By David Scott
Boston Sports Media

• Let’s not pass judgment on Howard ‘Steroid’ Bryant of the Herald just yet. But let’s at least remember that if his claim of 50 or more falls (as short as Bud Selig told Shaughnasty it will) Bryant is opening himself up to a huge backlash of claims that he’s a “Book Seller Before News Reporter.” (Bryant’s “Juicing the Game” from Viking is now available everywhere and he’s been making the rounds to promote it.) And if that’s the case, he needs to be spoken to by his primary employers (the Herald) and spoken to in the severest of terms. And here’s a sample of what needs to be said: “The book thing is great. We’re happy for your fortuitous timing. But don’t – hear me? D-O-N-T. Don’t bring the paper’s credibility into question in the hopes of alerting a few more folks to your latest book.”

Coincidentally, the Globe’s Bryant book review was published (in Living/Arts) on Wednesday – the same day Steroid B’s “Uncommon” ‘sources’ were revealed. . . .

Fifty players is two full squads worth of cheaters! That’s near epidemic proportion for MLB if true. And tabloid, book-selling journalism at its worst, if it’s way off-base. . .In response to the “Boston Uncommon” comments, MLB and the player’s association issued the rarest of all birds: a joint statement on Wed.: “Reports of large numbers of positive tests currently unreported are totally false. Reports of big-name players having the reporting of their test results delayed are totally false,” said the Wednesday statement. “All drug-testing results are processed in precisely the same manner, and without regard to the identity of any player or to the volume of positives at any given time. These media reports and rumors are totally, and completely inaccurate, and do not deserve further comment,” it said. . . .And sadly, here’s the disclaimer that needs to be issued in all matters of Bryant: I’m white. He’s black.

And the ensuing disclaimer: Who cares? This is about accountability and the reputation of a writer, and more importantly, his paper.

• Bryant, meanwhile, managed a nice follow-up to his wasted Lou Tilley appearance of last week, when he wound up with CNN’s Aaron Brown last Friday evening. From Tilley to Brown is the equivalent of a Can-Ammer going to Fenway to play with the Sox. . . Bryant also did a spot with Gary Tanguay and Greg Dickerson on FSNE’s NEST last night and further entrenched himself in the anti-Selig camp. He even took a potshot at Shaughnasty, questioning anyone who would write a steroid story with Selig as the lone mouthpiece. He also said that people in baseball are telling him “to keep on it.”

• With ESPN becoming TODR (Terrell Owens Drew Rosenhaus) for portions of Thursday’s viewing schedule, we were reminded of one thing: If you want to get your message out, go directly to the Worldwide Leader – no one overhypes a story they think they own, quite the way the ESPinners do.

• And now, on to the actual good news for the Herald: Even with Hank Herald enjoying his final days of vacation before re-immersing himself in reinventing the Herald’s sports desk, his deputy dog, Mark Murphy, this week has launched a major initiative for the Yellow Boxers: a daily Red Sox blog.

Murphy wrote in a post at http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/redSox/ on Tuesday: “I heard Gerry Callahan saying the other day that he couldn’t remember another team being as popular as the Red Sox are at this moment. With a World Series title finally under their belt and Fenway Park closing in on its 200th straight sellout, Gerry’s point is one that’s tough to argue. In that spirit, starting today, we are going to try to further quench that thirst for more and more Sox news by debuting our Red Sox blog at bostonherald.com. Each day, after Terry Francona’s pregame chat with the media and access to the clubhouse, one of our Sox writers will post an entry letting the team’s many fans in on what the latest goings-on are with the Sox. That posting will probably occur anywhere between 4:30 and 5 p.m. each game night. The time will obviously vary, but by checking in our readers will be able to be some of the first to see Francona’s lineup for that evening’s game. There will also be updates on the injury front, as well as comments and insight from the manager and players. It should be informative and fun. I anticipate it growing and evolving and we welcome feedback from our readers. . .”

That sound you heard, around noon on Tuesday when Murphy’s missive was posted, was the Boston Globe sports desk screaming in unified agony. Joe Sullivan’s Green Boxers are once again forced to play catch-up – much the way they were on the Patriots beat when Mike Reiss began his Herald blogging last Fall. That eventually led to the luring of Reiss from his MetroWest gig over to the Globe’s West section and a plan to use Reiss’s blog – or a variation thereof – at boston.com (and beyond). Now Sully needs to get a Sox blog going before the stretch drive or risk losing every day-time story of merit to the cross-town rival. That’s something that should be unacceptable at the high and mighty New York Times company.

