As if to show just how serious they are about being an Internet player, WEEI.com today (8/18/08) announces the addition of Deadspin founder, Will Leitch, to its rapidly expanding line-up of writers. Leitch – tabbed as “The Outsider” – will write twice-monthly (every other Wednesday) for the site and offers up a “Hello, Boston” piece today. In short, Leitch told Scott’s Shots joining the WEEI.com team was an easy decision, as he had previously felt the power of ‘EEI and it shook him to his soul. Sort of.

“When I was on the book tour,” Leitch explained via email over the weekend, “I bet I did 8 to 10 radio interviews a day for the first three weeks. Only one of them earned any appreciable traction: WEEI.

“Every Boston friend I have is oddly meticulous about the station; they know who’s on at pretty much every hour, and can psychologically break down every broadcaster for biases, weaknesses and favorite in-break snack,” said Leitch. “It’s pretty difficult to find any community like that anywhere. Plus, you know, they asked.”

Doing the asking was Rob Bradford, the site’s content overlord as well as a featured writer. Bradford had never met nor spoken with Leitch, but he recognized the slightly deranged Midwesterner as one of the most important Internet sports voices of the decade and figured, “. . . you never know. Couldn’t hurt to ask,” said Bradford in an extensive phone interview on Friday. “The goal for WEEI.com is to get the best people, to be creative and to be ahead of the curve. Will has built his reputation with his creativity.

“He will provide an outsider’s view on Boston sports,” he said. “We sometimes lose ourselves in our own little world here. He’ll bring perspective as to how we’re being perceived from (beyond Route 495).”

Leitch, who left Deadspin this summer for a spot at New York Magazine, is also contributing to The Sporting News and working on another book “about baseball.” He is well aware of the sharpened fangs (and unique users) that will surely accompany his arrival at WEEI.com.

“Oh, I’m certainly not counting on any sort of acceptance. I honestly have no idea how this will work,” he said. “They’ve given me pretty free reign with it, but, from the get-go, I’m making it as clear as possible that I’m no expert in Boston sports. That’s why I hope it will be fun. I think when you’re in the middle of the maelstrom, it can be difficult to fathom how the rest of the world sees you.

“Right now, Boston is the most compelling sports city in America; it’s not even close,” he said. “I’m hoping to tap into that. Look at the Manny situation. When he started acting up, the rest of the planet was like, ‘Well, there he goes again. They’ll figure it out, like they always do.’

“Boston fans knew better; they knew the atmosphere had changed. That’s amazing to me. The city’s fandom is a palpable, breathing thing; it’s fascinating to watch,” said Leitch, 32. “I want to try to figure that out. I’ll probably fail. But hopefully it’ll be fun trying. And hey: I’ve been writing online for a long time. I can certainly take whatever criticism comes my way; I’m sure I’ll deserve just about all of it.”

With Leitch joining the ranks of Boston’s bloggers, the city will now have claims on both the Grandfather of New Media Sports “coverage” (Bill Simmons) and the Godfather of the genre (Leitch).

“I’d be pretty honored to be compared to Simmons, until you realize how poorly one measures up to Simmons, and then I’m screwed,” said Leitch. “Simmons oozed Boston sports from his pores back in the day; I won’t be doing that. I couldn’t if I tried. But hey, nobody wants a St. Louis Sports Guy. If people are expecting me to be a new Simmons, they’ll be sorely disappointed. But I don’t think anybody expects that.”

Mostly, as Leitch will learn, the Boston sports media consumer wants full effort and full interest in the topics. Leitch seems to know that and appears to be reaching a tipping point for side projects.

“My plate’s pretty full right now. I’m working on the next book. . . I’m writing a page for The Sporting News in every issue and, of course, working at New York mag, which is more fun than I could have imagined.

“Everyone here is so freaking smart; I’m honored they think I could possibly keep up. (I can’t.),” he said. “And, of course, I’ll keep popping by Deadspin whenever (Leitch’s replacement) AJ (Daulerio) lets me.”

• Okay, now that you have digested the Leitch role for fledgling WEEI.com. it’s probably a good idea to do a little re-set here before we get too deep into all of this. The web site is on the verge of announcing several hires in addition to this list we have already compiled in prior posts:

– Rob Bradford (Full-time, content editor/writer)
– Alex Speier (Full-time, editor/writing)
– Mike Felger (Weekly Patriots Report Card and Mailbag)
– Ron Borges (A post-game column and a Friday offering)
– Jeff Goodman (Basketball offering)

Shots has also confirmed through WEEI.com that the website is also bringing aboard:

– Mike Petraglia (Contributor with audio and writing)
– Carlson Mozdiez (Full-time – was Webmaster/Marketing/Promotions and will add blogging and continue with technical side expertise)
– Gary (Marbry) From Chapel Hill (Contributor of Nuggetpalooza)
– Kirk Minihane (Contributor, Fantasy Football writer)
– Some type of “Onion”-like Boston-focused contribution
– Sean Casey of the Red Sox (likely for video-logging)
- An offering from ‘EEI producers.

