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  1. #13

    Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    Quote Originally Posted by AirFlacco View Post
    Bisciotti didn't have the money for a team when Petey bought Os but said on radio he'd never own a baseball
    team because it favors the large markets. There's no incentive for an owner to succeed but a small market team
    like Bmore in football can do well with a smart organization.

    When he got the Ravens he said from the
    very beginning he'll be a hands off owner and he said that before he talked to Ozzie about that draft. He
    remembered as a fan what Irsay did to the Colts.

    I remember that draft and many if not most of the boards wanted Lito. Even at the draft day party at
    the stadium Tom Davis and Tom Matte who did the radio show thought it would be Lito. Matte said he
    was surprised when Oz took Reed.

    Kiper said it was the safe pick.

    Hell, he should have been the first pick but nobody knew him that well including Oz. I don't think even he
    knew Reed would be the best safety ever but that's just a guess.
    To be fair, Lito was pretty good himself back in the day. If that was our "worst case" scenario, that reflects well on Oz.





  2. #14
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    Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    Quote Originally Posted by Paintballguy View Post
    It makes sense. Small market baseball teams like Baltimore are hand cuffed because of not having a salary cap and no revenue sharing. Teams like NY and LA can just buy teams.
    Ain't THAT the truth....
    Let Joe Cool lead the way 😎





  3. #15
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    Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    AF--
    "I remember that draft and many if not most of the boards wanted Lito [in lieu of Reed]."

    I seem to recall that wizard of wisdom, that alchemist of analysis, that "genious" of football, Mike Preston, wondering why in the wide world of sports the Ravens would ever draft someone as useless as Reed. In fact, I done heard that he was looking for a shot at a coaching stint with the team back in the day.

    Always wondered why they never called him...





  4. #16
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    Cool Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    Quote Originally Posted by Beau Petard View Post
    AF--
    "I remember that draft and many if not most of the boards wanted Lito [in lieu of Reed]."

    I seem to recall that wizard of wisdom, that alchemist of analysis, that "genious" of football, Mike Preston, wondering why in the wide world of sports the Ravens would ever draft someone as useless as Reed. In fact, I done heard that he was looking for a shot at a coaching stint with the team back in the day.

    Always wondered why they never called him...
    Actually, a number of mocks that year did have the Ravens picking Reed too! It was just that too many mocks and individuals do picks by "need basis" rather than BPA. The Ravens needed CBs that year so that is why so many said they would pick Lito. This is why Oz hits so often on his picks! Great players will always make a team stronger whether they are immediately needed or not!

    And as for Preston trying to get a job with the Ravens, with regards to Sports in general....those that can't, become HACK sports writers!!!





  5. #17
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    Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    Quote Originally Posted by Beau Petard View Post
    AF--
    "I remember that draft and many if not most of the boards wanted Lito [in lieu of Reed]."

    I seem to recall that wizard of wisdom, that alchemist of analysis, that "genious" of football, Mike Preston, wondering why in the wide world of sports the Ravens would ever draft someone as useless as Reed. In fact, I done heard that he was looking for a shot at a coaching stint with the team back in the day.

    Always wondered why they never called him...
    You're right about the boards. As another one says some wanted Reed but we needed a corner. We forgot at the
    time or didn't know Ozzie goes by BPA, not need. Bisciotti learned too.

    Mike played college ball at Towson State as a lineman. He spoke to Nest 1 and was really cool dude in person.
    He said the more complaints my editor gets about my columns the more he likes it because they sell papers
    and just think, I made them write about something. ILMAO.

    Back to Bisciotti, I remember a MNF game and the camera zoomed on him in his sky box and Al Michaels said to
    Madden, how did such a young man get enough money to buy a football team. He was the second youngest
    owner after Danny boy but no one on TV knew his story.

    Bisciotti graduated from Salisbury State and worked for an employment agency suppilying hi tech people to
    companies. His agency was owned by two brothers and there was a power struggle. He was aligned with the
    losing brother so he lost his job when the other brother swept them all out.

    He was engaged to be married (I've never seen her but I've heard she is one hot chick worthy of our
    hottest chicks thread) at the time and didn't have aa job. His future father in law suggested he start his own company so he did in his father's basement with his cousin ala Steve Jobs who started Apple in his father's garage.

