Shots is not quite ready to re-start regular Friday posts, but the confluence of buzz surrounding Chad Finn, Dan Shaughnessy, Bill Simmons and Dick Albert offered too many fish in too small a barrel for my blogging soul.

In the meantime. . .

• Let’s not look lightly upon Chad Finn’s widely viewed takedown of the Guest Street Goons.

When a single post generates more comments (and possibly more hits) that Boston.com’s uninspiring “OT” blog has probably had in its existence, it’s worthy of our collective attention. (The festering soap opera will be given even more plot lines on Friday when Finn takes part in a Noon chat at Boston.com.)

Beyond the agreement (from the sane) and outrage (from the LCDs) Finn sparked, his unrestrained attack on Entercom’s Sports Leader (radio side) could also signal the proverbial gauntlet having been thrown by the Globe. If there’s going to be a sports media war in this town, it certainly isn’t going to include the Boston Herald or any other of our local pretender sites.

It will be waged by the fledgling WEEI.com and its radio sibling against Boston.com. They are the only two with the brains, brawn and Benjamins to dig trenches and support troops.

While insiders on Morrissey Boulevard indicate the Finn column wasn’t part of any calculated strike against Entercom, the overnight metrics it has surely generated will certainly (hopefully) have heads spinning throughout the newly-formed New Revenue Team . If they can’t recognize a potential revenue-generating feud against 50,000 watts of ignorance, the NRT will be DOA.

The time is right for both sides to start rattling some cages and separating themselves from the have-nots. Why not stoke the flames between long-time rivals when the consumer is hungriest for distractions from the bleakness of reality?

WEEI.com has a well-rounded (if Leitch-less) roster of contributors and once they finally get around to introducing the new design, WEEI.com will be in a position to consistently compete player-for-player with the Globe. (Although Bob Ryan remains a trump card for the Old, Graying Lady.)

Likewise, the Globe has seen the power of the Internet on the sports side (see: Reiss, Finn, et al) and a good, old-fashioned media war against the loudest shouters of ‘em all (WEEI’s radio rabble-rousers) has potential to be, as one of our favorite PR guys likes to say, “a game-changer.”

The reaction to Finn’s missive is no aberration – this city has strong feelings about the lone, true sports talk radio station in the region and the build momentum off that passion would behoove both media conglomerates.

It’s a shame really, because the role of a fight-picker should really be played by the tabloid in town, but the Herald missed the Internet boat and have been swimming out to it – against the raging tide – ever since. From its sporadic early blogging days to the lack of the simplest of website innovation (hello, original video??), the Herald is positioned to be nothing more than the little paper that could – or perhaps can’t. God Bless the Herald for staying scrappy but to think they can ever be anything more than a periphery player with the skeletal staff they employ is pure lunacy.

(I’m still having trouble believing this, but it is confirmed by two separate parties with intimate knowledge that the Herald has been interviewing candidates for a slot containing the Pats’ beat. How they can get away with bringing in new blood – even with unfilled positions – is a bit baffling. Even more perplexing? The number of candidates willing to wend their career through Wingo Way. A risk at any paper, for sure.)

As for a WEEI/Globe escalation of activity, I say, “Bring it on.” Something has to shake up the status quo in this town and if Chad Finn’s WEEI Manifesto is it, then let ‘er rip.

(We feel it necessary to vividly separate the radio side of WEEI from the Web side and to emphasize that distinction in no uncertain terms. Tim Murphy and Rob Bradford have taken a reasoned approach to grabbing market share with WEEI.com. The real culprits we blame for Idiot radio are the majority of Big Show non-talent.)

That said, the battle we be joined on the websites and we’re anxious to see how far both sides will be willing to go.

• You’ve got to admire the commitment and unyielding efforts by the DSW gang in its dogged pursuit of pointing out the lowlights of the current portion of Dan Shaughnessy’s once-esteemed writing career. I do, however, wonder why they get to have all the fun? Seems selfish to me, so I figured I add to DSW’s long-list of self-plagiarism from the increasingly nasty, Shaughnasty:

Thursday’s offering from Curt Schilling’s BFF, reminded us of a column we’d read before. Maybe even twice before. Sure enough, his Thursday column is another in the long line of what we’ll call, “Dan Discover Collegians In Awe and Taking Pictures” pieces. Witness, the annual Shaughnessy-penned columns we are treated to in late February/early March:

March 2, 2007
Hed: Red Sox Feast on Collegians

Dan’s Checklist:
1. Use of “pasty” in some form to describe fair-skinned, winter-paled student athletes from the Northeast
Yes. “Beckett faced seven pasty-white Northeastern University batters. . .”

2. Reference to photos and/or autographs which players will relish for years
No. But did get to reference the “indoor” workouts of the college guys, something he uses again in ’08′s masterpiece.

3. Quote from a player (preferably a senior) indicating the supercalafragilisticness of playing against big-leaguers
Yes. “It’s an unbelievable experience,” said senior captain Dan Milano. . .

February 29, 2008
Hed: Mismatch made in heaven; Northeastern Gets a Whiff, and is Simply Awestruck

Checklist:
1. Use of “pasty” in some form to describe fair-skinned, winter-paled student athletes from the Northeast
Yes. “The pasty Eagles and Huskies. . .”

2. Reference to photos and/or autographs which players will relish for years
Yes, both. “. . . there will be photos. And autographs. . . ”

3. Quote from player (preferably a senior) indicating the supercalafragilisticness of playing against big-leaguers
Yes. “This is living the dream,” added (senior Ted) Ratliff. . . “These are guys we idolize.”

February 26, 2009 (linked above)
Hed: Lasting Images for BC

Dan’s Checklist:
1. Use of “pasty” in some form to describe fair-skinned, winter-paled student athletes from the Northeast
No. And to his credit, Dan did get rolling with a bit of a new angle focusing on an oft-injured sophomore – but he abandoned the theme immediately after the jump and got back into his comfort zone from the Shaughnessy Mad-Libs collection.

2. Reference to photos and/or autographs which players will relish for years
Yes. In large doses. “. . . for the rest of his life (Dane Clemens) can tell people he got David Ortiz out.. .” and later, “. . . a lot of photo-ops around the cage.”

3. Quote from a player (preferably a senior) indicating the supercalafragilisticness of playing against big-leaguers . . .
Yes. “This is awesome,” said Eagles first baseman/closer Mike Belfiore.
(Sadly, Belfiore is listed as a junior. Maybe next year when the lefty reliever/first baseman is a senior and Dan recyles like Cambridge, he can be quoted again!)

. . . Heck, everyone who writes long enough starts to repeat themselves. We acknowledge that. But even beyond repetition and an apparent lack of “institutional memory,” the bigger question is how – for three straight years – can Dan not dig up a better column angle than “pasty boys play against idols?”

Is it really too much to have a guy search under the tarp for something different? Is it?

And if it is, why the heck does he need to be there in the first place? Just run a “Best of. . . ” and save the crucial budget dollars.

. . .On top of his lack of creativity, Shaughnessy (and Joe Sullivan) are guilty of not including a 17-percenter-like disclaimer that Dan’s son Sam is listed as a sophomore for the BC club. If there’s not an ethical reason for such a tag-line to the yearly column, there is certainly a moral obligation. It’s not exactly going to take up the space of a brilliant new Shaughnessy witticism. Here it is for use with next year’s edition: “Editor’s Note: The columnist, Dan Shaughnessy, has a son, Sam, who currently plays for the Eagles baseball team.”

. . . Still waiting for word of further departures from Sully’s Staff, but for now it’s worth noticing the lack of Jim McCabe (now at Golfweek in another of the long line of unexplained or un-mentioned goodbyes not worthy of an editor’s note). With the biggest sports story of the week – Tiger Woods’s return – the Globe used an un-datelined recap from mystery staffer Michael Whitmer on Thursday and the website was using AP as of 3:00 a.m. Friday morning on Tiger’s flameout.

• I’m not saying a thing about him being a prima Donna and I’m even going to give heavy praise for both the Dooze Farewell and his latest for the Mag.

But I will mention how confused I am by the new “Follow Your Sports” ad campaign for the “new” ESPN.com. The former Boston Sports Guy is not a sport I care to follow, thank you. Although with all his subtle jabs and double meanings, it is sort of like a scavenger hunt and I’m sure that’s got a pro league somewhere. (Oddly silent stretch from the FBSG’s own special site for spit-balling the teacher.)

• Why was I sadder to see Dick Albert go than Bob Lobel? And how much longer before the sweeping of the local TV oldies is fully complete? Preemptive bye-byes to Mike Lynch, Mike Dowling, Jack Williams and probably a few of the Boomer Broadcasters. Just don’t take our Maria, you hear me?

• Finally! Mazel Tov Tom, Gi and the entire blended fam.

This will undoubtedly be the thing the Big bOzos cling to: “. . .Her three dogs also wore matching Dolce & Gabbana floral lace collars. . . ”

You know what, if my bride-to-be looks like Gi and I’m as in love with her as Tommy appears to be, I’d wear the damn collar myself. Not afraid to admit it either.

• I really hope Bobby Knight realizes how good he’s going to be if he sticks with TV and how insane it would be to take another head job. Once they get him away from brutalBrent Musburger and with Dan Shulman (they’ll be together for Cal-UCLA on Saturday night), he has the potential to be Al Maguire-like with a couple more ounces of self-deprecation and another year of seasoning.

. . . Hubert Davis, on the other hand? He’s got to rig of giggles before he can take the next step.

• Too bad no one in Boston has the stones to have written this one. I just want to know how Danny got Doc to accept this reclamation project. Phil Jackson wouldn’t have been force-fed the volatile guard. Neither would Gregg Popovich.

I’m just sayin.

• “Globe 10.0″ on Boton.com wasn’t quite ready for its ‘webut,’ but they’ll get it worked out. At some point, a sponsor will want to attach itself to the re-incarnation of what NESN quit on. It’ll just take some time.

. . . Hey, and what happened to NESN’s “The Instigators’” technilogically-enhanced set and the Podiums of Instigation? Now Mouthy, Bingo and Brick are on the Jordan’s furniture love seats and each combatant leans forward on the edge of their seat to roughhouse about the hockey topics. Sit back, fellas. Relax a bit.

