An unlikely conversation at a birthday party sends two friends on a madcap quest to find out if a salacious sports rumor is true. As their investigation circles the legacies of baseball Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Hollywood legend, Kevin Costner, they find themselves re-examining their deepest-held beliefs about belonging, believing, and what makes a hero. While the truth proves more elusive than a well-thrown knuckleball, one thing is certain: their lives will never be the same.

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A seemingly innocuous conversation at a birthday party starts Sam and Mac down a long and winding road of rumors, conspiracy theories, and legends, all connected to a mysterious power outage in 1997. Along the way, they meet a shock jock, a disgraced journalist, and a very creaky mailbox. By the time they pause to consider how far they really want to travel down this treacherous path, they realize it’s too late to turn back.

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As their investigation picks up pace, Sam and Mac land on the trail of a former Baltimore cop with the menacing-sounding nickname of Mad Dog—someone they’ve been told might have insider intel about the rumor. And after parsing a 1997 police report from the Ripken residence for clues, Sam and Mac head for the wealthy Baltimore exurb that appears to have more horses than people. Meanwhile, Sam reveals his intimate connection to the Kevin Costner oeuvre.

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Sam and Mac go around the horn with three of Cal’s teammates who were there the night everything went down—especially the lights. And they obsessively scrutinize an intriguing piece of evidence from Oriole Park on August 14th, 1997. Does it contain definitive proof of an elaborate conspiracy? Or will obsessively examining it finally unravel Sam and Mac’s already-tenuous grip on reality?

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To finally uncover why exactly the lights went out that fateful summer night in Baltimore, Sam and Mac search deeper, down in the basement of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. There, the ballpark’s head electrician gives them a tour of the elaborate system that keeps the lights on—and turns them off. Feeling as much like invaders as investigators, Sam and Mac learn who had access to the lighting controls back in 1997, and they stumble upon a key detail in the case.

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Fresh off a bizarre convo with the guy who designed the electrical system at Oriole Park, Sam and Mac reach some other guys who were charged with fixing the tower power the night of the outage. And with the clock ticking on their investigation (yes, we know there's no clock in baseball), Mac and Sam light out for the Pacific Northwest to get the Seattle side of the story. While tangling with the memories of a wild pre-rumor brawl, they hear a new theory about August 14, 1997.

Want a chance to win a cash prize?

In honor of Cal Ripken Jr.'s legendary Streak, we're giving 20 lucky listeners individual cash prizes totaling to $2,632! In order to enter you must:

1. Rate and Review The Rumor in Apple Podcasts

2. Take a screenshot of your review

3. Tweet your screenshot with #TheRumorBW and @bluewirepods by Sunday November 28th.

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In the final episode of the series, Sam and Mac discover one more strange twist to their story. But have they solved the case? After months of investigating clues, interviewing sources, and flicking random switches in the press box of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the two friends finally illuminate the heart of their journey.

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