It’s a businessman’s special at the ballpark this afternoon. At Connolly’s, it’s just business as usual: Sketchy food, good conversation and the occasional overflowing toilet.

Because of the Orioles’ day game, we’re expecting a big crowd in here today. In fact, there’s a 50-50 chance we might outdraw Camden Yards. Regardless, we promise to give you the actual attendance here. We won’t count reservations that don’t show.

After reading yesterday’s comments about the toughest Oriole, I think we have a pretty strong split between Cal Ripken Jr. and Frank Robinson. But I give a free shot to Winston for best post of the day. Cal Ripken Sr. was one tough hombre. Some of the stories I have heard about him are unbelievable.

Brady Anderson still deserves an honorable mention, and not just for playing through an appendicitis. Brady once recounted the day he was hit by a bus full of fans on its way to Camden Yards for my buddy, the king of all blogs, Roch Kubatko.

Here’s what Rocco sent me from an interview he had with Brady about that one. Apparently the bus turned into Brady, who was rollerblading to the stadium, and Anderson literally went under the bus.

“It hurt pretty bad. I came into the weight room and took off my pants, and I was bleeding all over the place.”

Mike Bordick was the only player who saw that Anderson was hurt.

“He said, ‘Dude, what happened to you,’” Anderson recalled. “I said, ‘Not much. A bus full of people just hit me. How are you?’”

“He fell down, he was laughing so hard. I told him not to say anything, and I had a great game. Two doubles, an assist and a catch at the wall.”

I also agree with those who targeted Alan Mills as a tough guy. But I’m going to twist things around for today, and maybe Millsy would be more appropriate as the answer to today’s deep, thought-provoking question.

Daily Think Special: If you’re in a bar fight -- and at Connolly’s we don’t condone that kind of behavior -- which current or former Oriole would you want to have your back? Choose anyone in their prime. It’s probably best if they are big, a little crazy (like former closer Randall K. Myers) and have a mean streak. Tough, like Ripken, is one thing. Kicking butt and asking questions later is a whole different skill set.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:38 PM in Daily Think Special | Permalink | Comments (94)
                       

Welcome back all.

We’ve got a 2-for-1 Molson Golden special going today in honor of Orioles rookie lefty Garrett Olson and his second career win last night.

The kid walked five, and that’s not going to get it done consistently in the majors, but you have to give him credit for his poise.

He’s had a career minor league ERA under 3.00 in his three-plus seasons. He just needs to show he can do it in The Show. For what it is worth, I think he can, so long as he goes after hitters.

With Adam Loewen shelved for several weeks, Olson’s going to get a shot. It'll be interesting to see what happens when he faces a team a little more patient than the Rays.

We had some great comments yesterday about various subjects, and I am setting up a special double shot for one of our early season regulars, Rich, who brought up the story about Mike Flanagan pitching inside to Ron Kittle in the 1983 ALCS.

Rich talked about Flanagan’s toughness. One of his old teammates told me that they thought they might have to duct tape his arm to his shoulder at times, but he still went out and pitched.

And that made me think. Was Flanagan the toughest Oriole?

Obviously, Cal Ripken Jr. is in the discussion, because you can’t play 2,632 consecutive games and not be ridiculously tough. But are there others who can compete with the Iron Man?

Cal’s buddy, Brady Anderson, once played a game a few hours after he roller-bladed into and under a bus on his way to Camden Yards. He also was supposed to have an appendectomy during the 1996 season, ignored his appendicitis and it went away. Seriously.

Chris Hoiles stood at home plate and took hit after hit like a Tractor Man would. And Frank Robinson’s toughness was legendary, no question.

Daily Think Special: Who was the toughest Oriole? Who should at least be in the discussion?

Handout photo

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:43 PM in Daily Think Special | Permalink | Comments (39)
                       

Sorry we closed early yesterday. The health inspectors came in and had us hopping. The rumors of unsanitary conditions in the kitchen are completely unfounded. But, to be safe, I’d stick with the pretzels and peanuts, at least until Thursday.

Anyway, watching Daniel Cabrera pitch on TV Monday at Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field reminded me of his big-league debut there almost four years ago -- May 13, 2004.

