By David Scott
Boston Sports Media Watch

A LOOK BACK AT LAST NIGHT’S PHENOMENAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FOLLOWS THE “First At Scott’s Shots” NEWS OF THE RED SOX DECIDING NOT TO RENEW WITH UPN38.

After that, is the complete NESN release about their HD and Programming Moves.

We’ll be back with a regular Shots on Friday morning, as well. . .

Now, EVERYone’s Sox Network

• The famed Red Sox Cartel and NESN appear to be closing ranks just a bit, ditching its once-a-week affiliation with UPN38 and keeping the team’s Friday Night Baseball package in-house at NESN, the network announced (after a day of badgering from Shots).

The Red Sox will be taking the package away from its “over-the-air” partner of three season (UPN38), preferring to keep its full roster of games on NESN.

Ro Dooley-Webster, spokeswoman for UPN38 and sister station CBS4, referred all calls to NESN president Sean McGrail and refused to answer any questions regarding the package. Red Sox Media Relations VP Glenn Geffner did not return a message left by Shots for comment from the Sox.

McGrail, around dinner time on Wednesday, told Shots: “This is just the completion of what we started five years ago with the Bruins and Red Sox. The other eight Designated Market Areas, or DMAs (markets like Hartford, Springfield, Providence, etc., where the games are shown) had already been ALL-NESN for all games. This just closes the loop,” said McGrail. “We have clearly been the flagship for Red Sox and Bruins coverage. We want to be the lens through which people see these teams.”

McGrail pointed to about “30 other organzations” in professional sports that no longer have over-the-air partners as evidence of the trend toward completely cable-based distribution of professional sports.

The Red Sox agreement with UPN38 and CBS4 expired at the end of last season. The Lobellies were working under a three-year agreement that commenced with the 2003 season, according to a Sept. 4, 2002 release at the station’s website.

The change will also mean the end of BlogMan Dan Roche’s outstanding run as the “Friday Night Baseball” sideline/jokeman for UPN38 Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy, NESN’s regular tandem will continue to handle the games as they had when the package was at UPN38.

The move, though not surprising, is another indication of the increased emphasis being put on in-house programming by NESN’s recently-named Vice President of Programming/Production and Executive Producer, Joel Feld.

Already offering the off-season/hot stove series, “Red Sox Now,” a new show called “Reliving the Rivalry” which debuts Thursday (Jan. 5) and the regular line-up of in-season Sox programming, NESN is expanding coverage of its team in an obvious move to capitalize on the team’s never-ceasing popularity.

By adding the Friday Night package to its own network, the Sox will now control all ad inventory for its broadcasts and make the network a one-stop shop for just about everything Red Sox (excluding blacked-out national telecasts on FOX and ESPN). The move also helps to alleviate the problems some folks ran into on Friday evenings when they weren’t sure where to find their Sox. As ridiculous as that sounds, it was clearly a problem for some, shall we say, less TV-savvy (read: OLD) fans of the team. McGrail wasn’t overly concerned with a protest from the VHF/UHF clingers-on, but he was excited about the ability to make the Friday night telecasts “less cluttered” for the majority of the DMAs

The question for UPN38 is whether they will be able to continue providing the inside access they have displayed as a “partner” of the Sox and make “Red Sox This Week” worth investing in for another season. Shots says it would be a good move, continuity-wise, to keep the multi-talented Roche as the program’s signature host and continue the show solely on CBS4. In addition to being a solid newsman with deep ties and familiarity with many of the Sox players and personnel, Roche is as good as it gets in keeping “This Week” crisp, informative and worthwhile. The show has merit, for sure and a passable lead-in with Sports Final as its lead-in at CBS4).

Meanwhile, UPN38 loses a significant property that it used as a lead-in to its newscast and as a draw for the sports fan who might not know of the myriad (and often awful) offerings from “The U.”

TV38, in different incarnations and call letters, had a long and storied history with the Sox, dating back to the 1970s according to this always helpful website. WABU took the Sox rights in the mid-90s, which then led to the weekly broadcasts being aired on FOX25.

