The Big Game  is coming to New Orleans and WNST.net is not only bringing a huge contingent of Baltimore Ravens fans south for the festivities but we’ll be also providing top-notch entertainment, parties and pep rallies for all purple fans traveling from around the world to see the final dance of Ray Lewis and the Har-Bowl.

BEFORE YOU PURCHASE: Please remember that our Saturday (noon til 5 p.m.) & Sunday (1o a.m. til 2:52 p.m.) afternoon pep rallies at “The Purple Park” a (meet us where Toulouse meets The River at Woldenberg Park) are FREE ADMISSION FOR ALL FANS!!!! And this is children, kid, family FRIENDLY pep rally!

THIS IS SAME LOCATION FOR OUR SUNDAY PURPLE RALLY TO HONOR RAY LEWIS & MARCH MARDI GRAS STYLE TO THE SUPERDOME AT 2:52 p.m.!!!! SUNDAY’S EVENT IS ALSO FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!!

Here’s what our WNST Super Purple V.I.P. Party Pass for New Orleans includes:

* Saturday cruise on the Mississippi River on the Steamboat Natchez with former Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick at 2:30 p.m. Gates open at noon and lunch will be served on the jazz boat ride on one of the most famous boats in America. Boat boards at 2 p.m. for a two-hour lunch cruise with great Cajun & New Orleans menu.

* Saturday night entrance to our giant Super Purple Party Pep Rally at The Howlin’ Wolf in The Warehouse District bar & awesome music venue. This will be our purple ground zero for action. We have  GRAMMY AWARD WINNING REBIRTH BRASS BAND BOOKED FOR THIS EVENT. Dancing, cash bar and the biggest gang of purple fans in The Big Easy the night before the game. This is a ticketed event!

* On Sunday, gates will open at Toulouse & The River at 10 a.m. and we’ll be gathering at Woldenberg Park near the French Quarter in the area near the Steamboat Natchez for an All-Day Tailgate Party & Pep Rally with Bobby Nyk, the World’s Largest Ray Lewis Dance Competition and a purple flash mob walk through 17 blocks of New Orleans and down Poydras Street to honor Ray Lewis.

We will leave the park at 2:52 p.m. EST as a group on Sunday to honor No. 52 in pursuit of his 2nd Super Bowl title!!!!! This will be the largest Purple Mardi Grads March EVER in New Orleans!!! And it’s FREE to attend!

* Sunday night, we’ll return to The Howlin’ Wolf in The Warehouse District for an evening of local music with New Orleans’ hottest jazz, funk and soul band Hot 8 Brass Band and hosting what we believe will be the post-game celebration of the Baltimore Ravens’ second hoisting of the Lombardi Trophy in The Big Easy. This is a ticketed event!

In addition, for those who love Bourbon Street and the French Quarter, this WNST Super V.I.P. Party Pass will include unlimited V.I.P. entrance to SIX (6) great bars along the most famous stretch in Louisiana that retails for $100 alone!

You will have V.I.P. access all Super Bowl weekend to:

Cats Meow — 701 Bourbon St. — home of the world’s best Karaoke

Empire – 300 Decatur Street — 2 floors, 3 bars, 15 VIP sections, and great music

Hustler Club – 225 Bourbon Street — 2 floors, 3 bars, 4 stages, 20 private couch dances, 10 VIP suites

Déjà Vu Showgirls – 226 Bourbon Street — 2 floor, balcony, 2 bars, 4 stages, 100′s of beautiful girls and 3 ugly ones.

Little Darlings Strip Hop – 411 Bourbon Street — A legendary cabaret of New Orleans

Barely Legal – 423 Bourbon Street — 2 floors, 4 stage, patio party, 3 bars, cabanas, and all the Barely Legal babes you can handle.

We are offering our WNST “Super Purple V.I.P. Party Passes” for $115.70 for the entire weekend of parties, which all of the patrons of our full roadtrip packages will have included in their itinerary.

Buy as many “WNST SUPER PURPLE V.I.P. Party Passes”

as your traveling party and friends need HERE:

Email address

Mobile contact

** PLEASE NOTE: If you have already purchased a full or partial WNST bus, hotel or ticket package, this Super Purple V.I.P. Party Pass is already included in your deal, courtesy of WNST.net.

GETTING YOUR PASSES:

For all “party only purchasers”: We’ll have will calls set up in New Orleans at each of our evening events beginning Friday night at Empire (300 Decatur) from 6 til 10pm and again on Saturday from noon til 2 p.m. at Steamboat Nanchez doors (Toulouse at The River). We’ll also have will call at Saturday & Sunday Howlin’ Wolf events right at the front door.

You’ll have an envelope and a wristband for your purchase. If you have a multiple-day pass, you’ll have a vinyl band that’s non-transferable.

We want everyone to be happy and have fun in New Orleans. The Big Easy, Bourbon Street and the French Quarter have so much to offer and we wanted to give everyone extra value with our party passes and we figured this package will be very popular.