The Orioles needed a spot starter for the first game of a doubleheader and called Cabrera, then 22, up from Double-A Bowie, where he had pitched five games and hadn’t yet recorded a win. The previous year he had been at Delmarva, and had skipped over Frederick to go to Bowie.

He was almost a complete mystery. All we knew was that he was huge, threw hard and spoke almost no English. We also knew that the previous offseason, before he was fired, ex-GM Syd Thrift made sure Cabrera was on the 40-man roster because he was afraid he’d be snagged in the Rule 5 draft.

So that day the kid was jumping Triple-A and making a start against a White Sox offense that included Carlos Lee, Frank Thomas and Paul Konerko. In the press box before the game, the four beat writers informally wrote down what we thought Cabrera’s line would be that day. I don’t think any of us had him getting out of the fifth. I know none of us came close to predicting that he would allow just two hits through six shutout innings and lead the Orioles to a 1-0 win.

It was an impressive showing, but what stuck with me was Cabrera’s post-game interview in the tunnel outside the clubhouse with bullpen catcher Rudy Arias acting as his interpreter. We lobbed the standard questions and then someone asked if Cabrera had been intimidated at first facing guys like Thomas and Konerko.

Cabrera listened to the question in Spanish and asked for it again. Then he quickly shook his head and responded. Arias listened, smiled and then translated something to the effect of, “He says he doesn’t care about who’s hitting. He feels he can get anyone out.”

We walked away thinking, ‘Could this kid be for real?' He stayed in the big leagues, won 12 games and finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2004. He hasn’t won that many games in a season since, and last year he led the league in losses.

One writer friend of mine said if he were a GM of a team, he wouldn't take Cabrera for free. That he isn’t worth the heartache or rotation spot. But O’s manager Dave Trembley said he believed Cabrera would be a different pitcher this season, and, for the most part, he has looked it. He had allowed just five walks in his last three games heading into Monday. Against Chicago, though, he walked seven in 6 1/3 innings, but made key pitches and escaped with two earned runs allowed.

It was the new Cabrera and the old Cabrera butting heads. And you still have to wonder who is going to win that battle in the end.

Daily Think Special: Has Daniel Cabrera turned the corner and learned how to pitch? Can the light stay on consistently? If he turns in another rough year, should the team cut its losses? Or if he turns in a great year, should they trade him when his value is high? What’s your prediction for his win-loss record and ERA in 2008?

Bonus Think Special: Didn’t get as much response to one of yesterday’s questions as I would have liked, so like the leftover chili, we are serving it again. If you were putting together a baseball card of the three best prospects the Orioles have signed and developed since 1954 and you couldn’t use the four (Brooks, Palmer, Ripken and Eddie) who went on to the Hall of Fame from the Orioles system, who would you include? Mine are Boog Powell, Dennis Martinez and a tossup between Mike Mussina and Dave McNally.

AP photo

Posted by Dan Connolly at 10:57 PM in Daily Think Special | Permalink | Comments (32)
                       

First, quick thoughts on this weekend’s draft.

I watched a ton of it. Not sure exactly why, but I think Chris Berman’s voice dulls my senses and leaves me in a helpless trance. He’s TV’s version of a frontal lobotomy. My friend had to throw my TV through my back window and carry me away from Nurse Ratched once Saturday’s second round ended.

Quick thoughts on the Ravens: They had to get a quarterback, and it’s nice to see them be aggressive. I have no problem with Joe Flacco being a small-school player. What I’m wary of is any guy whose stock leaps dramatically when the football season is done. Workout wonders often end up as busts.

That said, Ozzie Newsome and company deserve the benefit of the doubt. And most everyone who has seen Flacco play says he’s the real deal. So I am definitely willing to keep an open mind.

Quick thoughts on two players I covered a few years ago, Penn State linebacker Dan Connor and cornerback Justin King. Both dropped into Day 2.

Connor reminds me of Zach Thomas (fifth round in 1996). He may not have all the eye-popping attributes gurus want, but he’s a heck of a football player and he’ll have a long career in the NFL. He would have been an excellent value with the Ravens first pick in the third round (No. 71), but they went with Tavares Gooden, and they‘ve done OK with linebackers from The U. Connor went to the Panthers at No. 74.

