"Orioles Classics" #TBT: Hello, goodbye and everything in between

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: Hello, goodbye and everything in between
One of the great things about highlighting rebroadcasts of games from a team with a tradition that stretches back to 1954 is the variety of choices you get in the film library. This week's collection of "Orioles Classics" on MASN stretches all the way back to 1987 and a day when a trio from the same family made headlines. It includes the last game at Memorial Stadium in 1991 and the first game at Camden Yards in 1992. And it includes some memorable moments from the 2012 season that saw the...

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: Ripken's run and retirement

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: Ripken's run and retirement
Having to hunker down at home while waiting for the new/novel coronavirus (what are they calling it this week, anyway?) to wane has been tough on all of us. But think about what it might have been like for Cal Ripken Jr. had the pandemic hit our shores during his playing days. The Iron Man carved out a place for himself among the legends of baseball by just showing up to work every single day. He couldn't have kept himself in the lineup had he not produced, of course, but by declining to take...

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Pitching and offense are on display

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Pitching and offense are on display
This week's selection of "Nationals Classics" on MASN fits into one two categories: those games dominated by stellar pitching and those featuring lots of offense. Pitching and hitting are the game's cornerstones. Put them together and you've got a winning combination. Good pitching can usually trump good hitting, and this week's "Nationals Classics" wraps with a trio of the best mound efforts ever seen in D.C. (or anywhere else, for that matter). On Wednesday, you can settle into your...

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Starting with a midweek doubleheader

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Starting with a midweek doubleheader
While taking nothing for granted in a COVID-ravaged world, we can reasonably assume that the sight of Spring Training 2.0 and a shortened - but certainly sweet - 2020 season on the horizon is not a mirage. With the target window now in the Independence Day/All-Star break vicinity, we can almost smell the hot dogs and the horsehide. In the meantime, we'll tide ourselves over with Nationals baseball from seasons past. Not a bad deal, really, considering that many of those seasons produced...

Given state of things, virtual ring ceremony makes sense

Given state of things, virtual ring ceremony makes sense
The Nationals had made it known they would not raise their championship banner or hand out World Series rings in an empty ballpark. No fans? No formal celebration of the franchise's first title. "I think as far as raising the banner and the distribution of rings, we're going to wait for our fan base to be involved to do those types of things," general manager Mike Rizzo said last month during an interview with MLB Network Radio. "Those are once-in-a-lifetime things to do, and our fan base...

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: Something for everyone

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: Something for everyone
One of the great things about a baseball game is that different people can watch the same contest and be entertained in multiple ways. All depends on what part of the game you like the most. With that in mind, this week's list of "Orioles Classics" on MASN contains a little something for everyone. You like offense? Well, we've got bunches of home runs and crooked numbers. How about games in which the Orioles slugged six, seven and five round-trippers? You like history? Then the final game...

Nationals to hold virtual ring ceremony Sunday on MASN

Nationals to hold virtual ring ceremony Sunday on MASN
The Nationals announced this evening they will hold a virtual ring ceremony and present players and staff members with their long-awaited World Series championship rings Sunday night, a concession to the reality of the world during the coronavirus pandemic. With the 2020 Major League Baseball season on hold and fans unlikely to be in attendance if and when games do begin this summer, the Nationals decided to mail out their championship rings to be opened in unison Sunday night on a group Zoom...

MASN to air "Kolko & Friends" at 7 p.m. on May 19

MASN to air "Kolko & Friends" at 7 p.m. on May 19
If you're among those who are missing Nationals baseball - and since the game is the sole focus of our website, we're guessing that's pretty much all of you are - MASN has a brief respite from the coronavirus gloom and doom. "Kolko & Friends," presented by Budweiser and featuring "Nats Xtra" host Dan Kolko, will air tonight at 7 p.m. on MASN. Additionally, "Kolko & Friends" will stream on Facebook Live, YouTube and nationals.com. So if you're away from your television this...

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: Extras! Extras! Read all about it!

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: Extras! Extras! Read all about it!
If you can get up at (or stay up until) 4 a.m., you can now watch live baseball. It's on the tube at that hour because it's coming to you live from South Korea, where COVID-19 precautions have eased up enough to permit the Korea Baseball Organization to play ball, albeit without fans in the stands. It's a little surreal, watching players you don't know in ad-emblazoned batting helmets and umpires in surgical masks, all rattling around in an empty ballpark at a time of day when the vast...

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Worth the wait for late heroics

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Worth the wait for late heroics
When you watch a baseball game - whether in person or from the comfort of your basement recliner - there's a certain end game at play. Simply put, you want your team to win. You don't really care how they do it, as long as they have more runs than the other guys at the end of the game. Sometimes it takes nine innings, sometimes more. Sometimes it's a stellar pitching performance that does the trick, other times it's a fortuitous piece of offense that's the catalyst. Sometimes, weird things...