ALL OF THESE WNST.net SUPER PARTIES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ALA CARTE HERE: https://wnst.net/nfl/all-faqs-for-wnst-super-trips-parties-in-new-orleans-here/

And the more purple the merrier…all Baltimore Ravens fans are welcome to join us!

Please feel free to send nasty@wnst.net an email if you need any further details on our parties.

We will be updating this frequently with more information as the Super Bowl gets closer…

There’s nothing in sports better than proving people wrong.

It’s one thing to win.

But, it’s far better to do so when folks said you couldn’t or wouldn’t do it.

Lots of baseball fans said Alex Rodriguez would never sport a championship ring.  He proved them wrong.

Plenty of folks opined that Peyton Manning was great in the regular season, but wasn’t quite “tough enough” to win the whole thing.  Manning quieted those people in Miami back in January of 2007.

Hell, we, here at WNST, have been proving Baltimoreans wrong for the better part of decade.  A few years back, after the station made several on-air changes, a bunch of “experts” who listen to talk radio went on our web site or other cyber-space venues and predicted our imminent demise.  ”That’s the end of ‘NST,” they wrote.  ”They’re circling the drain,” others said.  Not only are we alive and well, we continue to kick everyone’s ass in town when it comes to quality content and a full-service media offering that no else in Baltimore comes close to duplicating.

I take great pride in that, personally, because I was well aware that people in town thought we were going to fall apart.

We owe our sponsors a great debt of gratitude for sticking with us and, of course, we owe our loyal listeners and readers a huge group hug for always supporting our media efforts.

But…if I’m thrilled with the fact that we’ve proved people wrong here in Baltimore, you can only imagine how Joe Flacco feels about his impending trip to New Orleans.

Joe Flacco had doubters in Baltimore.  And Boston.  And Dallas.  And Washington, DC.  And Los Angeles.  In fact, just about every major media outlet in the country plus a bunch of national talk radio shows and NFL Game Day “experts” questioned Flacco’s ability to play at a high-level in the NFL.

I wonder if those goofs like their crow plain…or marinated in a marsala sauce?

************************************

Joe Flacco isn’t a perfect quarterback.

In fact, that person probably doesn’t exist. If you ask someone with a real discerning eye for quarterbacking, they’d probably tell you the two men in the NFL who most closely resemble the “perfect quarterback” are Tom Brady – the guy Flacco just ousted from the post-season on Sunday night – and Aaron Rodgers.  Brady is the guy who will slice you apart in the pocket but not use his feet much to beat you, while Rodgers has an accurate, rifle-arm and the ability to move around and make plays with his legs.

Neither of them made the Super Bowl this season.

Flacco did.

And he’s far from perfect.

Well, he might actually be perfect in ONE way.

And that’s why he’s going to New Orleans next week despite the fact that lots of folks in Baltimore and around the country didn’t think he was capable of doing that.

Every Sunday from September until January 20, the comments flew fast and furious on Twitter, Facebook and on blogs all across the nation.  The calls came in to talk radio every day, every hour.  You might have been guilty of authoring one of those remarks about Flacco.

“I don’t care how good that defense is, Flacco will never take the Ravens to a Super Bowl.”  Heard that one before?  Yeah, me too. About ten thousand times.

“Flacco isn’t an elite quarterback. We better start thinking about drafting someone this April.”  How many nutjobs in Baltimore wrote or said that during the regular season?  Right.  A-freakin’-lot.

“I sure hope the Ravens don’t sign this guy to a long-term deal.  He can’t win the big one.”

He had some believers, of course, but the critics were loud.

Oh, and as it turns out, the haters were dead wrong.

How did it come to pass that Flacco proved himself to everyone?  Because he has “the perfect mind”, that’s why.

**************************************

The truly special athletes in the world all have one common trait.

Woods has it.  Federer has it.  Brady and Manning(s) have it.  Jordan had it.  So did Gretzky and Lemieux.  Justin Verlander has it.  I’m sure there are plenty of others I’m not listing who have “it” too.  Martin Brodeur might have it better than any active athlete right now.

And Joe Flacco has it too.

What is “it”?

It’s the ability to forget what just happened — good or bad — and worry only about what lies ahead.

The greatest-of-the-greats were never afraid of the moment in front of them because they believed they were going to deliver the goods.  They didn’t always make the play, of course, but that didn’t stop them from trying to do it the next time the opportunity presented itself.

There was a great Michael Jordan story, back in the glory days, when he was 0-for-11 in the second half of a critical regular season game against the Pistons.  With seven seconds left, the inbounds play went to him and No. 23 hoisted up an 18-footer that found nothing but net and the Bulls won.  Afterwards, reporters asked him why he would take such a shot when it was clear with his 0-for-11 shooting half that it just wasn’t his night.  Jordan explained: “I just assumed there was no way I could miss twelve shots in a row.  I don’t think I’ve ever done that before in my career, so I figured I’d make it.”

That’s the difference between a guy who would have passed on that shot and someone who wanted the game in his hands.

(Please see next page) 

Many Baltimore Ravens fans have already figured out their transportation to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast for the big Super Bowl weekend and now need hotels and game tickets. WNST is here to help by offering special “HOTEL/GAME TICKET ONLY” packages NOW for all Ravens fans coming from all parts of the country.

