Local sports talk station, 890 ESPN has officially announced the changes which have been reported here at Scott’s Shots in recent weeks. The release from 890 follows and clears up some my confusion over the afternoon drive times (there’s a noon-2 p.m. slot and a 4-6 p.m., meaning in total, it’s one hour more than the 3-hour block Felger used to give 890. Post Mike & Mike and the in-between slot will be filled with ESPN’s national programming line-up):

890 ESPN EXPANDS LOCAL PROGRAMMING WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW DAILY LINEUP
Fresh New Voices and Boston Perspectives Highlight Program Change

BOSTON – August 11, 2008 – In a move to expand local programming and help meet Boston’s insatiable appetite for local sports talk, 890 ESPN Radio today announced a new afternoon and drive time program line up.
Beginning Thursday, August 14, WCVB-TV 5 news and sports anchor Bob Halloran will team with current 890 sports reporter Mike Salk for “Salk & Halloran” which will run weekdays between noon and 2pm.
A new drive time show, “Lew and Mike,” hosted by the sports talk team of Lew and Mike (Lew Goldstein and Mike Vallee) will air between 4pm and 6 pm. The “Lew and Mike Show” had run on AM 1510 The Zone.
“These moves allow us to supplement our local sports talk and Boston sports news which our listeners cannot get enough of,” said 890 ESPN program director Len Weiner. “Boston is America’s number one sports town and ESPN is America’s number one sports brand. We are excited to expand our programming and offer more new local voices along with the resources and great talent at ESPN.”
Halloran’s entry into the station lineup is a welcome home of sorts. Before joining WCVB’s SportsCenter 5, Halloran was at ESPNews where he spent three years as an anchor and writer for ESPN.com. He is also the author of “Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward,” published by The Lyons Press.
Mike Salk has been 890 ESPN’s Red Sox reporter for the past two years, and will continue in that role. He also can be heard on ESPN’s national programming.
The “Lew and Mike Show” at AM 1510 meanwhile has earned a significant response and a reputation for edgy sports commentary and news by two local opinionated and enthusiastic sports observers.
“I’m confident that 890′s listeners will embrace these new shows. It’s a new day for 890 ESPN, and we look forward to perhaps bringing even more local programming to the station.” said Weiner.

• It appears that Jessamy Tang is taking a very hands-off approach on the public side of this one. This is clearly Len Weiner’s baby and the latest rumor from Schrafft’s central has the station’s program director also assuming the roles of producer for L&M. It appears Kevin Winter will be the SportsCenter update guy for the afternoon drive. Not sure yet who will fill that role for the Noon show, but Felger’s old producer, Ross “Lisa Loeb” Carey, is set to pilot the Salk and Halloran show.

• Instant analysis: Does the move do anything to “move the needle” for 890.

Barely. The biggest positive is that 890 is getting a chance at a different slot in which to challenge WEEI. “Dale and Holley” is not nearly as strong as The Big Show and the chance exists that Salk and Halloran will be able to borrow a few more sets of ears at the outset, but whether they’ll be keep them is quite a variable to have to deal with.

For a search that supposedly included the semi-sexy names of Ron Borges, Andy Gresh, Ryen Russillo and others, the fact that Tang’s Gang is left with two Mikes, a Lew and a Bob is hardly pulsating.

And let’s not forget the little fact that WEEI is about to embark on a complete website overhaul that will fortify even further it’s radio stations’ (WEEI and WRKO) stranglehold on the market. Not only will WEEI continue to be the 50,000 watt monster that it is, but it will now be able to package what insiders are saying will be a “substantial” and “creative” web set-up at WEEI.com. “It will be like what ESPN is able to do with all its platforms,” said a person familiar with the dot-com’s business plan.

So, we’ll give 890 credit for re-shaping its line-up, but we’ll also remember that most of the contracts it was offering talent were for 13-week deals. That’s one fiscal quarter’s time to make hay and it took Felger almost three full years to even make a recognizable dent.

• Weiner hints at “perhaps” bringing more local programming to 890. That would presumably be beyond the “Metro Gameday” show which will continue from 6 to 7 p.m. though the end of baseball season.

If they could only grab two unknowns for afternoon drive, it’s hard to imagine what else they’d put on the air with even more local offerings. Probably better off to wait and see how this shake-up goes before committing to more chazerai.