But I really felt the Ravens needed to take a chance on King late in the third. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve covered, and though he seemed to lose focus last year and was burned way too often, put him on an intense defense like the Ravens and he would have flourished. I know they traded for Fabian Washington, but you can’t have too many quality corners. And King would have been worth the risk at pick 99 (he went at 101 to the Rams)

We can still talk some Ravens today, but now that the draft is done, I’m going back to baseball, too. During our talk about prospects last week, one bar patron sent this link. It’s an old Topps card that features “Future Stars,” and Cal Ripken is in the middle of this one.

I have two topics of discussion for you regarding this.

Daily Think Special: If you were putting together one of these cards today for the Orioles, who are the three guys you would feature? Adam Jones, since he is a classified rookie, works. And you figure Matt Wieters should be there, too. Who is the third? Or do you knock Jones out and come up with two more?

Bonus Think Special (since it is a dreary Monday): What if you were putting together one for the modern history of the organization? Since the Orioles signed and developed Brooks, Ripken, Palmer and Eddie, those four would have to duke it out for the three spots. But if we eliminate the Hall of Famers developed by the O’s who’d be next? Give me a card of the best three players developed by the club (excluding the Hall of Famers) since 1954. I’ll start you up with one: Paul Blair.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 8:51 AM in Daily Think Special | Permalink | Comments (12)
                       

Baseball -- and serving pop-top Schlitz and Natty Bohs -- may be our primary expertise around here.

I enjoyed our bull session yesterday concerning the "can’t misses" that missed. Not surprisingly, a lot of it had to do with overhyped Orioles prospects.

Here’s some painful info: From 1998 to 2002 these were the No. 1-rated prospects in the Orioles organization as determined by Baseball America: Ryan Minor (1998), Matt Riley (1999-2000), Keith Reed (2001) and Richard Stahl (2002).

Minor, a tremendous guy, had the most distinguished big-league career of the group, and he’s been out of the majors since 2001. Riley, who is in Triple-A with the L.A. Dodgers organization, is the only one still in affiliated ball.

In comparison, the rival Toronto Blue Jays had Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells and cult hero Josh Phelps as their top prospects in that five-year span.

Ouch.

But we’re not just baseball geeks here. Connolly’s is an equal opportunity sports bar. Today we’re watching the NFL draft on all 12 of our big-screen plasmas. The picture’s so clear you can see the gel particles on each individual strand of Mel Kiper’s helmet.

So let’s get our draft on with some predictions for this afternoon. These are just hunches; I have no more info than you do.

Michigan’s Jake Long is a Dolphin, obviously, and the Rams take LSU’s Glenn Dorsey, who I think is going to be an incredible pro.

Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan won’t reach the Ravens at No. 8. He’ll go No. 3, likely to the Falcons, who currently have the pick and probably will keep it.

The Raiders go sentimental and snag Howie Long’s son, Chris, at No. 4, killing the Ravens’ chances of getting him. That means the Ravens end up with Boise State offensive lineman Ryan Clady – just a hunch people. I wouldn’t be surprised if they trade down, either.

In the second round, the Ravens end up with Delaware QB Joe Flacco.

I’m just hoping that North Carolina’s DT Kentwan Balmer falls to the Orioles, so desperate fans can finally see Balmer on the road jerseys.

Daily Think Special: Give me some of your picks for the draft. The one with the most questions answered correctly gets a free cyber drink chip (monetarily, worth nothing) and the opportunity to offer up your own Daily Think Special at a later date (again, worth nothing money-wise, but imagine your pride at the bar.)

Here are the five burning questions:

Who do the Ravens take? Who selects Matt Ryan? Who takes Chris Long? Who takes Darren McFadden? Where does Balmer, the player, end up?

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:18 PM in Daily Think Special | Permalink | Comments (10)
                       

Back in 1996, before I was a sportswriter, I was at my in-laws in Northcentral Pennsylvania as the Ravens were participating in their first draft.