WNST.net presents what you’ve been waiting 12 long years for in the Charm City – a real Festivus trip to New Orleans for a Super celebration and party for all Baltimore Ravens fans.

If you’ve searched for hotels anywhere in or near The Big Easy, you know that rooms are impossible to find and flights are equally non-existent. As always, we’ve got you covered for this once-in-a-generation trip to The Big Game.

Prices will fluctuate due to the volatility of the marketplace for Super Bowl tickets so please act decisively!

PLEASE READ ALL ELEMENTS OF THIS LENGTHY POST BEFORE PURCHASING AT THE BOTTOM OR EMAILING US!!!

If you buy a package from us, your game ticket will be REAL and you will be going to The Big Game in New Orleans. All of our current pricing is for upper deck end zone tickets. We will not be able to provide specific seat locations for your package until Wednesday, Jan. 30th when tickets will be available at our WNST offices in Towson. If you are traveling from out of town, we can Fed Ex you the tickets at that time or you can pick them up at your hotel in the Gulf Coast upon arrival.

Please read all of this carefully and we hope you make the right choice in joining us for every minute of fun, football, family, friends and great memories as we travel south to the Gulf Coast to enjoy the magic of what the Baltimore Ravens mean to our community.

We have secured several hotels near the Gulfport Airport in Mississippi, which is about an hour from The French Quarter. It’s all highway and will make for an easy drive for Baltimore fans in and out of the city.

WNST.net will not guarantee tickets in any groups other than pairs. If you order odd numbers of any kind you are subject to being split up at the game as most of the 90,000 seats in the Superdome are issued in sets of two. If you are adamant about special seating – odd groups, large groups or lower bowl premium seating – please inquire via email: nasty@wnst.net and be specific in your request. Pricing and availability varies literally hour-to-hour but we’ll try to assist you to make your experience as desired.

All of our seats are guaranteed tickets in the upper deck end zone areas.

Our two hotel locations and multiple offerings are close enough to New Orleans to make this trip comfortable. Bay St. Louis is 53 miles from the French Quarter. Our Gulfport airport hotels are 72 miles from the French Quarter. It’s about an hour drive — all highway.

Keep in mind that traffic, parking and getting in and out of New Orleans will be extremely challenging on Saturday and Sunday.

Here’s what’s included in WNST.net Purple Package for HOTEL/GAME TICKET ONLY in New Orleans:

•    One V.I.P. WNST Party admission for our Saturday grand event in downtown New Orleans
•    End zone game tickets (only guaranteed in pairs!)
•    Four nights hotel (checking in on Thursday) of your choice plus all usual included perks these establishments offer – internet, free breakfast, local shuttles, etc. All hotels have a FOUR-NIGHT MINIMUM!

ALL SALES ARE FINAL!!! We cannot offer refunds of any kind for any reason!!! You may resell your game ticket  but we cannot offer hotel name changes after your purchase. Hotels are being very strict about this requirement.

Once you buy a package you have locked your price. Prices are subject to change at any time due to the volatility of the ticket and hotel marketplace.

Due to hotels being overwhelmed, we ask that you request your hotel rooming situation on the checkout form. Given the volume & limited availability for rooms, we cannot guarantee this request at all locations but will do our best along with our hotel partners to honor your needs for your traveling party.

As you can see there are a variety of packages for different budgets and locations. Please choose carefully.

We’d love to have you on this legendary trip to The Big Easy for The Big Game as the purple moves to the New Orleans to win another championship.

ONE VERY IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING PAYMENT OPTIONS FOR THIS TRIP:

We use PayPal at WNST.net and due to fraud issues and government regulations, we cannot accept payments larger than $10,000 via PayPal with credit cards. So, if you are purchasing triples or quads please purchase individually to equal the total amount so that your payment is received in full in two transactions.

OR, you can bring a check to WNST at 1550 Hart Road, Towson, MD 21286 anytime after 9am on Monday, Jan. 21. We will have full forms at our office to accept check payments. We realize this is a big transaction and we want to make payment easy but with online frauds and huge transactions this isn’t as easy as we had hoped. The earlier your check clears the sooner you are officially on the trip.

But we still have space for you and if you act on Monday morning we can promise that you won’t get locked out of our trip.

If you have any questions, email: nasty@wnst.net. We expect to be slammed with emails so act quickly and avoid SOLD OUT status on these properties and trips…

ALL PRICING IS PER PERSON!!!!!!

