By David Scott
Boston Sports Media Watch

The Ron Borges Redemption Tour is in full swing and as it winds through TV and radio (but not print) it has become more and more clear that the inmates are running the Morrissey Boulevard Asylum. Borges kicked off his week with a fairly awkward interview with CN8’s 11 p.m. “Out of Bounds” tandem of John Carchedi and Phil Burton. In that four question tip off to the Tuesday night show, Borges called upon both a higher being and a higher (legal) authority.

“It’s all a legal matter now and there’s nothing I can really say about it,” Borges replied to the earnest attempts by Carchedi and Burton to gain some clarity in the Borges/Mike Sando plagiarism case. “Eventually it will all be settled and it will come out, frankly, how the Lord wants it to come out. That’s how it will come out.”

Equal parts smug and fidgety, Borges also said in the CN8 interview (which preceded his regular return to the “OOB” line-up at 7 p.m. & 11 p.m.) that he has taken the harshness of his critics in stride. “It’s what makes America a great country you know? You can be very certain and very wrong at the same time.”

You can also be a writer for a major newspaper and write for the website of an athlete/promoter that you are supposedly “covering” on a regular basis. This is exactly what Borges did when his original work appeared on the website owned and operated by Oscar De La Hoya, in anticipation (and following) last weekend’s record-setting fight.

As such, Shots is very certain that Borges is playing the victim and very wrong in thinking the Globe gives a damn about the perception which Borges has now created for the once-revered title (especially on the sports side).

During Borges’ Wednesday afternoon stint on the “Mike Felger Show” at 890 ESPN, Borges denied being paid by De La Hoya’s people and said he was writing simply because that’s what writers do.

We’re pretty well convinced that Borges did not write for “free,” and even if he is not getting a check, there are certainly other ways to “pay” a vendor including gratis room, flight and/or meals.

Incredibly, the Globe’s editor, Martin Baron, ignored three consecutive days of emails from Shots asking for some clarification on the Borges/De La Hoya arrangement. We can only guess that Baron is scared of the pending legal matter, which appears to be Borges’ upcoming arbitration meeting set for June.

“I can not comment on the case because it is an ongoing legal matter,” e-mailed Daniel B. Totten the President of the Boston Newspaper Guild, of which Borges is a member. “The Boston Newspaper Guild firmly stands by our longtime member Ron Borges and we will fight to ensure the facts of the case are revealed and justice prevails at the Arbitration hearing.”

Totten did not respond to follow-up emails and was not specific on which day in June Borges’ case will be heard. He would also not respond to questions regarding Borges’ De La Hoya dalliance.

The fact that a hearing is scheduled lends more credence to our earlier reports that Borges will be claiming that he was done in by a careless editor who lifted the Sando passage for use in a Borges-bylined notes column. It’s also likely that Borges will be trying to get some portion of his lost wages back if we’re reading the Guild’s tea leaves correctly.

You can be sure there are many interested parties in and around the Globe’s HQs who are watching closely to see how much power Borges truly has because of his strong union standing. And let’s not forget that many union members fear they’ve been getting kicked around a bit with all the recent buyouts and job re-positionings. Something to unify the masses and rally behind might be just what Totten ordered when he began his impassioned defense of poor, misunderstood Ronnie back in early March.

As for De La Hoya’s explanation as to why a journalist might have been providing material for the promoter’s website, the crack PR staff at Golden Boy started scurrying like mice when Shots called out to the LA headquarters on Wednesday afternoon (EST). Starting off with public relations director Ramiro Gonzalez (213.233-2943), we were told something about the Borges arrangement being a one time deal followed quickly by Gonzalez’s best Sgt. Schultz imitation with several “I know nothing,” and mumbles about “things we can’t disclose.” Then, Gonzalez got even more squirrelly and said, “I used to be a journalist,” followed by a plea of, “Why don’t you ask me about the buys on the pay per view?”

Finally, Gonzalez suggested that we call Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer through his assistant Nicole (213.233.2951). Which we did and left a message for Schaefer that was not returned.

We then had a brief conversation with Golden Boy Chief of Staff, Robert Gasparri (213.489-5631) who said he was not exactly sure of what Borges role was and that he was heading into a meeting and couldn’t talk. Finally, we got placed in touch with Monica Sears (213.233.2961) the public relations coordinator who suggested we contact Debbie Kaplan, an outside publicist who works with Golden Boy. Two messages to Kaplan and an email to her at gidgetpr@aol.com went unreturned.

(That’s more than due diligence on my part, folks. We’re dealing with shady spinsters, hucksters and promoters of all persuasion at all levels here, so the trails can meander a bit.)

So where does this leave us in the Mysterious Case of the Suspended Writer Who Figured It Was Okay to Write Promotional Copy for an Athlete He Covers - Even Though He Should Have Been Laying Low and Riding Out His Suspension?

