By David Scott
Boston Sports Media Watch

Sadly, NESN’s “Voice of the Fan” segment was not silenced in the off-season as Wednesday night marked the return of the unbearable rich man, GE Jack Welch. We need someone to confirm this, but it sounded distinctly like he said Tuesday’s home-opener was “poop.”

Even if he didn’t say that, it would be an accurate description for Welch’s work with terrific Tom Caron, who during the history of these fan segments has always looked like he’d rather be selling sausages on Yawkey Way than sitting with the close, personal friend of the ownership group.

Welch either has dirty pictures of Wally the Green Monster or he’s buying the time out of his own pocket to keep himself in the spotlight. They’re can’t be any other explanation, not with the smart folks behind NESN making the decisions.

. . . More than a few devotees of Shots inquired as to why the Herald would replace a football position with a baseball writer (as the paper is doing in bringing on Ron Bradford and reducing the presence of ESPN Radio 890 AM’s Mike Felger).

The answer is simple: The Sox sell.

In “acquiring” Bradford, Hank Herald has also acquired a destination website that – if used properly – could be a revenue stream of some merit. It’s too early to tell if the Herald is ready to ride Blogford into the next phase of its Website’s development (or, should we say, creation). But they should be. There has got to be at least three deep-pocketed advertisers who would like to sponsor or be involved with the outstanding BoB blog. (Staples just came into some loose change by dropping out of Imus.)

Bradford has done exactly what Mike Reiss did with his web presence at the MetroWest and parlayed some hustle, some consistency and some passion into a prime job at one of the region’s two largest papers.

. . . As with every sports story, there was a loser to Bradford’s winner in the Herald Job Hunt and that guy is Albert Breer, the 27-year-old MetroWest Daily News writer who has assumed the old “Reiss Spot.” Breer has really been a huge part of the Herald’s Patriots coverage as part of the content-sharing agreement that the Herald and the MW share (especially on the Point After blog).

From every indication, Breer was indeed a finalist for the open Herald position that went to Bradford this week. And while Breer, a native of Sudbury, Mass. was disappointed in not getting the job, he was also realistic about the direction the Herald went in by choosing a “baseball guy” and not a “football guy.”

“I’m from here (L-S Class of 1998, Ohio State, 2002), I understand how this Red Sox Monster, that has been created over the past ten years, works,” said Breer by phone on Wednesday afternoon. “You’ve always got to accept that no matter what sport you’re covering (other than baseball), you’re playing second fiddle in this town.”

Breer said he has no hard feelings. is graetful for the chance to bein the mix and understands what a huge talent Bradford is. Breer looks forward to continuing to contribute to the Herald’s website and on their pages as the content-sharing agreement between the MetroWest and the Herald continues indefinitely, according to Breer.

“I really love working with those guys at the Herald and they were great to me during the interview process,” said Breer. “I got a call form a couple of Herald guys and they told me it was a two horse race [for the open reporters position] and that there was no shame in losing to Bradford. The fact is, and I know this, Rob is very, very good and I’m happy for him. He deserves it, he’s great.

“It would have changed a lot for me,” said Breer. “I do this job pretty much the same way Mike [Reiss] did it. And doing it that was, it pretty much controls your life. It adds up to a lot of 15, 16 hour days.”

Like many of his suburban paper comrades, Breer is also reporting, laying out and editing at the local level and oftentimes the extra Patriots work cuts heavily into “off-duty” hours. There is no down time with this little thing called the Internet and Breer isone of the guys that attacks his work with that in mind.

Breer is certainly interested in the Bradford gig at the Eagle-Tribune and said he knows sports editor Bill Burt from Patriots coverage – “I sit three seats down from him,” – but it is still to be determined whether the Bradford position will remain with baseball attached to it or if it could switch to a football beat. (CORRECTION OF EARLIER POST: John Tomase did Sox for the E-T and then switched to Pats for the Herald. We had it backwards in the original post.)

The theory with letting the role “float” a bit is that you can then get the “Best Available Athlete” instead of hiring to a specific position. It’s smart management on Burt’s part that he has been flexible with the definition of that position, and is a common technique used by wise editors in the ‘burbs, where resources and manpower demand creative approaches.

If the E-T wants to get the BAA, than it’s a two man race between Breer and Chad Finn, who has now slid in a gig with foxsports.com while maintaining his Globe editor’s position. It would probably be a step down if Finn was to leave the Globe’s relative steadiness, but it would allow him to expand his writing chances. And let’s face it, Finn’s too strong a writer to be cleaning other people’s copy.

. . . Our list earlier this week of other baseball-strong guys remains a good starting point, according to several people familiar with the perceived pecking order (Alex Speier and Joe Haggerty).

. . . I really had to know that Don Orsillo got a new mattress from Jordan’s Furniture this week. No, really, I NEEDED to know that.

Let’s hope Don-O can update us when he gets some 300 count sheets and a nice down comforter too.

Does the commercialism have any bounds whatsoever? (He made the announcement after Tina Cervasio threw it back from the Jordan’s Deck in an advertorial that was both clunky and blatant).

. . . And to balance that attack, we will say the Impossible Dream documentary that is now running (and brought to us by Executive Producer Joel Feld) is well-worth DVRing. Bob Ryan, Charlie Pierce, Dan Shaughnessy (yes, he’s ‘on’ in his portions) and Bud Collins all offer varying quantities of gems and baubles.

. . . Some leftovers from Shots Opening Day attendance in the Bleachers with Cousin Bill, Paulie Brookline and Funny Guy, Rick the Finger:

. . . We spied Janet Marie Smith walking the Big Concourse behind the bleachers, probably admiring her handiwork and plotting new places to put concessions and seats.