Hollywood Casino (Bay St. Louis, Mississippi)

Rooming (how many in your room?) COST IS PER PERSON

SINGLE w/game ticket $4,600.00 USD DOUBLE (2 in room) w/game tickets $4,350.00 USD TRIPLE (3 in room) w/game tickets $4,100.00 USD QUAD (4 in room) w/game tickets $3,850.00 USD

Rooming

1 Bed (King) 2 Beds (Double)

Mobile contact

Email address

Knights Inn (Bay St. Louis, Mississippi)

Rooming (how many in your room?) COST IS PER PERSON

SINGLE w/game ticket $4,100.00 USD DOUBLE (2 in room) w/game tickets $3,850.00 USD TRIPLE (3 in room) w/game tickets $3,600.00 USD QUAD (4 in room) w/game tickets $3,350.00 USD

Rooming

1 Bed (King) 2 Beds (Double)

Mobile contact

Email address

Clarion Inn (Gulfport Airport, Mississippi)

Rooming (how many in your room?) COST IS PER PERSON

SINGLE w/game ticket $4,100.00 USD DOUBLE (2 in room) w/game tickets $3,850.00 USD TRIPLE (3 in room) w/game tickets $3,600.00 USD QUAD (4 in room) w/game tickets $3,350.00 USD

Rooming

1 Bed (King) 2 Beds (Double)

Mobile contact

Email address

Best Western (Gulfport Airport, Mississippi)

Rooming (how many in your room?) COST IS PER PERSON

SINGLE w/game ticket $4,100.00 USD DOUBLE (2 in room) w/game tickets $3,850.00 USD TRIPLE (3 in room) w/game tickets $3,600.00 USD QUAD (4 in room) w/game tickets $3,350.00 USD

Rooming

1 Bed (King) 2 Beds (Double)

Mobile contact

Email address

America’s Best Value Inn (Gulfport Airport, Mississippi)

Rooming (how many in your room?) COST IS PER PERSON

SINGLE w/game ticket $3,900.00 USD DOUBLE (2 in room) w/game tickets $3,600.00 USD TRIPLE (3 in room) w/game tickets $3,400.00 USD QUAD (4 in room) w/game tickets $3,250.00 USD

Rooming

1 Bed (King) 2 Beds (Double)

Mobile contact

Email address

WNST.net presents what you’ve been waiting 12 long years for in the Charm City – a real Festivus trip to New Orleans for a Super celebration and party for all Baltimore Ravens fans.

If you’ve searched for hotels anywhere in or near The Big Easy, you know that rooms are impossible to find and flights are equally non-existent. As always, we’ve got you covered for this once-in-a-generation trip to The Big Game with our Gunther Motorcoach charter and we’ll make this whole experience easy, fun, comfortable and affordable.

Prices will fluctuate due to the volatility of the marketplace for Super Bowl tickets so please act decisively!

WNST.net  has driven and led more than 15,000 folks to Ravens away games and have logged more than 250,000 miles since 1996 and we always have as much fun as our guests. Families and children are always welcome on our trips and these are designed to be very easy. You board the bus and we take care of the rest! No driving, parking, hassles. We always say the bus is better than a limo because it has headroom, legroom and a bathroom!

PLEASE READ ALL ELEMENTS OF THIS LENGTHY POST BEFORE PURCHASING AT THE BOTTOM OR EMAILING US!!!

If you buy a full V.I.P. package from us, your game ticket will be REAL and you will be going to The Big Game in New Orleans. All of our current pricing is for upper deck endzone tickets. We will not be able to provide specific seat locations for your package until Thursday, Jan. 31st when our buses depart White Marsh Mall. You will be given your game ticket when you board the bus.

Please read all of this carefully and we hope you make the right choice in joining us for every minute of fun, football, family, friends and great memories as we travel south to the Gulf Coast to enjoy the magic of what the Baltimore Ravens mean to our community.

Our buses will leave at 5 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31 and we expect to stop for three meals during the day and arrive in the Gulf Coast area around midnight. (And, yes, a lot of movies will be viewed!)

We have secured several hotels near the Gulfport Airport in Mississippi, which is about an hour from The French Quarter. It’s all highway and will make it easy to shuttle Baltimore fans in and out of the city twice per day on Friday and Saturday and one trip on Sunday for the game.

In addition, the Gulf Coast has great casinos and free transportation from all of our hotels if you’re not up for going into New Orleans on Friday and/or Saturday.

Here is our shuttle schedule from Gulf Coast hotels for the weekend in New Orleans. We will depart from Best Western Gulfport Airport. Please be prompt. The buses will not wait or headcount:

Friday, Feb. 1st

11 a.m. departure to NOLA w/Noon drop

5 p.m. to NOLA w/6 p.m. return to Gulfport/Bay St. Louis

Midnight return to your Gulf Coast hotel

Saturday, Feb. 2nd
11 a.m. departure to NOLA w/Noon drop at Toulouse at The River

5 p.m. to NOLA w/6 p.m. return to Gulfport/Bay St. Louis

10 p.m. return to your Gulf Coast hotel (early bus)

1 a.m. return to your Gulf Coast hotel (final run of night)

Sunday, Feb. 3rd
10 a.m. w/11 a.m. drop in New Orleans at Toulouse at The River

1 a.m. return to your Gulf Coast hotel from New Orleans

Monday, Feb. 4th
8 a.m. departure from Gulf Coast to Baltimore returning after midnight

WNST.net will not guarantee tickets in any groups other than pairs. If you order odd numbers of any kind you are subject to being split up at the game as most of the 90,000 seats in the Superdome are issued in sets of two. If you are adamant about special seating – odd groups, large groups or lower bowl premium seating – please inquire. Pricing and availability varies literally hour-to-hour but we’ll try to assist you to make your experience as desired.