They had a major decision to make with No. 4 overall – whether to take the smart pick, offensive tackle, Jonathan Ogden, or the risk, troubled running back Lawrence Phillips.

To me it was a no-brainer. Build a franchise around a stud left tackle, especially one as impressive as Ogden and not a running back that could easily be out of the league in a few years.

I was riveted by the choice, but I was also stuck in a house without cable TV. I was forced to dial-up the Internet and hit refresh six billion times before I finally discovered the Ravens took Ogden. Talk about a painful day.

Anyway, both the Ravens and I got that one right.

Four years later, I told anyone who would listen that the Cleveland Browns’ No. 1 pick, defensive end Courtney Brown, would be a perennial All Pro. I had covered Brown for several years at Penn State and he was an absolute monster.

He retired after five, injury-riddled seasons, and is now considered one of the biggest busts in draft history.

That’s the great thing about the NFL draft. We watch these guys in college, form our opinions and then, in a few years, get to see how smart we are.

Baseball’s draft isn’t the same, since most of us haven’t seen the amateurs play. But you can do the same with hotshot minor league prospects. Remember, I’m the one who once predicted Cy Young hardware for Arthur Rhodes.

Most of us do it, predict greatness for certain players. We all win some and lose some. It’s time to come clean.

Daily Think Special: In honor of tomorrow’s NFL draft, I want to know which one of your can’t-miss predictions over the years missed big-time. To make you feel better, give me one that hit, too.

Don’t limit yourself to football, if you have some baseball prospects that you were adamant would be studs (Jeffrey Hammonds anyone?).

And while you’re at it, who do you think in 10 years will be considered the jewel of the 2008 NFL draft?

My prediction: LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. Love how that kid plays.

Sun photo by Lloyd Fox (Jeffrey Hammonds, 1994 spring training)

Posted by Dan Connolly at 1:18 AM in Daily Think Special | Permalink | Comments (31)
                       

I am with the masses here, if only because it's been 25 years since this town has tasted a World Series. That's a long time for a place that loves its baseball as much as Balmer does.

Although a Triple Crown is well overdue and would be great to see, regardless of where the horse started up.

I'd tell the genie to bring on a World Series title for the Orioles -- then I'd tell my wife and kids I'll see them in November. The work the writers in Boston and Detroit and St. Louis and Colorado have done over the last few years when their clubs made the World Series is mind-boggling.

I've been in those cities while covering the World Series and it is electric, really indescribable. Fans love their football teams, but they have to travel to the Super Bowl. And the NBA and NHL championships don't quite take hold of a town the way a World Series does.

I sure could use an extra $2,000, though, to get that leaky urinal fixed. Or to patch the hole in the wall where Bubba tossed Charles for lipping off (Just kidding, Charles. Your proof is in the numbers).

Keep at this one and tomorrow we'll chat up boomers and busts in baseball and football.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                       

Watching Daniel Cabrera pitch like he did Wednesday night makes anything seem possible (are you starting to believe in him or do you refuse to be fooled again?).

After three days of looking at the past, we’re going to be somewhat positive and forward thinking here at the bar. Or at least a bit mystical.

Seems like yesterday’s topic of building Mount Crushmore triggered some serious debate and a few patrons got a little hot under the collar and started name-calling.

No bottles or noses were broken, and Bubba didn’t have to leave his seat at the front door, but let’s try to be as civil as possible from here on. Rip, but rip with a smile.

Today we are changing things up and getting goofy. The taps are flowing and I’ve bought several cases of Grape Shasta, cheap vodka and those little paper umbrellas.

Daily Think Special: It’s closing time at Connolly’s and you’ve stumbled out the door and onto our trash-strewn street looking for a cab. You kick a bottle and suddenly smoke comes out followed by a Sports Genie named Marchetti.

Or named Ubriaco or Woodling or Shue. Your call. But he is a genie, nonetheless.

Anyway, he thanks you for setting him free and grants you a sports wish. Within the next year, the Orioles will win the World Series, the Ravens will win the Super Bowl, University of Maryland’s men’s basketball team or its football team will win the national championship, a Maryland horse will win the Triple Crown or Michael Phelps will win eight gold medals.

