Only the NHL, i've heard, but

not the NBA, certainly not football or baseball. Yeah. I do miss going in there because there would be stuff that would happen that, as you said, the unexpected right where you're like you, as you said, everything kind of filtered now with PR people and stuff, But there'd be that random day on like a Wednesday night or something, and you'd get a guy on a on a perfect moment where he'd rant and complained and and and go off the deep end, and that would feed the content

for the next several days. Now everything's on zoom and everything's recorded for posterity's sake, and there's there's not the one on one doesn't really exist anymore, Nope, because you have the PR people all standing around monitoring every move that has made, every word that has said, where they can't control that. Inside the locker room, you get someone in a private situation. They don't spread themselves at thin

inside the locker room. So that is what I miss, and a lot of the off the record stuff that is said inside the lock rohom I missed that as well, so we don't have that right now. Again. I hope the educated fan, as you like to refer to, understands that be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Meller Show weekdays at two a m. Eastern eleven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio. Yeah. Yeah, exactly as much different. Now, moving on the Great Sports

with Coleman. The greatest contribution, the greatest contribution to sports entertainment from Baltimore came from Earl Weaver, and I actually want to play it. I have it here, I've set it up. We're allowed. I think we're allowed to play it on the podcast. I will beg for forgiveness if we're not. But I think we're good to go on this. It's everyone involved is long gone, so I think we're good on this. This is for those that haven't heard it,

and then we're gonna react to it. Maybe I'll stop it in the middle of it and react to it. But this is Earl Weaver, the manager's corner, the old Hall of Fame manager, the very colorful Earl Weaver. And listen, this is amazing audio. I don't I don't know when this was recorded something I know. I know all about this. I believe the interviewer is a guy named Tom marr Okay, so this goes back. What are we looking at? Late seventies,

early eighties, probably some late seventies early eighties. All right, here we go. This is the great Earl Weaver. And now to the manager's going with Earl Weaver. Hi, everybody, this is Earl Weaver with Managers Conner. Today. I have Tom marr oreo broadcaster, back on the show, and I understand understand Tom's been getting some mail with questions that supposedly I can answer. Now what the funk are somebody's goddamn questions? Tom? Well, first of all, Earl George Moore

from Ball, we're gonna have to turn that up. Then? Is that too long? Wait a minute, I cannot hear any of that. Really, I heard a little bit of it. Yeah, all right, I think that's because you're on the on the phone hook up. Let me just playing a little more. This is Earl. Let me play a little Earl Weaver there. I think the the listener Jerry can hear it. But the the technical setup that we have here is not that great. May play a little bit fine. I know

the conversation almost by heart. Let me play a little more here, here we go. How much we feel the loss of Don Stanhouse. Well, don Stanhouse was an asshole. He had us in trouble, had to fucking base as well, God damn it. Almost every time he went out there he liked to ruin my health smoking cigarettes. And thank god we got Jimmy Stoddard coming in out the bullpen right now sticking a bat up their asses. And that's

what it takes. Well, Bill Whitehouse less certainly is an answer from Frederick Maryland wants to know why you and the Orioles don't go up and get some more teams, Speed, team speed, for Christ's sake. You get fucking goddamn little pleased on the fucking basis getting picked off, trying to steal, get the throwne out, taking runs away from you. You get them big cock suckers that you hit the fucking ball out of the ball puck, and you can't make

any god damn mistakes. Well, certainly this show is gonna get out in history. Earl Terry Elliott of Washington, d C. Why And he wants to know why you don't use Terry Crowley. As here we go. Well, Terry Terry Crowley's lucky he's in fucking baseball. For christ sake. He was released by the Cincinnata Reds. He was released by the

fucking goddamn Atlanta Braves. We saw that Terry Crowley could sit on his fucking ask gerade innings and enjoy watching a baseball game just like any other fan, and has the ability to get up there and break one open in the fucking ninth. So if this toxicker mind his own business and let me manage the fucking team, we'd be a lot better off. Well, certainly you've made your opinions known on the fans questions about baseball, Earl, But

let's get to something else. Alice Sweet from off, Yeah, we got to be worried about where to funk her next lays coming from, rather where next goddamn tomato plants coming from. Get her ass out the fucking bars at night and go hustling around the goddamn streets. You might get a frick stuck in her once in a while. I don't understand where the questions are coming time. That's about it from manager's honor, Go fuck yourself and fun with your show coming up next on the Bollimore Audio