All of our seats are guaranteed tickets in the upper deck end zone areas.

Our two hotel locations and multiple offerings are close enough to New Orleans to make this trip comfortable. Bay St. Louis is 53 miles from the French Quarter. Our Gulfport airport hotels are 72 miles from the French Quarter. It’s about an hour drive and you can enjoy refreshments on the ride into The Big Easy.

We are offering rental car assistance via Enterprise Rental Car so if you desire your own transportation upon arrival in the Gulf Coast area, the office is very close they can assist you. Keep in mind that traffic, parking and getting in and out of New Orleans will be extremely challenging on Saturday and Sunday so we highly recommend using our shuttle and being prompt.

Here’s what’s included in WNST.net VIP Big Game/Big Easy Package:

•    Full roundtrip transportation via Gunther Motorcoach from White Marsh to your Gulf Coast hotel of choice on Thursday, Jan. 31st
•    All transfers on our daily shuttles to/from New Orleans on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. (Twice-daily ride of about an hour)
•    One V.I.P. WNST Party admission for our TBA grand event in New Orleans
•    End zone game tickets (only guaranteed in pairs!)
•    Hotel of your choice plus all usual included perks these establishments offer – internet, free breakfast, local shuttles, etc.
•    Ice cold beer, soft drinks & water en route to The Gulf Coast

You can also purchase our travel package WITHOUT a game ticket as well and you will receive all of the above minus the Big Game ticket.

We are working on other combo packages such as “hotel only” and “ticket and hotel only” for those who have other transportation or travel arrangements. We’ll have these together soon. If you have a specific interest in these two packages, please email: nasty@wnst.net with detailed information and we’ll return your emails as soon as humanly possible.

WNST will NOT be selling “tickets only” for The Big Game.

ALL SALES ARE FINAL!!! We cannot offer refunds of any kind for any reason!!! You may resell your trip but we cannot offer name changes after Tuesday, Jan. 29th.

Once you buy a package you have locked your price. Prices are subject to change at any time due to the volatility of the ticket and hotel marketplace.

Due to hotels being overwhelmed, we ask that you request your hotel rooming situation on the checkout form. Given the volume & limited availability for rooms, we cannot guarantee this request at all locations but will do our best along with our hotel partners to honor your needs for your traveling party.

As you can see there are a variety of packages for different budgets and locations. Please choose carefully.

We’d love to have you on this legendary trip to The Big Easy for The Big Game as the purple moves to the New Orleans to win another championship.

ONE VERY IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING PAYMENT OPTIONS FOR THIS TRIP:

We use PayPal at WNST.net and due to fraud issues and government regulations, we cannot accept payments larger than $10,000 via PayPal with credit cards. So, if you are purchasing triples or quads please purchase individually to equal the total amount so that your payment is received in full in two transactions.

OR, you can bring a check to WNST at 1550 Hart Road, Towson, MD 21286 anytime after 9am on Monday, Jan. 21. We will have full forms at our office to accept check payments. We realize this is a big transaction and we want to make payment easy but with online frauds and huge transactions this isn’t as easy as we had hoped. The earlier your check clears the sooner you are officially on the trip.

But we still have space for you and if you act on Monday morning we can promise that you won’t get locked out of our trip.

If you have any questions, email: nasty@wnst.net. We expect to be slammed with emails so act quickly and avoid SOLD OUT status on these properties and trips…

ALL PRICING IS PER PERSON!!!!!!

Hollywood Casino (Bay St. Louis, Mississippi)

Rooming (how many in your room?) COST IS PER PERSON

SINGLE w/game ticket $5,000.00 USD DOUBLE (2 in room) w/game tickets $4,750.00 USD TRIPLE (3 in room) w/game tickets $4,500.00 USD QUAD (4 in room) w/game tickets $4,250.00 USD SINGLE (NO game ticket) $2,500.00 USD DOUBLE (NO game tickets) $2,250.00 USD TRIPLE (NO game tickets) $2,000.00 USD QUAD (NO game tickets) $1,750.00 USD

Rooming

1 Bed (King) 2 Beds (Double)

Mobile contact

Email address

Knights Inn (Bay St. Louis, Mississippi)

Rooming (how many in your room?) COST IS PER PERSON

SINGLE w/game ticket $4,500.00 USD DOUBLE (2 in room) w/game tickets $4,250.00 USD TRIPLE (3 in room) w/game tickets $4,000.00 USD QUAD (4 in room) w/game tickets $3,750.00 USD SINGLE (NO game ticket) $2,000.00 USD DOUBLE (NO game tickets) $1,750.00 USD TRIPLE (NO game tickets) $1,500.00 USD QUAD (NO game tickets) $1,250.00 USD

Rooming

1 Bed (King) 2 Beds (Double)

Mobile contact

Email address

Clarion Inn (Gulfport Airport, Mississippi)