There’s a new philosophy sprouting up over at Cranky Callahan’s Wingo Way headquarters and in its earliest forms it appears to be an attempt to lure web visitors to the newspaper; and newspaper readers to the web. It’s not exactly rocket science, but in this slow-to-change market it has the potential to be revolutionary.

As for the Globe’s web presence, we’d prefer you save the DirtDog and Eric Wilbur examples of where the dot-com was ahead of its time. While Wilbur is worth a regular visit, he’s not breaking news or giving beat guy insight. And as for the DimDog, we’re eternally stunned that the NYT misters remain in bed with this no-tricks-left-pony. There are no fewer than five Sox-dedicated or semi-dedicated bloggers who are currently beating DimDog senseless on a weekly basis. I give you Chad Finn, Sheriff Sully and (ex-Scrunchy Queen Monahan’s fave) Soxaholix.com as a starting three.

The true forward thinkers will find a way to group all that local “programming” onto one dominant, regional site.

The “programming” will also, of course, need to include streaming video and podcasting, but the investment is going to pay off quicker (and larger) if it’s done now, instead of 12 months from now. The inertia at these media marketplaces is simply staggering at times, wouldn’t you agree?

• Frank Deford’s Bob Feller piece from the Green Bay cover of Sports Illustrated last week is a true Deford treat in terms of writing. Feller stepped (and will continue to step) over some PC boundaries (admitting as much himself), but the complete tale and portrait painted by Deford is much more revealing. Feller’s every bit as bitter – and painfully truthful – as Shots hopes he will be in his older age. If not now. The EEIdiots were roasting Feller on Thursday’s (forced) Weener Wiener line, but we’re guessing the roasters couldn’t digest all of Deford’s words. Or sound them out, for that matter. . . .How about this, Andy Who Talks Too Much, with your WeeWhiLine: Do it less often. Maybe twice a week and when stories blow up. Otherwise it’s mostly garbage for the hormone hearty to continually interrupt, which is also known as “radio bile.”

• Welcome back, Shaughnasty! We hardly even knew you were gone – except when you were allowed to schedule a vacation during the trading deadline. The privileges of membership, we suppose. . . Danny Boy, in fairness, was hardly alone in missing the major Manny news – Glenn Ordway and Dale Arnold come to mind as other personalities who were MIA. But the fact is, people want to vacation in the summer and let’s face it, there is no REAL downtime in this market these days. ‘EEI’s been talking about hockey in large doses, for cryin’ out loud! Shots has but one suggestion: Cover Your Asses, producers, editors and media managers. If DB’s out for eight days in Sicily (a European vacation with Francophone Fraud Fred Smerlas, we presume?), make sure that Basketball Bob and/or Jackie Mack are at least “on call.”. . .or, if you really want a solution, give a reporter-type the fill-in duties. The lines are so blurred between opinion and game story at this point, that the only thing you have to risk is that someone like Gordon Edes blows you away to the point where you move him to general columnist.

• Lot’s of guilty pleasure TV on Tuesdays when ESPN2 runs its ethnically-loaded, late night programming Block Party. But even a Homey in Hull (that’s Shots, folks) sees the good and bad emerging in other demographics’ offerings. For instance:
AND 1’s Streetball show is enjoying its finest season. Some personalities are being allowed to emerge and the lifestyle aspect is getting tighter and more “inside.” Don’t underestimate the familiarity that has grown between the camera men (usually a two or three man crew from NYC’s Hock Films) and the ballerz. . . And how ‘bout my boy Pat Da Rock? The kid blew up in Boston and is now making a beeline to the Bus for a full-year deal or more. [Although no longer on the AND 1 payroll, Shots would encourage you editor and writer types (and fan types, even) to seek out the Streetballers for previews of their first summer stop in Boston at the new Garden next Sunday, Aug two-one (on the heels of a great showing here for the Winter tour). $10 tix for the kiddies, to boot. . .

The spring SI cover story on Streetball by the sensational Alex Wolff lent legitimacy to what these barnstormers are doing. And if you want the best tip of all, we’d say to try and feature the coach, Steve Burtt, Sr. Very rarely does a man with Burton’s perspective and knowledge float through our basketball strata. The Streetball Tour is a good excuse to tap into that knowledge, passion and pride.]

• You see how I do? Once you employ me, I’m your friend for life. Especially when you outfit me in tees and pocketed shorts!