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Slugfests and nailbiters

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Slugfests and nailbiters
Guess you'll just have send your mother a card this year. If she's like my mom, she'd probably prefer that you take her to see a ballgame, but sadly, that's not an option this Mother's Day. The good news is that if you happen to be living under the same roof during the Great COVID-19 Shutdown of 2020, you and mom can park yourselves in front of the TV on Sunday (or any other day this week) and enjoy Nationals baseball together. True, we can only bring you the exploits of seasons past, but...

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: More memories from yesteryear

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: More memories from yesteryear
For many years, Mother's Day and baseball were irrevocably intertwined in my life. The first baseball game I ever attended was on Mother's Day 1966, the day Frank Robinson hit a home run out of Memorial Stadium, making him the only player to ever accomplish that feat. Of course, we didn't know it until the next day, when my dad read it in the morning paper. After my dad passed in 1985, mom and I would usually spend Mother's Day at a ballpark. She particularly loved the intimacy of Harry...

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: The first title, Jones' last game as an Oriole

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: The first title, Jones' last game as an Oriole
If the 2020 season had started on schedule, we might have had several postponements already anyhow, given the wet weather we've had this April. But as those of us who suffer from hay fever are especially aware, those April showers bring May flowers. We here at MASN would, of course, like nothing better than to be bringing you live Orioles baseball, but as we all continue to hunker down to fend off the coronavirus as best we can, it looks as though we may have a May without it this year. That...

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: A trio of tripleheaders on tap

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: A trio of tripleheaders on tap
Back in the days before I smartened up, the notion of a tripleheader was quite intriguing. Doubleheaders of my youth meant glorious Sundays spent at Memorial Stadium, figuring how best to stretch five bucks so that it lasted two games. And if the nightcap went more than the regulation nine innings? No worries, since Dad was listening on the radio and knew exactly when to head to the bus stop on Wilkens Avenue to pick us up for the return trip home. Speaking strictly as a baseball professional,...

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Youngsters shine

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": Youngsters shine
Our long national nightmare continues, and we continue to go without the national pastime. We take comfort in knowing that our baseball heroes are stepping up to the plate to help the heros who are giving their all for our communities, but as we endure a public health crisis and steel ourselves for its economic repurcussions, we can't help but wish we could at least take in a ballgame. As we've been reminding you throughout the unpleasantness, you indeed can catch some exciting baseball...

Why the Nats' team Zoom chat captivated us so much

Why the Nats' team Zoom chat captivated us so much
What would you have thought if someone told you a month ago you'd be spending four hours on the night of April 14 watching two dozen players, coaches and others from the 2019 Nationals hold a video conference call with each other while (sort of) re-watching Game 7 of the World Series? Or that it would be the most enjoyable thing you've watched in the last month? In these strangest of times, it's the strangest of entertainment that is captivating us. And, more importantly, bringing us all...

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: O's torpedo Mariners

"Orioles Classics" #TBT: O's torpedo Mariners
We're all (Adam) Jonesing for Orioles baseball right now, but you're not missing it on this particular day because April 16 was scheduled as an off-day to begin with. How's that for rationalizing? If not for this pesky pandemic, the Birds would have just hosted the Cubs for a pair, the Wednesday game coming on Jackie Robinson Day. That's the one day during the season when you can't tell the players even with a program, since everybody's wearing No. 42 in honor of the great Dodgers...

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": 15 years' worth of memories

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": 15 years' worth of memories
With 15 years of history, the Nationals have created plenty of memories. Last year's World Series championship was definitely the pinnacle, but even the most pedestrian of Nats campaigns offers a highlight or two. This week's smattering of "Nationals Classics" on MASN is a trip down memory lane, a look at nine noteworthy games from the past, from the Nats' debut season in 2005 through a Max Scherzer strikeout record in 2018. We know you miss baseball - the real-time kind, which mandates a...

What makes for good baseball or sports viewing right now?

What makes for good baseball or sports viewing right now?
At a time when there are no live games to watch, what are baseball fans and our blog readers doing to get a sports fix? Have you found something fun to watch involving sports or the Orioles that you stumbled upon? If yes, feel free to share with all of us today. Maybe we'll learn something or find something to enhance our stay-at-home viewing options. I've watched a few old O's games or parts of them. We are used to tuning into MASN's "Orioles Classics." Even though the end result was...

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": The moment you've all been waiting for

#TBT to "Nationals Classics": The moment you've all been waiting for
You've been spending way more time at home than usual and your television set is working overtime. Normally at this time of year, MASN would be bringing you live Nationals games, but maybe you've been catching some of the wide variety of sports competition (taped back before the world went on lockdown) that MASN presents daily: auto, motorcycle, air and speedboat racing, Bundesliga soccer, PBA bowling and poker tours, to name a few. Of course our bread and butter is baseball. So while our...