By David Scott
Boston Sports Media Watch

FT. MYERS BEACH, Fla. - DJ died, a couple of kids passed out at Sox camp and the sun set over Greg Dickerson’s shoulder on Thursday.

Red Sox Spring Training, 2007 - where nothing surprises anyone anymore.

Or, as the smartasses may call it, Matsuzaka Mayhem.

Oddly enough, despite a deep admiration for Dennis Johnson’s game, it’s only the Dickerson part that you’ll get from me. For DJ, go see Mr. Ryan at the Globe (who you’re more likely to hear from his ESPN interview than read in the paper, where Jackie MacMullan gets DJ duty). For the teens that fainted over all the spring ball excitement in the merchandise tent, you can probably check with the Fort Myers Fire Department (FMFD), which arrived on the scene prior to the Matsuzaka presser.

But for the tale of Fox Sports New England’s annual Battle in the Sand with NESN, sit right back and sip on that blended fruity drink from the pool bar. . .

***

It’s the pink-skinned tourists that crowd the white sand beach. It’s the fanatics awaiting the arrival, in the dank parking garage no less, of the Red Sox player of note. It’s a baseball player sculpted from sand and palm trees sculpted by nature. It’s even the over-served bozo who thought he was getting TV face time, but was instead getting bounced from the beach.

IT is Fox Sports New England’s “Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight”. . . with a tan. From the water lapping the sand at the DiamonHead Resort, FSNNE, the region’s second-string sports network (to NESN, the highest rated regional sports net in the country) is putting out a first class, big time broadcast twice nightly in a (mostly) first class, big time, set-up.

For the fourth straight Sox Spring Training, FSNNE’s 6:30 p.m. “Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight” broadcast (taped in the 4:30 p.m. hour each day, on the beach) and the live 10 p.m. poolside broadcast, have been originating from this honky-tonk, Florida resort area. (“Hampton Beach South,” said one observer after witnessing a female’s failed roadside sobriety test just up the road.) But there’s nothing trashy about the Red Sox-centric production being put out by the reportedly soon-to-be Comcast-owned regional network (see note below).

Hosted by the Odd Couple of Boston sports, Gary Tanguay and Greg Dickerson, FSNNE’s Sports Tonight (powered by Dick’s) is putting forth a week’s worth of national caliber broadcasts highlighted by big time guests (Jonathan Papelbon on the Thursday 6:30 show) and breathtaking ocean (and pool) views.

One long-time spring training visitor said, “I don’t think there’s any set up like this in all the major leagues.” Probably not, considering the Red Sox are one of the few teams who can justify live spring training press conferences (as NESN provided with Thursday’s Curt Schilling, Theo Epstein and Terry Francona pressers), in addition to hours upon hours of programming being generated - especially in this first week of Dice-Kamp.

The studios in the sand allow fans to be background filler - even if they can’t entirely enjoy the shows because of audio concerns. Still, it’s a live audience and all that entails.

“It’s fun because you’re in front of a live audience and typically you’re in the studio and you don’t necessarily have all these people around you. I thrive on the adrenaline rush a bit,” said Dickerson, the happy-go-lucky wiseacre who bleeds Celtics green and also pulls shifts at talk radio WEEI 850 AM. “It’s just a lot of fun to have people here and I think it’s neat for the (fans) to get to see the lighting, the behind-the-scenes and how everything develops.”

NESN is offering a similar look for the on-site fans from its central location at the heart of the Sox minor league complex. Situated at the Crossroads of Camp, NESN’s set even include’s shipped-in blue furniture from a sponsor. The prime real estate is a perk of having the team own the station - although there would certainly be space if FSNNE wanted to be on camp’s campus.

While chief competitor NESN has the higher profile and higher traffic set plunked down in the middle of the minor league facility in Ft. Myers proper, FSNNE digs into the sand about 15 miles (but many more minutes) from the Red Sox facility and tries (successfully) to create a “fan experience” for the snowbirds and school vacationers chasing autographs and sun rays. The alternative strategy works perfectly for FSNNE, which offsets its distance from the ballpark with the promise of athlete interaction, raffles and free nibbles poolside during the 6:30 “viewing party” and the 10 p.m. live show.

To differentiate themselves on the kickoff to Red Sox coverage, FSNNE decided in 2004 to come out loud and BEST DAMN SPORTS SHOW-like during the opening days of camp - with a live audience. Now, the on-the-road edition of G&G has two outdoor sets with water views from each and a guest list that equals that of Sox-owned NESN in its first week. (Granted, NESN will be entrenched for the long haul, but we needed an excuse to check out the Beach Part of Fort Myers. Final report: it ain’t got nuthin’ on Hull)

The investment of money and resources by FSNNE is no drop in the (very nearby) ocean, but the result from the estimated low, six-figure outlay for crew, equipment and accoutrements is a high-quality, enjoyable viewing experience for both the on-site fan and - this week especially - the home viewer. Whatever the expense and production obstacles may be for the Home of the Celtics (and POKER!) they are well worth the effort by FSNNE, which also uses the week as an incentive and reward for sponsors like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Mohegan Sun, both of which bring executives and employees to bask in the sun and meet and greet players, talent and passers-by.