Also on the Deuce after Dark was:

2 Live Stews, the afternoon drive time guys from Atlanta’s 790 The Zone are worth the view as well. At least they were until the “story preview” banner at the bottom of the screen (ala Around the Horn, et al) had the spelling of the new Phoenix head coach’s name as “Gretsky.” No joke. Greatest hockey player of all time and no one on the TV side could spell his name right?. . . The brothers Stewart got some good Steve Belkin stuff in for a bit and predicted that David Stern would step in forcefully on Wednesday, which he didn’t. But we agree, he should. . . Speaking of Belkin (kind of) Shots ran into Shira Springer as she was rushing between her weekly CN8 Ed Berliner appearance and finishing up the day’s work on the Belkin case. Tired and weary from a day filled with two many lawyers to count, a living basketball legend (Dominique Wilkins) and a living broadcasting legend (John Carchedi. . . err, Berliner), Springer managed to keep a smile that indicated she realizes things could be worse. . .

As for Shots own Tuesday spot as part of a monthly Boston Sports Review magazine appearance (alongside the in-tune and in-touch Jerry Spar), we’ll give the Shots portion an inflated C+. Mostly we’re harsh on our self because when Easy Ed started talking steroids, I saw the computer techs begin adjusting Shot’s size from Husky Fella to Downright Chunky Guy. Haters.

They say the camera adds ten pounds? Yeah, well my camera was adding 10 chins. Beyond my expanding appearance, the Trio of Three (what? That’s what we were) did manage some worthwhile banter over Theo, ‘roids and yes, Joe Thornton. (Shots apologizes for commenting on Thornton from a hockey perspective – the words were solely meant as an advisory on marketing moves that would help the Bs. Our hockey knowledge is stuck in reverse and we’re trying to figure out whether the center line will truly be a dotted line as we’ve now seen in two different graphics. A dotted line at mid-ice? It begs for the John Hancock logo and endorsement deal. “Put your John Hancock on the dotted line.”)

• Grasp this one Philly Pholks: Tito Phreakin’ Phrancona will be the Dean of AL East Skippers come season’s end. Torre, gone. Mazzilli, gone. Louie, gone. Gibbons, just a year’s worth of service. . . And the Torre situation helped spur this gem of a kicker from Shots fave, Michael Morrissey of the ever-vibrant NY Post: “I’ll answer questions about my managing decisions,” Torre said. “I prefer, because at this time of the year we don’t want to cause any distractions, that I defer to wait until the end of the season to answer any questions about [his (The Boss’s)] comments.”
If discretion is the better part of employment, Torre made the right move.

• Early reports on local boy gone South, Rob Konrad, indicate his inclusion on the Dolphins pre-game radio show for Miami’s 790 the Ticket is going to work out just fine. (Anyone seeing a theme here with the 790 thing? My podcast will now officially be named: “SHOTS, 790 The Ticket Zone.” . . . And yes, folks, the exciting news is that Shots will begin podcasting in the very near future. (Technology be damned, we say!) Market testing has gone well and sponsorships have sold in toto (okay, they’re barters.) And (okay, there are no sponsors. But we’re workin’ on it.) Producer Percy the Dog is becoming comfortable manning the board and adjusting mike levels. So we got that goin’ for us. More info about Scott’s PodShots will be coming soon. Please check back often. And yes, Scott’s PodShots is property of Scott’s Shots exclusively.

• This one came in from media contact Dan Quinn at ESPN HQ. And here, all along, Shots thought Rick would die a Bostonian: Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino will be the subject of ESPN’s “Sunday Conversation” this week, debuting on Sunday’s 10:30 a.m. ET SportsCenter and subsequent re-airs (11 p.m., and Monday morning).

Jeremy Schaap: “How would you describe your affection for your adopted state?”

Rick Pitino: “I was bred a New Yorker and I will die a Kentuckian.”
JS: “How does a New Yorker such as yourself end up being someone who gladly says, ‘I’ll die in the state of Kentucky?’”

RP: “Well, it’s just a matter of admiration for what the people are all about, what the state is all about. I eat, sleep and love the game of basketball — I have since I’ve been six years old playing in the playgrounds of New York City. Well, Kentucky’s the same way.”

JS: “What is the distinction between coaching at Kentucky and coaching at Louisville?”

RP: “The difference is no one will admit to being a Louisville fan in the city of Lexington. You can’t, for health and safety reasons, admit that.

“I don’t care what they say in North Carolina, about North Carolina being the best state for basketball, because they have professional basketball teams. I don’t believe that. I think the best rivalry is Kentucky-Louisville. I also think the best state for basketball at the collegiate level without question, to me is Kentucky.”

JS: “How tough is the job now as a college basketball coach in a top program, and you have no idea if the kids you’re recruiting are going to be in your program or in the NBA Draft?