Only one can happen. But it is your choice.

Can’t decide? Well, he gives you one other alternative. You can have $2,131 in tax-free cash to spend however you like. Only you will know where the bucks came from (you can’t tell your spouse you were leaving a bar at closing time, anyway, much less convince him/her you were talking to a genie).

Do you take the money? Do you bring a title home for the Baltimore-area?

How much is hometown pride worth to you?

What do you do? And what’s your reasoning?

I’ll be back. I gotta go fasten Mount Crushmore to the bathroom stalls.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 1:56 AM in Daily Think Special | Permalink | Comments (27)
                       

Two years ago at baseball’s winter meetings, my buddy Dave Sheinin of The Washington Post flagged me down. By the look on his face I knew he was up to something. Sheinin is one of the BBWAA’s best pranksters (Jack Curry of The New York Times is the undisputed king. I can crack the Top 10 in a good season).

He motioned me toward a 20-something kid and said, “Dan Connolly, Baltimore Sun, I want to introduce you to Jeffrey Maier.”

The words hung in the air as Sheinin stepped back smirking. The face in front of me, sans the facial hair, was the same one we watched smile excitedly after plucking Derek Jeter’s catchable fly ball away from Tony Tarasco’s glove in the first game of the 1996 ALCS. After laughing awkwardly for a moment, Jeffrey and I shook hands and started talking.

Every few minutes, Sheinin would grab another unsuspecting Baltimore person and drop the same bombshell. The initial look on the face of longtime Orioles trainer Richie Bancells when he realized whom he was meeting can only be described as astonishment mixed with repulsion. Eventually, Richie smiled, too.

Maier, who like a lot of recent college kids was there looking for a baseball job, handled it all perfectly. He was gracious, polite and self-deprecating. After the hoopla died down in 1996, he told me he had tried to separate himself from his big night at Yankee Stadium – the kid received physical threats from down this way. He later learned to embrace it as a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I gained a lot of respect for that young man that day. I mean, after all, he did what nearly any pre-teen would have done and yet he wasn’t bitter by all the negativity over the years. He took it in stride.

OK, that said, I’ve read your comments, and it is just impossible not to put him on Mount Crushmore with Bob Irsay, Paul Tagliabue and John Elway. The real fault belongs to umpire Richie Garcia who got the call wrong. But when Baltimore fans think about that crushing moment in 1996, the name they’ll always remember is Maier’s.

So it is with respect that I put 12-year-old Jeffrey’s face on Mount Crushmore. I'll make sure he is on the best quality dartboard. Whaddya think?

Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron

Posted by Dan Connolly at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
                       

Free virgin Bloody Marys for anyone who watched the entire Orioles-Ms game last night and made it in here to the bar to comment before 10 a.m.

That’s dedication -- both to your hometown team and your hometown newspaper’s Web site. Not sure what it says about your dedication to your day job, but we don’t get into that trivial stuff at Connolly’s

Our opening week has been inspired. I love how many diverse suggestions we’ve had. Like those wanting a lacrosse representative, an old Bullet or Michael Phelps to be immortalized. We’re so wrapped up in baseball and football around here, we sometimes forget about other great sports. We even had a Kenny Cooper nomination -- pretty cool.

Now prepare for some of the harmony to escape today. I’m cooking up some comfort foods --crab cakes, corned beef, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob -- cause this one could get ugly.

Daily Think Special: It’s prompted by our Mount Balt-More discussion yesterday (in which we came up with the four Baltimore sports icons to immortalize in Mount Rushmore fashion). My buddies at ESPN 1300, Mark and the Bulldog, helped provide some of the inspiration for this one.

Today, we're building Mount Crushmore, a small monument that will be placed on the restroom stall doors. One of the Crushmore heads will adorn each of the four dartboards in our game room. So name me the four people who have most crushed the spirit of Baltimore sports fans. People that have made themselves enemies of Charm City.

One, to me, is automatic. Bob Irsay, whose decision to move the Colts under the cover of darkness, can never be topped. Who are the other three?