Absolutely nowhere. Borges is back at work (although his byline has yet to re-appear as of Thursday) and his broadcast appearance ban has been lifted. He’s back in business and maybe a bit battered from the storm (we’re led to believe Borges time with MSNBC is done).

It remains to be seen if Borges will be returning to his NFL Notes column duty at the Globe (Shots guesses he won’t be, at least not this week) and it remains to be seen whether Borges or sports editor Joe Sullivan will give an explanation of what happened or what will be happening with Borges in the coming weeks and months. Reader trust and reassurance be damned, the silence seems to indicate.

It strikes more than a few folks as odd that all of Borges comments on the matter have come from places outside the Globe’s purview (CN8 and 890 AM). If battle lines are being drawn, it’s Borges who his using red paint and a big brush.

Further, it appears the paper’s head honcho who quite deliberately used the word “plagiarism” when announcing the Borges suspension, is now ignoring completely what has to constitute some type of ethical breach of etiquette by Borges the Fight Promoter.

. . . As for the religious reference Borges made on CN8, we can only alert you to the fact that boxing – the very sport Borges is probably best at covering – is full of comeback stories of fighters who were teaming with the Lord to re-enter the workforce, battle evil and win another belt. We’re not sure how many of those boxers were also teaming with De La Hoya, but we’re pretty sure Borges is. Or was.

. . . Burton’s final question for Borges on CN8 asked The Bully about how much credibility he felt he had lost and what he would tell the readers now? Said Borges, “I tell the readers to read and make their own decision. I’ve been doing this stuff for 30 years. I think I’ve built up a pretty good reputation. The readers will decide one way or the other.”

That’s encouraging, because the paper’s editor sure as heck ain’t deciding on much.

. . . Here was the excerpt on Borges scorecard for last weekend’s fight according to boxingscene.com and writer TK Stewart, as linked by Bruce Allen earlier this week.

Despite De La Hoya’s strong personal views of the night, a quick survey of press row told much the same story as the official judges.

Only Ron Borges of the Boston Globe had it 7-5 for De La Hoya while Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports had it dead even at 6-6. Michael Katz had it 8-4 for Mayweather. “And I was bending over backwards to give De La Hoya that many rounds,” chimed the curmudgeonly Katz. Michael Marley had it for Mayweather although I never did get his official score but by looking over his shoulder he appeared to have it about 8-4 for the “Pretty Boy”. My card ended up reading 6 rounds for Mayweather, 5 for De La Hoya with one round scored for a guy named “even”.

• CN8 is teaming with ex-radio giant Eddie Andelman to broadcast the 18th Annual Hot Dog Safari live on June 3 from 1-3 p.m. The network sent out a promotional, stress-relief hotdog (with mustard and relish) to promote the event which will be co-hosted by Barry Nolan, Phil Burton, John Carchedi and funny guy (and Hull lover) Steve Sweeney.

I had never received a stress-relief hotdog in the mail before and the chance to write about such a thing was just too big to pass up. Even if it did involve Elder Eddie.

• NESN had a rough week of technical difficulties with a malfunctioning top-of-screen scoring bar, which forced the network to use the obtrusive big block score and baserunners graphic in the lower right corner on consecutive nights.

There was also a few monumental gigglefests from Jerry Remdawg and Don Orsillo, including one in the top of the 6th that even made the “Sox in 2″ re-broadcast at midnight.

. . . Early grade on the Ken Macha experiment: Low C/C-minus. Just not sure what he really brings and whether he’ll ever bring it in a TV-friendly manner. But the gradebook is not closed at Shots College.

• Is it just me, or is Jayme Parker the best Flash Person ever at WEEI 850 AM? Or is it the fact that the recently re-upped (stunningly) Pete Meat is so grating that EVERYthing else is melodious by comparison.

• We keep hearing good things about this book from CSTV compadre Eric Mirlis called Being There.

• The Globe has one great Metro columnist remaining and what do they do with him? Promote him off of his column.

If it wasn’t for bad decisions, the Globe wouldn’t be making any decisions at all.

• Shots will be kissing the rings of the King and the Prince in Providence this evening. Quite looking forward to seeing Billy the Kid in the same room with Slick Rick, as the Kid is coming off back-to-back titles and a flirtation with the NBA.

• Don’t forget the Boston Sports Review Show on ESPN Radio 890 AM on Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. when Mike Salk, yours truly and producer, Dangerous Drew Brooks will mix it up for a couple of hours of hilarity and ACTUAL sports talk. This week’s feature guest at 9:20 will be the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy, who has a new book out and Keith Law from ESPN and Scouts Inc. in the 10 o’clock hour. So tune in while you tool around on the Saturday morning errands and give us a call at 866-ESPN-890. It’s not the only alternative, but it is the best one.


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