Baseball fucking Network. Alright, man, that is outstanding, So, uh what do you know about I mean, obviously that's one of the great things that has come out of Baltimore or Earl and it's it's right up there with the Lee EO your rants, some of the sort of rants like there's like this upper echelon Jerry of great rants and Earl Weavers in the top five all time. That was outstanding. That was yes. Now, now that pregame show never did air on the radio, I will disclose that

that never made it to air. Uh. That was kind of a mock thing that they did that somehow, I think a producer put out there and it got loose. I don't think Alice ever submitted a question after that. I think Terry Crowley realized that he was joking. The crow was a great pinch it or back in the time. But uh, Tom and Earl would have a lot of fun during that pregame show and they would grow a garden out there in the bullpen. Pat Santa On the

old groundskeeper, would grow like tomatoes and other vegetables. They'd have a little garden in the bullpen, and Earl would have a little bit of a green thumb and a hand in that. So that's where that emanated from. But yeah, that was tremendous. And that's right up there with the

argument he had with Uh. I believe it's the late great Ron Luciano where he came out to the mound and everything was heard, and he kept calling Earl a loser and recited his world series record and all that, and UH and Eddie Murray is standing there trying to hold back the laughter. It was just hilarious. Mike Flanagan tries to intervene. It was quite a comedy show with Earl, who was one of the greatest managers of all time, but also quite a character, very vocal, not too tall,

maybe Kyler Murray size. But he and Jim Palmer had a very testy relationship bend and that continued even after their careers were over. I remember near the end of Earl's life there was a banquet where the two were seated next to each other and the alcohol was flowing, and so were the insults, and it almost came two blows. You may want to look that up, because that was

just less than ten years ago. I think when that occurred and it got really ugly at a place right down the road called Martin's West, where I think they had to have some people come in and intervene between those two because Earl was ready to go after Jim. So it was not a bygones, be bygone situation. It was it was personal between Earl Weaver and Jim Palm when Earle was when Earle had a few cocktails and cigarettes, and he was notorious for smoking in the dugout in

the runway. Uh. In fact, he had a nickname for Don Stanhouse, the former reliever. He would call him six pack, not in terms of beers, but six packs of cigarettes. He would have to go through as this guy tried to get through the ninth inning. But Earl had a temper and we would see it on the field and sometimes off the field. Now he was gone by the time he started as radio reporter. Right now he wasn't managing the team. I was around the sort a little bit.

This Earl did. Earl have the reputation like Tommy where if the Dodgers won, Tommy would be waiting for the cameras to come into the locker room ready to go, and if the Dodgers lost, he would be sitting behind his desk eating some kind of whatever the meal of the night was, and he wouldn't stop eating, and he had his head down and he would be he had he had to shove the mic. I remember how to clean the microphone, Jerry, because as a stringer and I

started the sort of managed. It was like the last three years he managed. And I remember when they lose, he would spit food on the mic and I had to clean the sort of spit food parts off my micro was did Earl have the same reputation or was he the same whether the O's one or they lost. I had heard, because I never covered him, that he could be testy after a loss. But the managers, the vintage manager is that I dealt with during the La Sword Age fit that description, and they would be the

late Sparky Anderson and Lou Panella Litow. Lou wouldn't even get dressed sometimes, which was very uncomfortable, so he would be sitting there without anything on. He would have a cigarette in his right hand and a fork in his left hand. He would eat and smoke and then he'd pick up the beer in between questions, and he was always very testy. This is when he was managing Seattle.

And then Sparky of course would come in with the tigers and and be a curmudgeon at times two to the young reporters trying to ask, you know, probing questions. So those are the vintage managers I dealt with only the sort of one time. But that Dave Kingman Rants still reigned supreme. Well, it's the Kingman Rants great. The Kirk Bovaca one is pretty good. Bovaca couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. But but for me, the Lea is still still the gold standard. And less

grob I should get less Grobstein on this podcast. Less is uh. He's I think last I heard, he's still doing a show in Chicago, and he's the guy that recorded that, uh the radio stringer back in those days in the early eighties and had a tour Lee had a tour of duty through Baltimore and talked about that, you know, I mean, without any terms of you know, remorse whatsoever. I think at the time maybe he felt it, but now he feels like it's a part of baseball lords.