. . . We also got an in-person viewing of ABC5’s Natalie Jacobson at Monday night’s fairly tame Peter Gammon’s CD release event. There’s no kind way to say this, but that house of Jake’s has had a lot of work done to it.

. . .It was Gammons birthday on Monday – he turned 62 – and it is truly inspiring to see him rock out. Also on hand on Monday were the Kid GM and his Brother Paul, both of whom Gammons is tightly connected. And the highlight once again was the harp (harmonica) playing of Theo’s Flock member Zack Scott. Dude can wail.

. . . Someone should have told me that PJ Kilroy’s closed. No fun to set up a meeting spot only to find the door locked on Opening Day. The accross-the-street An Tua Nua was a big letdown and really translates into “Never Again.”

. . . Metro sports editor (and new author) Christopher Price checked in to tout the re-launch of his paper’s GameDay publication. “We’ve published 17,000 copies the first two games, and almost all of them (with the exception of maybe 1,000) were snapped up.”

Of course, Price might not have seen the numerous piles of them that were blowing in the streets on Tuesday, nor did he mention the huge stack that was abandoned in the Metro box across from The Cask. With such a small per-game run, the investment in ad space would seem a bit foolish at this point - at least until they can prove people are looking at the thing and not just discarding it.

Still, the front page of the Home Opener’s edition had a bottom banner from Filene’s Basement, three 1/3-page ads from Alpha Omega, the New Balance Factory Store and the Greater Boston Food Bank (on the Inside Front Cover, p. 2) and one full page black “K” with a Dunkin’ Donuts orange background. The back page was a Mass. Lottery buy and all the rest of the ads inside were house ads – many encouraging the Boston Globe Media’s co-production’s, potential advertisers that they can “reach America’s greatest fans.”

We’re not seeing the financial viability of the freebie and we were actually a bit surprised to see it re-born. Evidently, the ability to call itself “An Official Publication of the Boston Red Sox” makes the full-color, 12 pages of white newsprint a worthwhile buy for at least a handful of companies.

“We are the only publication you can pick up at the ballpark that has fresh content every night,” said Price in an e-mail hailing GameDay’s re-appearance at the Park. “Our list of writers includes Alex Speier, Joe Haggerty, Mike Petraglia, Jeff Howe and myself, and our columnists include Chad Finn, Mike Giardi and Sarah Green. For folks who can’t get out to the ballpark but still want to check out the inside info, all our content will also be posted to the Metro web site”

The centerfold scorecard could really use a title sponsor, a constant schedule wouldn’t hurt and something beyond Su doku needs to accompany the back page (think Trivia or ticket giveaways). The title has a lot of potential, but we’re not sure there is the dedicated staff that would be necessary to make the publication must-have or to make the website must-visit. The two need to be tied in together to make the giveaway work.

. . . As good of a week as it was for the Herald in snagging Bradford, the paper did struggle mightily on Wednesday when it named two different coaches getting the St. Bonaventure job (in the same notes column) and then had this awful and tragic error (corrected on Thursday):

Correction
By Herald sports staff
Thursday, April 12, 2007

Due to a reporting error in Wednesday’s editions, the Boston Herald listed Peabody High School’s Courtney Corning as one of its players to watch in Division 1 softball this season. Corning, a Greater Boston League all-star in softball, died Jan. 5 from injuries sustained in a car accident. She is being memorialized this season by both the Peabody High softball and baseball teams, which have dedicated their seasons to her memory. The Herald regrets the error.

. . . Thanks to the emailer who pointed out that “the Herald sports page is available on their website. It’s on the sports page, buried down on the right side.”

Our basic premise remains from last week: The back page is as important as the front page and should be displayed just as prominently at the Herald’s site.

. . . NESN’s Gary Roy checked in to confirm two things from earlier this week:

NESN part-timer, Naoko Funayama will continue working full-time for WMUR while working select dates for NESN and, yes, she is fluent in Japanese having spent time in Japan.

. . . Lots of opportunities to catch Shots beyond the confines of this squared-circle:

Friday, 11 p.m. “Out of Bounds,” CN8 – I got called a stick in the mud earlier this week on “OOB.” And that was the highest compliment I nabbed. I really am an a-hole, I guess.

Saturday, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. ESPN Radio Boston 890 AM – With ever-crankier Mike Salk and the talents of producer Drew Brooks, the show has a fighting chance. If Week 1 was any indication, y’all are in for a treat with this weekly pairing. Salk, unlike me, actually knows his stuff. Me, unlike Salk, tries to get by with cheat-sheets and web-surfing. It’s a winning combination, I assure you. And no joke, the very first caller ever was “Sully from Quincy.” This stuff writes itself in sports talk radio land. . . Call early, call often: 866-ESPN-890.

Monday, 7 p.m. “Out of Bounds,” CN8 – My debut on the earlier edition and my lone goal is to be half as good as Michael Holley, but twice as good as on-hiatus cut-and-paster Ron Borges.

Wednesday, 11 p.m. “Out of Bounds,” CN8 – My manJohn Carchedi is back from Philly and it looks to me like he might have done some shopping in Bruiser Flint’s closet – dude was sporting the black, mock turtle this past Wednesday and doing it deftly. Damn. I didn’t know Carchedi rolled like that.

End of shameless self-promotion for now. End of column. Enjoy the Marathon and another episode of “The Sopranos.”

David Scott writes from a seaside shanty on the shores of Hull, Mass. And can be reached at shotsATbostonsportsmedDOTcom