By David Scott
Boston Sports Media

• We were only able to catch the clip once (on TNT, latenight), but it appears Antoine Walker’s post-game, mini-tirade was directed at Worcester Telegram and Gazetter, Bill Doyle. Walker was evidently unhappy about the line of questioning and at one point did a double take to see just who it was that was sticking in his craw so annoyingly.

The anger (or is it frustration?) in this series is mounting and it appears that locker room duty is becoming a combat zone for those covering the suddenly slipping Celtics.

And it makes for some compelling, must-see viewing on the Hull couch of My Buddy Paulie Brookline, this Saturday eve.

Doyle, it should be noted, also does a “Tuning In” column for the T&G which focuses on media stories. For a few moments in Indiana last night, he became his very own media story.

• The biggest irony of Boston Sports Guy arguing the non- “superstar” status of Reggie Miller is that Simmons is at the point where he can either go on to become a Bird, MJ or Magic or settle for being a Reggie, Kevin, or Worthy. The Wiseguys might even suggest he could be en route to Vinnie Johnson or Andrew Toney land, but we were neither wise nor named Guy. . . LaFleur.

• The Scott’s Shots date reminder was kind enough to prompt us to take a look at the one elapsed year since Joe Sullivan was named sports editor at the Globe.

Before we begin, let’s get some formalities out of the way: Happy Anniversary Head Hawk! Bet those 365 just flew by, eh? And all that excitement with St. Joe’s in the NIT to boot! Amazing you were able to contain yourself.

Now, without further ass-kissing, onto the “State of Your Sports Department, Sully”:
The ship is sinking.
Have a good day.
No. For real. You’re springing leaks.

You seem to have gotten up to what is your “full” staff, despite no true replacements for the Michael Holley or Will McDonough. We’ll assume this is the new economy and it’s the hand you’ve been dealt form the Globe Beancounters.

That said, your columnist line-up is like the Sox starting rotation, but instead of Wake, Wake and Pray for Wake: you’ve got Ryan, Ryan and Pray for Ryan. Jackie MacMullan is fine and all, but she almost never wows us. She’s steady and a caring, crafter, but beyond that she’s a kid gloves writer with a kid glove approach. For our money, she’s Karen Guregian with a higher TV profile. Which is to say, rather vanilla.

Danny Boy, as Doc Rivers might say, ‘is what he is.’ He’s better when he can whine and moan over the plight of the Locals; mostly awful when he can’t. The Wells, Schilling stuff will give him a few good weeks, but overall it will be the same, tired stuff with game stories presented as columns or transcripts presented as earth-shattering interviews (Next time, how about Shaughnasty WRITES the Bird column with some feeling and then puts the transcript up on the website as a lure over to the Web.)

Basketball Bob still has bite and style and relevance. But he can’t carry the team and it’s unfair to force it upon him.

On to your other “tweaks”: The difference between Bob Hohler and Stan Grossfeld is that Stan can take pictures. They bring you the ability to fill a page and a third with the Steroids package or the Amphetamines Sunday take-out, but not much more. They’re not exactly breaking news the ways old-time enterprise guys would and neither is all that compelling to lure us into a ‘Ben Johnson is a *&^%head’ piece. (The scene where Grossfeld almost gets Johnson into an accident is pretty amusing, we’ll admit. He would have had ‘roid rage and road rage in the same story if the fender-bender had occurred.)

In retrospect, maybe you should have listened to Gordon Edes when he was lobbying for the feature writing position. Gordo has the flair that Hohler and Stan lack.

In the “New Hires” department you’re 1-1-1 (which for a hockey guy like you, is probably high praise). We don’t mean it as such: Chris Snow is an MVP in the making, so you get credit there (as does his myriad supporters who instructed me to ‘watch the kid.’) He’s worked hard and been allowed to let his writing talents flourish in the context of good observation and reporting. And since you probably saved some good money with a young buck hire, we’ll give a Business-side Gold Star as well.

But Jerome Solomon has been thoroughly over-matched by the Herald’s Michael and Mike combo of Felger and sister-paper talent, Reiss. Solomon’s TV presence was less than impressive on the Globe’s Sports Plus/Minus segment he did last week and, as My Boss Bruce pointed out, the guy somehow missed the Pats third choice in last weekend’s draft, CORNERBACK Ellis Hobbs, when reporting the Chad Scott (no relation) signing on Wednesday.

And that brings us to Fluto Shinzawa, the most peculiar hire of your first annum. He’s represented by the final ‘1’ in your New Hire record. Grabbing him was like, well, kissing your sister. Getting a tie. He seems to bring solid skills, but the question remains: Why does this town need a college hockey specialist?

Your remaining roster continues along at its Old Media pace and to varying degrees, you get production from the line-up. Edes seems a bit bored by the whole Sox thing and Ron continues to Bore Us. Bill Griffith gets some good swings here and there, but he’s still way too caught up in telling folks what will be on, instead of reacting to what is, or has been on.

The whole media column needs a complete stripping down and re-decorating. But, admittedly, it’s probably not high on the list of priorities. I can make the argument it should be from a Business Side in terms of bringing new ad revenue in, but I’d need a lobster roll from Kelly’s at the very least, for such precious info.

I’m no Professor Mannix, so I can’t give a grade, per se, but at my most generous, I’ll suggest that you, Sully, have maintained the status quo for the Green Boxers.

Which is most likely how they wanted it when they gave you the keys to the Desk That Leads to Bristol.