So he kind of embraced it when I asked him about it. But you're right, there was no tirade that equaled that inside, you know, a manager's office that I had ever heard. Yeah, and I had heard stories that that wasn't even the worst like that, that this that just happened to be recorded. Jerry, that that there was actually some other stuff that didn't get recorded. I heard the same thing about the sort of that, the sort of you know, he had some epic rants that were

better than the Kingman rant. But because it was only sports writers and there weren't can was around her microphones per se, that that stuff got lost, Uh, for the ages there. Now, speaking of Baltimore sports, there's another story. Now, we have fought over this for many years, the legendary night the lights went out at Camden Yards and cal

Ripken had not set the record yet. It was a big game the Mariners, who at the time it's hard to believe now considering how crappy the Mariners have been for almost twenty years, but at that time the Mariners were one of the it teams in baseball, and they had big rock star players in Seattle, and they were playing the Orioles. And this is a big game and Cal Ripkins getting closer to breaking the all time streak for consecutive games played, and the lights went out at

Camden Yards. The game was postponed immediately. There was a rumor that popped up that there was an incident involving Kevin Costner and Cal Ripkin's wife. And if you want, Jerry, I can give the story as I remember the story, or you can give the story if you want, but I believe it to be true. You have said it

is not true. But the story involves, uh, Cal going to the ballpark forgetting something, turning around to go home, and there was a situation he walked in on with Kevin Costner and I guess now his ex wife and Uh. And because of that situation, they had to cancel the game. That he was so flummixed and also a little beaten up that he had to cancel. They had to cancel the game. You have denied that, Jerry, you have taken

that and said it is bull crap. I believe you are wrong, but make your position known again for those listening to the fifth hour. Well, first of all, let's think about the multiple layers of cover up that would have to transpire for this to occur in seven Now, it was true that Kevin and Costner was finishing up a film. I think it was called The Postman, and he was staying at the Ripken home back in August of the cow returning home before a game. Never heard

of that before. That's usually not the norm. Usually when he goes to the ballpark, he doesn't turn around to go back to retrieve something. I was at the game that night. I spoke with Cal before that game that night. In fact, I think I may have interviewed him. As far as the lighting going on, it was out all of downtown Baltimore. I mean, what a conspiracy to have all of Baltimore's electricity shut down for one guy to

keep a streak intact. I just don't believe it. I think that Kevin Costner actually called into Fox at one point to put the k bosh on this, But it's too extravagant of a rumor for me to buy to keep a streak intact. So being there that night, seeing the lights off all around downtown Baltimore, it was unusual. But I'm not buying into the conspiracy that that kept the street going and those two gotten a big battle inside the Ripken home. All right. So I here's where

I come into this. So I was this stringer at the time. I was doing my thing, and I was at Dodger Stadium. Uh. And the next day, the next day, a buddy of mine came. He came up to me, said You're never gonna believe this, and I said, you know, of course, I said, what is it? What are you what are you talking about? And he said, you know that that game between the Orioles and the Mariners. He says, well, I was in Vegas last night and uh. He then

said he was gambling. Uh, this is I guess this is actually two days after because he had come back two days after. So this he was in Vegas the day after that game. He says, You're never gonna be whatever. I mean. I'm in I'm ethics, see, and I'm gambling. And he ended up he was gambling with somebody who happened to be very close with Peter Angelos, the owner of the Orioles there at the time and in the Angelo's family, and said that he explained the whole story.

And this is before it became popular, and this is you know this this in the days Jerry before social media. So and he's giving me the whole thing. He's like, you know, this is unbelievers, came right from the name, the person whatever. And so I I buy it because I feel like I heard it two days after as

I remember, as I remember the story. So it is conceivable Cal Ripkin was such a big deal in those days that the Illuminati could have come in right and some kind of new world order and then let's just shut the lights out. You know, Peter Angelo's has a lot of money. You had a lot of money at the time, still has a lot of money that the Angelo's family and all that. So, uh, make a few phone calls, Hey, give do me a solid and uh, that's it. The game's postponed for a night, and then

the next night everything's good. Well, I do know that Cal is no longer married to Kelly Rippin. They've been separate aided a divorce for quite some time. There was no connection to Kevin Costner whatsoever. Again, very elaborate to keep that streak going. But that's what, truly you want to believe. That's fine. I mean, I just don't see it that way. Having been at the ballpark that night, I just find it hard to fathom that they would go to that link to keep this streak intact and

shut down all of the power in Baltimore. Well, remember not just at Camden Yards. I mean there were other places where the lights were out too. It wasn't just at Camden Yards. I wouldn't say the entire city was dark, but that neighborhood, the block or two that the ballpark sat in, was dark. Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Meller Show weekdays at two am Eastern

eleven pm Pacific. Well, and and also they'll remember in that time that was the cal Ripkins streak was to bring fans back because baseball was still trying to get people to come back after the work stopage into and then that that cal Ripkin was credited with bringing you know, old time baseball fans back and all that. So that was a big deal to save a billion dollar industry.