• Could be helpful to 890 to actually know that Halloran is more than a sports anchor at WCVB. NOTE: They had it right, my bad. He does weekend news anchor duties mostly. They love him for his versatility. Sort of a Scott Wahle-alike. Or a Gene Lavanchy-type.

• Interesting turn of a phrase: “. . . has earned a significant response and a reputation for edgy sports commentary and news. . . ” My Google search of the duo (even with their last names) found nothing significant or edgy.

• No idea what all this is about, but as one local scribe said to us last week, “You’ll miss Schilling when he’s not around.”

Response was pretty positive to last week’s Monday offering, so we’ll keep it going as long as you keep the dialogue running. (Shots’ Loyalists will recall the days when we dutifully dissected the Sunday night show on Mondays with regularity. At some point, we realized that no one’s really watching those shows and ceased the practice, for the most part.)

• Ex-Boston Globe baseball scribe, Gordon Edes makes his Yahoo! Sports debut on Monday, after spending a Chicago weekend cross-town from his old beat-mates (he was covering Cubs-Cards for the Y! guys).

Shots had asked Edes via email for a clarification of where his buyout denial appeal stood and for general thoughts on his departure from the Globe.

Here was his Sunday morning email response:

“My appeal is still pending. Whether (the) ERISA committee takes up my case this month, I don’t know. I leave many great friends and professionals at the Globe. I’ll leave it at that.”

As a Track Gal might say, “Meow!”

• ESPN 890 AM operatives are set to announce the completion of what can only be termed a lackluster replacement for the lost local programming which resulted from Mike Felger’s separation from the Tang Gang. Shots has confirmed the station will put un-proven, un-knowns “Lew & Mike” in the afternoon drive slot opposite The Big Show on WEEI 850 AM for a 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. shift. (Felger’s show was 3-6 p.m; last week, the station finalized plans to have (ex-Shots radio partner) Mike Salk and Bob Halloran do a local show from Noon to 2 p.m.)

The two shows (along with a 7-8 p.m. team-focused show) will essentially double 890′s local, weekday, programming hours. That’s the good news. The bad news is 890 was rebuffed by a sizable list of more desirable hosts (for both timeslots) and after investing three years in Felger, the station has shown repeatedly it doesn’t have the marketing dollars to properly promote its products. Add to that the ever-present weak signal issues, and 890 is once again found reinventing itself without a full complement of resources. Once again, they will hope that being an alternative to WEEI 850 AM will be enough to sustain the gerbils on the treadmill at the Schrafft’s Building.

. . . Sliding from one also-ran outlet to another is actually a fairly big deal for the tandem of Lew and Mike (tried finding info on these guys – even just their full names – but they are fairly foreign to Google.) Shots is told the show will NOT be a time-buy (as the pair’s prior Celtics show arrangement with the station was). [UPDATE: Their full names are Lew Goldstein and Mike Vallee, according to an 890 mole.]

• What a refreshing approach taken by NBC in actually being up front and honest with viewers when its announcers are providing commentary from off-site. In sharp contrast to the way ESPN, the Worldwide Misleader, attempts to deceive viewers into thinking their announcers are ALWAYS on site, NBC’s (and the Nets‘) Chris Carrino repeatedly told viewers that he and Steve “Snapper” Jones were in a New York studio calling the action. (We caught some of the Greece-Spain affair early Sunday morning).

As recently as last month, ESPN gave several impressions that its team of Rick Kamla and Fran Fraschilla were actually in China when in fact, they were in Bristol. ESPN has long concealed its true location of announcers for International events (as we’ve consistently pointed out) and there’s absolutely no reason for it.

A little transparency goes a long way.

. . . When announcers are live at the site, it’s clear as they do their stand-ups from the venue (see: Mike Breen and Doug Collins for Team USA vs. China on Sunday morning).

. . . My total Opening Ceremonies viewing time probably stretched to 30 minutes and the three highlights for me were:

1. Discovering there are two Congos.

2. Catching Shots’ fave (and post-grad UMie) Sean Ford from USA Basketball, walking in stride with Team USA.

3. The little earthquake dude with Yao had me at “Ni Hao.”

. . . Hate to be the bad guy here, but Eyee Hsu was simply not ready for the halftime live shot from the USA-China game (introducing her package on Yao). We’re all for using international talent, but let’s at least make sure they’re above Double-A, okay, Mr. Ebersol?