• I admit it. I got a chuckle out of the debut of the “Heidi Watney and Snackfood Sophia Fight the Gator” webisode. But the unfortunate wording at the NESN site (and in Watney’s blog) makes an unnecessary and careless “stalker” reference. This is what happens when websites have little or no editing or oversight, but still behave like the operations that do. It happens everywhere a media entity (usually TV) tries to get all bloggy and edgy by having “talent,” interns and wannabes create content.

The general rule for mainstream (read: multi-million dollar subsidiaries) sites has to be: if it’s borderline offensive, use something else. It’d be nice if the blogosphere would adhere to such guidelines, but we know that horse has left the barn.

• This was awful news for UVM athletics and a very valued member of the Shots Loyalists. Fortunately, he too will “bounce back.”

• Great to share some time with you. Now back into the Editing Cones of Silence.

Enjoy the Madness.

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.

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.

We thought long and hard about temporarily suspending our book-writing sabbatical for the sole purpose of once again pointing out the (recurring, laughable) prima donna ways of the former Boston Sports Guy, Bill Simmons. Really, we did.

But when we got the following, carefully crafted three-sentence statement from an ESPN spokesperson (Paul Melvin) on Sunday night, we felt compelled to sort through the smoke ESPN puffed in the face of Simmons.

[BACKGROUNDER: In a nutshell, on Saturday, Simmons used his own, personal website to vaguely explain why his regular ESPN.com Friday picks column wasn’t running – and to give his weekly picks (along with the Sports Gal/Wife’s). With spite dripping from each word, Simmons wrote at his personal blog: “. . . Please know that I handed in that column as scheduled – on Thursday night, on time, like I always do — and on Friday afternoon, ESPN.com decided not to run the column. These are the facts. . .”

Trying to avoid a fuss – which is already brewing – ESPN would only reply to Shots two requests for comment with, “Editorial decisions are made every day about what content does and doesn’t appear on the site, when it runs and how it appears. This is no different. Our relationship with Bill continues to be a great one and he continues to be a singular, central voice that plays a very important role at ESPN.”

Using our Bristol Campus decoder rings, we loosely translate that response to: “This SOB is bitching and moaning again?!?! Wasn’t he just given months off to write his book?!?! Doesn’t he ALREADY have one of the best jobs at the Dot-Com – if not on the Internet?!?!? Hasn’t he gone back to Kimmel yet?”

PrimaSimmons – who was forced to dump a porn star dude earlier in the week – apparently is having yet another case of happy feet from the Left Coast headquarters of Simmons Inc. And you know what? That’s fine.

But why do we have to hear about it every time? Why does it always have to manifest itself in swipes and spitballs from the Sports Guy? Why does he have to take subtle digs and use phrases like “these are the facts?”

Who was disputing they were the facts, Simmer? Only you, at this point.

Can’t you hammer out your issues with your editor behind the curtain and not bring it into your writing (which, in fits and starts, is still some of the best stuff on the Web. Especially pertaining to the Celtics).

Everyone’s got issues in this economy, Bill. Everyone’s fighting The Man. Life sucks.

But not everyone wants to hear of the Sports Grouch’s inherent problem with being paid handsomely to write and yap about his buddies, his dad and his crummy life as an Internet hero.

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.

The rapid evolution of WEEI.com continues and we’re not even a month into the new incarnation. Content has been bountiful, integration with the radio side has been almost seamless (see: the John Dennis ‘scoop’ from Wednesday AND the dot-com branded Saturday morning show) and there’s even big-name sponsors already jumping into the fray with the big bank backing of WEEI.com’s blogger contest.

That doesn’t even take into consideration the incredibly lively and enjoyable City Hall offering from Red Sox Mayor, Sean Casey. We’ll whet your whistle with 90 seconds of Big Papi At the Movies:

As one respected observer commented over the Holiday Weekend on the shores of Nantasket, “Look at what WEEI.com has done in a few weeks and look at what NESN.com hasn’t been able to do with,” the “Hit It” campaign for its website.

Point being, NESN appears to only be promoting itself and its programming, while WEEI.com is establishing a voice and an identity. (That’s a broad overview and certainly, some portions of NESN.com are equal to or better than those of WEEI.com, but it’s safe to think that ‘EEI.com is on the express route to No. 2 in the market for sports information delivery – to Boston.com.

• Erin Andrews appeared to be sporting some Paulie Walnuts highlights and streaks in hair during her 6 p.m. hit from Vanderbilt on Thursday’s SportsCenter, and for the first time in our natural, Andrews-born life, we went, “Ewwwwwww.”

• Finally, it appears we have closure on the Gordon Edes exit from the Boston Globe – a saga that took the better part of one-third of a calendar year to unravel. Edes confirmed to Shots last week that his ERISA appeal of the Globe’s buyout offer was denied.

“So the Globe saved themselves the equivalent of 80 bucks a week for the 12 years I busted my butt for them,” said Edes in an email correspondence over last week. “It took them just two weeks to replace me w/(Adam) Kilgore/promoting/Amalie (Benjamin). . . their decision cost me thousands. . .”

(If Edes’s math is correct, the denial cost him nearly $50,000 [calculating $80 per week at 52 weeks in a year = $4,160 annually; then, 12 (Edes’ tenure as a Globie) at the yearly rate for a Total of $49,920. Edes used an attorney as well, so he also had legal costs to bear.

The buyout application was denied, according to Edes, because Sports Editor Joe Sullivan deemed Edes “indispensable” to the paper.

More likely, however, Edes ruffled some feathers on Mo Boulevard by letting it be known he was leaving for the big Y! in the Sky, Yahoo! Sports. When the higher-ups got wind of Edes’s plan to “double-dip,” the paper dug in its heels.

Bygones are now bygones and Edes is in a better place with greater exposure; and the Globe has snagged Tony Massarotti to soften the blow (his debut with Bob Ryan this week on “Globe 10.0″ was the show’s most promising pairing since Bob Neumeier teamed with Ryan for Battlin’ Bobs).

The whole Edes episode is a cautionary tale of just how precarious the waters of the Newspaper Downsizing ocean have become.

At least one other recognizable local sports scribe is currently experiencing his own drama over an impending separation from his employer and the positioning and posturing currently at play are so similar to the Edes scenario in several ways. Maybe most of all, the circumstances mean that another domino in the Old Media/New Media universe will fall and more shifting will take place in the marketplace.

. . . The Eagle Tribune layoffs will hit the sports desk, but it still hasn’t been divulged who, specifically, will be affected at the paper. (One visit to that website tells you all you need to know about how far behind the Eagle-Trib is. Jeesh. Worst. Sports. Landing. Page. EVER.

• Couple of add-ons to the now-must read and must visit Jessica Heslam from Thursday’s Boston Herald:

1. Owned and operated, Fox 25′s newest fox, Sara Underwood is, of course, married to multi-media man Mike Felger (WEEI, WEEI.com, Comcast, et al). The duo is once again the No. 1 media couple in Boston, and they have the potential to rival the city’s all-time media power couple, Nat and Chet. Mike’s going to burn out on sports at some point and some creative sort at one of the locals (and FOX 25 is a prime candidate) will pair Felgie and the Missus as news anchors and they will make a run at WCVB’s all-timers, C&N.

2. The re-signing of Kathryn Tappen extension at NESN could be the equivalent of a “bat signal” from the Watertown satellite dishes. Foremost, it signifies that NESN has liked the progress Tappen has made in her two years and rightfully so. Tappen, who is engaged to a hockey journeyman, Jay Leach, has improved in every facet and is probably ready for a call-up to the No. 1 property on the network – the Red Sox.

Shots is told there might even be the temptation to swap Heidi Watney with Tappen and let Watney go the route of Bruins studio host until she becomes steadier in all areas. Watney, it’s safe to say, has not enamored herself to all the NESN suits in the early going, and the Jason Varitek murmurs haven’t helped things.

. . . Heslam forwards the salacious Julie Donaldson story a bit with this update. The smoking gun (and potential bargaining chip, it would seem) is the supposed existence of a sex tape. Heslam has been on top of the sad tale from jump street.

But I’m still not convinced Lattimore is currently a Slamball player because I’m not convinced Slamball still exists!

• Had to like the ESPN counter-program to McCain on Thursday night: No. 24 South Carolina and the Ole Ball Coach taking on feisty Vandy.

That my friends, Red State conundrum for thousands upon thousands.

• Pats Mania is sweeping all outlets and Comcast SportsNet has some guns-a-blazin’ with, as their release touted, “New England’s top football writers and sports personalities such as Former Patriots Christian Fauria and Steve DeOssie; NBCSports.com’s Tom Curran; WEEI.com’s Ron Borges; Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks; The Sporting News’ Albert Breer and ESPN’s Andy Gresh share their Patriots insight.”

Breer will also be the regular co-host with Kevin Winter on 890 AM’s “Monday Night Countdown” (7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) live from a West Bridgewater establishment. That show would seem to have a more realistic shot to register a blip for ESPN Radio than the Sunday morning (10 a.m. to Noon) show with Winter and Boston Metro’s Christopher Price that will do battle with established, strong-signalled offerings from BOTH flagship WBCN 104.1 FM and WEEI 850 AM. During home games, that show will be live from a car dealership on Route 1 in Foxboro.

• A very close – and very astute – Friend of Shots stumbled across a gem from Gerry “Scooter” Callahan that ran in the Boston Herald 17 years ago (this week the station celebrated its own “banner 17″ as an all-sports outfit).

It ran – at a now-unheard of 933 words – on August 7, 1991 in the Herald. My favorite portions are in bold.

© 1991 Boston Herald Library. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights reserved.

In a little less than a month, WEEI-AM will become the first all-sports station in the Boston radio market. The station is owned by the Celtics and already carries both Bruins’ and Celtics’ games during the winter. The rest of the air time will be filled with the occasional out-of-town or college game as well as a wide variety of talk shows and syndicated sports programs. Formerly the only all-news station in Boston, WEEI is now busy laying off everyone who doesn’t wear a baseball cap to work.

The Celtics somehow squeezed Eddie Andelman under their salary cap, so in the afternoon the station will feature the most established talk show host in the city. It is assuring to know that for at least a few hours a day the station will not be taking sports too seriously. Along with Eddie, Andy Moes will probably hold his own in the morning, and veterans such as Craig Mustard and Glenn Ordway will not embarrass themselves in their respective slots. Unlike WEEI under its present format, the station may soon be worth listening to even if a war hasn’t broken out in the last few minutes.

What about the other 10 or 12 hours a day? Will they hire generic hosts with cute nicknames who talk about hockey in the summer, subscribe to USA Today, and rate Bill James as their favorite author? Will they have same dozen callers who become close, personal friends with the host? Can they go around the clock with jock talk and not wind up sounding like this?

“It’s 2:27 a.m. and it’s time to take a call. Charlestown, you’re next on Sports Spew with the Scooter!”

“Hello, Scooter? Am I on the air? Hello? ?!”

“You’re on the air. Go ahead, Charlestown.”

“Yeah, Scooter, I’m calling from Charlestown. I’m a first-time caller, and like I was telling you last time I called, I’ve been a season ticket holder for 37 years and … Hello? Are you there? Can you hear me?”

“I can hear you. Turn down your radio, you moron, and make your point.”

“Who you callin’ a moron, moron? Me and my boys will come down there and kick your scrawny &*%$#@ …”

“And you’re next, on WEEI! Go ahead, Boston.”

“Yo, Scootman. We’re, like, over here at, like, Northeastern University and, like, we’re partying, dude. Yeah! Paaaaarty!”

“Good for you, Northeastern. Now what’s your question or comment?”

“Comment? Well, like, I only got one comment: Kick butt in the Beanpot! Yeah! Paaaaarty!”

“It is 2:36 at Sports Spew and next up, we have a call from a stolen car that is being chased the wrong way at high speed down the Mass Pike. What’s on your mind, stolen-car phone?”

“I don’t know about you, Scooter, but I’ve had just about enough out of Irving Fryar. The guy’s nuts, man. He’s got a death wish. They gotta trade the bum.”

“We’re losing you, stolen-car phone. Thanks for the call and good luck in prison. Let’s take one more call before we bring you go to our first guest. It’s our old friend, Ngxyeeb, at 7-Eleven in Chelsea. What’s on your mind, Ngxyeeb?”

“Hello, Mr. Scooter. I think Uruguay will win the World Cup. What you think?”

“Well, Ngxyeeb, I think you’re right. Brazil and Italy have some talent on the back line, but Uruguay has better corner kickers. Thanks for the call and save me a cheese Danish, old buddy. Let’s see, it’s 2:48 a.m. on Sports Spew, and it’s time to welcome our special guest. His name is Bobby “Bentnose” Boyle and he’s a scout for the Winnipeg Jets. Welcome to the show, Bentnose.”

“Thanks, Boomer. It’s great to talk to the people back in Austin. I grew up in Montana, and I think that’s right near Austin.”

“That’s BOSTON, Bentnose. Anyway, let me ask you first about the Jets. A lot of our listeners are wondering who might step up and help the Jets win the tough Smythe Division?”

“Well, Skeeter. We’ve got a kid named Sal out of Saskatoon and a guy named Frank from Frostbite Falls. They’re both tough cookies. I look for big things out of both of them.”

“Thanks for joining us, Bentnose. We’ve got to take a break now. When we come back, we’ll try to think of something a little more interesting.”

Did you know there are only 44 sounds in the English language? Did you know they only use three of them on this show? Did you know you’re brain is turning to Maypo? We could teach you to read, but, hey, why bother?

Are you down, depressed, lonely? Are you considering suicide? Well, we’d like to tell you to call their Samaritans, but since you are listening to hockey talk at 3 a.m., you’re probably a lost cause.

“OK, welcome back to Sports Spew with the Scooter, and in the next hour, we’re going to discuss a real hot topic in sports today: Golf ball dimples – do we really need 360 of them? Back to the phones, and you’re next, Charlestown.”

“Hello? Scooter? Am I on the air? Hello?”

Six years later, Callahan got his morning show with John Dennis. Now, eleven years later, Callahan’s farce is THE force in a city that used to be run by the newspapers.

• Lastly, I have taken a lot of heat in certain circles for first advocating for and then defending the choice of Dick Vitale as a Contributor to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. This is not the day to lose that argument again. Instead, let’s just congratulate the Jersey kid done good and we can agree to disagree on his contributions to the game of basketball.

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.

In yet another stunning blow to the battered Boston Herald sports section, general columnist and Red Sox specialist, Tony Massarotti is leaving One Herald Square, crossing over Route 93, will land smack dab on Joe Sullivan’s sports staff at the Boston Globe/Boston.com. Adam Reilly at the Phoenix had the inter-Globe memo announcing the move on Thursday evening and Bruce Allen did a nice follow-up as well (including bumps for Amalie Benjamin and Chad Finn) and so did Dan Kennedy.

Massarotti, who was at Fenway last night for the Herald, spoke of the move to Scott’s Shots in the 9 o’clock hour.

“I gave my notice (Thursday) to Hank Hryniewicz,” said Massarotti. “I’ll still do the Baltimore and New York series for the Herald and should start with the Globe at the beginning of next month.”

Massarotti, who has danced with the Globe before, will fill a mainly on-line role for Boston.com’s Red Sox coverage, but there is also a print element to the job as well.

“The idea is to have a bit of a hybrid position between the web site and the paper with an on-line emphasis,” he said. “It will be largely baseball to start but there’s no real restrictions on this position. There are million things to do with it. There will be a lot of trial and error.

“This issue of what my job title would be came up during (talks with Sullivan),” Massarotti said. “I don’t know if there is one for what I’ll be doing and I don’t care if there isn’t.”

The switch mean that Mazz’s relationship with WEEI 850 AM will have to cease (due to Globe policy forbidding appearances on the station, in place since 1999) and it will also diminish whatever role Mazz had on Comcast SportsNet, as he will now be have to give first dibs to NESN.

Interestingly, Massarotti confirmed to Shots that he had been in “extensive” discussions with WEEI.com as well. “Eventually, I had to look at it and say that WEEI.com is a start up. The Boston Globe is a long-established media outlet and they’re not going anywhere,” he said. “I couldn’t see leaving a place I had been for almost 20 years, to go to what is basically a start-up.”

. . . In one fell swoop, Sullivan continues Wingo Way’s Summer of Discontent by stealing another of Hank Herald’s Top 3 talents AND enhancing his own staff’s recently-diminished Sox coverage. This is the media world’s equivalent of losing a superstar within the division and for Hank Herald it is another is a series of blows that leaves his already-thin staff looking gaunt.

Mazz, a 1989 Tufts alum, has been at the Herald since 1989 and has blossomed during the rise of Boston’s Big Three, frequently appearing on ESPN (which will continue) and somewhat regularly stirring up the masses. In 2001, he was named the best sportswriter in Massachusetts, according to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, becoming the first Herald sportswriter to win the honor over a decade. He covered UMass basketball during the Calipari days and in 1994 slid over to the Red Sox beat for the paper.

“I’ve literally known (Hank Herald) since I was 17 years old,” said Mazz, who grew up in Watertown and Waltham. “The hardest part of this whole thing was leaving the Herald. Hank is a friend of mine, not just my boss. But (the Globe position) was a unique opportunity and I couldn’t say no to it.

“This is a progressive and proactive attempt to integrate the paper and the web,” he said. “Too often at papers, there is a segregation between the two sides. Hopefully this will erase that line.”

. . . One Globe mole summed up the news this way, “It’s nice to be talking about an addition (for a change).”

True dat. In these days of lay-offs, buyouts and paper sales, it is interesting to note that the Boston Globe is finding a way to hire high-level talent by putting them on the web side and simultaneously buoying the print side (and TV) AND weakening the immediate competition.

. . . ANALYSIS OF GLOBE HIRING MASSAROTTI:

Gordon Who? After a prolonged separation from Gordon Edes, Joe Sullivan moved relatively quickly in filling the spot vacated by Edes and turning it into a web/print “hybrid” as Massarotti called it. He also set the wheels in motion to provide a young, eager back-up for Private Benjamin while leaving Nick Cafardo in place to continue his “On Baseball” (and other) role(s).

Mazz hasn’t exactly been a blogging maniac at the Herald, but he has shown glimpses and the enthusiasm in his voice on Thursday night at the Globe opportunity would indicate he’s ready to make the most of his new job. There’s no question he’s got the voice and gumption to make his presence felt.

Sullivan’s enhanced use of Finn is also encouraging and the ambiguity of his new title “sports news reporter” allows for a vast use of his considerable talent – from blogging to storytelling to “list”ing.

Overall, Sully had himself a day and the war between Boston.com and WEEI.com can now be advanced to a combative stage because. . .

• Scott’s Shots has confirmed the emerging rumor that ex-Boston Globe and accused plagiarist Ron Borges will be part of the re-launched effort at WEEI.com.

“I think (it’s) a pretty bold move,” said WEEI’s Gerry Callahan via email. “I know I look forward to reading him.”

“He’ll make the Patriots nervous and I’m sure Bill Belichick will be pissed off having him back around,” said Callahan’s co-host, John Dennis. “(Borges) is someone who compels you to log on and read what he has written. Yeah, he’s stubbed his toe a few times. But he knows what he’s doing and he’s still extremely well connected throughout the league.”

Although neither Dennis nor Callahan were sure on the specific role that Borges will play for the website, a separate WEEI.com source confirmed Borges will be writing a Patriots-centric column, twice weekly for the site (one post-game and one later in the week). Borges and previously-announced acquisition Mike Felger, will anchor the site’s Pats’ coverage. It’s still not clear how much – if any – air time Borges will receive on WEEI.

“I’m not sure how much cross-pollenization there will be,” said Dennis. “But I would have him on our show, sure.”

Shots has also confirmed two other “gets” for WEEI.com’s editor Rob Bradford: The first is a full-time hire in Alex Speier, the Union-Leader writer and Boston Herald contributor, who will – like Bradford – both edit and write for the site exclusively.

Also joining the roster will be Foxsports.com’s Jeff Goodman who will do for WEEI.com what he had been doing for the Herald during college basketball season, namely providing a national notes column. Goodman is allowed, per the terms of his deal with Foxsports.com, to provide content for another outlet and it appears he will now do so for ‘EEI.com, instead of the Herald. (The move is thus a double-blow to the forever in-flux sports pages of the Little Tabloid That Could.)

More staffing and contributor names are expected to emerge in the coming days. The WEEI.com site will gradually roll out its new elements and design over the coming months and hopes to be fully operational by the end of January 2009.

. . . ANALYSIS OF WEEI.COM TAPPING BORGES:

Well, WEEI.com’s Vice President and General Manager, Tim Murphy, continues to make eye-opening and “sexy” hires as he ramps up his website to do battle with the big boys in Boston sports media. In grabbing Bradford, Murphy immediately gained a popular and New Media-savvy captain to steer his ship content-wise. Felger, too, was a wise and relatively safe move and served the dual purpose of puncturing the (ahem) competition (890 AM ESPN and the Herald) while fortifying the site’s Pats’ analysis and click-worthiness.

As for Borges, Entercom is going to get a quick bang for its buck, but the true test will be whether Borges can be consistent and controversial without going too far over the edge (as he clearly did with the Globe).

Leopards rarely change their spots and Borges has shown almost no commitment to the site that bears his own name. Why should we believe he will “get after it” for a new employer? Better yet, what kind of statement does it make when one of your top five hires is associated with such an inglorious moment in Boston sports media history?

But a lightning rod drives traffic and Muprhy and Bradford apparently believe they can control Borges and use him to their advantage. There’s no question he will draw attention to the site.

We will – as always – reserve full judgment until Borges and WEEI.com have had some time to prove themselves, but for now count us as a skeptical observer at best.

. . . For all the bluster, bullying and bravado that can accompany the Borges hire, it is the full-time position given to Speier that will most likely be the biggest benefit for Entercom. Long-considered a rising star in the market, Speier had maintained a full-time job at a local university in addition to his myriad writing gigs. Like Bradford, he has never been afraid to go outside the box and the pairing of the two on Red Sox coverage puts WEEI.com on near-level footing with almost every outlet in the region, right from jump street.

. . . Foxborough frequenters can’t remember the last time Borges has been seen at Patriots Place, but surely with this new gig (in addition to the other work he has been doing), Borges’ return to The Razor will be forthcoming. That will be must-see video of the HC’s presser when Borges makes an inquiry to B-sqaured. Hope WEEI.com is wise enough to get footage of it!

To paraphrase Rick Pitino, the negativity on this blogs SUCKS!

In recognition of that (but in no way abandoning my inner-bitter), we give to you a brief, final feel-good Scott’s Shots entry for this day in which we urge you to completely ignore us in favor of reading (or re-reading) this from WEEI and the Boston Herald’s Gerry Callahan. And then by filling out this donation form as we did in honor of “Papa,” who was served righteously by the good folks at the Pawtucket Dana Farber facility:

“I deny it if any one asks,” said John Dennis on Thursday afternoon, “but I missed him. I compare it to a double play combination that gets separated because of injury or trade. You lose that comfort level.”

It was last summer around this time and Dennis’s co-host on the 6 a.m. to 10 .m. “Dennis and Callahan” show at WEEI 850 AM was in the midst of dealing with what we now know was a malignant polyp on – of all things – his throat. (It was also during the time that D&C were in a tumultuous negotiation process with Entercom.) From April through September, Dennis’s Joe Morgan had lost his Dave Concepcion in Callahan, and Dennis was one of the few to know the full details of his partner’s absence (which, among other things, resulted in the duo missing what Dennis called, at the time, “the most important thing we do all year long, the Jimmy Fund Telethon.”)

Now, a year removed from the contentiousness and posturing that dominated the ultimate contract renewal for the powerful pair, Dennis realizes he learned more about his sidekick during that four-month hiatus, than he had in ten years on air at ‘EEI.

“More than anything it exposed a human side of Gerry – and I don’t mean this derogatorily, but there is the tough, gruff exterior than accompanies Gerry on the surface,” said Dennis, after just completing an emcee role at Thursday’s “Trophy Talk.” “He was scared to death and was facing mortality and everything that comes with it.”

As for Dennis, he felt the best thing he could do was to shepherd the show through Callahan’s absence. “That was actually a good distraction for me from Gerry’s situation,” said Dennis. “I still had to make sure that no matter who I was on with, that we were doing a good show.”

. . . Dennis acknowledged that this year’s goal of $4 million goal is ambitious but the way the now- two-day event has become a part of the summer in Boston sports is helping – even in a fluctuating economy. “People now expect this event, there’s no need to explain it to people any more. They know it, they look forward to it and they realize what it’s about.

“It will be tough to reach that goal with the gas prices are, the political climate, the on-coming concern of winter heating bills,” said Dennis, who lost his father to the disease in March of 2005. “But this touches EVERYBODY. During the kick-off on Thursday, the phones were ringing off the hook.”

Let’s keep ‘em ringing folks.

Thanks,

Shots

• In celebration of Chad Finn’s promotion, we offer a tribute in the form of a Completely Random Olympic YouTube video, complete with dancing girls in bikinis and trashed Westerners. (Hint to Shots’ Journalist friends in Beijing – Get thee to the beach volleyball venue, QUICKLY):

• Oh, and the end of an era. Best sports talk radio tandem EVER.

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.

Manny Mania reached epic levels on Thursday and the most blatant example of the Man Love came when the Globe’s Amalie Benjamin posted at 10:52 a.m. that nothing new had developed, followed nine minutes later by teammate Nick Cafardo confirming that indeed, nothing new had developed. (“Talks Still Ongoing” was Benjamin’s hed choice, while Cafardo went with “Still Working on Manny Deal.”) We eagerly awaited Gordon Edes’s “Still, We Still Wait, Still” post, but alas, it never came.

Cafardo got a bit tongue-tied when trying to relay the trade specifics to NESN’s afternoon audience, but overalll the network’s “Trade Deadline Special” benefited from both his presence and that of rapidly rising Lou Merloni. When Tom Caron (in the role of Brian Williams on election night) asked Cafardo what Ramirez’s legacy will be in Boston, the spot-on response from Cafardo was: “A very confusing one.”

There was a great Cafardo-wears-multiple-hats scene just after 4:30 p.m. when Cafardo the newspaper reporter went off stage right to work the phone and discovered as he took a cell call that he needed a pen. Caron, live and in mid-question to Merloni, instructed Loquacious Lou to hand Cafardo the writing utensil as Cafardo then came back on-camera briefly to grab pen and paper. Moments later, Cafardo the TV analyst was sharing the specifics with the NESN viewers.

Immediately Merloni said, “To me that sounds like an awful lot.”

But it was Peter Gammons’ take on ESPN 890 AM which was filled with what 890 co-host Kevin Winter called “venom” and had co-host Mike Salk warning listeners to “consider the source” despite calling himself a part of the “Gammons Youth.”

Gammons said, “I think (Ramirez) is a disgrace to the game. . . he hates the game and has no respect. . .I get sick of people in Boston adoring a guy who didn’t play hard. . . he blackmailed the Red Sox and he went on a sit down strike. He doesn’t care about anything but the next contract. . . He is an affront and an embarrassment to the game. . . What about the integrity of playing the game right and showing up and honoring your contract? When it comes to the Hall of Fame, there will be a lot of people who have more a lot more question about Manny Ramriez than they do about Mark McGwire.”

Salk and Winters gave the impression that Gammons had gotten into an especially frothy lather because of Gammons’ relationship with many in the Red Sox front office. “It was a complete rip job,” said Salk as he simultaneously praised the legend and career of Gammons. “The spin starts early (after the story breaks).”

(Audio of the interview was not yet available on Radio Rewind at the clunky 890 website, but it likely will be on Friday.) HERE IT IS WITHIN THE 6-7 p.m. SHOW FROM THURSDAY, STARTS AROUND 27:00 and lasts three minutes.

. . . Gammons toned it down considerably for his appearance on SportsCenter with Linda Cohn. “The happiest guy in America right now is Terry Francona,” Gammons said (with about 2:35 left in the clip below).

. . . Gerry Callahan submits an instant classic Cal column on Monsieur Manny. My goodness can Cranky Callahan still churn out a doozy when the event merits or what?

. . . For all the bashing we’ve done of the Dimdog, Steve Silva, we do need to acknowledge that his posting of Schilling’s Thursday WEEI 850 AM rant was both timely and newsy.

. . . One afternoon report had news that Manny was napping when he was informed of the trade. Perfect, isn’t it?

. . . Not sure who the writer has been, but ESPNDeportes.com had a banner week with all its Manny coverage and exclusive talks.

. . . Free of charge to the Herald for back page use upon the new guy’s first big day as a Red Sox: “Bay State of Mind.” “Bay Day” will also work and so will “Bay Watch.”

• Say this for 890 ESPN’s general manager and founder, Jessamy Tang: She’s a battler. Faced with losing Mike Felger, her lone local talent presence AND the attractive programming block of “Patriots Friday,” Tang’s Gang forges on and readjusts at the Little Station That Can’t.

890 ESPN is in the process of creating a new local afternoon line-up that will eventually stretch from Noon to 2 p.m. and then again from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (Felger’s show was the lone local block, from 3 to 6 p.m., followed by an hour of local-themed pre-game chatter which will continue.)

Hosts have not been confirmed for either of the two slots, but the most interesting name being bandied about is that of Ron Borges, the ex-Boston Globe rabble rouser who has never truly impressed on-radio or TV. An inconsistent blogger (zero posts in over six weeks and just two since May, making for a pretty weak “back and forth”), Borges has likewise been inconsistent on his frequent CN8 “Out of Bounds” appearances and was always an inconsistent and uncooperative radio yakker during his Globe days. [Shots, it should be noted, is also a frequent contributor to CN8.]

Regarding the forthcoming line-up change, Doug Bailey, a spokesman for the station, told Scott’s Shots this week, “Some people are mulling over decisions, some people have changed their minds, some people have gone on vacation, and the negotiations go on. We hoped to have wrapped it up by now but life isn’t always quite so neat.”

Bailey, an ex-Globe writer and editor himself, confirmed that Borges is in the mix and also indicated that Lew and Mike of 1510 AM WWZN (non-) fame are being discussed as a possible option. Shots is told that unproven duo, which had bought some 890 time during the Celtics playoffs, is being discussed for the afternoon drive gig. Bailey also confirmed that both Andy Gresh and Ryen Russillo have been talked to about the available openings. Current 890 staffers Kevin Winter and ex-Shots Saturday morning co-host, Mike Salk are also thought to be under consideration for new or expanded roles once the new line-up is launched.

Bailey also stressed that Tang’s Gang will be responsible “for marketing and selling advertising for whatever programming is finalized.” Some 890 moles indicated to Shots earlier in the week that the late afternoon show would be a “pay-for-play” or time-buy, but Bailey strongly denied that.

