By David Scott
Boston Sports Media Watch

Boston Herald sportswriter John Tomase will appear on Comcast SportsNet’s 10 p.m. “Sports Tonight” show on Monday and is expected to discuss his role in Spygate, according to a release from the network.

Touting the paid appearance with a subject heading of: “Tomase Makes First TV Appearance Tonight on Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight,” the email release promises that, “Host Michael Felger and guest co-host Sean Grande will interview Tomase, who will comment on “tapegate” for the first time since he issued an apology in the Boston Herald after Matt Walsh denied taping the Rams
Super Bowl walkthrough in meetings with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Sen. Arlen Specter.”

Tomase has been a regular contributor at CSN but has not been on-air since April 24 and has been used in a utility role by Herald sports editor Hank Hryniewicz since the mid-May apology. His Sunday notes duties have been curtailed (using wire copy instead) and Karen Guregian was the prominent Pats writer at the most recent off-season camp, although Tomase did attend parts of the camp.

. . . Felger and Grande are going to need to show some teeth or the entire exercise will be seen as nothing more than a Tomase Image Rebuild infomercial.

. . . The hyper-interactive CSNers appear to have passed on opening up a chat session for this hot-button topic.

. . . The Herald is a presenting sponsor of the “Sports Tonight” show.

• A class action by Bill Belichick, by the way, in signing the on-line guest book for Dan Pires, a Pats beat writer who passed away at the age of 52 last week. Pires’ funeral was held on Monday and donations may be made to: CIB/ Pires Education Fund, c/o Credit Information Bureau, 70 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick, RI 02888.

• The quiet bump of the Herald’s newsstand price to 75 cents began on Monday. I, for one, plan on saving my money and doing the Herald entirely digitally - except for Sunday beach and tailgate reading.

• Sean McAdam either had something that no one else had with his Manny/McCormick bombshell, or he was the only one brave enough to go with it. Incredible thing is that the ProJo’s sports editor Art Martone posted the McAdam note at 7:20 p.m. on Sunday and still, the competition didn’t have anything on it. The Globe had to settle for an early Monday morning follow-up (and link) from Steve Silva and then chase the story with Gordon Edes nabbing the 60s-ish McCormick for a mid-day post.

“Manny being Manny” is entirely separate from “Manny pushing an elderly gentlemen” and there should be no way the Sox can are allowed to brush this under the turf simply because the house organ was beaten (badly) on the nationally-significant story.

• The Herald’s Steve Buckley took over Boston sports TV on Sunday night, appearing on two sports shows simultaneously (on NECN and NESN). All Buck, all the time.

• Patriots season tickets arrived on Saturday and in addition to signaling the end of summer (which happens in earnest on July 4), the ducat delivery also gives an early glimpse into how the Pats are handling last season - despite an unprecedented 18-0 start: they are innoring it almost entirely.

An insert letter from the Stadium folks briefly mentions the February 3 outcome being “not what we hoped” and the 2008 Fan Guide letter from 15-year owners Bob and Jonathan Kraft doesn’t mention 2007 once. Instead, the team is looking ahead to its 50th anniversary celebration in 2009 and to continuing the sellout streak (now 149) this season.

. . . Game (and event) tickets depict 11 “Great Moments in Patriots History” from 1964, 1979 (56-3 over Jets), 1982 (Snow plow game), 1986 (Orange Bowl jinx-breaker), 1993 (Tippett’s last game for Andre Tippett Night Monday game), 1994, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007 (Brady to Moss record-breaker).

. . . “The Hall” at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon is heavily touted in the season ticket holder material as are the commercial aspects of the sprawling development on Route One.

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

Scott’s first book, with Memphis Coach John Calipari, is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2009.