Rooming (how many in your room?) COST IS PER PERSON

SINGLE w/game ticket $4,500.00 USD DOUBLE (2 in room) w/game tickets $4,250.00 USD TRIPLE (3 in room) w/game tickets $4,000.00 USD QUAD (4 in room) w/game tickets $3,750.00 USD SINGLE (NO game ticket) $2,000.00 USD DOUBLE (NO game tickets) $1,750.00 USD TRIPLE (NO game tickets) $1,500.00 USD QUAD (NO game tickets) $1,250.00 USD

Rooming

1 Bed (King) 2 Beds (Double)

Mobile contact

Email address

Best Western (Gulfport Airport, Mississippi)

Rooming (how many in your room?) COST IS PER PERSON

SINGLE w/game ticket $4,500.00 USD DOUBLE (2 in room) w/game tickets $4,250.00 USD TRIPLE (3 in room) w/game tickets $4,000.00 USD QUAD (4 in room) w/game tickets $3,750.00 USD SINGLE (NO game ticket) $2,000.00 USD DOUBLE (NO game tickets) $1,750.00 USD TRIPLE (NO game tickets) $1,500.00 USD QUAD (NO game tickets) $1,250.00 USD

Rooming

1 Bed (King) 2 Beds (Double)

Mobile contact

Email address

America’s Best Inn (Gulfport Airport, Mississippi)

Rooming (how many in your room?) COST IS PER PERSON

SINGLE w/game ticket $4,300.00 USD DOUBLE (2 in room) w/game tickets $4,000.00 USD TRIPLE (3 in room) w/game tickets $3,800.00 USD QUAD (4 in room) w/game tickets $3,650.00 USD SINGLE (NO game ticket) $1,800.00 USD DOUBLE (NO game tickets) $1,500.00 USD TRIPLE (NO game tickets) $1,325.00 USD QUAD (NO game tickets) $1,250.00 USD

Rooming

1 Bed (King) 2 Beds (Double)

Mobile contact

Email address

Glenn Clark’s Rankings…

32. Kansas City Chiefs (31)

If you don’t have anything nice to say…

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (32)

Like we all said, all you need to do to have a chance against the Texans is play Chad Henne and Jalen Parmele.

30. Oakland Raiders (28)

They’re…ummm….not good.

29. Carolina Panthers (29)

I’ll make Ron Rivera my bet for “coach who doesn’t last the season.”

28. Cleveland Browns (30)

And now we root like hell for the Browns Sunday.

27. St. Louis Rams (26)

They gave away over 1,000 tickets to the Jets game to the military…but most couldn’t handle the trauma of attendance.

26. Arizona Cardinals (25)

Ryan Lindley CAN’T be a good idea.

25. Philadelphia Eagles (23)

I’m playing Bryce Brown in one of my leagues, so…

24. New York Jets (27)

I don’t think much of that win.

23. Buffalo Bills (24)

Are they improving? Are the Dolphins terrible? What’s that, ham?

22. Tennessee Titans (21)

So…do I play Kenny Britt against the Jags this week?

21. San Diego Chargers (20)

I’m still scared sh*tless.

20. Miami Dolphins (19)

What happened here?

19. Detroit Lions (17)

So…I guess it’s about over?

18. Washington Redskins (22)

I’m not certain I’m ready to buy back in.

17. Dallas Cowboys (18)

Zombies.

(16-1 on Page 2…)

Glenn Clark’s Rankings…

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (31)

I had a funny feeling they’d end up back here.

31. Kansas City Chiefs (32)

In my heart of hearts, their defense is better than the Jags’.

30. Cleveland Browns (26)

The entire state is too concerned with the Buckeyes’ pursuit of an undefeated season to notice.

29. Carolina Panthers (28)

Oh right. They stink. Sorry I forgot that.

28. Oakland Raiders (24)

Just an absolutely piss poor effort. Which I appreciated.

27. New York Jets (25)

Rex is popular enough that he’ll survive this.

26. St. Louis Rams (30)

They deserved to lose and stole a tie.

25. Arizona Cardinals (23)

Welcome back from the bye. Enjoy Atlanta.

24. Buffalo Bills (27)

That was pretty respectable.

23. Philadelphia Eagles (21)

There are too many good players to be this bad.

22. Washington Redskins (22)

This is a big stretch here after the bye for Mike Shanahan.

21. Tennessee Titans (29)

Where the hell did that come from?

20. San Diego Chargers (18)

And yet…do any of you feel comfortable about the Ravens’ trip to San Diego next week?

19. Miami Dolphins (14)

This is a crucial test for them on Thursday Night Football.

18. Dallas Cowboys (19)

They don’t go away, do they?

17. Detroit Lions (12)

That could end up being a brutal loss to their playoff hopes.

(16-1 on Page 2…)

It was as if there were some in the sports broadcasting universe that wanted to remind me that the Baltimore Orioles have been struggling mightily as of late.

Sure, they’re just one game out of first place at the time I type this, but the Birds sadly appear to be in a downward spiral that unfortunately most of us expected.

