The late Mr. Schaefer and sports venues  I'm a little tardy in
getting around to this, but with the passing of former Baltimore
Mayor and Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer, I'm
reminded of my own brush with the charismatic politician.  I
first came to Baltimore in the fall of 1982, hired at WCBM Radio
to do afternoon sportscasts, Baltimore Colts pregame and
postgame shows, and color analyst work for Baltimore Skipjacks
American Hockey League broadcasts. It was a fun gig, and the
hockey games were a big part of it.  Now I'd been to the old
Baltimore Civic Center many times, and it was a never-ending
source of wonder. Here's a building, built in the 1960s when
they should've known better, that had so few decent seats it was
amazing. Because there was a full-blown stage on one end, the
seats were installed in straight lines down each long side and
in the end zone. Therefore, you had many seats that only looked
out onto other seats. There was no attempt to aim every
seat.toward the middle, meaning that yo