MIDDAY WITH DAN RODRICKS                                        RODRICKS ON FACEBOOK

Listen live on WYPR 88.1 FM or online at wypr.org.  You can call during the show at 410-662-8780 or toll-free at 866-661-9309, or drop us an e-mail at midday@wypr.org.

Wednesday, February 25, Noon-1:00 pm EST
A bill in the General Assembly would establish Negro Baseball League Day, making Maryland the first state to honor the many black players who were kept out of the majors and its farm systems and had to play in a league of their own. One of the best-known teams in the old Negro Baseball League, the Baltimore Elite (pronounced E-lite) Giants did more than provide entertainment for Baltimore's black residents at their ballpark on the east side of the city; the team and its star players gave hope to an African-American community still oppressed by Jim Crow. We'll recount the team's history with former Elite pitcher Bert Simmons and Bob Luke, author of The Baltimore Elite Giants: Sport and Society in the Age of Negro League Baseball, new from Johns Hopkins University Press.

1:00-2:00 pm EST
The day after his speech to a joint session of Congress and the nation, we'll take a look at Barack Obama's use of television with Sun TV critic David Zurawik.  Also, as a part of The Z's monthly visit to Studio A, we'll have to talk to him about Maryland Public Television. He's been blogging about MPT a lot lately, calling out its "mad programmers" for pre-empting PBS offerings, including Frontline, and depriving its Maryland audience of some strong shows. And, I'm not sure, but we might have to get into the YouTube prank that came out of Baltimore and got a local TV reporter fired.