By David Scott
BSMW Columnist

Rawhide
Does anyone else notice that NESN keeps teasing us with broadcast babes – Sam Marchiano and Kerily Kennedy come immediately to mind – but then sticking us with a steady barrage of Eric Frede? Frede-o’s solid (witness last night’s exclusive with the 3rd base ball guy), but spread the wealth, will ya? You’ve got a full 25-man roster of studio analysts – show some gender equity, will ya Sean McGrail?. . . How dare the Globe and SportsPlus advertise their “Exclusive” Manny interview for this past Wednesday’s Edes one-on-one. Exclusive? Manny’s talking so much lately, Al Jazeera is featuring him on “This Week in Baghdad,” and he’s guest-hosting on The View next week. . . Credit, once again, the business minds over at Fenway: putting center-field patrons in green t-shirts for yesterday’s afternoon game was creativity at its finest. If the experiment continues (David Ortiz’s bomb indicates it should), you can be sure some smart sponsor will grab the back of the t-shirts for logo space. Fleet would have been perfect with its matching color scheme, but it could still work for say, The Jolly Green Giant or Gumby. . .I don’t know about you, but when I think local authors, I always go back to Robert Parker, Henry David Thoreau and, of course, Jerry Remy. Yes, that was bitterness from not being invited to the Remdog book party on Thursday night. . . Personally, I always thought Rick Burleson turned a better phrase than Remy. But that’s just me – I’m an Olde English guy.

Pigskin
With a few days to digest it, ESPN’s Draft coverage was solid, but glitch-filled – which is to be expected when you’re over-covering a non-event. Mel Kiper, Jr. can now go back to his Dick Clark chamber of agelessness. . . When ESPN signed on Mike Ditka, did the deal come with any product-in-trade from Levitra? Because, to be honest, Chris Berman needed some kind of perk-him-up during last Saturday’s coverage. . . Other potential Levitra spokesmen at ESPN: Hammerin’ Hank, Dr. Jack and Nick Bakay (there’s no way he can handle the Lovely Robin without some aid – living the dream, indeed.). . . On the subject of the Bakays. Next week will see the release of their book, “Tale of the Tape,” a collection of Nick’s ESPN “this or that columns.” His website promises the book will “will class up your guest bathroom faster than you can say ‘decorative mini-soap!’”

Ponies
Hey, did you hear there’s a 21-year-old female trainer in the Derby field of trainers? Kristin Mulhall has been profiled more this week than even Manny. . . My pick is 20-1 grinder, Borrego ridden my man, Victor Espinoza. The Shirl, with no hint of bias is going with Master David and The Baze likes Tapit (as does Kenny Mayne). How do you like dem picks, Neumie?. . . It’s not a racing column without a mention of Neumie (said best with Sean McDonough’s “neeeeeeeewwwwwwwsss” inflection).

Trending
Sports’ two media super powers, The United Socialist Sports Republic of Sports Illustrated and the Happiest Place on Earth, ESPN are warming to each other like never before.
The latest example came on Monday when SI’s Peter King did the rounds on ESPN, including five (not so) good minutes on the network’s best 30 minutes, PTI. There are more synergy signs ahead, I can assure you, and some will be more blatant with potential for ESPNSI a logical extension.
Said one ESPN executive I talked to at the Final Four: “We’re realizing that we’re not always competing against each other.”
Mostly this ESPN gentleman was talking about the magazines and made a fairly compelling argument that ESPN the Mag and SI are reaching for different readerships altogether. Perhaps.
But now, especially after watching the terrific PBS special on Time-Life’s Henry Luce, I have to say this has potential to be a most disturbing development. It can easily be perceived – if not announced – that Sports Illustrated is giving up in its battle to be the nation’s sports voice and conscience.
More journalistically, it could signal the end of competitive, national sports journalism. When that happens, the US sports landscape becomes what can be compared to a “one newspaper town.” My old sage, Howard Ziff, always said that’s a bad thing for any city and thinking men tend to agree. Trust me on this one, it’s much better for the viewing, listening and reading public if ESPN and SI are Cold War enemies.

Between the Lines of Pages
I might be late to the Dan Le Batard fan club, but his Ricky Williams piece from Thursday’s Miami Herald would surely grab a few more late arrivers. There’s still something too South Beachy about him that hurts his TV persona, but the man can write, plain and simple. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/8546067.htm?ERIGHTS=7420869207741390793miami::robwarrior@aol.com&KRD_RM=7nwtrqpusvownnrpsqnnnnnnnn|Robert|Y

Hoops
Mostly because Basketball Bob shaped my opinion of Doc Rivers with his Thursday column, I’m willing to give Dr. Makeover a chance. But the first sign of squabbling between coach-eater, Danny Ainge, and Rivers is going to send me over the edge. What that entails, I have no idea. . . Didn’t I warn everyone last week about a takeover of the Boston sports and media scene by Marquette Warriors? Doc’s arrival only confirms my theory of an Oliver Stone conspiracy in the works. . . Yao Ming, according to the Bloomberg news service, is going to have different levels of commitment on his fan-site, priced in three different categories. Scott’s Shots has further learned the three categories will be labeled: No Way Near the “Next Shaq”; Not Even the “Next Manute”; and A Poor Man’s Greg Kite.

Pokey for VP
The stress is getting to Pokey Man, I can tell. I’m partially to blame for his 101-degree fever of Tuesday night. The struggles of holding on until NoMia gets back coupled with carrying the ticket for Dull John Kerry has been too much. I apologize, P. But you’re our only hope. Forge on, soldier. . .BTW, NoMia has just been approved as the proper alternative to Bennifer. The Track Gals, I’m sure, would agree.

Rants and Raves
Good to see the old UMass Collegian can still make national news, even from the Amherst bunker at the Bottom of the Campus Canter. When these “national stories” occur, it never fails to be a grad student who causes the ruckus. There will almost certainly will be a sit-in at some campus building that no one goes to class in anyway. “Let’s take over Whitmore!!!” Yeah, and do what, occupy the coffee shop until they put less mayo in the tuna? My favorite memory of the 1992 Collegian Calamity, was of an enterprising roommate of mine offering “Happy Hour in Belchertown” to the shaken Collegian business staffers, which always consisted of the hottest Biz School babes. So disturbed by threats and semi-violence, we’d always lure a few unsuspecting lovelies back the Liars’ Lair Off Route 9. Sympathy beer was always a strong point of the Scott’s Shots Posse. . .What? I could have a had a posse. You don’t know. . . Feel free to send in favorite Collegian Takeover stories from years past. That means you, Matty Vautour. . . The Olsen Twins are preferring to be called the Olsen Sisters now that they’re turning 18 this June. Here’s a better idea: We call them legal. We call them Mrs. Scott’s Shots No. 1 and Mrs. Scott’s Shots No. 2. We call the Hull Police Department and alert them of their newest celebrity residents. We call the Track Gals. We call it a day and go to bed – just the three of us, building castles on Nantasket. . . Whoooeee – little late-April sun gets me a bit goofy, wouldn’t you say. . .Had the pleasure of meeting Providence pugilist, Jason Estrada, this past Tuesday at Manfredo’s Gym in Pawtucket, as he continued preparation for his Olympic shot at stardom in Athens. A fundraiser to help defray travelling costs to Greece for Estrada’s family will be held June 4 in Providence – get more information by contacting: Jeanne Valles at 401.301.6260.

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David Scott can be reached at david@bostonsportsmedia.com