Steve McNair has left the building.

Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl wearing the Purple-and-Black but Steve McNair was the best quarterback the Ravens ever had.  I believe the plan all along was to take it season-to-season with McNair, with the real hope being that he would deliver two playoff caliber seasons and then roll into 2008 ready to make a farewell tour. He was the catalyst behind the best regular season in Ravens history right out of the gate in 2006. That was the last and best of Steve McNair. To any fans out there that might tend to feel as though McNair was a bust I just ask you to look at the big picture.

He stepped into the Ravens locker room and was granted instant respect. I can’t think of too many other QB’s that have come available in the past few years that would have garnered themselves the same treatment. He repaid that welcome by putting the squad on his shoulders numerous times en route to that 13-3 AFC North Championship. He didnt have a great game against Indianapolis in the playoffs and I think the loss fueled his desire to come back in 2007 and make a more lasting impression on the Ravens organization. But, just a few snaps into the 2007 opener in Cincy - the eternal warrior was stung by what would turn out to be a mortal wound. McNair shredded his groin. It was an injury that would drive an average man into a pain induced shock. McNair kept playing. McNair refused to give into it and over the course of the next few weeks he played with tremendous pain and endured even more injury. McNair kept playing and did so knowing he didnt have a Jonathan Ogden to watch over his blind side. So, the warrior kept suiting up, the Ravens kept sending him out there and finally the warrior succumbed. Steve McNair will never take another snap in anger and his final tally as a Raven will show the team went 18-14 in his two years on the roster. One playoff game. One playoff loss. One division title.

So, what is the big picture?

Follow me here…thanks to Steve McNair the Ravens finally know what a real QB looks like, sounds like, plays like and fits like. The Ravens finally understand why you need a real field general under center. The Ravens finally grasp the difference between having a real leader and warrior under center instead of a stop-gap manager. Steve McNair gave them one winning season and one - you’ll have to carry me off the field in a pine box and rip the football from my cold dead hands -season. Kyle Boller got to watch both. Troy Smith got to watch the latter. Both Boller and Smith are better off for having been witness to anything McNair did. Thanks to Steve McNair, the Ravens wont settle for an erratic Kyle Boller or a less than perfect Troy Smith. Thanks to Steve McNair the Ravens will move heaven and earth from here on out to find a real quarterback. Maybe Boller grows up and figures it all out, or maybe Troy Smith decides to choke the life out of all comers and grab the job. Maybe one of them is an answer, but thanks to Steve McNair the important questions and satisfactory answers have all changed.

When Steve McNair signed on the dotted line he changed the Ravens forever. He gave them the blueprint for a real quarterback, a real leader, a real warrior…a real man. He came in that way and he walked away that way. Win, lose or draw the Ravens are better off for having had the McNair experience. They already knew what a HOF left tackle or middle linebacker could do for a team…now they have a taste for what a HOF caliber QB can do.

Thanks Steve !

AHHHH…the AIFA is back in town for another season !

This time around they have changed their name to the Mariners and the colors are blue and gold. This time around they say that things will be different because of “new ownership”. Well, I’m here to clue you in on the truth.

For the record, I am usually overjoyed when Charm City gets any type of new sports franchise. Remember the Baltimore BayRunners basketball team or the Baltimore Bayhawks of the MLL?  Those are two professional sports franchises of recent vintage that have come and gone. The BayRunners left unpaid bills littering the streets of Baltimore and as soon as local ownership sold the Bayhawks to a Chicago investor -  BOOM - they moved to DC.

I was sure that the AIFA would tuck tail and run away…far, far away…from our beloved city after the sad, sorry, fraudulent debacle that was laid out for all to see last season. I was sure, and I was hopeful. Funny how there will always be reminders to all of us that cockroaches, rats and parasites will be the ones to survive anything. 

Over the next few blogs I will write and share, in detail, my experiences from last season with the AIFA and the then named Baltimore Blackbirds. I’ll help you make a sound decision as to whether or not you should spend your hard earned dollar or your well deserved free time on the AIFA indoor football product. I dont usually like to tell anyone what to do with their money or time; in this case I’ll lay it all out and you can decide.

I’ll be sure to back up my information by posting copies of my personal coaching-front office contract, the contract the league signed with my production company, copies of bounced checks and certified mail from one of the “owners” stating who was aware of all the fraudulent payments, bounced checks and how the issues would be resolved. For the record - none of the bad checks or fraudulent payments have ever been made good.