Could you imagine if he had gotten that close to the streak and then not being able to play, Oh my goodness, that would have been a disaster for baseball at that By then, though he had already set the consecutive games record. We're talking about nineties seven. I believe he set the record in ninety five, so he was just trying to keep it intact and extend it. But again, what year was it. I gotta look, I believe I

thought it was ninety seven. Was that might you might you know, you might be right, but ninety seven are like the same to me. You know, the streak was still very much intact, though, is what I'm saying. Then he was trying to you know, he kept it going five hundred games longer after breaking Luke Garrett's mark, So it was still a big deal at that point. But again, a lot of a lot of things would add to

have occurred for that to transpire. All right, So as far is, the Ravens are concerned, and we've kept you a long time here, Jerry. But what a game that was? Uh look, yeah, well the last Ravens game very impressive. Now, Lamar Jackson. I did several rants, several Mallard monologues slamming Lamar Jackson back in the day, and he made me look like a total donkey when he had the m v P, the breakout, amazing, all everything, the video game

glitch here for the Ravens. But I have noticed here this season quietly, Lamar, not exactly lighting the world on fire here, Jerry, what's going on with your guy, Lamar Jackson. You're right, he's regressed. I think you pointed it out after the Thursday night debacle in Miami. The last three games have been underwhelming, and then we were supposed to speak to him the other day and for the third time this year on a Wednesday, he's missed his session

because he was ill, and that's kind of peculiar. The coach came out and said, it's not COVID. We don't know if he's had the shot or not, because it's something he keeps secretive. And I'm tired of asking about it. And I know you're tired of people asking athletes about it yourself, even though that's what I like to do, is prod and probe. But the fact that he lost his top two running backs, a lot of his offensive line is banged up. Yeah, injuries are part of football.

The Ravens have as many as any team in the NFL, but it's really hurt him. He's been sacked twenty seven times already this year. Ben. That's five more times and all of last year combined. And I think maybe he's not ill. I just think they're trying to give him an extra day off. He's taken up beating, and the Ravens are going to continue to run this guy until they try and get to a super Bowl. And I really wonder what type of money they're gonna offer him,

if a substantial contract at all. I just think they're waiting until the very last second to try and have to pay this guy and see what they can get out of him physically and running the football. But when he's carrying the ball twenty times a game, that's for a running back, not a quarterback. Is he gonna get

paid here? Is there a chance that the Ravens don't give him the contract, that they say, hey, you're too injury prone and we can't we can't trust that you're gonna be effective and we're gonna get we can't give you all this guaranteed money? Is there? Everyone? Everyone seems sold that he's going to get paid. Yet his mother is his agent. He doesn't have anyone reputable handling him.

With no disrespect to his mother, but she hasn't done this for a living like people you know out there that do do it for a you know seven day a week living and he doesn't have any major endorsements either that I won the m v P a couple of years ago. He's not appearing on commercials like homes and Rogers and Baker Mayfield. So a lot of his money is being made by selling apparel and other little

things that he's doing. But for me, he's blown millions of dollars and endorsement money, and again it's still working off his rookie deal. Yeah, it's pretty pretty well now. You're you're very well known on our show. Your your relationship with John Harbaugh, your repartee with John Harbaugh. Does he like you or not like you? I think he does like you. I think he genuinely likes you and also at the same time hates you based on how

the interaction goes. What I've seen on some of these Raven News conferences when I watched them online, Jerry, where are you at with John Harbaugh? The coach? Long time coach at the rating. John Harbaugh has been there forever. My goodness. I thought he was gonna leave a couple of years ago when they had that rough patch. I don't think he's going there. I don't think he's going anyway. I think he's gonna be there for the rest of his life. But you and Hardball, where are you at?

You two? I think you nailed it pretty accurately. We have a tremendous relationship. But at times he does hate me, especially when I'm asking a question that he knows is going to be probing, that he knows is going to rub him the wrong way. But I have his phone number. He and I text back and forth, and sometimes he doesn't mind when I stirred up to be honest with few.