How that translates in a marketplace where, A) your main print competitor (the Herald) is beginning layoffs and B) your industry is changing almost daily, is still up for debate. Even casual observers would agree that this seems to be a time where you could absolutely pounce and dominate the marketplace. Instead, it seems that your newspaper (and most of the major dailies) are staring in awe as the Internet generation zooms by – and grows up into adult consumers and information-seekers – and newspaperphobes.

Upon the announcement of Sully’s promotion last May 1, Bill Griffith wrote that Sullivan “has been the liaison when reporters from other departments collaborated on a story or graphic illustration, something that has become almost a daily occurrence as sports, news, business, and lifestyle stories become ever more intertwined.”

The other thing that has become a daily occurrence is the interaction between people and their “news boxes”, meaning their computers. It won’t be until Sullivan and his superiors meld these two media formats seamlessly that he – or anyone in his position – will be truly serving his full readership.

• We took the liberty of installing ESPN’s newest roll-out, during “All-Access Week,” of ESPN360: Your sports, Your World, and the result is the same as what we’ve experienced for many beta tests: Macs need not apply. All part of the Steve Jobs conspiracy, I’m guessing. Haters. . .All access? I think not. And ‘My sports, my world’ – nope, oh for two. My world is Mac run, so let me know when your world catches up. . . Still, the homepage and overlook and feel of the 360 service suggests that we are watching the next evolution of streaming video, audio and who knows what else? When you look back at the ESPN.com pages from a decade ago, it seems primitive. By 2016, this stuff will likewise seem rudimentary in our computer use and viewing habits. The built-in ad revenues are pretty clearly marked by boxes now being used for in-house promotion and the ability to personal cater to the viewer is going to be a monster development.

• Tank McNamara, it appears is starting to date. Which ultimately means the strip is breathing its last breaths as it grasps for the only thing it hasn’t tried: Sex. When we catch glimpse of Tank’s bare derriere, we’ll launch our ‘Fire Tank’ petition drive.

• Did anyone else catch the speedy ticker on ESPN during the day on Wednesday that was reporting some type of post-bowl championship game? It was up for quite a while and never got reported anywhere else. Glitch or blatant lie? You make the call. (An email to ESPN PR to clarify the posting went unanswered on Thursday afternoon.)

• It was overlooked for the most part but Jim Palmer fell a few pegs in our book when he suggested in an ESPN interview last week that a fan who had seen, in-person, both the Nationals and Orioles play in one day, should “get a life.”

I don’t know about Jockey Boy, but seeing two games in one day in two different stadiums in two different leagues seems fairly attractive to Shots. Sounds like the kid’s got a pretty good life, in fact.

• Where do I get a pair of those boots Wells and Schill are sporting? I checked onlineshoes.com, but they didn’t carry them. I should check LL Bean, eh?

• It seemed, at first, on Monday night that FSNE’s Bob Cousy really had it out for Mark Blount, but then you listen a little more and he basically can’t stand anyone. Which is fine, really. He softens Tommy and we’re in complete favor of anything that takes the point.

• We missed Willie Maye in Indy last night – Dickerson shouldn’t be allowed beyond state borders, but does get credit for a solid one-on-one with Tony Dungy.

• Performing due diligence, we sought out a description of what Schill’s red baseball hat with “Everquest II” written on it, was all about. His media rounds all included the chapeau, which translated into some serious free ad time for the video game. From the FAQs section of the Sony website we discerned the following:

“EverQuest II is an online universe that exists parallel to the hugely successful gaming phenomenon EverQuest®. Featuring breathtaking graphics and a vast, beautiful game world to explore, EverQuest II sets new standards in graphical realism as players are immersed in the game’s powerful epic storyline with thousands of players online.

Set 500 years after EverQuest, EverQuest II is a new and different game experience in a world marred by a series of massive cataclysms. Players enter this world by creating their own unique character from 16 races and 24 classes, using a powerful customization system for unprecedented player individuality.

Players will encounter hundreds of creatures as they travel across the majestic landscape of rolling hills, barren deserts, dense forests, and bustling cities. Thousands of new items, hundreds of new spells, and unparalleled adventures await all who enter the world of EverQuest II.”

It’s known as an RPG – or Role Playing Game, and further research shows the first edition (EQ) was a big favorite of Schilling’s and even led to an Alex beam story when Schill was first signed.

All of which is entirely too much space devoted to a hat worn by a ballplayer.

• That damn Foxwoods chip gets more action in 30 seconds than we’ve had in 30-odd years. It’s just not fair.

• Somehow it’s taken this long for it to be brought to our attention, but the former NESN Chick Experiment, aka Krisily Kennedy, is on the current “The Bachelor.” Or maybe she’s off by now. We can’t be bothered with checking to see if that Revere Reject is getting’ sum.

• Our Miami correspondent wants to know how Dwayne Wade got onto People’s 50 Most Beautiful list. We, on the other hand, are curious how Shots got left off once again.

• My guy, Bryan P (as in Person) alerted me to this fledgling Hazel Mae homage: http://hazelspeeps.blogspot.com/

Still not nearly enough of Mae in bloom during the Fever Pitch premiere, but at least someone’s in the ballpark.

• How do you like me now? Nice new design from the home office of My Boss Bruce, eh? With a few more bells and whistles, this damn page will be downright state of the art in Blogging. If that’s possible.

David Scott writes from a seaside shanty on the shores of Hull, Mass. and can be reached at shots@bostonsportsmedia.com