    Anyway, Bisciotti was kicking the hold boss' ass so he sued him and accused of taking his old customers. Bisciotti would have won in court but settled by offering him $10,000 and staying out of the market for a year but after that he woulld come back in. The owner accepted.

    Bisciotti said it was the hardest and leanest year of his life but the trick to his success was working hard and
    late. Most of the hi tech people were out in Silicone Valley in Calif and their time line was 4 hours after ours
    of course but all the competition in Bmore went home at 5 pm.

    Steve said he and his cousin worked to midnight every night calling the tech people during their business hours.
    They got them jobs on the east coast, so by the time the competition here call them on Monday, they were already signed by Bisciotti on and their way here.

    He got his big break by getting the DOD contracts for supplying all their computer jocks and Engineers for
    the entire Pentagon. My cousin was one of those employees and still works there. He can never say what
    he does but he's in computers. He met his wife there.

    Bisciotti now has the 6th largest such firm in the world and supplies most the companies and gov'ts with
    the world with tech people.

    Several years agon Forbes listed him as the 89th richest American. BTW, he was tied with Danny boy but
    non one on MNF did their homeworkd on Bisciotti, the coolest owner in the NFL.
    Last edited by AirFlacco; 02-12-2013 at 02:32 PM.





  6. #18
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    Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    His cousin, Jim Davis, is actually Chairman of the company I'm with now. He and Steve started Aerotek, then branched that out to become Allegis, which was a general staffing firm, with Aerotek and TEKsystems underneath it. They've also acquired several other companies "underneath" that umbrella (including mine). For my own safety, I'll avoid saying the name of the company (Don't want HR from there linking me to my screen name on here in any way)

    I will say this. The old owners of the company...were not great business people. They made MANY decisions with their heart, not their head, which lead to a LOT of pain in the recession of 2009. Once Jim Davis took over and installed many new people from his other companies to lead the company, it's been 180 difference in terms of how things are run. VERY smart decision making, very good results, and they still do a lot to make us feel appreciated as employees.

    I believe Steve is no longer involved day-to-day with any of those companies, outside of being basically a silent minority owner.
    .
    .
    “When I think of a Baltimore Raven - we go in there, we take your lunch box, we take your sandwich, we take your juice box, we take your applesauce, and we take your spork and we break it. And we leave you with an empty lunch. That’s the Baltimore Raven way.” - Steve Smith Sr.


    Call me a Special Teams coach again. I dare you! I double dare you, MFer!





  7. #19
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    Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    Thanks Scally, I didn't know any of that.

    The last thing I read was right after Steve bought the Ravens and moved into the Castle full
    time and he met with his cousin in the morning about Aerotek but that was years ago.

    Someone posted the story how his daughter was a summer temp hired as a receptionist after getting a psych degree. There was a prob with personnel but Steve as CEO intervened and took
    care of the mis-understanding and took care of her. Not many CEOs would care about employees at that level.

    Another thing Steve does is buy food for all the players and employees. He installed a
    first rate cafeteria in the Castle, quite elaborate and even the employees get to eat there
    for free. They get their lunches or even dinners for free.

    Kevin says in the tour which you can take on-line the idea is to get the players into the
    weight room during the off season and stay late during the season. So he uses the
    cafeteria and players lounge with TVs, computers, pin ball machines and pool tables as
    the carats to lure them.

    Several players come in on Saturdays to watch their former college team play.

    Ravens got Trevor Price years ago as a FA because he took the on-line tour and called
    his agent and said get me to Bmore. Shannan Sharpe also said if you have the
    chance to play for Billick - do it when he returned to Denver.
    Last edited by AirFlacco; 02-13-2013 at 01:34 AM.





  8. #20
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    Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    I still remember...two years ago?...when Steve had an ice cream truck brought onto the field after practice for all the players to get stuff. It was a little oddball, but a lighthearted fun move that the players got a huge kick out of.

    Our facilities have definitely been a major selling point for years. In Bart Scott's first free agency test (he ended up re-signing with us), he visited Cleveland and basically, upon seeing their facilities, said "Nope, Baltimore is where it's at". Simply because of how their facilities looked compared to ours. At the time, I was ecstatic and ready to go out and buy a Bart Scott jersey.