Keep in mind, the Sox are also in the final year of their agreement with WEEI 850 AM to serve as the team’s radio flagship. With new kid on the block, ESPN Radio Boston 890 AM in the mix, there has been some early speculation that the ERB folks might, at the very least, attempt to drive up the price for carrying the Sox on radio. Others have speculated that the Sox would create a NESN-for-radio type platform, thus being able to entirely control its broadcasts. That might be a longshot, but let’s remember that media mogul and Tom Werner is involved in all of this, and when the topic is “diverse revenue streams,” the Sox ownership group is never ones to say “never.”

• One other note from our brief phone conversation with Dooley-Webster – Shots also inquired about the contract status of in-limbo sports legend, Bob Lobel. The spokeswoman said she would look into it and get back to us.

Read what you will into that – we find it a bit peculiar that the station’s point person would not have an answer regarding, arguably the most recognizable face on local TV. But the way things have been going on the newside at struggling CBS4, we’re not overly surprised that Lobel might not be the top priority. They’re probably too busy trying to find Shelby Scott (no relation) to re-team with nine-life cat, Jack Williams.

• HD is nice and all, but you just took away a game a week from the folks who still have rabbit ears!!!

Also, in the release below, notice the deep mention of the Follow-FSN-To-the-Beach shows that will be orginiating from Ft. Myers. Shots might have taken a bit of thunder from that announcement last week, making the news a little more bury-worthy. Or is that too conspiratorial to even suggest? Fact is, NESN will now have a serious edge over everyone else for everything Red Soxian - as if they didn’t already. . .

•••••

Forever Young

• “I’m kind of feeling like Joe (Paterno),” gushed ABC legend Keith Jackson, “I’m too old for this.” And then Vince Young ran into the end zone, hurdled a few dozen photogs/sideline hangers-on, and took down the USC Trojans.

At a time when everything is (falsely) instantly Classic, last night’s ABC thriller that stretched just short of 12:30 a.m., was the epitome of the term. Someone call the Sklar brothers, they just got bumped out of the “Cheap Seats.”

“A classic,” confirmed Dan Fouts, “it lived up to the hype.”

• It just didn’t appear to be a safe environment to have a football game, did it? It was like Arena Football with no boards. I kept thinking of how many completely clueless and unnecessary people were on the fringe of the Coliseum.

. . . It had all the moments now didn’t it? Let’s be sure to notice and appreciate what Basketball Bob Ryan does on (extremely) tight deadline with a game of that significance and splendor. And let’s hope he gets a follow-up, perspective piece for the Friday paper - if not Saturday.

• The Wednesday Herald’s over/under for the game was 69.5 – with 10:47 to go in the game it was 31-23 USC, giving the degenerate gamblers a 54 point combo as midnight approached and it finished at 79 (41-38). How freaking good are the Wiseguys? And by them, we speak of the TV people and the Vegas people and all the people who “conspire” to create what we got last night on ABC. It all works too swimmingly sometimes. But I’ll take it.

• Every time they called “Aaron” (Taylor) on the ABC desk, I thought they were saying ERIN. He hooted like an Erin at the end as the Notre Dame alum he waved the Wheaties box and gave a Hook ‘em sign. It was a bizarre Howard Dean kinda moment. Please explain. . .

• Since you can be damn sure we’d all be rippin’ away if it was the failure it seems destined to be, we also must praise one hell of an entertaining college bowl season. And I’m not saying it just because Tirico said it either. Did I ever tell you guys the Freddy Albany/Reeks story from Syracuse? Never will either. ‘Cuz there are too many versions floating around at this point.

• Not speaking of the Boston Sports Guy, he came back this week with some promises (and a couple of excuses for the Downward Spiral believers). I think the only thing we can do is hold him accountable. If a Cowbell stays up on the main page for four days or more, with no other original addition by SG, we all have the right to bombard him with the extra long email subject line of: “Your School Has You and Shaughnasty; Our School (UMass) has Kevin Cullen and Gerry Callahan – two Irish drinkers with a serious writing problem. And Buckley makes three.”