I decided to get involved with the AIFA and the Baltimore Blackbirds for two reasons. I wanted to be in on the ground floor in trying to build something new and exciting for local football fans and I wanted to challenge myself as a coach and business man  by learning a new game and a new business model.  I went above and beyond for the Blackbirds with my name, time, energy, money, coaching connections, business connections and good old fashioned blood -sweat and tears. I used my position as an on-air personality to create as much buzz for the team and the league as I could. I used valuable air-time to promote the team, the league, the players and coaches…win, lose or draw

 I took on the roles of O-Line coach, FB coach and LB coach along with working with the kickers and Special Teams. Initially, I only agreed to coach Special Teams and RB/FB. The Blackbirds couldn’t get anyone to coach the O-Line or LB’s, so I stepped in and tried to keep it all moving forward until new coaches could be found. I was also hired as “Director of Player Personnel”. During the season I came up with a better way for the organization to utilize it’s limited staff and resources so the job of “Director of Player Personnel” went to head coach Chris Simpson and I took on the role of “Director of Scouting”. I was also asked to be the point man on game-day entertainment ops and electronic media promotions.

Over the next few blogs I will drop the 411 on the horrific experience I had dealing with the AIFA and the Baltimore Blackbirds. You’ll see that the colors have changed, but most of the important names have not. The people who had the power and the real purse strings last season left our city out to to hang. They knowingly fed the players that wanted to go hard and win for this city, to the wolves week-in and week-out. They knowingly made our team, our franchise and our city a laughingstock.

You’ll get the truth. You’ll get a glimpse into what it’s like to deal with third-tier minor league sports franchises/leagues. You’ll get it all - from having to practice with toy footballs, and players having to share pads and equipment; to coaches and players being physically and verbally threatened; to all the lies, bounced checks, fake money orders and b.s. in between. You’ll get some full-throttle “Bulldog”.

Oh, and by-the-way…wait until you hear how many different teams the league “owners” actually coached and operated! Man, how nice would it be if Steve Bisciotti owned the NFL and then decided to run and coach numerous teams? WOW ! I smell a Will Farrell movie somewhere in the works !

 Stay Tuned !

Peace - ‘Dog

Forgive me father; for I have sinned…it’s been eight days since my last BLOG !

Holy moly…I’m watching The Mount take down Coppin St. in the Big Dance, while still on deck for tonight will be Maryland taking on Minnesota and then a chance to see a very exciting Arizona State team. Mt. St. Mary’s and Coppin St. in the March Madness Mix…Maryland, Minnesota and Arizona State in the March Sadness Mix…only in America!

Here it is, the college lacrosse season in full swing, high school lacrosse just heating up, college basketball having it’s annual grip on our collective cajones, the Orioles two weeks out from beginning the chase for fourth place in the AL East, local high school baseball about to embark on what might be a historic season from a National Rankings perspective, the Houston Rockets grinding through a twenty-two game winning streak in the NBA (but-Mutumbo Madness is trailing the Celts as I’m writing this…), the Ravens working their way towards the draft and adding some nice under-the-radar puzzle pieces in Brandon Ayenbadejo and Frank Walker, and Brenda Frese glowing as her numero-uno seeded Lady Terps gear up for another National Championship run.

Wow…nice !

Here is the rub…I dont want to blog about any of that stuff this week. Instead, I’m gonna give ya’ll a behind the scenes glimpse into the world of the Bulldog. I’m going to do this now and again, when I feel like it…just to have some fun. If you want to get busy talking about any of the topics I wrote about above…call the Mark Viviano Show…M-F…10a-1p…@ 410-481-1300. 

Ok, here we go…

LAST WEEK I: Logged on to the internet 61 times; made 91 calls from my cell phone; received 134 calls on my cell phone, sent 12 text messages, received 34 text messages; sent 39 e-mails, received 213 e-mails; spent 13 hours coaching; spent 15 hours on-air; spent 11 hours doing show prep and production work; spent 11 hours doing work for my production company; talked to Mark Viviano off-air 8 times; ate breakfast once; ate lunch twice; ate dinner 7 times; had 13 bottles of VitaminWater; had 17 bottles of Fiji Water; had 7 bottles of Coke Zero; went through 4 small bags of sunflower seeds and 2 packs of Dentyne Ice; took 11 showers, shaved 2 times, brushed my teeth 16 times; went #1 27 times; went #2 6 times; did the dishes 1 time (using a dishwasher of course); did 4 loads of laundry; went grocery shopping 1 time; went to Petco 1 time; went to Home Depot 1 time; got gas for my truck 1 time; got gas for my car 1 time; watched 4 college lacrosse games, watched 7 college basketball games; watched approx. 9 hours of the NFL Network; saw approx. 20 hours of ESPN in some form; read The Sun sports section 7 times; read The Examiner sports section 3 times; had 3 good talks with my wife; had 1 good talk with my brother; didnt talk to Momma Bulldog at all; didnt talk to my pop at all; talked to Paul Mittermeier 3 times; talked to Steve Stofberg 3 times; talked to Tom Davis 1 time; slept for an approx. total of 45 hours over 8 days; went to LaxWorld 1 time; went to the car wash 1 time; went to Staples 1 time; went to Smoothie King 2 times; had 2 dinner meetings; had 2 lunch meetings and wote this BLOG !

