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.
Greatest Game Ever Played and 1966 World Series: AP photo; Cal Ripken Jr.: Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron.