In truth I can’t really afford to be coming out of my “book nook” for any amount of time, but two ongoing stories in Boston sports media need some assessing and Shots realizes it’s our official duty to analyze both (and some bonus topics for the new year).

To spice things up a bit, we’ll present those two stories (Globe v. NESN; Ordway v. Entercom) within the 2008 Shotties, given sporadically since 1990 for outstanding achievement in the realm of Boston sports media (and slightly beyond). As always, we welcome your intelligent comments and insight – buffoons need not apply. Have a happy new year and we’ll do our best to come back strong in the Spring time after we put our baby to bed.

The Shotties: A look back at the calendar year of 2008 in Boston sports media.

The Shotty for Least Stable Sports Media Relationship
TIE
A. The Boston Globe and NESN
B. Glenn Ordway and Entercom

The quiet cancellation of NESN’s “Globe 10.0″ in late December and the curious, semi-sign-off of Glenn Ordway were significant on many levels. By this time next year, we will likely look at both “events” as monumental days in the shaping of Boston Sports Media 2.0; hat’s how big the players in these two soap operas are and that’s how impactful the two stories will be on 2009.

First, the Globe’s battle with NESN:

A. Even before the Christmas Eve bombshell about the 17 Percenters looking to dump their Red Sox stake, the rift between the Boston Globe sports department and the Red Sox sports department (NESN) was widening – almost by the day. [For more confounding and confusing looks at the Globe's woes, we'd ask you to check here and here (for the astonishing Barclay's report).

The end of "Globe 10.0" got neatly buried in this Boston Globe's space-wasting, so-called "Media Column", with a two sentence explanation, saying "NESN announced. . . it will cease production of its original programming of "Globe 10.0" by the end of the year. The half-hour show, hosted by columnist Bob Ryan and featuring Globe writers, premiered on the network in June 2007."

Incredibly(!), NESN neglected to post the announcement on its own, pathetic press room page (and the network's oh-so-professional PR arm has long since stopped sending releases of any kind to Shots).

The move, initiated by NESN's higher-ups and delivered (awkwardly and clumsily, according to multiple sources) by Joel Feld, the network's executive vice president of programming and executive producer, was yet another sign of an eroding relationship between the Red Sox broadcast unit and the New York Times Company (dba here in Boston as the Boston Globe). It's a deterioration that was first made public when NESN severed its ties with the Globe on Boston.com, where its on-line presence had lived, and began its own mediocre site at NESN.com.

By dumping the Globe-branded thrice-weekly, half-hour show Feld and and Silent Sean McGrail further bruised egos on Morrissey Boulevard. The tension, Shots is told, has been escalated by the more frequent appearances by Globe personnel on Comcast SportsNet, NESN's direct competitor. We are told it also didn't sit well with Globe folks that both WEEI (Mike Adams) and Boston Herald (Steve Buckley) contributors were being used by NESN.

It's never been a secret that the paper's writers have had discomfort with the NYT Co.'s partial ownership of the Local Nine, but the mistrust and mis-communication between both sides has boiled over in recent months and the end of "10.0" can be seen as the water roiling over onto the stovetop.

For his part, when Shots spoke with Bob Ryan a couple of weeks back, Basketball Bob took the diplomatic approach to the 18 month run he was given. He said the powers-that-be informed him and his producer, Alan Miller, of the show's termination during the course of the week of Dec. 8.

Quite simply, Ryan was told, the move was purely financial. The show debuted in the summer of 2007 with Verizon as the presenting sponsor. That deal with Verizon expired in May, and neither NESN nor the Globe was able to lock down a sponsor to offset the costs of the largely in-studio production. [Ratings for the show were never spectacular, said one NESN insider, but on the days it served as the lead-in to Sox pre-games, it showed promise.]

Neither entity ever put the marketing muscle behind the project that was deserved to give it a legit shot in a difficult time slot (against local news and PTI on ESPN).

Ryan had evolved into a more-than-capable host within about six months of his debut. He – and Miller – used “PTI” and “Around the Horn” as their inspirations and created an enjoyable and informative 30 minute show that deserved a better fate. Ryan’s rapport with Charlie Pierce, Christopher L. Gasper and Lou Merloni began to take on regional similarities to the magic Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon create with “PTI” and the show really hit its stride over the past 10 months.

The much ballyhooed virtual set was never utilized to its full potential (although it is getting new life with “The Insitigators,” where three bartenders stand behind a counter and appear ready to serve drinks. Why are they standing? Why?) Whether it was technical snafus or a lack of commitment to the set, NESN certainly never gave the show all the resources it needed to succeed. They could have created a cornerstone original program, instead they played footsies with it and never gave it a real shot at succeeding.

The upshot is that Ryan will slide back into a 3 times weekly general columnist for the paper and told us he will continue to update his blog for Boston.com.

“I let the column slide,” Ryan admitted. “I haven’t been able to focus as much on the writing and I look forward to getting back to that.

“Listen, I’m a big boy about this,” he said. “This is why I always say that i would never have TV or Radio be my primary gig.”

But the blame does not lie with Ryan on this one, it lies with penny-pinching NESN and its continued curious decisions (vanilla “SportsDesk” anchor John Chandler and overmatched newbie Cole Wright come immediately to mind when thinking of other NESN missteps in ’08).

NESN wants everyone to think its New England’s version of ESPN, but the truth is, it’s a far cry from anything that is being done in Bristol.

And now, to The Big O. . .

B. If it wasn’t for bad timing, Glenn Ordway wouldn’t have no timing at all. With his contract expiring at Entercom, Ordway finds himself in a precarious place as the host of WEEI 850 AM’s afternoon drive, “Big Show.” Long-praised as the cornerstone of the ‘EEI Empire, Ordway and his representative are reportedly locked in delicate, drawn out and precarious negotiation with Entercom Emperors.

The problem is, Ordway has virtually no leverage. Sure, there are still Beantown rumors about an all-sports entrant on the FM dial hoping to nab the Big O and build a station around him. There has even been murmurs of a satellite gig for Ordway, but I think we can all agree he is a regional talent at best. Ordway’s lone, best option is to remain in the big chair with the Big Meatheads he babysits five times a week and get paid handsomely for doing just that.

Time and again, the people Shots has polled on the topic continue to point out that Ordway has no chance of getting what one insider termed “Dennis and Callahan money” in the current marketplace.

So Ordway has to decide whether he can take a “pay cut” from what he might have been able to land had the economy not gone in the dumper and whether his ego will allow for him to be, what he would probably term, “slightly underpaid.” If he’s banking on playing satellite radio or other terrestrial radio off of Entercom, he might as well give up now. No one can justify overspending for a “name” in this economic climate and Entercom has a very realistic replacement waiting in the wings at WEEI.com in Mike Felger.

Ordway is going to need to eat some humble pie and that’s never been a big part of the big fella’s diet. Still, Ordway never struck us as a dumb man and he surely knows what is at stake for the final chapter of his broadcasting career. Will he get STOOPID money? No. But he will have no problem maintaining a lifestyle befitting the King of Boston Sports Talk Radio.

The Tom Ellis Shotty for Overstaying Their Welcome:

Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti, WBCN 104.1 FM, The Patriots Rock Radio Network

The only thing sadder in local broadcasting than Tom Ellis’s NECN farewell last Saturday night is the fact that the earnest Ellis doesn’t realize how far removed he is from his glory days at the anchor desk.

Gil and Gino appear to be similarly delusional about their broadcasting chops.

WBCN and the Patriots (read: The Krafts) need to begin transitioning out of Gil and Gino and into more capable play-calling and color commentating. It’s no longer a matter of IF the Krafts need to initiate a change in the radio booth, it’s a question HOW they handle it. Even with the deep appreciation Shots has for the history of the duo, it’s painfully obvious that they are doing a disservice to the listeners, not to mention advertisers and the organization.

Look for the names of Mike Lynch (PBP), (hopefully) Sean McDonough (PBP), Gary Tanguay (PBP), Scott Zolak (color) and cerebral Tim Fox (color) to circulate WHEN the change is made. It would make sense if the Pats and ‘BCN do it quietly over the off-season.

(By the way, Tanguay’s turn on Celtics games as PBP man in Mike Gorman’s absence probably wasn’t the best audition tape for a potential booth job with the Pats. Tanguay is steady and suitable for studio work – not so much for PBP.)

[One note on the Tom Ellis farewell: NECN mainstay sports guy Jimmy Young tried to soften the shakiness of Ellis's farewell, and Young's knowledge of the market and Ellis's place in it, was sincere.

But the simple fact of the matter is that the Locals (or regionals) don't have room for the Tom Ellises, the Bob Lobels and the Joyce Kulhawiks. That list will surely grow in 2009, as WCVB looks to get younger and leaner, the way its competitors already have.]

The Shotty for the Worst Kept Sports Media Secret

An easy call, as this has to be the not-so-hush-hush departure of Jessamy Tang from almost-also-ran ESPN 890. Tang, it turns out, was well into in her second trimester of pregnancy when she quietly announced to the 890 staff in late Fall that she would be leaving the station all together. Apparently, employees had no clue of the baby bump.

Launched in the Fall of 2005, ESPN 890 has made very little – if any – headway in denting WEEI’s armor but Tang had weathered some storms, some departures and kept investors and ESPN interested enough to let her continue to putter with a weak signal and barely any marketing dollars.

Now, it will be the full-time function of WallerSutton’s WS2K Media to oversee 890, removing Tang and her J Sports from the equation.

Schrafft Building moles tell Shots that Route 81′s CEO, Ira Rosenblatt who will be the “new” Jessamy. You would have to think this is sink or swim time for the station and it’s a heck of a time to be trying to do either in these rough waters of the Second Great Depression.

Safe money says that 2009 will finally be the year that 890 admits it is nothing more than a tin can and string operation that embarrasses the national ESPN brand with each passing week.

The Shotty for the Biggest Waste of Weekly TV Air Time during Patriots Season

Awarded to any of the awful pre- or postgame offerings from WBZTV Channel 4 where Stammering Steve Burton and Steve “DeAwful” DeOssie are paired together. It’s car crash TV at its worst with every potential utterance a frontal assault on the English language. Add in the station’s insistence on using a constantly shaky handi-cam from the company-owned restaurant/bar in Foxborough and the end result was 16 weeks of unwatchable local football coverage.

The Shotty for Most Pleasant Surprise of 2008

WEEI.com

By any sensible standard, the initial months of the website built by Tim Murphy and Rob Bradford were a success for Entercom and even the hiccups have been forgivable. Do not underestimate what the “acquisition” of Curt Schilling meant and you can be sure that 2009 will have even more innovation and exploration by the MurphFord combo.

While I was quoted in the above-linked Phoenix story by Adam Reilly, I think it’s probably worth including some of my (long-winded replies) to Reilly’s questions that didn’t make his article. His questions are marked by “AR” and my responses are after “DS”:

AR: What do you think WEEI.com has done right?
DS: Let’s look at it this way: In less than half a year they have assembled a diverse and provocative line-up that includes Rob Bradford, Alex Speier, Curt Schilling, Will Leitch, Mike Felger and, incredibly, “Fitzy” (I don’t see his appeal, but I’m probably not supposed to).

That doesn’t even mention the in-the-trenches crew they’ve cultivated (Joe Haggerty on hockey was a GREAT freelance hire as was Paul Flannery on the Celts and more than I ever imagined, Mike Petraglia as a jack of all trades).

The web site has been able to inform, entertain and extend the WEEI brand into a space – The Web – that it desperately needed a presence in. They’ve had some some hiccups (design/layout/navigation is still a mess) and I still question that initial hire of Ron Borges, but if you’re asking for a grade on what they’ve done in a short period of time, in a marketplace that is trembling with fear, I’d say it’s a solid B-Plus. Even that should probably be grade-curved up because they’re doing it all under the direction of Entercom’s notoriously fickle regime. The Big E is making cuts all over, but they have been solidly behind the venture at WEEI.com and they need to be commended for that.

And don’t forget, Murphy and Bradford have consistently pointed to January/February as when they will be fully up and running with bells, whistles and maybe even a few more “big name” additions. You can’t give a true judgment until at least 9 or more likely 12 months. They started with virtually nothing as a foundation and now have a very sturdy base (including some eye-catching story art to tease the content).

AR: Where, if anywhere, do you think they’ve been less impressive?
DS: It’s not really “less impressive,” but some of the execution has been lacking because they don’t really have a full-time “Big Picture” guy. Rob and Alex are writing and editing a good deal and that takes time away (understandably so) from thinking about how to package and present stories and use WEEI’s multi-media resources. Instead of bringing on more out-front folks that don’t quite fit**, I’d like to see them bring in a dedicated content configurer who could focus on gaining eyeballs and increasing the site’s visibility. [NOTE: The addition of Christopher Price is an encouraging sign that could help in the area of big picture planning as Price will have editing duties.]

**Just as an aside, I haven’t seen the Leitch presence pay off. I emailed with Will early on about finding his groove within the context of both Boston and WEEI and he admitted then it would be a process. Mailbags have been weak and the columns haven’t quite knocked my socks off. The thing(s) he did with Flannery fell way short and he’s almost too timid as the “Outsider” – like he doesn’t want to offend the good people of Boston? Please. These people deserve to be offended with their boorish behavior.

I am leaning toward his shortcomings in this market being a result of WEEI’s Meathead Factor. There’s just too many Pete Sheppard worshippers that don’t understand the innate genius of Will and he may be trying to cater to them too much.

ALSO, From what I can gather, a good deal of the radio guys aren’t very receptive to being “used” on the web without compensation. Pretty ludicrous from a crew that should just be happy to be employed at all.

AR: And how much of a threat do you think they pose to the Globe and the Herald?
DS: They’ve already done loops around the woeful Boston Herald’s sports-web presence. That wasn’t even a contest. And, to their credit, they’ve certainly pushed the Globe on several fronts (live-blogging, for instance) but for now Boston.com’s reach and established name are too big and too entrenched to allow for a start-up like WEEI.com to truly register. If Entercom stays the course and lets Bradford manage his personnel and find a nuts-and-bolts overseer, it will be the Globe and WEEI.com duking it out for the No. 1 spot in the region’s sports infotainment delivery.

The Shotty for Most Frustrating Re-Design of a Sports Section

The Boston Globe (specifically Sunday notes columns)

Amid all the turmoil and comings and goings that Joe Sullivan has had to deal with for the Globies, it’s the static, glacially evolving sports page that may be the most egregious error of the past year. Instead of figuring out more and better ways to integrate the print product into the electronic copy, Sullivan’s crew continues to tiptoe around making bold changes and instead settles for inconsistent and incomplete moves. The print needs to drive the web and the web needs to drive the print and right now, that synergy is still lacking.

As for the debacle that is the Sunday notes columns, Sulivan allowed for some new designs and elements, but not all of them are treated equally across sports and the result is hard to follow, sloppily laid out notebooks that frustrate more than they inform. I’d like to see them blow up the notes entirely and figure out a way to make them relevant and newsworthy again. As you’d assume, I’ve got tons of ideas, but no one’s asked me for them. Yet.

The insistence on giving Stan Grossfeld space for his Sunday photo play of “What they were thinking?” is a Sully stubbornness at its worst. Each Sunday we ask, “What are YOU thinking by continuing with this feature?”

On the web side, there seems to have been a reluctance to embrace the Cover It Live software for live-blogging, something WEEI.com continues to experiment (successfully) with.

Sully is probably looking at one more major defection in the next calendar year (Rookie of the Year Marc Spears has drawn national interest, according to industry sources), but after he deals with that, he needs to get everyone on staff thinking about one thing and one thing only: Making the Globe sports page come alive on the web every hour of every day.

The Shotty for the Region’s Most Complete Media Talent

Mike Reiss, Boston.com/Boston Globe

Retire this award and call it “The Reissy.” We’ve long been unabashed and unyielding advocates for the work of Reiss, but this past year he took everything up a notch to a point where larger, more significant, national job opportunities are surely in the offing for the Umie stalwart. His blog skills are legendary, but he has spread his wings more on TV reporting for NESN and offering astute, measured and reasonable commentary on any number of outlets (chiefly for undeserving WBZTV and the passable WCVB “Patriots All-Acccess”).

The best part? Reiss still remains one of the most liked, most humble and most respected media members in the entire region – no easy task with the piranhas that populate the local scene.

• And finally, some quick Shotties in various categories:

Best New Blood in the Market
Adam Kilgore, Boston Globe – His baseball coverage has already been fantastic, but we’re actually looking forward to having him spice up the college hoops coverage in the region, especially with Boston as a host site in March. Sully can’t hog all the college hoops for himself.

Worst Old Blood in the Market
Pete Sheppard, WEEI – Sheppard will have to accept this on behalf of his fellow unqualified morons who he shares studio space with daily. It really is a group honor for the Meat Men, who continue to exemplify the very worst elements of sports coverage in the region and indeed, the country. When Sheppard appeared at the “VIP table” of a recent Phantom Gourmet episode with one of Eddie Andelman’s annoying offspring, we were left to wonder what exactly the VIP stood for? Very Ignorant or Virtually Incompetent Person?

Oh, and of course, Butch Stearns.

You’ll Be Missed Shotty
Take your pick here. The market lost Jeff Horrigan from the Herald when he abandoned the business and the city. Likable Laura Behnke, who shone for NECN and Comcast SportsNet headed west. The talented and capable folks over at CN8, where Shots always enjoyed playing TV dude, got discarded. Jeff Goldberg also got bumped at the Hartford Courant and Steven Krasner at the crumbling ProJo sports desk. Those are some tough losses to overcome for any market, but especially one that values quality people doing quality work.

Maybe the biggest loss of all was the little man from down South Coast way, Danny Pires. I still find myself wanting to hit Dan with a wise-ass email or phone call and long to read and hear his wise-ass response. Rest peacefully, DP.

You Won’t Be Missed Shotty
Hazel Mae, NESN – The power of a very good agent at IMG helped Hazel land a job with the January 1-launching MLB network but we stand by our assessment that Mae is far from a national talent. She will need a strong producer and good behind-the-scenes folks to make her a marquee talent for Tony Petitti’s gang.

Let’s also throw Babbling Bob Lobel into this category, although he will never fully go away, no matter how much we wish for it. And of course, despite a re-appearance this week, we say a hearty farewell to Mustard and Johnson.

And, for other reasons entirely, Bob Gamere.

Lastly, this is probably a good place to put the former Boston Sports Guy, Bill Simmons. What? He hasn’t gone anywhere? Oh. My bad. All those hissy fits and Shawshank rebellions during 2008 had me thinking Simmons just had to get out from under the wrath of the Mouse Ears.

Guess it was all just artistic differences. Maybe in Ought-Nine, Simmons can just appreciate how good he has it and focus on the writing that he can still do so well.

Most Questionable Moves by One Newspaper
The Boston Herald – From the (mis)handling of the John Tomase affair and the (mis)hiring of Ron Borges, the Wingo Wayers did some very tabloidy things over the course of 2008, but the payoffs have not been substantial and the paper continues to lag far behind in Web presence. They are the little train that could and we always like rooting for the underdog, but the Herald needs to start making some serious hay on the web side and spicing up its back page if it wants to have relevance in this town. The Herald hired Borges to be his provocative, bombastic self and instead they’ve been given Timid Ron – and they still have never addressed Borges’s boxing connections, despite still using him for coverage of fights put on by his former employer, Oscar De La Hoya. Readers deserved explanation when Borges was hired and they still deserve one today.

Funniest Oversight by a Local Media Organization.
The Tiny Member photo, Boston Globe.

Some other favorites from 2008 in Shots’ coverage:

Callahan v. Simers

Kimball v. Halloran

Sad exit from ProJo for Sean McAdam

Wilbon takes on Kimbo

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 and is now available for pre-order.

It’s not all that surprising that on Day One of Patriots Camp 2008, the Boston Globe (and Boston.com) proved to be THE place to go for Belinews and Brady banter. What is surprising is that the Boston Herald and it meager website couldn’t even muster the troops or the content to allow it to finish second. Instead, the Patriots’ in-house “news gatherers” provided runner-up coverage to the Globe’s team effort from Mike Reiss, Christopher L. Gasper and dot-com dazzler, Chris Forsberg.

In fairness, Karen Guregian was a one-woman blogging show and she also had her normal paper duties to account for. But the infrastructure (or lack thereof) at the Herald’s website gives them absolutely NO CHANCE of competing with the Globe, the Krafts (and, in the future, probably WEEI.com). There is no video (which the Globe is starting to load up on), little analysis (Reiss at the Globe expanding his blog/print role in that regard a bit) and no sense that the Herald’s “Point After” will be regularly updated.

. . . We did find these first two comments from the previous link to be revealing though – something to keep in mind with all this audio and video explosion – written words still have large value:

1. Hey… stop with the video updates… We need text and written updates. 75% of us are at work and cant watch video.
Posted by Damon July 24, 08 03:37 PM

2. I TOTALLY agree. TEXT ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Video Killed the Reese’s Pieces July 24, 08 03:47 PM

• It’s now official: Joe Haggerty doesn’t sleep. Haggerty has been all over the airwaves this week with Comcast SportsNet and WEEI 850 AM time figuring heavily into his schedule. He’ll also do a Friday night stint on CN8′s re-vamped “Out of Bounds Late Night” (11:30 p.m.). He’s probably another local guy who should be in the mix over at the Herald, if they want to get creative with the hire. It does – as we’ve stated all along – make the most sense to move Tomase to baseball (as Hank Herald is indicating he will).

The position at the Herald will have a lot of local suitors for sure, but the job is not likely to be a nationally attractive one with the supposed low payscale, sketchy health coverage AND the overall instability of the paper.

Not to mention that time is of the essence and having to wait while someone moves in from out of state would bring the Herald into a danger zone come baseball playoffs and the second quarter of the NFL season, which coincides with Celtics pre-season.

• ’EEI’s snag of multi-tool Mike Felger is already paying dividends, as Felgie joined Eric Frede and Haggerty from Foxborough. Hmmmm. “Felgie in Foxborough.” Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Or, wait, “Felgie in the Foxhole.”

We’ll stop now.

• With everyone doing the transcript thing these days, it strikes us that it’s probably time for a “Best of the Q&A” nugget instead of the full transcript being played so prominently. For instance, from the Brady transcript on Thursday, it might have been good to have an immediate post on the “Three Most Interesting Things Brady Said Today” instead of doing the full transcript (which both papers cut and pasted from Pats PR people).

Same would go for the Belichick presser. Ten minutes after he’s done, you could have a “Best of Bill,” and then post the entire transcript later.