I think he respects the fact that, you know, unlike a lot of people in our business, especially around here, they'll take shots at the Ravens or the Orioles and never show their face at the ballpark or the locker room. I'm out there two or three times a week now. One of the reasons, ad Midaly is the Ravens are giving out free COVID tests, So every Wednesday I go there just to get tests tested and make sure I

test negative. They also give out some very good food on Wednesdays, so that's why I go out there on Wednesdays. But I'm out there on Monday's peppering him at his press conference. I don't even bother asking him questions after the football game anymore, Ben, because they always say, I have to look at the proverbial tape. And that's why I wait until Monday and say, now that you've looked at your tape and seeing how bad your team looked

on Sunday, maybe you can comment on this aspect. Now does he pull the old Well, we're ready to move on. Now that's in the past. We're not gonna look. No, no, no, we don't turn the page on Monday's. We don't turn the page on Mondays. I remind him of that. Okay, you can turn the page on Wednesday, but not the day after, two days after the game. Now, when you say they have good food the Ravens, what are we looking at? Give me a kind of an idea. Here's

a media freeloader myself. Over the years, I enjoy a good meal. I know you have gone to the legendary horse race there in Baltimore and then the Preakness. You've told me you you've gone just for the foods occasionally that it's that good. Well, that's a catered event. Then that is a catered event. What the Ravens do is every Wednesday, they will bring in an outside establishment for food. Yesterday it was a local pizza chain. We had all sorts of cow zones, uh, buffalo chicken. I went for

the meat lovers. Instead of taking one, I take two. I live about ten minutes away from the complex. I could bring ice cream home from the complex and it wouldn't melt, so I make sure I get my allotment and get on out of there. But it rotates. It's pizza one week, it subs the next week barbecue, so

there's a rotation that's going. In fact, I've been taking pictures every week and at the end of the year I'll make a montage and credit some of the Ravens p R. Because they keep reminding me they're paying for the food. It's not part of a trade deal. And then I remind them they're worth about three billion dollars, so stop complaining. Yeah, well that's good. That's good to hear. The Ravens are taking care of you guys. I know in l A at the Ram Games at so Fi Stadium,

which is amazing. It's a it's a palace that place. The Rams better food than the Chargers, even though it's the same stadium, the same setup in the press box and all that on game day, better spread of food for the l A Rams and the l A Chargers. So and the Stan Crockie Stan Crocki has got more money than that Spanos family, right, Yeah, Well, the charge is probably upset with the media because they don't get the same attention the Rams get and all that. But

you're right they I always that was trade. I always thought it was part of the deal, and they just too. You know, you know who may have the best pre games set up in the NFL in terms of food and halftime? Who's that? That would be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because they have a omelet spread in the morning, um where you can order your own omelet. They have

an omelet bar going before the game. Then at halftime that turns into like if you want bananas, foster or something else off the frying pan, and then they add in all sorts of candy bars. I mean, you know, there's a pile of Snickers, a pile of heath Bars, three musketeers, you go down the line. So they really spoiled the media down in Tampa. And this was pre Tom Brady Nice. I've not been to a Buccaneers game. I'll have to have to check that out. All right, Sports,

how can people follow you on Twitter? How can they hear you on your radio show? Promote? Promote? Promote? All Right? On Twitter? Are at Sports with Coleman. Instagram it is J cole five five four or five J colet and the Facebook page Sports with Coleman. Pretty easy to remember. I'm on the radio typically six to ten at nights. Used to do Morning Drive. Asked for out of that. The reason being is because I think you've talked about this. You know, work in the morning drive takes years off

your life. Wasn't really good for my mental health. The days were getting shorter. Plus I was working with two other people. Now I have my own show just like you, and I don't have the interruptions that I had to deal with. Plus I get to set the agenda from my show. So I'm on six to ten. When there isn't Maryland basketball, when the Orioles aren't playing, and when there isn't Monday or Thursday night football, That's what I'll be on. So in essence, I'm on two or three

times a week. It's a great gig and occasionally I even make an appearance like I did the other night. I make an appearance with The Great Sports with Coleman. But you're right morning radio and I've I've done this ramp many times. I did morning updates for a brief period of my career and I could not figure it out. I'm not a morning person and I tried to stay up all night. That didn't work, and the hours were just to me, they were worse than working overnights. People.

A lot of people complain. I'll run into people, how do you work the overnight? So I'm like, compared to morning drive. The only thing that sucks about is you don't get paid doing night radio or overnight radio. You don't get paid anywhere near what you get paid typically in the mornings. But uh, the quality of life is better anyway. Jerry, thank you so much, appreciate it. We'll have you on again and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you,

Happy Thanksgiving to you and the listeners out there. I enjoy the radio show as much as a podcast. Thanks for having me