• When did Tostitos get a blimp? Or did they do over an old Goodyear?

• That Miners story was an amazing follow up to the odd ending of the Orange Bowl and we happened to be hanging with Anderson Cooper as the whole thing unfolded. It was just surreal. Cooper had a mother, her young son and younger daughter as his “sources.” Staggering. There was this image, at one point, of a dog sleeping and Cooper 360 framed it with a literary reference to “Our Town.” That was before the terrible error was revealed. It made more sense after.

• ESPN’s Pencil Lee Corso commanded Vince Young, just before the ABC sign-off, to skip his senior year and go to the NFL. It was blunt and brazen. And oh so true - his stock can never be higher. Ever. . . And wither Reggie Bush’s stock? Good postgame fodder form this one, too. Yet another sign of a “Good ‘Un.”

• Who the heck is the bozo who said “yes” when Ed in the Nokia commercial asks if we want him to sing the Dukes of Hazzard theme song? Keep your ring tone and your theme song to yourself, Ed. People might you like you better. . .Or you could give a little ringy dingy to the bee-yatch who erased a “David.”

NESN’S OFFICIAL RELEASE (We would link, but the release had yet to be posted on NESN website’s “News and Info” tab as of 6:20 p.m. Wednesday evening.):

NESN TO TELEVISE EVERY 2006 RED SOX GAME IN THE BOSTON DMA
Network will Become the First Regional in the Country to Produce Every Game in HD

BOSTON – NESN, New England’s most watched sports network, will deliver exclusive coverage of every locally televised Red Sox game in the Boston television market next season. For Boston area fans, this will create one destination for all Red Sox telecasts and align coverage of the games with the rest of New England. Since 2003, NESN has provided coverage of every Red Sox game in eight of the nine New England DMAs.

This change will also make it possible for NESN to become the first regional network in the country to produce every game in high definition (HD). NESN is a sports leader in HD programming, having produced 152 live high-def games in 2005 and plans to produce over 225 live HD games in 2006. In addition to game coverage, NESN will also originate over 700 studio programs in HD this year.

Popular announcers Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy will return to the NESN booth for their 6th season together to deliver the network’s Emmy Award winning play-by-play coverage. NESN will also continue its comprehensive Red Sox coverage with one hour pre and post-game shows in 2006.

NESN’s current off-season Red Sox programming includes: Red Sox Now, a Wednesday night hot-stove program that delivers off-season news, interviews and previews; and Reliving the Rivalry, a look back at the best Red Sox - Yankees games that have appeared on NESN over the past three seasons. Both programs are hosted by NESN’s Red Sox studio host Tom Caron.

NESN begins the 2006 baseball season on Friday, February 17th with 45 days of Red Sox spring training coverage that includes daily reports from Tom Caron and Don Orsillo on NESN SportsDesk. NESN will also highlight the first week of spring training with 5 live episodes of Red Sox Now from Fort Myers beginning Monday, February 20th and Boston Globe SportsPlus on-location on the 22nd and 24th. NESN’s nine (9) game spring training schedule begins Saturday, March 4, 2006 at 1:00 PM when the Sox take on the Pittsburgh Pirates.

NESN’s 2006 Boston Red Sox
Spring Training Schedule

Sat. March 4 Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Red Sox 1:00 PM
Sat. March 11 Red Sox vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 1:00 PM
Sun. March 12 Minnesota Twins vs. Red Sox 1:00 PM
Sun. March 19 Baltimore Orioles vs. Red Sox 1:00 PM
Wed. March 22 Red Sox vs. New York Yankees 7:00 PM
Sat. March 25 Toronto Blue Jays vs. Red Sox 1:00 PM
Sun. March 26 Red Sox vs. Philadelphia Phillies 1:00 PM
Sat. April 1 Red Sox at Philadelphia Phillies 1:00 PM
Sun. April 2 Red Sox at Philadelphia Phillies 1:00 PM