There is even more to the story…but the Maryland game is on now…CONGRATS TO MOUNT ST. MARY’S !

Peace-

‘Dog

Great week in south Florida for the Mark Viviano Show ! I had a chance to see the Birds play four games and watched three days worth of individual workouts…the names that kept popping out at me, in order: 1) Melvin Mora 2) Nick Markakis 3) Luke Scott 4) Brian Roberts 5) George Sherrill 6) Adam Jones 7) Jeremy Guthrie Ramon Hernandez 9) Kevin Millar 10) Brandon Fahey 11) Scott Moore 12) Mike Costanzo.

Lots of fresh faces. Smiles. Loose. Fun. Fast. Aggressive. Well spoken. Strong. Athletic. Cocky. Nice mix…needs time.

Dave Trembley and Rick Kranitz…seemingly a well balanced one-two punch. Kranitz comes across as highly intuitive and more immersed in the process of “teaching” then “telling”. I was most impressed with the pitchers  constant critiquing and helping of one another, seems like the pipeline of knowledge is flowing and it starts with Kranitz.

 Trembley is solid, no-nonsense, thoughtful, energetic, intelligent, honest, intense, up-tempo, communicative, prepared focused, ready and having the time of his life. One of the good guys is getting a chance. He needs to be given some aditional rope until the youngsters can run with the big-dogs and the O’s can augment the ranks with a few top-notch free agents.

Make no mistake…this team will hit some serious lulls during the 2008 season. Be prepared for some serious offensive droughts and some excruciating stretches of  inconsistant pitching.  But, McPhail and Trembley have fashioned together a solid and diverse coaching staff that will stay focused on the big picture…which is the future.

2010 cant get here fast enough !

During the week Viv and I did thirty-three (33) interviews. Most are already available via podcast on the ESPN1300 website, some we will be playing during the upcoming week. No need for me to re-hash a weeks worth (15-hours) of show content here on a blog…just stay tuned and enjoy.

Peace-

‘Dog 

Ok, I’m about six days out from heading down to Ft. Lauderdale to cover the O’s for Spring Training and I have ten times more questions than answers…AGAIN !

Ahh, what would it be like to roll into southern Florida having a real handle on all the important questions and feeling a winners buzz before the plane even lands? Maybe I can get some of that juice in 2011 !

For now it’s all about the what if’s…why’s…maybe’s…would they’s..could they’s and do you think’s…not all that much different than my pre-trip notes and thoughts from the previous three seasons.

I’ll state for the record that I’m on board with the current and foreseeable plan. Andy McPhail is the “right guy” and quite honestly the “final guy”. If McPhail cant mold and sustain a proper direction…if he cant legitimize the front office…if he cant lend a BOOMING voice to the Orioles newest directional mantra…if he cant add some solid muscle to the emaciated skeleton that the O’s have become…THEN IT’S ALL OVER !

So far McPhail has earned some A’s. Welcome aboard young man…nice first semester. The year is long and graduation day is still years off into the horizon…we all hope you can stick it out. Please stay out of the Headmasters office.

I’m sure of five things: 1) The Orioles will finish no better than 4th in the American League East. 2) If the Rays get any kind of consistent overall pitching they will be better than the Orioles. 3) If the Rays are better than the Orioles - the Orioles will finish in last place. 4) A last place finish for the Orioles will finally mark the organizations long awaited - official - arrival at the Hotel de Rock Bottom. 5) Next to giving McPhail full-throttle autonomy over direction and decisions - hitting REAL rock bottom is the best thing the Orioles can do right now.

That is right…I wrote it…I mean it !

ROCK BOTTOM…real hard nasty rock bottom…looking up at Tampa rock bottom…being last rock bottom…being the worst on paper rock bottom…being last in the standings rock bottom…maybe even in all of baseball…ROCK BOTTOM - PERIOD - END OF DISCUSSION ROCK BOTTOM.

It might be lunacy on my part but I believe that finally tasting REAL rock bottom is the last thing left to be done before the Orioles organization can push full-steam ahead towards respectability. No more false starts…no more psycho babble double speak…no more hollow marketing slogans…no more bull-crap…no more grey area…no more false pretense…no more hiding.