A side note: I know Orioles owner Peter Angelos will be a popular entrant here. The club, after all, has lost 10 straight years under his direction. But I’m thinking more about outsiders, those who have purposely hurt this town with their comments or actions. He has made mistakes as an owner, but it’s hard to argue that the philanthropic Angelos doesn’t care about this town. He might care too much. Anyway, include him if you want, but let's not turn this into an Angelos bashing forum. Spread the vitriol around. I want four good ones.

OK, have at it and have at me. Build me a proper Mount Crushmore. I’m getting extra bouncers and putting the tip jar under the bar until tomorrow.

AP photo

Posted by Dan Connolly at 12:23 AM in Daily Think Special | Permalink | Comments (93)
                       

I've listened, and I've laughed (Reader John Wilkes Booth, among others, got a legit chuckle -- click here to read all the comments). And now here are my thoughts: Joining Brooks, Johnny U and Cal on Mount Balt-more should be Ray Lewis.

I know. I know. I get all the arguments against him.

I understand he's not even retired yet. I understand the city's relationship with him still has a chance to go sour. But he has done plenty for this community. And when you think about the second coming of pro football in Baltimore, Ray is absolutely the first that comes to mind.

Jon Ogden and Matt Stover are also great candidates, and my favorite one suggested by customers is Chuck Thompson, who was one of the best people I have had a chance to meet.

But I am going with Ray-Ray, so unload on me (one friend said he'd have a hard time talking to me again if I didn't choose Frank Robinson, who is in the HOF as an Oriole, to clarify a customer's previous post). But don't use up all your vitriol today, because I have one for tomorrow that's going to get a lot of people fired up -- and mad at me. I'm betting it will be the worst tip day in Connolly bar history (all three days of it). I better run a heck of a lunch special.

One other thing: Customer Chris found this shot of Ameche's TD, snapped by legendary photog Neil Leifer, who apparently was 16 at the time. Enlarge it to get the full effect. Awesome.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
                       

Thanks again to all those who got the bar opened to such a great start Monday. It was so overwhelming we ran out of peanuts and olives.

Thankfully, the dumb jokes are still flowing like an endless keg.

If you missed our debut yesterday, don’t worry. There are plenty of topics left to argue and plenty of bad bar puns yet to be made.

All are invited to hang out at Connolly’s, including teetotalers and people from New Jersey (hey, someone really did ask). Just keep it clean and comment when you can. There were thousands of you yesterday that came in to use the bathroom or check out the hot bartender and then left. We need you people to join in the fun.

For the record, today’s Daily Think Special was already planned before a couple brilliant customers suggested it. Yesterday’s discussion about the best sports moment in Baltimore history captured on film (Alan Ameche’s TD in 1958) made a nice -- and apparently obvious -- lead-in to this one.

Daily Think Special: I am building a Mount Balt-more, a Charm City sports replica of Mount Rushmore. For me, three of the heads are already set in stone: Johnny Unitas, Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken Jr.

But who is the fourth?

It seems like a Raven needs to be included, and the obvious one is Ray Lewis. But there surely will be some opposition to him (one of my friends gasped when I made the Lewis suggestion).

That could open the fourth spot for Jonathan Ogden, an original Raven and class act. And who wouldn’t want to see that afro captured in granite?

But if we choose a Raven that means no Frank Robinson or Earl Weaver or Jim Palmer or Eddie Murray. No Lenny Moore or Artie Donovan or Raymond Berry. No Michael Phelps or Babe Ruth. You get the picture.

So who are your four for Mount Balt-more? Convince me who my fourth should be.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 11:58 PM in Daily Think Special | Permalink | Comments (97)
                       

Unbelievable how awesome Opening Day at the bar has been. It's gonna be hard to top the receipts from the first day -- 70 comments before the 9-to-5ers get off work. Impressive.

Best of all, excellent, thoughtful posts that made (and continue to make) this one a spirited debate. Kudos to everyone who said they simply couldn't pick one great Baltimore moment to immortalize in a mural behind the Connolly Corner Sports Bar.