I’ve been a regular “Baltimore expert” for SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio since the channel’s inception, and I rotate having conversations with hosts about the O’s and the Baltimore Ravens. When I received a call last week asking me to appear on the channel, I assumed the conversation would go in the direction of the O’s, as I’ve made about four Orioles-related guest spots already this season.

But when the producer asked me if I’d be interested in talking some Ravens football, I was admittedly caught off guard. “It’s still baseball season” I thought. Just one night later I received a call from another producer on the channel, also asking me to make an appearance to discuss the Purple & Black.

So on both Friday & Saturday night of this past weekend I found myself talking Ravens football across the country on SXM. It was perhaps the single greatest reminder that in Charm City, a “June Swoon” is a great reminder that Training Camp isn’t particularly far away.

As the 2011 football season ended, there were two main narratives surrounding the defending AFC North Champs. One was surrounding the pending free agency of RB Ray Rice. The other surrounded the future of QB Joe Flacco, who was set to enter the final year of his rookie contract. The Ravens’ season ended 132 days ago in Foxborough (at least as of the time I wrote this) and yet seemingly little progress has been made regarding either situation.

It leads to the question (at least for me), “what’s taking so long to get this stuff done?”

ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio said in a recent appearance on “The Reality Check” (an excellent afternoon radio program on AM1570 WNST.net) that Rice’s agent Todd France was dead set on getting a deal similar to contracts given to Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson (seven years, $100 million with $36 million guaranteed) or Tennessee Titans RB Chris Johnson (four years, $53 million with $30 million guaranteed). The Ravens are believed to be more interested in a deal similar to those recently given to Philadelphia Eagles RB LeSean McCoy (five years, $45 million with $20.76 million guaranteed) or Houston Texans RB Arian Foster (five years, $43.5 million with $20.75 guaranteed).

On top of that, a source with knowledge of talks revealed to me in recent weeks the Rice camp has a desire to see the running back’s deal exceed the overall value of Flacco’s.

A Carroll County Times report this weekend indicated the Ravens “aren’t anywhere close” to getting a deal done with Flacco. Flacco’s negotiating ability has been limited by the fact that contracts signed by quarterbacks not named Peyton Manning this offseason have been less than overwhelming financially. Manning landed a five year, $96 million deal, but if he’s healthy the Denver Broncos believe him capable of being Peyton Manning. The highlights of other QB contracts this offseason have been San Francisco 49ers QB Alex Smith (three years, worth up to $33 million with with $16.5 million guaranteed) and Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Flynn (three years, $26 million with $10 million guaranteed).

Neither deal is helpful to Flacco’s agent Joe Linta, although despite all of the goofy conversation nationally about Flacco’s standing against other National Football League quarterbacks, there simply could not be any argument either of those two quarterbacks have accomplished as much as Flacco. Humorously, Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo’s deal is up a season after Flacco’s. There had been rumors the Chicago Bears were interested in getting a new deal done with QB Jay Cutler, a decision that could have been helpful in figuring out the parameters of a Flacco contract.

Remember when I asked “what’s taking so long to get this stuff done?” Yeah, I’m aware that I’ve essentially answered my own question.

In both of my chats on SiriusXM this weekend I was asked what expected would ultimately happen with these situations. It was remarkably difficult to answer.

(Continued on Page 2)

Honorable Mention: Golf-PGA Tour Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (Thursday & Friday 3pm live on Golf Channel Saturday & Sunday 3pm live on CBS. All golf from Ft. Worth, TX), Champions Tour Senior PGA Championship (Thursday & Friday 3pm live on Golf Channel Saturday & Sunday 3pm live on NBC. All golf from Benton Harbor, MI); High School Lacrosse: MPSSAA Class 2A/1A Final-Fallston vs. South Carroll (Tuesday 6pm UMBC Stadium), Class 4A/3A Final-Westminster vs. South River (Wednesday 4pm UMBC Stadium), Class 3A/2A Final-Hereford vs. Glenelg (Wednesday 8pm UMBC Stadium); WNBA-Tulsa Shock @ Washington Mystics (Wednesday 7pm Verizon Center)

10. Drake (Friday 7pm Verizon Center); One Direction (Thursday 7:30pm Patriot Center); Corey Smith (Friday 8pm Rams Head Live); Jason Isbell (Saturday 1pm Rams Head on Stage); Garbage (Wednesday 7pm 9:30 Club); Collective Soul (Wednesday 8pm Fillmore Silver Spring); Thrice (Wednesday 7:30pm Howard Theatre); John Mayer “Born and Raised” and Garbage “Not Your Kind of People” available in stores/on iTunes (Tuesday)

You know that I’m a “money over everything, money on my mind” type of guy, right?

I used to have the biggest crush on Shirley Manson. Hell, I probably still have  huge crush on Shirley Manson…

If you don’t want to go see Collective Soul we probably wouldn’t be much of friends…

John Mayer is apparently doing country music now. This is a classic example of when “success just simply isn’t enough.” See below.