As for Borges, there is no questioning that he can be provocative and he does know how to push buttons – especially of the Pats Apologists and Diehards flooding the region. Those are two marketable qualities for sports talk radio in the 21st century. However, as Felger will surely tell you, it takes hard work, dedication and a heck of a lot of creativity to be able to even register in this market against Entercom’s two-headed sports monster of WEEI and WRKO. You’d have to question whether Borges – who supposedly writing a book on Art Shell – will have that kind of time and vigor.

“Our objective is not to beat ‘EEI in the ratings, or even match them,” said Bailey. “We never will. We strive to be a credible alternative to the sports programming on ‘EEI and other stations and we don’t have to be their size to do that.”

The thinking in the Schrafft Building seems to be that Borges’ would grab attention immediately and that’s a good short term bet for Tang. But the lasting effect and the evidence Borges was less than fully committed to his craft at the end of his Globe stint, would suggest that Radio Ron may not be the best solution for what ails 890.

“The good thing about hiring people who have been put through a public flogging is that they’re virtually scandal proof,” said Bailey in defense of his former Globe colleague. “The ones that haven’t been caught yet keep on spinning and are ticking time bombs.”

. . . The latest strategy for 890 appears to be to try and get more local and offer two Boston-based alternatives to “Dale & Holley” and “The Big Show” at market-leader, WEEI-850 AM (owned by Entercom).

“(Jessamy) had to make the case to ESPN (national) that going more local (and removing midday national programming) is the best option,” said Bailey. “It’s a testimony to Jessamy’s persuasiveness and this is a good thing for the station.” (Although not an Owned and Operated ESPN station, there are still requirements for Tang to carry certain amounts of the national feed.)

. . . In an example that 890 will go to great lengths to try and be provocative, the oddly named, “Prime Time Live” show this week entertained call-in guest, Bob Lobel on air Tuesday afternoon. Lobel – who made a fool of himself with his WEEI 850 AM fill-in a couple of weeks back – was once again throwing spaghetti against the wall for his expert interview with Bob Halloran and Winter. Winter, at least, seemed to know just how sketchy it was to have LobeLucchino on-air and left most of the questioning to Halloran. Unfortunately, Halloran completely ignored the opportunity to ask Lobel to explain himself for his gross over-exaggeration of Manny’s fine on WEEI’s ariwaves.

. . . Bailey admitted that what WEEI is attempting on its website is not something 890 is prepared to compete with. “They’re throwing a lot of money into that and I don’t think we’re in a position to do that now,” he said.

. . . We’ve long-believed 890 was a dead station walking, but as Bailey said, “No one is throwing in the towel,” he said. “Look at the radio ad market everywhere. Look at Entercom.”

To bolster his case, Bailey supplied these numbers in defense of his client’s performance and progression over the Spring Arbitron book of 2007:

– In Men 18-49, for AM Drive (Mike & Mike, national) 890 went from a .5 in Spring, 2007 to a 2.0 in Spring, 2008.

– For that same demo, middays went up from .2 to .6 and the afternoon drive (Felger’s old spot) went from .4 to 2.3.

– The overall M-F, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for 18-49 jumped from .4 to 1.6

– The demo of 25-54 year-olds saw similar spikes in the morning (.5 to 1.9) and afternoon (.4 to 2.4) and overall from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (.4 to 1.6).

“Our point is the trend,” said Bailey. “We can demonstrate trendlines in which we have more than doubled our ratings in prime categories over the last year – the categories advertisers care most about.”

• Happy anniversary to one of the most underrated sports programs – TV or radio – ever; NPR’s “Only a Game”, which has a permanent download spot in Shots’ iTunes account. OAG’s egular contributor Boston Globe Magazine’s Charlie Pierce shared this with us earlier this week:

“I’ve been on the show from jump,” said Pierce. “Bill (Littlefield) and I negotiated my appearances in the dugout in Winter Haven. The original executive producer, David Greene, went on to help create Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, hence, my involvement there. It’s a joy to be part of and let’s face it, where else can Boston sports fans hear about belt-sander racing?”

The show is off this week, Pierce informs us, but returns next week to embark on another decade-and-a-half or more or intelligent sports reporting and discussion.

. . . Pierce got off a zinger on Thursday’s “Globe 10.0″ with Eric Frede filling in for Bob Ryan. Asked to discuss the possibility of Rush Limbaugh owning an NFL team, Pierce made an addiction joke about Limbuagh and then theorized his first move as an owner “would be to trade for Nick Kaczur.”

Edgy and funny – Pierced again!

• The sad passing of Jim Thistle has quite a few sports media tie-ins. First and foremost, we send our condolences to Jim’s son, James, Jr. and all the Thistles.

James, Jr. spearheads Thistle Communications, a New Hampshire-based production company that does a ton of work with NESN as well as the Kraft Sports Production unit.

. . . Frank Shorr, long-time sports producer in town and a Boston University colleague of Thistle, Sr.’s, remembered this moment from when he was at Channel 7:

“Jim’s approach to sports was just the same as news,” Shorr wrote in an email. “If it was compelling and interesting he’d run with it.

“Here’s an example: John Dennis and I went to Logan Airport one night at 3 a.m. to try and get Wade Boggs returning from a road trip. Who shows up but Jim Thistle? Boggs said he wouldn’t talk but told John to see him at the ballpark later that day.

“John is sitting in the dugout waiting and Boggs comes up the runway and sits down next to him and says, ‘Okay, go.’ John asks one question and the interview lasts seven and a half minutes. Now, remember, it was formatted for a minute-and-a-half at the top of the show. But Jim saw me screening the tape and said ‘Go with it.’ We ran all seven and a half minutes.

“He was the undisputed king of news managers in this town,” Shorr said.

A Scholarship in Thistle’s name (and that of Natalie Jacobson) has been established.

• In addition to initially leaving out Ian Browne in Tuesday’s list of possible Globe Web writers or beat guys, we also neglected to include Chad Finn, who has already established himself as bloggerific for Boston.com. Finn responded to a question in his recent “Last Word,” thusly:

I’m staying right here, thanks, though some things may be changing soon where I actually get to write more.

So his role could certainly expand as Joe Sullivan re-configures his desk.

• The Tom Casale departure debacle is the kind of bile that doesn’t deserve an iota of attention – and certainly not the mentions it’s already received. However, we did want to point out the comment from a writer identifying herself as the Providence Journal’s Shalise Manza Young, which was posted at patsfans.com:

“Hey all –

I’m going to try not to give my opinion on this too much, just wanted to share with a few things:

The Pats definitely know about this; one of the PFW writers told me about it after practice today and they were just floored at what he had done. Here’s the thing (one of the things) he forgot when he did this: he has likely put Paul Perillo, Andy Hart, Erik Scalavino and now Mike Parente’s jobs in jeopardy. Regardless of what you think of them, they don’t deserve to lose their jobs because of what Casale did. Belichick is going to be none too happy to have that information out there, and he could very well go to Bob Kraft and say they can’t fly on the team plane anymore. So then Kraft has to decide if he wants the extra expense of flying the PFW staff separately all the time, and possibly having them stay in a different hotel all the time. PFW does turn a profit currently, but having to buy (at a minimum) five round-trip plane tickets for every road game will get costly quickly…

I haven’t heard of *anyone* who works in the PFW office or interacts with that group that isn’t happy to have Casale gone. He really was a toxic presence and not at all a nice guy. Personally, I didn’t like him at all and think that his little post is quite possibly one of the most classless things I’ve ever seen.

And for what it’s worth, Tedy has always been nice to me. Can he be moody sometimes? Of course. But if I had people asking me the same questions over and over again I would be too at times. I also had a good relationship with Corey Dillon…

smy”

. . . Here’s Casale’s explanation of why his picks will click on his new employer’s gambling site. It’s probably wrong to say, but you kind of hope he loses his shirt, his house and job because of all his “expertise” and “degenerate gambling ways.”

There’s unprofessional exits from a job and then there’s the way Castleton College’s Tommy Rider rode out of town. he didn’t burn bridges, he napalmed them.

• If Leigh Montville writes it, we’ll read it. That’s a hard and fast rule here at The Shanty.

• Shots is scheduled for the 7 p.m. “Out of Bounds” on CN8 on Friday night when the topic of Manny just may come up. Do tune in!

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 a week to digest the rather compelling WEEI.com news that Shots led the way on late last week, it’s clearly time for a Winners and Losers edition of “As the Boston Sports Media Market Turns”:

WINNER
Glenn Ordway

The biggest – in every sense – winner is none other than Glenn “Pay Day” Ordway, whose contract is expiring with WEEI 850 AM. Ordway has the leverage of a Posey and the WEEI.com component of the equation could very well make Ordway famously wealthy, should he manipulate the web extensions to his benefit. (Similar to Posey, Ordway is going to want the extra year AND the extra dollars.)

Some of the things Ordway can now roll into his contract demands would be additional monies for live-streaming (or TV broadcasting) of The Big Show; exclusive on-line chats with the Big-O; a “Big O Big Blog”; Interactive elements to his show; and whatever other scams Ordway and his handlers can figure out.

With all that the Big O has meant to the station, ‘EEI pretty much needs to show him the money.

In short, Ordway is probably just weeks away from becoming the town’s highest paid sports media personality ever. And considering some of the stupid money that’s been thrown around this town (Hello, WCVB and WBZ!), that’s saying something.

LOSER
Local Mainstream Sports Websites

Boston.com’s sports package on the web probably doesn’t need to start quaking in its big boots just yet, but we’d suggest that the Boston Herald’s digital sports division might want to get a move on things. Without Bradford’s blog, the meager Herald site is sure to lose traffic and loyalists.

Further, Bradford’s pending arrival in the New Balance Building means that he’s going to be given the keys to some very interesting toys, aka resources. Video, written word, spoken word and community development options will all be elements available to Bradford. (Might be worth looking at what the Worldwide Leader is doing with something it’s calling “Streak for Cash.” In essence, it’s building brand loyalty and offering fabulous cash and cache prizes.

Bradford thought out of the box on the beat and he will have to continue to go where others fear to tread in his new content editor role for WEEI.com. Best yet, he will still be allowed to spread his wings as a writer.

WINNER/LOSER
Hank Hryniewicz

It’s a mixed bag for Help Me Hank, the Herald’s resourceful sports editor. On the one hand he loses Bradford, a true talent and a voice that popped from his pages (web and print).

On the other hand, he has a built-in escape hatch that can plop John Tomase right on to the Red Sox beat and keep him away from Foxborough, where the whole situation is bound to be a festering sore unless Tomase is quietly shifted off football and back onto baseball. We’re told it’s Tomase’s sport of choice and he has done some of his best work from the clubhouse, not the locker room.

