By David Scott
Boston Sports Media Watch

The Labor Day weekend did not bring resolution to WEEI 850 AM’s labor strife as John Dennis and Gerry Callahan will again not be on the air Tuesday morning, according to a D&C operative.

The D&C Lockout is now entering its fourth - and final - week. Both hosts’ contracts expire this week, meaning that if a new deal is not settled upon by next Monday, the duo is technically out of work and without income. The D&C camp is letting it be known that an invitation to negotiate has been extended by Entercom, but it is still not clear whether D&C will honor the request.

Relationships are strained between the two sides (chiefly over the Nassau “coup” that Entercom pulled off, eliminating D&C’s supposed best option) and even with a belief that both sides need each other, it’s still uncertain whether an agreement can be put in place that will satisfy all parties. There are tremendous egos involved here and feelings have been hurt all down the line.

Of course $-signs, incentive clauses and long-term deals have a way of negating emotional attachments and petty differences.

. . . Meantime, ‘EEI enters the most important months of Boston’s sports calendar with a rotating slew of mostly C-list talent in the morning drive and an audience that HAS to be growing sick of the substandard offering from such a Sports Leader such as 850. There is no way the next ratings book will be ask kind to ‘EEI as the last, Callahan-less data was. Even with few alternatives, the choice of sticking with a mostly moronic morning roster is likely forcing even the blindest of ‘EEI loyalist to stray from 850 between 6 and 10 a.m.

. . . Lest you think this is the only labor issue on the Entercom plate, there have also been rumblings of some shake-up at the Springfield affiliate WVEI 105.5 FM. Shots is efforting details from Entercom’s spokespeople-of-record.

• The Herald has re-designed its website and the move coincides with the dissolving of the Gatehouse content sharing agreement which several of the site’s bloggers referred to over the weekend. [John Tomase came out of the gate(house) quickly as he steps in for the departing Albert Breer with the bulk of "Point Aftering" now likely falling in Tomase's lap.]

The re-design (as of Monday night) has not been carried through to the blog pages of the site and the level of interactivity and user-generated content areas isn’t as prevalent as we’d like to see in a re-launch. The Media Center is a joke with no local partner in place to provide content (the way Boston.com has NECN and NESN). Sports, especially, need a video content element.

The look and feel is more modern, for sure but the Herald’s Web 2.0 incarnation is still a far cry from what it needs to be for the paper’s web transition to continue in earnest. We’ll anxiously await the complete roll-out of the new site and pay close attention to how the loss of Gatehouse content affects the Herald’s overall package.

• We’re willing to reserve judgment on the initial coverage of the Rodney Harrison situation since it broke during a Holiday weekend where player availability was limited, at best. But the HGH connection with Harrison is very likely just the beginning of what could be a league-wide problem and by virtue of Harrison playing in this town, it is the responsibility of local press to both pursue and quite possibly further the story with a vim and vigor reserved for major scandals and horrific events. If HGH is indeed the next big thing in performance enhancement (and/or recovery), then Harrison is the poster boy and as such his involvement needs to be examined to its fullest.

It could very well be that it’s not even a sports reporter’s story to dig on - maybe the enterprise people like the Globe’s Bob Hohler and newly shifted Shira Springer should be enlisted. At the Herald, it would seem to a prime opportunity to let Karen Guregian dig a bit.

Point is, Harrison’s admission - and his bold proclamation that no other Patriots are involved in such violations of league policy - is not the end of the story. It’s just the beginning and the locals have the burden of exploring every avenue. Here’s some background and recent stories that may help. Let’s also understand that this investigation by David Soares’ office dates back to February. The timeframe is important because it could give some indication of when (and where, i.e. at Gillette) Harrison was allegedly using the HGH.

Perhaps even more worthy of further investigation is the involvement of Wade Wilson, who is claiming he ordered the HGH for treatment of his diabetes. Shots had occasion to speak with a well-respected new York-based endocrinologist over the course of the weekend and the doctor - unfamiliar with Wilson’s case or claim - was quite dubious of the connection to HGH and the treatment of diabetes. In fairness, some studies do appear to indicate a possibility that HGH could aid in diabetes therapy. Still, there is a stench emanating from the involvement of Wilson and Harrison and there needs to be exhaustive follow-up or the locals will risk being perceived as “homers.”

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