There’s just a lot of repetition out there and the more these sites can differentiate themselves, the better off they will be in gaining market share. That’s the main reason we try to think these things through with you. It’s called “shaping the future” and it’s something we’re all doing regularly.

. . . The instant analysis of Reiss and the “Five Observations. . . ” are examples of what we’re talking about. The classic “Who’s Up and Who’s Down” works as a quick-hitter type of thing that users will latch onto quickly as well.

• No word from the 890 ESPN people on what they’re programming changes will be. Let’s put it this way: It will be unspectacular and stop-gap when it does emerge, so it’s hardly worth waiting for.

• We saw two separate local TV packages mentioning that Tom Brady lost his primo parking spot (earned from off-season workout attendance) but neither WCVB’s Mike Dowling nor WBZ’s Alice Cook thought to inform us of who in fact does have the space. Let’s hope the writers don’t make the same oversight in Friday’s notes columns.

It’s a little thing, but it’s so easy to remedy that it’s almost unforgivable. Both TV reporters could have easily thrown in the parking space’s new occupant in their package wraps. And both should have.

• Speaking of hiring decisions, there appear to be some snafus in the Gordon Edes to Yahoo! Sports saga that is now into its fourth month of confusion and turmoil.

It is believed that Edes’s appeal of his buyout denial is still dragging through channels at the New York Times Company. Meanwhile, things at Yahoo! remain very combustible and one trusted Shots confidant suggested that the uncertainty at the top of the company could have a ripple effect on hirings – especially ones that have hung in the balance for almost the entire baseball season.

If Yahoo! has done without an extra baseball guy to this point, who’s to say they even need one for the remainder of the season? There are mixed signals on the whole deal and Edes is probably the only one who REALLY knows what’s shaking.

Emails to Edes were not returned nor was an email to Yahoo! sports editor Dave Morgan, however early Friday morning one Shots’ source indicated that Edes-to-Yahoo! is nearing completion.

• Things are gloomy at the Hartford Courant for sure and now comes news that ex-Sox beat guy/recent Pats beat man, David Heuschkel was part of the post-buyout cuts this week. Said one Courant mole: “That means no more [original] Red Sox or Patriots coverage in the Courant after [Jeff Goldberg] finishes up on the Sox beat in October. . . there (is) no more Boston coverage on the horizon. Where once [the Courant] had both the New York and Boston markets covered, now they are a shell of their former selves. It’s one of the many tragedies hitting all the Tribune papers since Sam Zell and his massive debt took over. It’s a damn, damn shame.”

That it ’tis. That it ’tis.

• More than a few around Pats’ Camp noted the absence of the late Dan Pires. Pires was Mr. Camp to me. It’s where I met Dan and it’s where I grew to appreciate Danny. He ruled that Media Hill and roamed those grounds with a comfort-level achieved only by the few who truly master their vocation.

• Albert Breer wasted no time in getting back into Boston’s multimedia meat grinder when he popped up on Tuesday night’s Comcast SportsNet and was sporting the new chyron of “Albert Breer – SportingNews.com.”

. . . Clearly, TSN has a lot of catching up to do if they want to be a player in mainstream sports media sites but we liked the initial hint that they will be some version of an all-Michael Vick portal. With all the Atlanta connections at TSN, it makes sense to focus on something the editors and writers are well-connected to. Vick’s story is far from over and investing in it early could pay off later for TSN.

Overall, it feels like “The National, 2.0,” and I’m not sure that’s such a bad thing. “The First Digital Newspaper in Sports,” it bills itself on the masthead. I’m certainly willing to give it a go and the Coverleaf technology is easy to use.

. . .Tomase continues to contribute to TSN’s Inside Dish (page 15 in Thursday’s issue). Also the requisite Erin Andrews interview on Page 4 where she professes her love for Boston and Justin Timberlake.

. . . The Back Page is currently very weak. That will need some beefing up for sure. A columnist, we’d assume, but what about video or audio?

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.