The Bradford departure affords everyone at the Herald a more workable situation with Karen Guregian able to take lead duties and Jeff Horrigan and Tony Mazz able to augment her efforts. Throw in Buck and a couple of Callahan classics and the Pats beat is covered pretty securely while the Sox beat gets the best available replacement for Bradford (although Herald freelancer Alex Speier is a close second).

WINNER
Local Off-Mainstream Sports Websites

WEEI.com operatives are trying to convince us that the content-providers (i.e. columnists and commentators) for the new-fangled website won’t just be old graybeards looking for a check. We’ll believe that once the re-launch is complete and there’s not a Borges or a Peter May to be found on the site. Still, the promise of new blood is encouraging for some of the established local sports blogs that might be able to add content for WEEI.com VP/GM Tim Murphy and Bradford’s newborn baby.

Creative sorts like the people behind Soxaholix, or, dare we say it, 38pitches.com, would be able to bring established audiences to the WEEI site and help to quickly build a loyal audience. It’s almost a shame that Chad Finn jumped to Boston.com because he’s the kind of pick-up that would indicate ‘EEI.com recognizes a “true” blogger-type.

WINNER
Michael Holley

After Gerry Callahan (who probably doesn’t need the headache of writing anything beyond his limited Herald offerings), Holley is the in-house candidate who could help WEEI.com the most. Give him an exclusive column once a week and use him for whatever video component Bradford settles upon and the result would be some original content from an original fella with worthwhile takes. Holley is a five-tool guy and he’s smart enough to know that some groundfloor, reasonably-priced web work for the employer will serve him well down the road.

LOSER
The One Trick Ponies Currently at WEEI

While intrusive laughing, general ignorance and single-mindedness play well on sports talk radio, the effectiveness of our generic, moronic, Meaty Men for use on the website is going to be negligible. Beyond re-packaging the snorts and soundbites of Smerlas, DeAwful and The Dwarves, it’s not like any of those big, bad, bullies could ever blog or otherwise communicate effectively. Sentence writing, we’re guessing, wasn’t high on the course list at Connecticut School of Broadcasting.

The beauty of what WEEI.com is going to be able to do, is that it won’t have to strictly rely on in-house (non-)talents to fill the web pages. Murphy and Bradford will be able to line up freelancers and gifted souls who aren’t beholden to fart jokes and homophobia. Even if the majority of WEEI’s radio talk isn’t intelligent and barely entertaining, the website has the hope and ability to be both.

WINNERS
Jason Wolfe and Julie Kahn

Say what you will (and Lord knows we have) about Entercom’s Boston Duo of Dynamic, but this significant move into the digital market could very well be a coup for the company and ‘EEI in general. The ability to use the WEEI brand across platforms and do so in a new, and much-needed way for the market is the kind of move that will keep ‘EEI on top for a long time to come.

Still, the question of whether the Entercommie culture will overcome guys like Murphy and Bradford or whether they’ll be able to overcome IT, will eventually foretell the success or failure of the initiative.

LOSER
ESPN 890

They lose their only legit local-originating show’s host and he not only jumps ship, he jumps back to the dominating competition. As Felger said to Paul Flannery at BoMag, most (including Shots) figured 890 would last a year. They’ve been around three years now but their effectiveness and place in the market is still as poor as when they began. “That was a tough road to hoe,” said Felger late last week. “I got my brains beat in for three years by WEEI and Glenn. I enjoyed 890 and having my own little show. Yeah, a (better) signal would have helped but it’s all about the competition at WEEI. They have such resources to draw on.”

An 890 spokesman this week indicated the station would have new line-up information in two or three weeks, but for now capable Kevin Winter has been hosting a show inexplicably called “Prime Time Live” in the old Felger slot from 3 to 6 p.m. All the usual suspects have been mentioned as possible permanent replacements for Felger, but the longer the delay in announcing the changes the more likely it is that 890 will be forced to shutter once and for all.

WINNER
Hamilton College

WEEI is now Hamilton College East. Both Murphy and the guy who brought him into the New Balance building Jim Rushton are Hamilton College grads. Both graduated in 1992. Go Continentals! (Worst. Nickname. Ever.)

[One clarification on Murphy's career path from our reporting last week. Here's how Murphy confirms his profession progression in resume form: 1994-1999, Titleist & FootJoy Worldwide, last title was Senior Brand Manager; 1999-2006, NYTimes Company/Boston Globe Media, last title was VP of Advertising & Marketing; 2006-2007 Monster.com, VP of Strategic Marketing; 2007-2008, Comcast/Golf Channel, Director of Digital Media; Current, WEEI.com, VP/GM.]

• The Hartford Courant’s Red Sox beat guy, Jeff Goldberg confirms that he is taking the paper’s buyout (effective at the end of the Sox season) and it’s likely he’s not the only sports desk member of the Hartford staff that takes the option.

Said Goldberg via email, “I grew up in West Hartford, went to Hall High (and eventually Central Conn. State Univ.) and started an internship in the sports department (at the Courant) the summer before my junior year at Hall (16 years old, I’m 39 now). I did just about everything up the sports department food chain – took high school scores over the phone, filed photos, did agate, copy-edited, then started writing on a regular, full-time basis about 10 years ago.

“But, all good things must come to an end, I’m afraid,” said Goldberg, who hopes to continue writing in the Boston market. “UConn won the first 70 games I covered (Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird crew) for the Courant. (Goldberg) switched to the Sox beat in 2007 and between UConn and the Red Sox, I’ve covered four championship teams in six-plus seasons. Not bad.”

Mark our words, as guys like Felger and Goldberg leave newspapers, there will not be 20 years-at-one-paper writers for a foreseeable stretch and the mere thought of Lifers like Bob Ryan and Dan Shaughnessy is laughable in today’s race-up-the-totem-pole world of sports journalism.

“Leaving the Herald is by far the hardest part of all of this,” said Felger last Friday. “I’m 39 years old. This would have been my 20th year at the Herald. It’s going to be weird not being in the paper. It really is.

“But the brand of WEEI is huge. They are No. 1 in the market and what they’re doing is the future.”

• Familiar Providence voice Scott Cordischi confirms to Shots that he will be hosting a show on WPRO on Saturday mornings from 9-11:45am. “It will be called ‘Scott Cordischi On Sports’ and starts Saturday (July 19th),” he said via email. “I am very much looking forward to talking sports with Rhode Islanders and Southern New Englanders once again here in Providence. I have missed talking about things like the Sox, Yankees, the Celts run to a championship, the PC coaching search, the NFL Draft, etc. It’ll be nice to do it again.”

• While I agree with the general sentiment that ESPN Ombudswoman Le Anne Schreiber has been mostly effective and aggressive in her role, I couldn’t help but giggle this week when she brought up the fact that ESPN announcers sometimes do game coverage from the confines of a Bristol bunker.

The practice has been going on for years and we had exposed it two years ago, but the tactic is still employed and there is very little way for viewers to know what is ral and what is Memorex. It was misleading then and it is still misleading now. Schreiber’s ignorance on certain rudimentary matters is still puzzling to me and it makes me wonder just how effective she really is and how seriously her Ombudsing is taken by the higher-ups.

• A different take on Josh Beckett from Friend of Shots (FOS), Matt Waxman.

• Speaking of former CSTV cohorts, look at what goodies the former network (now CBS College Sports) is pulling out starting this Monday:

CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK RELIVES THE ACTION AND EXCITEMENT OF THE 2008 NCAA® DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH “NCAA MARCH MADNESS® REWIND”

Extensive Programming Block Begins Monday, July 21, and Features EveryGame from the 2008 Tournament

CBS College Sports Network relives March Madness this summer with a special encore presentation of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. “NCAA MARCH MADNESS REWIND” features all 63 tournament games, from the first-round to the championship game, in their entirety, beginning Monday, July 21 (NOON, PM ET). A full programming schedule is available at www.cbssports.com/cbscollegesports.

Kansas’ thrilling overtime win against Memphis in the National Championship Game will air twice, Friday, Aug. 1 (10:00 PM, ET) and Saturday, Aug. 2 (6:00 PM, ET). Other memorable games include:

First Round – #12 Western Kentucky over #5 Drake (101-99, OT)
Airs Wednesday, July 23 (10:00 PM, ET)
Drake erased a 16-point deficit in the final eight minutes of regulation to push the game into overtime. Down 99-98 in OT with 5.7 seconds left, Western Kentucky’s Ty Rogers hit a desperation three pointer from the wing to notch the win and give the Hilltoppers their first tournament victory since 1995.

Second Round – #1 UCLA over #9 Texas A&M (51-49)
Airs Sunday, July 27 (4:00 PM, ET)
Down for much of the game, the Bruins survived the Aggies with the help of Darren Collison’s late game heroics. Collison’s shot with 9.5 seconds left gave the Bruins the lead for good, propelling them to the Sweet 16.

Second Round – #3 Stanford over #6 Marquette (82-81, OT)
Airs Sunday, July 27 (6:00 PM, ET)
Stanford’s Brooke Lopez hits the winning shot with 1.3 seconds left in overtime. The Cardinal overcomes the first half ejection of coach Trent Johnson and a six-point halftime deficit.

Second Round – #10 Davidson over #2 Georgetown (74-70)
Airs Monday, July 28 (9:00 PM, ET)
Led by Stephen Curry’s dominating second half performance, Davidson upsets Georgetown. Curry outscored Georgetown 25 to 22 over the final 14:24 of the game.

. . . For the record, I’m still not ready to watch the Memphis-Kansas game. Maybe another decade or so.

• Brand new farmer’s market starting up in Hull on Friday – see you there.

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.

News this week of a Sporting News re-launch and re-focus brought equal parts optimism and pessimism. As we’ve chronicled here before, when Shots was part of the final staff to ever produce SPORT magazine, there were constant rumors that Sporting News would either be our partner in business or our partner in death.

Instead, SPORT was put in the hands of some flashy, funky Brits who never understood the magazine’s history and place in American sports and decided to kill it just weeks before a spirited re-launch was scheduled. Sporting News forged ahead – however feebly – and now, with the latest news that it will go bi-weekly and re-focus some electronic resources, TSN enters another of its nine (hundred) lives.

Good for them, especially the part about going bi-weekly. US News & World Report is doing the very same thing and it’s not unreasonable to think others will surely follow. If we may be so bold, we’d even suggest that venerable Sports Illustrated should do the same thing. They’re too proud to ever do such a thing, but it really does make a lot of sense.

. . . We were thrilled to hear one of the all-time good guys in the business, Florida Gator beat guy, Dave Curtis, of the Orlando Sentinel – as well as a Syracuse grad and a Rhode Island native – will be part of the new staff at TSN. Curtis, who will move to Chicago, will be sharing the national college football beat with TSN’s Matt Hayes. Curtis starts July 7 for TSN.

. . . Interesting to note that Deadspin’s Will Leitch will also have a column for TSN. We’re also hearing some other familiar names that will join TSN but until we confirm them, we won’t rumor-monger. But do stay tuned.

• The Fidgety Guy, Bill Simmons, took another not-so-subtle swipe at the conglomerate that is Disney this week in the introduction to his latest personal web page posting:

“. . . the good old days when I could poke fun at bad sports announcing. . . ” he wrote as a lead-in to a 1999 Digital City column.

An ESPN spokesman informed Shots earlier in the week that, “(ESPN) employees are currently permitted to write personal blogs, but it is a policy that is under review.”

Sounds like Simmons better get his woe-is-me-under-the-big-corporate-umbrella comments out now while he still can.

• The nastiness of commenters reared its head with John Tomase’s filings from Los Angeles this week. At some point, the venom will probably run out, but it won’t be any time soon.

• A new venture for ex-Herald scribe Mike Shalin, who is pairing with the incomparable “Danny V,” Dan Ventura for a high school-centric show over at (yes, they still exist) 1510 The Zone. Looks like some good early signings for Shales and the V-Man as “Hacks with Haggs” auteur, Joe Haggerty, is going to contribute regularly.

Shalin reminded us that, 23 years ago, he was part of the original SportsCall crew at WRKO. So he does know good radio – although good radio doesn’t seem to have much of a home in this market where The Meat Roars and The Dale Bores.

• I’ve got a new project I’m taking up. It’s the Derek Kellogg First Pitch at Fenway cause. He’s already been proclamated by his hometown, it’s time for him to get some love from his hometown team. Certainly if non-native Travis Ford got to toss from the shadow of the Monstah, DK should get at least that much – if not a luxury box for the day (to entertain blogger-types and other Beantown friends of the program).

• With new U.S. Citizen David Ortiz on the shelf, we got to thinking about what a Big Papi rehab stint in Pawtucket might look like for the PawSox. Who better to ask than Dan Hoard, the radio voice (along with Steve Hyder) of the PawSox?

“A David Ortiz rehab at McCoy would be on the short list of biggest nights in stadium history,” said Hoard in an email response to Shots. “Curt Schilling’s first rehab start last year was at McCoy and produced a season-high crowd of 11,227, and his popularity in The Nation obviously pales in comparison to Big Papi’s. The ticket demand would be so high that the PawSox would probably be tempted to sell my seat!

“In my opinion, the only events in stadium history that have generated similar hype are as follows:

“1. The resumption of the longest game in baseball history in 1981. Major league baseball was on strike at the time, so when they picked up the game in the 33rd inning, media from all over the world swarmed into Pawtucket.

“2. The Mark Fidrych vs. Dave Righetti game in 1982. It drew 9,389 into the “old” McCoy – an attendance record that lasted for 17 years until the renovated park opened in 1999.”

So there you have it – Papi in Pawtucket will be monumentally historic, should it ever happen.

• NESN has lost its damn mind. Discussing the “Sox Appeal” dating dugout during the game? Please, stop it. Now. Enough is enough.

. . . We had wondered whether the expiration of Hazel Mae’s deal with the Network coincided with the deal that Tom Caron had signed at the same time of Mae’s extension. We’re told Caron’s deal was for a longer term and he’s not up for renewal any time soon, which is good news for NESN viewers, as Caron has become one of the steadiest studio/desk men in all the land.

. . . A billboard on Route 93 is touting Jerry Remy Day at Fenway. No truth to the rumor that the first 1,000 fans will get a pack of Remy’s favorite smokes.

• We’re not usually the museum-visiting type, but this Baseball as America exhibit that touches down at the Museum of Science starting this Sunday could lure us in.

There are four special programs that caught our eye and will likely do the same for you:

Saturday, July 12, 1:00 p.m.
Voices of the Game
Joe Castiglione, Red Sox radio broadcaster and author, and Curt Smith, author, columnist, and television/radio host
Cahners Theater, Blue Wing, Level 2, free with exhibit hall admission

Tuesday, July 22, 6:30 p.m.
Fenway and the New Generation of Ballparks
Janet Marie Smith, Senior Vice President of Planning and Development, Boston Red Sox
Cahners Theater, Blue Wing, Level 2, free

Saturday, August 2, 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Babe Ruth and Ted Williams: Behind the Legends
Leigh Montville, former Boston Globe columnist, former senior writer at Sports Illustrated, and author of “The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero”
Shapiro Science Live! Stage, free with exhibit hall admission

Babe Ruth: 1:00 p.m. | Ted Williams: 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 9 at 1:00 p.m.
The Spaceman on the Art and Science of Pitching
Bill “Spaceman” Lee, former Red Sox pitcher (1969-1978), author, and star of the 2006 documentary film, “Spaceman in Cuba”
Cahners Theater, Blue Wing, Level 2, free with exhibit hall admission

Seating is limited for all shows. First come, first served. . . . Museum members may reserve a limited number of free-seating tickets the week of the program by calling: 617-589-3169. Check with the MOS for more details.

• Lastly, we once again we remind you that Shots is attempting to raise some China Earthquake relief funds.

I have donated the equivalent of $150 to the China Earthquake Relief Efforts by offering a limited edition orange, rubber bracelet with the message, “5.12.08,” on it to the next 35 readers of this blog who forward me a Red Cross (or other earthquake charity) donation confirmation. The orange color is reminiscent of the rescue workers’ jumpers and the date is the day the quake struck. It’s a small gesture or remembrance, but one worth making.

The donation can be for any amount, just as long as it is directed to the China quake. Include your mailing address with the contribution confirmation in an email to me at shots@bostonsportsmedia.com, and I will send a bracelet to you via US Post.

It’s all just one little neighborhood we live in, folks. So help thy neighbor, please.

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.

Some people sleep out for concert tickets. Others wait for XBox video games to be released. A few need to be the first to see a new release in movie theaters.

As a media critic in the Internet Age, I prefer to wait up late night for the arrival of things like the Boston Herald’s /John Tomase’s Spygate Explanation of what the heck went wrong in this whole sordid mess.

The process will go like this: The Herald will post the story sometime shortly after midnight; We will cut and paste a copy into the live blog; we will read the story; we will then begin the discussion as it were.

By live-blogging the posting of a story which will appear in Friday’s Herald and then assessing that piece in a live format will offer us (and I hope there is an us) a real-time, in-the-moment, visceral assessment of what Tomase has given us in Day Three of Tomasegate content.

The brilliant thing about live-blogging with CoverItLive.com’s outstanding software is that the entire live blog can be replayed and enjoyed by anyone at any time. For better or worse. So if you join us late, just click ‘replay’ and enjoy.

One other programming note: Some Shots’ normal Friday fodder will be has been added to this post (below the CoverItLive box) once the live blog is over. Included is a look at the latest episode of Woe-Is-Bill Simmons and some nastiness in Heidi Watney’s Fresno wake.

Enjoy the Live Blog and be sure to take part in the polling and comments AFTER you have entirely read his explanation. We don’t want to completely rush to judgment.

• Wow, that went extremely well. Probably a good core of seven commenters and some legit discussion of the whole process of reading Tomase’s explanation/non-apology, apology.
Worth a ‘replay’ if you have the time. . . good diversity of commenters, too.

• While the Herald shimmies and squirms its way out of Tomasegate (Son of Spygate), there’s a noteworthy battle emerging between ex-Herald lackey, Bill Simmons (now The Sports Guy) and the Worldwide Leader in Prima Donnas, ESPN.

Simmons is yet again restless under the stringent reins of ESPN.com and he shared his semi-regular urge-for-going. We’ve had past Woe-is-me from the comfortably wealthy Simmons and to be honest, in this week when Tomase clings to his job by his notepad wire, we don’t need to be hearing the guy with one of the Top 5 jobs in sports writing bitching about constraints – real or perceived.

Know this too – ESPN is none-too-pleased with the latest Simmons microburst and probably really ticked off about the splinter website Simmons christened this week.

Shots alone has discovered these references to Simmons re-inventing or re-explaining what he believed to be his ESPN role that date back to 2005 and are found:here (3rd note from bottom), here (leeway comments), here (post-Janet Jackson era comment) and here (his NY Times interview).

The Guy clearly doesn’t like being told what to do or how to do it, and every now and again, he manages to get that message out.

So, in a Thursday email Shots asked Simmons these questions two:

1. If things are so awful at ESPN, why not leave?

2. Did you need prior approval to start your own blog page independent of ESPN? How serious will you take that blogging (daily, weekly, whenever?)

Simmons politely declined to respond, perhaps already feeling like he’d said enough to Will Leitch at Deadspin.

ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys also declined to comment further on Simmons saying, via email on Thursday, “(W)e aren’t going to get in a long dialogue on Bill. . . just going to leave it to what we said yesterday.”

Wednesday’s comment went like this: “Bill is an exceptional talent with a unique voice that we’re proud to bring to fans. In any creative environment that features talented people, there will inevitably be differences. As we have in the past, we’ll continue to work through them.”

Some Guys just don’t seem to appreciate how damn good they have it, ya know?

• Wow, Le Anne Schreiber gets a little carried away on this one. Yeah, the WWL did a nice job on the OJ Mayo story. But ESPN still completely underplayed the Reggie Bush story because it didn’t “own it.” Yahoo! did. She also touches on Miguel Tejada and then proceeds to question just how synergetic the TV and dot-com side are. Good stuff all around, but I do find myself thinking she has to do it bi-weekly. It’s always been the problem, even when Solomon had the space. Not frequent enough and not emphasized enough when presented.

• Nice headline on this Toni Monkovic blog entry for the New York Times. “Botched.” That’s what this was – a complete botching on the part of Tomase, the NFL, the Patriots (originally); Roger Goodell; the Herald’s management and leadership; are we missing anyone?

• Had to be a Comments record week for the Herald, as Tony Mazz’s piece generated over 200 comments on Thursday. Granted, a good 80 percent are worthless, vulgar, ill-informed or all of the above.

The sharp contrast from Mazz’s fire flamer to the editor’s letter from Kevin R. Convey (side-by-side in the print edition) is yet another illustration of just how opportunistic the Herald’s approach has been all week. Sorry, Dan Kennedy, but I don’t see how any can’t see the self-promotion aspect of how the Herald has (mis)handled Tomasegate into a three day newsstand boon.

• Some serious Heidi Watney backlash in Fresno and the comments are certainly worth perusing. We’re starting to think there may have been a reason – beyond NESN’s frugal ways – for the delay in hiring Watney after her audition out West.

[By the way, an email to Joel Feld and spokesman Gary Roy at NESN this week inquiring why Shots has been taken off email distribution for the Network's press releases was never returned by either party. We would certainly seek comment on whether the Network knew particulars of Watney's departure from Fresno, but if they aren't going to respond to emails, we're not going waste our time. This is how business is done over there, apparently. We welcome responses by either gentleman.]

Ever-diligent and alert Red Sox Monster, Dan Lamothe was sniffing the same trail. Nice week for the Monstah: TBL gig; Some Simmons revelations and a guest appearance at the Shots’ Live Blog (the third of which was a more of a coup for us, than anything.)

• Peter May, now officially done with the Globe, turns up at Yahoo! again in a freelance role.

• Lobel is already talking comeback and lobbying for a radio gig. So predictable and so disheartening. Have fun in the New Balance building with his act, y’all.

• Some worthwhile Tomase follow-ups you may have missed are here and here.

• One scenario already being floated from Herald Square is to send Tomase back to the Sox beat and put Jeff Horrigan full time on the Patriots beat. No matter the apology and the explanation it will be tough for Tomase to effectively do his job in Foxborough. Tough, not impossible, but certainly not easy.

• Greatest Feinstein takedown ever. Send Norman Chad a dollar, Shirley. (Not my mom Shirley, Chad’s Shirley.)

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.

We agree with point 10 C. of King, Peter from The Once King of All Magazines that it was wrong to boo David Ortiz last weekend considering the season is just 1/14th toward completion.

That, however, doesn’t spare us from booing the NESN (Slow) Trigger Pullers who have now gone more than a dozen NESN games without a replacement for sideline reporter, Tina Cervasio. Despite rumblings of screen tests and fired beauty queens being looked at, there has yet to be a puff of smoke out of the Arsenal Street chimney and time-is-a-wasting.

Dutiful Don Orsillo has been picking up some of the workload usually reserved for the purdy hostess and knowing what we know about the frugal Fenway Broadcasters, we’re guessing Don-O isn’t getting more Cash-O for his Efforts-O.

How difficult can the process be anyway? Pick the most qualified, least likely to embarrass, Barbie Doll, insert microphone in right hand and watch the Pavlovian Viewers drool. The strategy is as transparent as can be and has been a proven practice by since Joel Feld set foot in the NESN doors.

However, as one Arsenal Observer cautioned: “They can’t just stick anyone in there – especially with Tito’s post-game interview as part of the deal.”

Francona, we’re told, doesn’t suffer fools well and he doesn’t care how many tiaras they’ve worn on how many runways. With well over one hundred post-game chats with The Skipper still to be held this season, NESN can’t afford to have an empty blouse asking the sometimes sensitive questions about pitching decisions and pinch-hit opportunities.

But they also can’t afford to be without a third member of the game’s broadcast crew, something the viewers now not only expect but, with the right hire, will embrace. The sooner as TV Tom Werner and the gang hurry up and hire her (or, and we giggle when we write it) him, the better.

• This one struck us as a bit odd:

A Regan Communications flack was pitching this story around town this week and it makes us wonder what other kind of “deals” the Entercommies are “brokerin”:

For Immediate Release

WRKO Brokers Deal Between Red Sox Closer Jonathan Papelbon and Prime Motor Group

Boston, MA (April 17, 2008) – Prime Motor Group today announced that Red Sox star closer Jonathan Papelbon has signed on as the automotive group’s exclusive spokesperson.

The deal, brokered by WRKO, the radio partner of the Boston Red Sox, and Mediastruction, includes several components. Papelbon will voice Prime Motor Group’s radio spots in the Boston market and be featured in signage throughout the dealerships, in addition to other promotional elements.

“I’m really excited to be a part of the Prime Motor Group family and I’m looking forward to working with them in the future,” said Red Sox Closer, Jonathan Papelbon.

Prime Motor Group, based in Westwood, consists of Audi-Porsche in Westwood, Mercedes in Westwood, Acura in Walpole, Toyota – Scion and Honda in West Roxbury/Dedham, and Infiniti in Hanover. The company is also part of a group of dealerships in Maine under the same name.

“This is a winning partnership,” said David Rosenberg, President of Prime Motor Group. “Papelbon is certainly a fan favorite and we’re thrilled to have him representing our brand.”

. . . Any pretense that may have remained about WEEI being a news organization of any sort is now forever erased with the Big, Bad (Jason) Wolfe and Killer Julie Kahn “brokering” deals with athletes it “covers.”

Both “Es” in ‘EEI stand for “Entertainment” – or as much entertainment as that woeful crew can provide.

• Late word from a Morrissey Boulevard Mole is that Jackie MacMullan may not be the only visible defector in this round of buyouts. It seems that a certain Globie has been dancing with one of the Web Biggies for a possible baseball gig. Making the possible move even juicier is the fact that another visible scribe from the market is in the running for the very same spot.

This all sounds a bit too “Inside Track,” and we apologize for the anonymity, but trust us, it is happening and it is, once again, it provides a great example of the moves being made or plotted by newspaper “veterans” who are running scared from the sinking newsprint ships.

• Already some heavy bidding on the supposed Big Papi shirt unearthed at new Yankees Stadium. They were lucky they didn’t dig up Georgie Boy with that stunt. And where the heck was Geraldo Rivera to host it for YES?

• Here’s Shots gratis “Reporter Resource of the Month”: Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games by Jerry Caraccioli and Tom Caraccioli. The Caracciolis strike again and this time they have the wisdom of Walter F. Mondale as their foreword for the book that is as timely as they come. The authors, we’ve been told, are available for interviews and/or insight through their publisher’s contact: Randy Walker (Rwalker@newchapterpressmedia.com).

• Miguel Tejada, according to ESPN’s “award-winning journalist” Tom Farrey, lied about his age. This will likely lead to a flood of stories about age-lies but none will have the ambush impact of what Farrey did:

The transcript, according to the ESPN PR peeps:

Tom: And how old are you?
Miguel: Me?

Tom: Yes.
Miguel: 32.

Tom: Born in?
Miguel: The Dominican Republic. Bani.

Tom: In which year?
Miguel: 1976.

Tom: 1976.
Miguel: Yeah.

Tom: You sure?
Miguel: Why I have to lie?

Tom: We acquired the document, the birth certificate that your father filed when you were a boy, and um, let me show it to you, because I want you to explain it.
Miguel: You know, can you … Who is that?

Tom: This is a birth certificate. Your birth certificate, right?
Miguel: Who give you that?

Tom: The Dominican Government
Miguel: Hmmm…

Tom: Is that you?
Miguel: Probably…

Tom: Is that an actual document? Is this your birth certificate?
Miguel: Hey, I’m not supposed to be here to talk about this. I’m sorry, you don’t need to bring me over here to talk about my personal stuff.

Tom: Well, this is kind of important, actually.
Miguel: Well, I don’t know if this is important, cause I right now I just play baseball bro. I just play baseball. I don’t have to be here to talk about this. I don’t need nobody messing to my head right now.

Tom: Does the federal government know your real name and birth date?
Miguel: I don’t know (Gets up and walks away…)

• The re-vamped NECN.com has re-launched its sports page under a new url and is calling it The Boston Score. For now, it’s the Boston Bore, but we’re willing to give the concept another looksie in the coming weeks and months. Said “Neckin’s” Director of Digital Media, Ted McEnroe, via email: “The (Boston Score) blog will continue to grow over the coming months (it is definitely a work in progress) — and [full-time anchors] Chris (Collins) and Mike (Giardi) will be the quarterbacks, regularly contributing reports both when they are in the station and when they are out in the field, where we want to take advantage of new technologies that allow them to send back quick videos for posting. We’ll be building it all out over the coming months.

“Both talent and producers are contributing to the site,” wrote McEnroe, who has been one of several posters at the Score. “The thought process is that while the anchors are the faces of NECN Sports, we have a much larger team which is plugged into the New England sports scene, so it only makes sense to tap into that larger pool of talent.”

That concept is a solid one, however just as not everyone can be on air, not everyone can be contributing bloggers – especially not all at once. In theory, more is better. But in practice, less is more – especially in an already crowded Boston blogosphere. The balance will come in time, we’re guessing.

. . . McEnroe was formerly the Executive News Producer at NECN, but slid over to the digital side with the re-launch of NECN.com’s independent site launch on January 1 (when it broke from its web alliance with the Globe).

• Still a chance that Jackie Mack could be used on NESN programming even after her Globe g’bye, but as she inferred when the news came out about her departure, the goal isn’t to do more work. It’s to do less mediaing and more momming.

• I think I’ll be going with the National broadcasts of the Celts, although I would enjoy a technological feature that allowed me to have marvelous Mike Gorman on play-by-play and whoever the Network is using on color. Tommy’s still too much and Donnie Marshall’s not yet enough.

. . . Here’s the line-up on CSN’s Celts coverage. We have no idea what wickedgoodsports.com is, but we got there quite logically from the CSN page, so they must be in some kind of cahoots together.

• Go easy on the Matzah and eat your heart out as we indulge in the exquisite Gefilte fish (and no, that’s not an oxymoron) of The Shirl and the hair-raisin’ horseradish of The Phil.

• One last thing and this one’s strictly for the decision-makers at the Flagship Campus of the UMass system: The answer is Derek Kellogg if the question is, “Who can bring the energy back to the Mullins?”

We spent a lot of time around Kellogg this past season and the guy is ready in every conceivable way. Doesn’t matter that he hasn’t had head coaching experience. He’s got UMass roots that run deep. At this point in the Program’s history that has to count for more than “games as a head coach.”

Umie Athletic Director John McCutcheon doesn’t need the Pumps to understand this.

Shots is giving the advice free of charge. Anyone with a pen or a platform is free to take the hint as well: DK is OK for UM.

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.