But that's the rule I am going with. And so after reading the comments, I have to agree with those who picked Alan Ameche's touchdown to win the Greatest Game Ever Played against the New York Giants. I know we're talking about almost 50 years ago. I wasn't even born yet, and I'm becoming an old guy.

That moment not only cemented the NFL as a presence on the sports landscape but, as many of you said, it put Baltimore on the map as a sports town not to be messed with. And it happened against a New York team in Yankee Stadium. That's just gravy.

So many other ones deserve consideration, including Cal Ripken's 2131 celebration, Brooks Robinson's leap in 1966 (and his dive in 1970) and the Ravens' Super Bowl win -- those seem to be the ones most often selected by the customers.

One interesting suggestion was for the Mayflower vans moving the Colts away. No question that image will forever be burned in our minds, but this is a happy bar. I don't want all my patrons depressed (though that might help the beer sales).

Anyway, Ameche it is, in my opinion.

Good call?

AP photo

Posted by Dan Connolly at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
                       

Technically this is a blog, I believe the 2,131st in baltimoresun.com history.

But, really, this is an interactive forum run by me, Dan Connolly, a Baltimore native and The Sun’s national baseball writer.

We won’t be breaking news here. We won’t be updating games or opining on the latest info coming across the ticker (not consistently, anyway). There are plenty of other great Sun blogs that already do that stuff.

The concept here is simple: Let’s talk, joke and argue as if we were sitting at a corner bar. The primary subjects will be Baltimore sports, Orioles and baseball overall.

Everything else, though, is pretty much fair game (we’re going to sidestep religion and politics initially). We’ll talk music, we’ll talk books and we’ll talk movies, anything that you’d normally needle your barstool neighbor about.

I’m playing the role of the bartender here; I am Irish-American after all. I’ll greet you each weekday (or as often as my real job allows) with some opening thoughts and then will serve up the “Daily Think Special,” an open-ended question that hopefully will spark dialogue. Every now and then, I’ll stop by, refresh your glass and add my two cents to your comments. At times, I’ll throw in a whole nickel.

Feel free to ask questions about what’s going on in the world of baseball. Feel free to argue among yourselves. And feel free to argue with me, for I am the guy who in 1983 predicted that Quiet Riot would be bigger than U2 (hey, that "Metal Health" album was great) and once bet $50 that Arthur Rhodes would win a Cy Young before he retired (hey, he’s still pitching).

Just keep it clean (I’d hate to hire a bouncer), have fun and post comments. This only works if you guys get involved. If it takes off, we’ll weave in some twists, like bringing in “guest bartenders” from the local media and sports scene to interact with you on occasion. So grab a barstool and let’s get started. The first one’s on me.

Daily Think Special: To be a genuine Baltimore sports tavern, I want to have a mural behind the bar. Not any mural, but the quintessential Baltimore-area sports moment staring out at my customers. Problem is I have only one wall, room for only one enormous photo to capture the essence of this great sports town.

So what should it be?

Here are four possibilities, in no particular order:

Alan Ameche head down, bursting into the end zone to win the Greatest Game Ever Played.

Cal Ripken Jr. tipping his cap to the Camden Yards crowd with the newly unfurled 2,131 numbers glowing in the background.

Brooks Robinson, in all his youth, nearly jumping out of his shoes on his way to hug Dave McNally and Andy Etchebarren after the 1966 World Series was clinched.

Johnny Unitas, with his back to the camera, his golden arm cocked, and the football a nanosecond from taking flight.

Add your own (Ray Lewis and the Lombardi Trophy? Juan Dixon with his arms raised after Maryland won the NCAA tournament?), but remember I only have one wall and we aren’t taking the easy way out.

What single image best captures Baltimore’s sporting spirit and history?

Discuss. I’ve got to go fix the faulty jukebox.

Posted by Dan Connolly at 9:07 PM in Daily Think Special | Permalink | Comments (87)
                       

The whole point of the bar here is to have interaction between the customers and the bartender. So do your part. Send in your suggestions for the Daily Think Special by commenting below (comments won't appear but we'll read all submissions). What we want are sports topics that will spur conversation. We'll use as many as we can and you'll get the credit when we do. And we might even slide you a free drink chip if your suggestion is that good.

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)