With her final taping of Comcast SportsNet’s “Celtics Now” on Monday, Laura Behnke finished up her three-plus year run in the Boston market. Behnke bolts Boston this Saturday and will join the San Francisco Bay Area’s KNTV (NBC11) as the weekend sports anchor. Behnke, a University of Wisconsin graduate who grew up in Eagan, Minnesota, came to the market via NECN, but probably did her best work for CSN, where she teamed with Donny Marshall on the Celts weekly magazine show (in addition to a studio role for Celtics’ coverage). She also did fill-in work with WEEI 850 AM in recent months.

“It is sad to be leaving Boston,” said Behnke via email late Thursday. “I have been incredibly fortunate and am incredibly thankful for every opportunity I’ve been given at NECN, CSN and WEEI.”

While Hazel Mae’s departure grabs the gossip page headlines, Behnke’s exit is the one which actually diminishes the market’s talent pool the most.

. . . Another CSN contributor, Dave Briggs (the ex-WHDH TV sports guy), is popping up in a new spot as he is two months into to working with Fox NewsChannel’s weekend “Fox Friends” morning show. Briggs continues to do work at CSN, but is hoping the FNC gig turns into something. In the brief glimpse we got of Briggs the News Guy last weekend was very strong. He’s not simply a sports guy, that’s for sure.

“I am co-hosting both Saturdays and Sundays (at FNC), and Friday each of the next two weeks,” said Briggs in an email exchange earlier this week. “Honestly, the first time I read a single news story was live on national TV, but I quickly found out I love it.”

Briggs’s agent connected with Bill Shine and things just kind of developed over time. “I met with Roger Ailes last week and the man is incredible,” said Briggs.

• This is actually the start of Shots’ Summer Respite. Not sure how long that’s going to last – and history says something will break that forces me out of said Respite – but we need some time away from all the shenanigans that now envelope this sports media criticism game.

A few things of import before we ride our scooter along the Atlantic head position our beach chair at friendly angles:

• I will most miss the periodic voice mail messages from Dan Pires where he called me a “mishoogie” and instructed me to call him. I’ll also miss the out-of-the-blue email with a link or attachments that made me blush or giggle or both.

Mostly though, I’ll miss the the idea of having a guy like Pires offsetting all the self-important phonies walking the corridors of Patriot Place.

RIP you mishoogie, you.

• Deadspin founder Will Leitch leaves his influential web site this week – for the MSM – and the Mattoonie did not go quietly.

Which was nice to see, if not a bit discomforting to watch unfold.

In four memorable days of the FareWill Tour, he spoke of thick skin, nice guys and a three year history that sure did have its share of “moments.” The site will continue – our bet is AJ Daulerio takes over – but the exit of Leitch marks a bit of an opening up in the Wild West of Edgy Sports Blog Land.

For quite sometime now, we’ve found ourselves going to The Big Lead with more frequency and fervency than we ever went to Deadspin with. Maybe that’s because TBL hooked us on its interviews and some of its more critical analysis of the media biz players. Perhaps it’s because we had one too many Carl Monday jokes.

At the very least, we need to thank Leitch for all his past links and wish him the best of luck moving forward. (The Virtual Roast or Vroast was almost too much to handle. Well-played.)

• With all the bleak news for Boston’s paper this week, let’s not forget the Hartford Courant’s inherent problems that seem to have the HC spiraling downward as well.

• One nugget to chomp on while we’re gone: Glenn Ordway, “The Big O” of WEEI, is up for renewal this summer. The Big O needs to get the Big $ for what will likely be his final substantial deal in the market and the negotiations promise to make the Summer of ’07 “Dennis & Callahan” imbroglio look like a game of Chutes and Ladders.

Thing is, Ordway has even more juice than D&C.

Jason Wolfe should have kept the bidding open a bit longer for the Doc, sports drink-splashed, dress shirt.

• Stay in touch and stay out of the direct sunlight.

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.