. . . Tough call on whether Matt Lauer should have been called in for the President Bush interview that wound up being conducted by Bob Costas (below). It did seem odd not to mention the tragic stabbing, but Costas did get into some nitty gritty politics to make even a Russert proud. (Another Mike Vaccaro must-read with this one.)

• For the second straight week, the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy plays it a bit loose with what would seem to be pretty inflammatory stuff – as Deadpsin pointed out on Friday.

And, for the second time in that same week, Shaughnessy buried the lead from his Los Angeles dateline (where he was a week-long guest on Jim Rome’s ESPN show). And while Danny Boy was onto something with the Commissioner’s office poking around on the Manny Deal, even his own teammates seemed to call Shaughnessy out for embellishment with this nugget from Amalie Benjamin’s Saturday notes column (contributed to by Nick Cafardo):

“While ‘investigation’ might be too strong a word for Major League Baseball’s check into the circumstances surrounding the trade. . .unlikely anything will come of the inquiry. . . ”

I know Joe Sullivan is focused on the all-important Olympics (not to mention a new hire) but jeesh, does Schill’s Best Buddy really have carte blanche to do whatever he wants? And what’s with throwing all this spaghetti against the wall mid-column.

. . . Equally disturbing was Shaughnessy’s use of a recycled quote from the LA Times as his lead quote in the column. He couldn’t even take the effort to get live quotes on his own? Too busy playing the antagonist with Romie?

. . . Last beef with Shaughnasty: He weakly includes a mention of Rome in his column, but never makes mention of his own frequent appearances with Rome. A note at the end of the column should have been utilized.

• Neil Best did a live chat and no one alerted me? Please don’t let this happen again, people.

• A good little nugget in Sunday’s Football Notes column from Mike Reiss regarding the sham that is pre-season football. One additional thought on the subject leads us to the much ballyhooed arrival of the NFL’s comprehensive on-line ticket selling outift. (The Patriots have already had the system in place.)

Of course, pre-season game tickets are not allowed to be posted on the ticket exchange service and those are the hardest to get rid off for season ticket holders who are trying to regain some of their substantial (highest in league) investments in the club. (Yes, Shots has tickets available for the remaining pre-season game and we’re not enthusiastic about our chance to get rid of them after that abomination of a game last Thursday. You know where to reach us if you need four at a cut rate.)

• Barry Bonds’ “historic” ball nets nabber a sneaker store. Discuss amongst yourselves.

• With the Sox sinking, let’s not forget our old friends in new places (non-Manny version).

• So Clark Rockefeller asked his lawyer to get him a book on the rules of baseball? Is he going to impersonate Terry Francona next?

• Don’t forget: Monday marks the debut of the all-day “SportsCenter” on the Mothership, something that we foolishly believed ESPNews had pretty well covered. Our old crush on Hannah Storm will surely re-emerge and we’ll surely get sucked in for a few days.

At least Steve can go back to life without a countdown clock.

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.

Shots unveils a potential regular Monday feature today with a look back at some of the items and happenings you may have missed over the weekend. But first, some developing news from ESPN 890 AM, as the station is set to announce its new hosts for the weekday Noon-2 p.m. show, scheduled to debut on August 11 (as discussed in Friday’s Shots).

Shots is told by industry sources that current 890 reporter, Mike Salk and frequent station guest-host (and WCVB TV anchor) Bob Halloran will handle the new local shift, which will take up what has been the last hour of Colin Cowherd (12-1 p.m.) and the first hour of the Mike Tirico and Scott Van Pelt Show (1-2 p.m.).

A spokesman for 890 was not able to confirm the pairing for the station which is in the process of tinkering with its line-up to help offset the loss of Mike Felger.

The 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. slot is still unsettled and awaiting finalization from Jessamy Tang’s Gang and the station’s preference is to announce both dayparts at one time.

. . . We’re uncertain on what type of contract – if any – Salk and Halloran (who also contributes to the Metro and is an author) will be under with the station, but one person familiar with the direction 890 was moving has told Shots that other potential hosts were being offered just 13-week deals to start. Most radio deals are at least yearlong commitments for both parties.

