Ron Shapiro

"The Power of Nice," by Ron Shapiro, Mark Jankowski and James Dale. John Wiley & Sons. 259 pages. $24.95.It's a working, step-at-a-time walk-through of how to make a deal that reduces hardball negotiation to its most simplistic form of communication: a theme of "kill 'em with kindness." The grand and effective lesson plan put forth by Ron Shapiro and his associate, Mark Jankowski, offers an insight that applies logic, reason and persuasion - from the complex setting of the board room and multimillion-dollar transactions to boys trading bubble gum cards on a playground.

Almost no one caught Cal Ripken smiling throughout July and deep into August. His slump kept getting worse and he was beginning to think that his contract negotiations might never end.Ripken's agent, Ron Shapiro, and Orioles president Larry Lucchino had held their first meeting to discuss a new contract on Sept. 26, 1991, even before Ripken's MVP season had concluded. Both men knew that this would not be an easy or a brief negotiation.They were right. In all, it would take 333 days to produce a signed contract.

Hurricane Andrew is the doing of (A) the Bush administration; (B) the Democratic Congress; or (C) God. If you marked C, your candidate dropped out of the race.Bush and Clinton are preparing a Category 5 campaign with sustained winds above 155 miles an hour.In attacking Hillary Clinton's legal pushiness and causes, leading Republicans have managed to come out in favor of child abuse as a family value.Cal Jr. for President! Ron Shapiro for trade negotiator.

Don't despair, Cal Ripken Jr. fans.As the season grows late and free agency looms for the Orioles' franchise player, the general public seems to have increasing fear that Cal will test the free agent waters this fall.But the man who represents Ripken, Baltimore lawyer Ron Shapiro -- who has a long history of being able to keep his Oriole clients here -- sounded hopeful the other day."You know me," Shapiro said. "I'm an optimist. I always think things will work out."Not quite always.Early in the season Shapiro was expressing doubts that there would be a new contract that would keep the soon-to-be 32-year-old shortstop in Baltimore for the rest of his career.

Whoever coined the phrase "Truth is stranger than fiction" must have had a baseball background.Only in Hollywood could they conjure up a script that has a thought-to-be-over-the-hill, 38-year-old catcher going home to help his team win a World Series. Such was the case with Rick Dempsey in 1988, when the Los Angeles Dodgers stunned the Oakland Athletics.And only in Baltimore could the announcement of a 42-year-old former hero returning for a tryout be construed as news worthy of headlines.

David Shapiro had an eighth birthday that most kids can only dream about.His cake was personally delivered by Orioles Eddie Murray, Mike Boddicker, Cal Ripken Jr. and Rick Dempsey, along with their rendition of the happy birthday song.Later that year, after the Orioles downed the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, he shared their moment in the locker room."The champagne showers, watching them being interviewed -- iwas awesome," said Shapiro, a nose guard, defensive tackle and center on Gilman's third-ranked football team.

With their first pick in the expansion draft, the Florida Marlins take . . . Joe Angel?I know, you thought for sure they'd try to lure Mario Mendoza out of retirement.Though the Marlins wouldn't have to spend an expansion pick on him, the new National League club is showing great interest in making the Orioles announcer their radio voice when the Marlins begin play next season. On Wednesday, Dean Jordan, Marlins vice president of communications, met with Angel and his representative, Ron Shapiro (hey, am I the only guy in town whom Shapiro doesn't represent?

Don't despair, Cal Ripken Jr. fans.As the season grows late and free agency looms for the Orioles' franchise player, the general public seems to have increasing fear that Cal will test the free agent waters this fall.But the man who represents Ripken, Baltimore lawyer Ron Shapiro -- who has a long history of being able to keep his Oriole clients here -- sounded hopeful the other day."You know me," Shapiro said. "I'm an optimist. I always think things will work out."Not quite always.Early in the season Shapiro was expressing doubts that there would be a new contract that would keep the soon-to-be 32-year-old shortstop in Baltimore for the rest of his career.

Reading time, two minutes: It is now clear who is running the Orioles -- stand up and take a bow, Ron Shapiro -- as the club moves to humor Jim Palmer and truck him down to spring training for a look-see. While Jimbo hasn't pitched in six years, has been less than impressive tossing the ball around down south and is already damaged goods (sore elbow and blisters), 10 percenter Shapiro reveals the only sticking point right now is the pitcher's salary should he make the club. Think of it fans, Palmer spouting analysis over Channel 2 as he attempts to wriggle off a none-out bases-loaded hook.

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The Baltimore Orioles had everything in place for yesterday's Rule V draft but a contingency plan.The club was all set to select outfield prospect Pat Howell from the New York Mets. Pitcher Mike Smith had been released to make room on the 40-man roster. The news release had been drafted. But the Minnesota Twins drafted Howell before the Orioles came up to bat.Instead of gaining an outfielder who stole 79 bases at the Class A level last season, the Orioles lost a pitcher who was 9-6 for the Class AAA Rochester Red Wings, but a club official said that Smith no longer figured in the team's long-range plans.