Looking up at ALL of baseball is exactly where I want Andy McPhail to be. Looking up at ALL of baseball is exactly what I want haunting the warehouse every day.  Looking up at ALL of baseball is exactly the launch point I want for the newest crop of baby birds. Looking up at ALL of baseball is REAL.

Here we go.  Another season of Orioles baseball. Will the duo of Trembley and Kranitz have any locker room juice past July 1? What will we get out of the trifecta of Cabrera, Loewen and Guthrie? Will Gibbons, Huff, Millar, Payton, Mora, Hernandez and Roberts be in an Orioles uniform by July - or, should they? Can the Orioles generate any renewed fan support?

Most importantly - ARE THE ORIOLES READY TO BE REAL AGAIN?

Hey, I just want everyone to know that I’ve been told by CBS Radio that I cant go with my original creative idea of having you - the listener - create a blog…with me adding my response.  I thank all of you for submitting ideas and for wanting to be a part of this…maybe down the road we can try again.  The idea of doing something different…and letting you the listener have a creative voice…with me doing the response was a great twist…sorry I couldnt make it fly. Since I announced on-air that I would be giving away some cool weekly prizes to the chosen “guest-blogger”…I’ll have to find another way to give ya’ll stuff…stay tuned.

The Ravens and Head Coach John Harbaugh are putting the finishing touches on what looks to be a stellar coaching staff…Rex Ryan as Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach, along with Clarence Brooks (DL), Mark Carrier (DB), Wade Harman (TE), Mike Pettine (OLB) and Vic Fangio are the proper holdovers from the Billick regime…Brooks is as solid as they come and has the ability to both teach and motivate…he has added polish to Kelly Greggs game while developing Haloti Ngata…Harman lost both Heap and Wilcox last year and was able to ramp up the learning curve for Quinn Sypniewski and have him develop as more than just a stop-gap player…Sypniewski got better each week and did so without sacrificing proper fundementals and even displayed a stronger knowledge of playing the various techniques that tight ends are often faced with…Wade Harman was getting it done…Pettine is an up-and-comer and oozes a passion for coaching…he works well with Ryan, is respected by the players and seems to have the perfect “edge” to his personality that makes for a solid LB’s coach…Carrier was not the problem on the back-end - injuries crushed the integrity of the secondary rotations and made it impossible to use the entire scope of the defensive packages and coverage schemes…Fangio is a perfect veteran voice and ear for Harbaugh to turn to and will help fill-in the workload gaps for the entire staff.

The newcomers are a serious blend of veteran savvy, proven production, “new blood” enthusiasm and the all important - I just got jobbed in my last gig so I have a chip on my shoulder and want to shove some air tight grade A  football up your wazoo - mentality. The list is very impressive: Cam Cameron (OC), Jerry Rosburg (SP-T), Marwan Maalouf (SP-T), Jim Hostler (WR), John Matsko (OL), Andy Moeller (OL), Hue Jackson (QB), Wilbert Montgomery(RB), Chuck Pagano (DB), Greg Mattison (LB) and Craig Ver Steeg (OF- QC).

Check back soon…I’ll break down the new coaches and riff a little on what each will bring to the “new blood” Ravens mix…

…Peace !

‘Dog

HOUSE MONEY: SUBMITTED BY J.A.B IN HAMPDEN
 
Most of you reading this could give two $#&* about the Bolts and Pats this weekend with Jason Garrett at the Castle at 1 winning drive deciding on the Ravens offer (sounds like he is getting lowballed). 
 
That said, there is a game Sunday that Ravens fans expected to be playing in. BUT, instead the Perfect Pats and the “norv turner led” Bolts take center stage in Foxboro @ 3p.m. Most of the nation expects the Pats to steamroll the Bolts and continue their dream season and Tom Brady to throw another “perfect game”. 
 
As Lee Corso would say, “not so fast my friend”. I won’t bore you with the stats, but the Bolts have won 8 straight and have scored more points per game while giving up less than the Pats in those 8 games. 
 
As much as CBS and the NFL wanted the dream matchup of Colts and Pats AGAIN, I think the best two teams in the AFC are playing Sunday. The Bolts will need their “triplets” to be healthy and play well for the Bolts to have a shot. 
 
But I will take my chances with the Bolts D getting pressure on Brady and “Bulldog’s boy” Norv to dial up a couple trick plays. What do they have to lose? 
 
Embrace the Bolt was my motto the last couple weeks, but this week it’s Playing with House Money. 
 
Bolts 38 Pats 27 
 
Jab in Hampden