For Salk, especially, the chance for his own show is another notch in the belt of a rising star in the market. [Disclaimer: Shots did a Saturday show with Salk for six months in the Spring and Summer of 2007 for the defunct Boston Sports Review magazine.] Multi-platform-friendly Salk has expanded his role to duty with the national network in Bristol and has found fans in ESPN Radio’s hierarchy – especially since his throat surgery to correct a rasp in his voice.

. . . Salk and Halloran will be – for those who receive 890′s weak signal – taking on “Dale and Holley” at WEEI 850 AM, during the second half of their established show (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). It took Felger nearly all of his three years at 890 to make a dent in the market, so Salk and Halloran (who have never worked together for any length of on-air time) will have a huge mountain to climb.

But there’s at least one thing Felger was convinced of when he left 890 and that was that there is a portion of the listening audience looking for local alternative to WEEI. Salk and Halloran give 890 the chance to prove that against D&H, a potentially more “battle-able” show than the afternoon drive on ‘EEI.

Now, a look at some other weekend happenings:

• The Globe sent its most controversial columnist to LA and all it got was this crummy A1 column for Saturday’s paper. The mostly weak Shaughnessy effort was made even worse by the after-the-jump inclusion of the Gordon Edes scoop that Manny supposedly got cold feet after the deal went down.

Oddly placed in latter third of Shaughnessy’s column was this explanation: “(The Globe learned last night that Ramírez lobbied to stay in Boston Thursday afternoon after the deal was done.)”

It didn’t include a note to see the Edes story later in the paper and the information completely flew in the face of the picture Shaughnessy painted of Manny complying to team rules in LA (haircut).

I know the excuse from the Globies will be timing and deadline, but that just doesn’t fly in this day and age. I’m sorry.

• Rumblings afoot that percolating WEEI.com is ready to announce another important hire in the coming days. The site is also in the process of lining up a regular list of high profile contributors.

• Here’s what a GREAT agent can do for you: Ex-NESN anchor Hazel Mae, who mostly under-impressed on-air throughout her Boston ride, is apparently convincing the national people that she is ready for prime time. Mae’s agent, Susan Lipton, who is quoted in this well-planted Michael McCarthy puff piece, works closely with none other than Dick Vitale.

• Both John Tomase of the Herald and Mike Reiss of the Globe made it to Canton, Ohio for the Andre Tippett induction ceremonies and both used their blogs well over the weekend for an event that probably drew a fair share of weekend traffic. Tomase still has comments off at his Herald offering, by the way.

. . . It was odd to hear Tippett thank Ron Borges during his speech, but apparently Borges sang Tippett’s praises for many years. Nice touch by Tip to include Pats’ PR man, Stacey James, as well.

. . . Adam Schefter of NFL.com, debuted smartly as a fill-in sideline reporter on NBC’s Football package on Sunday night and led off the game by announcing that Brett Favre would be given the chance to compete for the starting job in Green Bay. It was clearly a wild weekend for Schefter as he chased the Favre soap opera.

• No one – not even newbie Jason Bay – had a better weekend than the Marquette Golden Warrior himself, Charlie Pierce. Pierce killed with his Slate column on Manny and then did it again with his clever Boston Globe Magazine What If. . . piece on President Michael Dukakis (which had its fair share of sports references).

• The Week Ahead

Get ready for Olympic Overload this week and be sure to keep an eye on the wasted resources that supposedly cash-strapped newspapers will be spending on coverage of an event that now has much more Internet relevance than it ever had in print.

But that won’t stop the New York Times company – and baby sister, The Boston Globe – from throwing gobs and gobs of cash at an event the Old Gray Lady values with an unhealthy – and unnecessary – obsession. Let’s be sure to count how many Globies make the trip. We’re guessing – at the very least – it’s Basketball Bob Ryan, John “Olympics” Powers, Shira Springer, two photographers and at least two editors.

If it were us, we’d send Ryan and Powers and use AP copy and photos. Then we’d spend the money saved on the web-side and have a dedicated staff of four in Beijing for unique and local-focused Web coverage.

. . . Some tremendous stuff on the way NBC will measure its Olympics audience. The numbers – if shared – will further illuminate just how far behind newspaper-backed websites are in the evolution of consumer consumption of sports media.

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.