9. “Men in Black III” and “Chernobyl Diaries” open in theaters (Friday); Bob Marley (Wednesday-Sunday DC Improv); Cedric The Entertainer (Saturday 8pm Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric); Brew at the Zoo (Saturday & Sunday Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

There’s simply no chance MIB3 is something I’ll want to go see. And while Cedric the Entertainer is funny, I’d rather talk about beer.

I have no idea whether or not Flying Dog Brewery will be unleashing canned Underdog Atlantic Lager on the Zoo this weekend, but I DO know that the campaign they used to roll it out in our nation’s capital was simply fantastic…

Brilliant.

• CHARLES ALEXANDER - TB, LSU (1975-78)
• OTIS ARMSTRONG - HB, Purdue (1970-72)
• STEVE BARTKOWSKI - QB, California (1972-74)
• HAL BEDSOLE - SE, Southern California (1961-63)
• DAVE CASPER - TE, Notre Dame (1971-73)
• TY DETMER - QB, BYU (1988-91)
• TOMMY KRAMER - QB, Rice (1973-76)
• ART MONK - WR, Syracuse (1976-79)
• GREG MYERS - DB, Colorado State (1992-95)
• JONATHAN OGDEN - OT, UCLA (1992-95)
• GABE RIVERA - DT, Texas Tech (1979-82)
• MARK SIMONEAU - LB, Kansas State (1996-99)
• SCOTT THOMAS - S, Air Force (1982-85)
• JOHN WOOTEN* - OG, Colorado (1956-58)

* Selection from the FBS Veterans Committee

COACHES

• PHILLIP FULMER - 152-52-0 (74.5%); Tennessee (1992-08)
• JIMMY JOHNSON - 81-34-3 (70.0%); Oklahoma State (1979-83) and Miami (Fla.) (1984-88)
• R.C. SLOCUM - 123-47-2 (72.1%); Texas A&M (1989-02)

“We are extremely proud to announce the 2012 College Football Hall of Fame Class,” said Manning, a 1989 College Football Hall of Famer from Ole Miss. “Each year the selection process becomes increasingly more difficult, but Gene Corrigan and the Honors Court do an amazing job of selecting a diverse group of the most amazing players and coaches in our sport’s rich history. This class is certainly no exception, and we look forward to honoring them and celebrating their achievements throughout the year ahead.”

The 2012 College Football Hall of Fame Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Class will be inducted at the 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 4, 2012, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. They will be honored guests at the National Hall of Fame Salute at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 2, 2013 and officially enshrined in the summer of 2013.

Today’s announcement was made from The NASDAQ OMX MarketSite in Times Square, which has hosted the event for the past four consecutive years. XOS Digital produced the NFF web streams for the second consecutive year, and the Orange Bowl and the law firm of Troutman Sanders LLP participated as the supporting sponsors of the announcement.

• 11 consensus First Team All-Americans (Alexander – 2x, Armstrong, Bartkowski, Bedsole, Casper, Detmer – 2x, Kramer, Myers, Rivera, Simoneau, Thomas)
• ONE unanimous First Team All-American (Ogden)
• THREE multi-year First Team All-Americans (Alexander – 2x, Detmer – 2x, Myers – 2x)
• TWO members of national championship teams (Bedsole, Casper)
• ONE Heisman Trophy winner (Detmer)
• THREE winners of college football major awards (Detmer – Maxwell, O’Brien; Myers – Thorpe; Ogden – Outland)
• FIVE conference player of the year honorees (Alexander, Armstrong, Detmer, Kramer, Simoneau)
• FIVE members of conference championship teams (Bedsole, Detmer, Myers, Ogden, Thomas)
• TWO NFF National Scholar-Athletes (Casper, Myers)
• TEN offensive players (Alexander, Armstrong, Bartkowski, Bedsole, Casper, Detmer, Kramer, Monk, Ogden, Wooten)
• FOUR defensive players (Myers, Rivera, Simoneau, Thomas)
• SEVEN first-round NFL draft selections (Alexander, Armstrong, Bartkowski – 1st overall, Kramer, Monk, Ogden, Rivera)
• FIVE decades represented: 1950s (1) – Wooten; 1960s (1) – Bedsole; 1970s (6) – Alexander, Armstrong, Bartkowski, Casper, Kramer, Monk; 1980s (2) – Rivera, Thomas; 1990s (4) – Detmer, Myers, Ogden, Simoneau

COACHES:

• TWO national championships (Fulmer, Johnson)
• SIX conference championships (Fulmer – 2, Slocum – 4)
• 33 bowl berths (Fulmer – 15, Johnson – 7, Slocum – 11)
• 28 Top 25 finishes (Fulmer – 13, Johnson – 5, Slocum – 10)
• 45 First Team All-Americans coached (Fulmer – 19, Johnson – 12, Slocum – 14)
• SEVEN major award winners coached (Fulmer – John Henderson, Peyton Manning, Michael Munoz; Johnson – Bennie Blades, Russell Maryland, Vinny Testaverde; Slocum – Dat Nguyen)
• FOUR NFF National Scholar-Athletes coached (Fulmer: Peyton Manning and Michael Munoz. Johnson: Doug Freeman. Slocum: Lance Pavlas)