Baltimore lawyer and sports agent Ron Shapiro reaches into his pocket and pulls out a Ravens business card reading "Special Advisor to the Owner." Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti says he created the title to demonstrate that Shapiro holds a significant, if little-known, place with his football team and in his life. Quietly, Shapiro - better known as Cal Ripken Jr.'s agent - advised Bisciotti during the buyout of former owner Art Modell under which Bisciotti took control of the Ravens in 2004.

3 colleges schedule graduations Three county colleges and universities have scheduled commencement ceremonies this week. Towson University will hold graduation exercises at 10 a.m. and at 2 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday and Friday for its colleges and schools at the Towson Center arena on campus. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County's undergraduate ceremony will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at 1st Mariner Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St. The graduate school ceremony will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Retriever Activities Center on campus.

The first family of sports management convened an impromptu meeting on the field at Oriole Park the other day. Mark Shapiro, the general manager of the Cleveland Indians, and his brother-in-law, Eric Mangini, the coach of the New York Jets, carried on an animated conversation near the visitors' dugout, while Ron Shapiro, who wears too many hats to fit them all into a tidy paragraph, beamed like a proud father nearby. That's because he is a very proud father and a very proud father-in-law.

Call him a parent's dream. A Gilman School and Princeton University graduate. An overachieving college football player. Smart, well-mannered, good-looking. Straight out of college, he worked in real estate construction in Southern California and retail in New York. There's little doubt Mark Shapiro could have succeeded in corporate America. Ron Shapiro, the well-connected, well-respected sports agent and Baltimore attorney, kept repeating that message to his oldest son. Try to stay away from baseball's grip, he would tell him. And, for goodness sake, don't follow your old man's footsteps into the world of player representation.

John McCurdy, a power-hitting shortstop from the University of Maryland and Arundel High School, signed with the Oakland Athletics for $1.375 million last night at his Crofton home. McCurdy, 21, had a prolific junior season at College Park, batting .443 with 19 homers, 20 doubles and four triples for an .828 slugging percentage with 77 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. McCurdy hit only six homers as a sophomore, but his exceptional work ethic with the Terps and his summer team, the Maryland Orioles, made him one of the nation's top players.

CLEVELAND - Mark Shapiro won't forget his visit to this city in November 1991. It was cold and wet, and the cab driver took him by the site where Jacobs Field was to be built. "He told me that someone had just gotten car-jacked there," Shapiro said. "I was wondering what I was doing there." His interview with the Indians was at Municipal Stadium, a vast facility built in 1932. In 1991, when the Indians lost 105 games, the official average attendance was 12,985. But there were many times when only several hundred showed up. No, Cleveland wasn't the top choice for Shapiro.

No one can accuse the Cleveland Indians of lacking a long-term management plan. The club announced yesterday that - effective Nov. 1 - executive vice president and general manager John Hart will move into an advisory role and that Baltimore native Mark Shapiro, 34, will take over the day-to-day operation of the franchise. Shapiro, the son of prominent Baltimore lawyer and player representative Ron Shapiro, has worked his way up through the Indians' organization since joining the team as an assistant in baseball operations in 1992.

"The Power of Nice," by Ron Shapiro, Mark Jankowski and James Dale. John Wiley & Sons. 259 pages. $24.95.It's a working, step-at-a-time walk-through of how to make a deal that reduces hardball negotiation to its most simplistic form of communication: a theme of "kill 'em with kindness." The grand and effective lesson plan put forth by Ron Shapiro and his associate, Mark Jankowski, offers an insight that applies logic, reason and persuasion - from the complex setting of the board room and multimillion-dollar transactions to boys trading bubble gum cards on a playground.

Almost no one caught Cal Ripken smiling throughout July and deep into August. His slump kept getting worse and he was beginning to think that his contract negotiations might never end.Ripken's agent, Ron Shapiro, and Orioles president Larry Lucchino had held their first meeting to discuss a new contract on Sept. 26, 1991, even before Ripken's MVP season had concluded. Both men knew that this would not be an easy or a brief negotiation.They were right. In all, it would take 333 days to produce a signed contract.

David Shapiro had an eighth birthday that most kids can only dream about.His cake was personally delivered by Orioles Eddie Murray, Mike Boddicker, Cal Ripken Jr. and Rick Dempsey, along with their rendition of the happy birthday song.Later that year, after the Orioles downed the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, he shared their moment in the locker room."The champagne showers, watching them being interviewed -- iwas awesome," said Shapiro, a nose guard, defensive tackle and center on Gilman's third-ranked football team.