“Let’s face it,“ said Dickerson during a brief interview less than 30 minutes before G&G Show time on Thursday. “In the end they’re not here to see Gary and me. They’re here to see the players that are coming on our show to be guests. And, I think we had to be different because NESN is so intertwined with the Sox. We had to do something different to really stand out.”

“We try to create that fan experience and make the show interactive for the folks who are down here,” said FSNNE’s PR and Marketing manager, Skip Perham.

Those folks numbered close to 200 for the Thursday early show taping and were grouped in a semi-circle around the on-beach set watching Tanguay and Dickerson interview the Eagle-Tribune’s Rob Bradford and the easy-going, mullet-developing Papelbon in the afternoon‘s fading sun. At night under the stars, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia were at DiamondHead youking it up on-set with Tango and Cash.

“We get the people off of (Route) 41 (a mega-steroided Route 1 or Route 9 back home) and all the strip malls and asphalt,” Dickerson said. “It’s different for the fans and I think it makes the show better. We hear it from the players every year - guys like (Mike) Timlin and (Tim) Wake(field) come down every single year and love doing the show from this spot. After Wednesday night’s show, we just sat around with Joel Pineiro and shot the (crap) for like an hour and a half.”

The short investment in Spring Training (players and special guests are limousined to the site, given a bottle of - no joke - Greg and Gary champagne and paid a small stipend) pays dividends during the season.

“It definitely pays off throughout the year and helps us develop relationships with the guys that we can use during the season,” said Dickerson. “It’s a good way to kick off a relationship with guys and maintain them with the older ones. I look forward to it each year, I really do.”

When the dazzling sun sets just over your shoulder and the hot tub serves as the location for your pre-taped open to that night’s show, we suppose there is quite a bit to look forward to.

Even on the day DJ died.

***

Comcast Calling?

. . . A report in the February 19 edition of SportsBusiness Journal by writer John Ourand suggested that FSNNE is about to be gobbled up by the increasingly aggressive Comcast company.

According to SBJ, “Comcast is in final negotiations to buy out Rainbow Media’s stake in two regional sports networks — FSN Bay Area and FSN New England — a move that accelerates the cable operator’s strategy to develop a footprint of regional sports networks across the United States.

“The deal, with on-and-off negotiations going on for more than a year, is still several weeks away from being completed. But both sides have agreed on the move that would have Comcast buying out Rainbow’s 60 percent stake in FSN Bay Area and Rainbow’s 50 percent stake in the New England RSN. Fox Sports Net owns the remaining 40 percent of the San Francisco-based channel, and Comcast and Rainbow share ownership of the New England RSN.”

Further, the SBJ story stated: “. . . Since the fall of 2004, Comcast has launched two RSNs (in Chicago and Sacramento) and one national network in which it is a part owner, The mtn., the Mountain West Sports Network. It rebranded its Outdoor Life national sports network to Versus and paid handsomely to acquire rights to the NHL. Last year, it paid to bring exclusive PGA Tour coverage to its Golf Channel. . .”

The FSNNE crew was pretty tight-lipped about the developments, but if we had to guess the move can be nothing but a good thing for the little Boston sports network that could (going back to its SportsChannel roots, we suppose). Comcast’s pockets are deep and they already have a big presence on the hardware and delivery end. Laugh at Comcast’s Versus network at your own peril: there is increasing reason to believe that channel has hope, which would add beef to whatever the scope of the Comcast sports’ imprint becomes.

. . . Our apologies for the lack of an afternoon update on Thursday - WiFi connections at DiamondHead were sketchy at best. We’ll be back with a mid-morning update from the Sox Minor League Facility on Friday and will be with you throughout the weekend and through Monday from Ft. Myers. Dice-K is scheduled to throw again on Saturday, so you’ll want to check in for another edition of “Funai Tent Theater.”

. . . Good reporting, but lousy headlining on this Mike Reiss story on Corey Dillon. It just sounds too much like Dillon will play again, not to mention it’s bigger news right now, during combine week, that he won’t likely be on the Pats’ roster. We would’ve gone with: “Dillon wants out of Pats.”

Albert Breer’s version, through Dillon’s agent, is a bit different than Reiss’s - as always, the truth is somewhere in between.