RP: “Well, now the NBA has come in with this new rule that you can no longer go from high school. So in the end what I’ve got to figure out is who wants to become a pro through hard work and perseverance and learning the fundamentals and skills of the game, and then the ones that want that instant gratification right now, who want that gourmet meal and that microwave in two minutes. I have to realize who those players are and identify them because I’m losing so many marquee players by kids going to the pros early.”

• In Richard Sandomir’s NYT piece on the Bobby Knight reality TV show, Robert Lundgren, the chief operating officer of RIVR Media, which will produce the series said: “We’re not in the silly business. . .” Sandomir then lists some of RIVR’s other shows: “ ‘Trading Places’, ‘Nascar Garage’, ‘Tattoo Crazy’ and ‘Date Plate’.”

Ah, right. Nothing silly about those last two. . . And don’t kid yourself: The show gives Knight an NCCA-prohibited recruiting advantage in every conceivable way. But if you think Myles Brand is taking on Knight again – over reality TV no less – you just might not be the most in-tune observer. Score a big ass TOUCHE for The General.

• ESPN Classic’s Classic Now, debuted this week (7 p.m. EST) with ex-SI staffer, Josh Elliott, 34, at the controls. Elliott seems to be a good match for the Classic theme: he’s an archetypal ESPN host. Clean, sparkly and just manly enough to evoke instant credibility. “I’m energized by the opportunity we have with this program to speak with a distinctive voice,” Elliott said in a release. “On Classic Now the past is always present, connecting sports today to the sports people and events of the past. That creates more relevance for the fan.”

The one element we did catch that definitely DID NOT have relevance for the fan was the Chuck Klosterman rant. Klosterman can write the crap out of a story, but he’s not TV material by a long shot.

ESPN’s release indicates “Classic Now is the second of three new daily shows scheduled to debut in three consecutive weeks in August. Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, a one-hour weekday show featuring sports news, opinions, issues, headlines and interviews, will premieres today at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. ESPN Hollywood, a 30-minute nightly sports and entertainment news program anchored by Thea Andrews, will premiere August 15 at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 from studios in Los Angeles.”

Ooooh Boy! Thea Andrews, Take Two! How exciting!

•An interesting tale of two stories from last Friday when the herald Family’s Lenny Megliola got twice as much space (1800 words to 900 words) as the Globe’s departing, James Whitters, on the lost tale of Benny Friedman.

(One quick aside, it is Whitters’ position at Globe West that Mike Reiss will be occupying when he starts up in the coming days for the twice-weekly, zoned, section.)

But space had nothing to do with the biggest difference between the two Benny takes: Megliola tactfully included the necessary line about Friedman’s self-inflicted gun shot wound. The Globe’s version left Friedman’s death (and even his resting age) a mystery.

Since Whitters is heading out the door, we’re not going to place the blame in his court – a going away present from Shots. And truly, with a feature piece like that, the story’s editor needs to get those details included. The storytelling was not the problem.

• Our favorite Jerry Remy moment of the season came last Friday night when the Remdawg suggested the 100th pitch promo from Cobalt more or less.

• John Dennis’s vacation plans (and not a moment too soon with Frat Boy Russillo’s antics coming to light) included a Nine in Nine trip to Canada, where he will smack white balls (presumably with the face of Russillo on them) into Canuck territory for the bulk of his two week re-juicer.

• Confirmed Monday night – but suspected for two years now – John Madden is indeed computer generated much like the Thurston schmo on CBS. EA Sports: It’s in the game.

• Also confirmed Monday night: The screens are going to be less cluttered – ABC went with a bottom banner for quarter, time, score and down and distance. The trend for the past few years has been boxes and graphics everywhere and anywhere. We’re guessing it will go back to more picture, less numbers – leaving the interactive components up for packaging to the fantasy and betting addicts as revenue-raisers. . . Word is that unbearable Jimmy Kimmel will also be part of the Monday Night swansong season on ABC, giving a 60-second monologue during halftime. Are they trying to attract viewers on the East Coast or send them to bed even earlier?

• One of Molori’s Magnificent Seven, George Kimball, has popped up as the Yellow Boxer’s PGA correspondent at Baltusrol in Jersey. For those keeping score that means Kimball has gone from Hull, where he also lives, to Hell, where the Jersey girls roam freely.

• Next Tuesday is the premiere on PBS of “Hardwood”, director Hubert Davis’s exploration of the life of his dad, former Harlem Globetrotter, Mel Davis. Shots was always fascinated by the Clowned Princes, so this will be a must-see at the Seaside Shanty. Now, if someone can just tell me how to get to PBS?. . . We joke because we know that “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me. . .” is the best public radio show in all the land.

• Just a note for future columns: when I start talking about public broadcasting, it’s time to stop reading. . .

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