    Then, when he left for the money in 2009, his true nature reared it's ugly head. He essentially burned his bridges with Baltimore and when Trevor Pryce got cut here and signed with the Jets, was quoted as saying half the team was jealous of Pryce because they all wanted to come to play for Rex instead of John. Now of course, since he got cut from the Jets, he's saying the Jets failed because of "a lack of quality players". I guess all those quality players are "stuck" in Baltimore, huh?
    .
    .
    “When I think of a Baltimore Raven - we go in there, we take your lunch box, we take your sandwich, we take your juice box, we take your applesauce, and we take your spork and we break it. And we leave you with an empty lunch. That’s the Baltimore Raven way.” - Steve Smith Sr.


    Call me a Special Teams coach again. I dare you! I double dare you, MFer!





  9. #21
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    Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    Yea and I remember Danny boy giving ice cream to his players. Compare this to Bisciotti. It was on a hot July
    day in training camp after a pre-season loss and the Skins sucked as usual and were doing bad so he had all these boxes of ice cream dumped in their locker room while they practiced.

    When they came in they saw boxes of melted ice cream with a note: this is how you play - like melted
    vanilla ice cream. Nice guy. Vinny is always saying on radio how happy he's out of that zoo and loves doing
    radio because there's no more pressure working for Boy Wonder.

    He told Spurrier to fire all his assistants after a losing season but he refused to fire his friends and quit. He
    walked out of a $25M contract. You gotta respect someone like Spurrier. He got another college job.

    It was funny though when Bisciott took Billick to the shed. He said you use your height to intimidate people.
    I train my salesmen to stand 6 feet away from someone when they're talking to them. Billick tried to conform-lol.

    Billick sure didn't use it on my sister. He spoke to Bmore County teachers which her husband is one. She was too
    shy to approach Billick for an autograph but her friend egged her on. Bill9ick was going up to the stage but she only
    had one card to give him but had 2 little boys. He said go back and get another one. He waited to speak til she came back.

    I met Billick at camp. It was an hour after practice and I was walking on the field taking pics and someone yelled
    hey get off the field. It was Billick cussing me out-lol. I said sorry coach and walked off. Security ran over to get me and I asked them to take a pic of Billick and me. He stood out in the blistering heat taking his pic with me.

    I tried to get him to sign it at a Roost bull roast a couple of years later where billick was the guest speaker. I
    was really pissed when someone from 1300 AM told me he wasn't coming. There were 2,000 fans there waiting to
    see Billick but Bisciotti called him up and asked him to go to a Terps game with him so Billick had to go with him.
    I said Greg, Billick ain't coming man, He's down College Park with Bisciotti. T said how do you know that. I said
    Steve Slossberg-sp just told me.

    He was loudly booed by Skins fans down there but would have been cheered and hugged here. I always said MD
    was a DC school. ILMAO
    Last edited by AirFlacco; 02-13-2013 at 10:09 AM.





  10. #22
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    Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    I thought the Snyder ice cream story sounded familiar, but this is what I remembered:

    http://larrybrownsports.com/football...mike-nolan/792

    Not once, but TWICE, he left melting tubs of ice cream in Mike Nolan's office, calling him out for being too vanilla.
    .
    .
    “When I think of a Baltimore Raven - we go in there, we take your lunch box, we take your sandwich, we take your juice box, we take your applesauce, and we take your spork and we break it. And we leave you with an empty lunch. That’s the Baltimore Raven way.” - Steve Smith Sr.


    Call me a Special Teams coach again. I dare you! I double dare you, MFer!





  11. #23
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    Re: Great Owner in Baltimore

    LOL - He did the melted ice cream trick a couple of times.

    We don't call him the midget for nutten.




    I really like what Shannahan did upon his arrival and he saw the Skins cars parked in handi-cap parking spaces.
    He had them all towed. ILMAO

    He said that's not what we're about and let everyone know how serious he was about winning and they just went to their
    first playoffs in a million years or so it seemed to their fans.
    Last edited by AirFlacco; 02-13-2013 at 06:05 PM.





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