Also, there will be some special debut Monday introductory offerings from Leitch, Felger, Borges et al.

(The transition to some new content will take time, as you’ll see in cruising the site – best bet is probably to go to the “Columnists/Blogs” tab.)

The immediate result of all this is what launches today at WEEI.com, but both Bradford and Vice Prsident/General Manager, Tim Murphy, emphasize this is only a beginning of what they both ultimately envision as a major destination site for Boston Sports Fans.

“This is a ground-breaking, not a ribbon-cutting,” said Murphy in an exclusive interview with Shots last week. “Hopefully by the end of January, we will be (at full capacity). First, we have to become ‘must-bookmark’ and I think we’re well on our way to that (with this first round of development).”

For now, the Entercom entrance into the arena has set off a slight flurry of shuffling at the Globe.

“I want to make this point clear,” said an invigorated and fiery Bradford. “These initial moves weren’t done just to have people talking about us for a day or two. I believe Ron (Borges) is amongst the best at what he does. His game column in the Globe was always must-read. The day he left that paper, it became a worse paper.

“We approached Will because he is one of the most creative and talented writers out there today,” said Bradford. “We’re getting the best people at what they do and that will mean a combination of old school journalists and new media people as well.”

Tempering the simmering competition a bit, Murphy is presently content with sharing the market’s Internet pie.

“We’re not trying to emulate Boston.com or BostonHerald.com and we don’t necessarily have to beat them or replace them,” said Murphy. “We’ll offer a unique perspective and be a source of both news and entertainment and we’ll do it with a new cast of editorial voices to add to the compelling and informative audio content we already have from WEEI.”

As for the early controversy that accompanied news of the Borges acquisition, Bradford is steadfast in his belief that Borges is committed and, quite possibly driven to silence his detractors.

“When I talked to Ron, the only thing I needed to know from him was whether he was ready to kick some butt,” said Bradford. “He is. Some people will forget (about his past) and some won’t and I get that. But I think he is motivated to put some of that stuff to rest and that motivation serves us well.”

(A Scott’s Shots attempt to interview Borges was rebuffed by WEEI.com’s PR agency of record.)

The all-in approach to the web-side is a new one for an Entercom entity, but as Murphy pointed out, WEEI is a pretty advanced laboratory to experiment in.

“In many ways, WEEI is an anomaly in the radio world,” Murphy said. “The depth of penetration in 25-54 year old male demographic is incredible. It’s the model for (this segment of) radio in many ways.

“Any media company that reaches a broad segment is at a point now where they have to act quickly to leverage these assets they have,” said Murphy. “That’s what Entercom – and David Field – is doing by investing in the web. This is the way broadcasting in general is going.”

Murphy said the WEEI.com is generating 250,000 unique visitors per month now (8,300 per day, which seems high for a mostly static site) and he hopes to have that number at 1 million per month by the end of 2009. The task is daunting, but Murphy thinks he’s got a leg up.

“What scares me is that there’s a large graveyard full of the web entries that had huge traffic but couldn’t monetize it,” said Murphy. “WEEI has already done that and this will allows us to further that. The site as it is, is currently profitable.”

. . . Murphy promised an updated look and feel for the site, an optimization of the audio search feature and easier navigation.

. . . Murphy on Borges and Felger: “Ron and Mike will perspective that will be somewhat in contrast to a lot of what is on the air and that will help give a 360 degree perspective on the Patriots.”

. . . Murphy on Borges: “We’re very comfortable bringing Ron on board and he’s eager to re-establish himself. He was must-read in the Globe. We’re aware of his past and he’s excited to move forward.”

. . . Bradford on what appeals to him about the opportunity at WEEI.com: “It’s a clean slate, we can mold things the way we want. We’ve got resources, we’re not doing this on the cheap and we’ve also got all this amazing audio to use, which no one else has.”

. . . Bradford on the reaction from people who discover he left an Old Media stalwart for a New Media start-up: “People get it. They know what this opportunity is. It’s cool that people are seeing what I saw when I took the job.”

. . . It’s reasonable to expect a Celtics columnist to be brought on in the coming weeks. Shots confirmed that Jackie MacMullan was pursued aggressively but currently she is too busy on her own book project to contribute to WEEI.com. That likely is a fluid situation and could change at any time. Peter May is probably also in the mix, but we’d rather see an up-and-comer grab the Celts spot.

. . . Bradford will be with the red Sox in Baltimore on his first official WEEI.com road-trip.

• Here are the Next Three Things, WEEI.com should seriously consider doing (in order of import):

1.Get an exclusive deal with a video partner, preferably Comcast Sports Network. There are already logical tie-ins with the regional network (Felger, Bradford) and a partnering would benefit both sides (especially CSN, which has yet to deliver on its promise of a “news-gathering” division). It allows for even more cross-promotion and gives the station another good Celtics tie-in.

2.Get a woman. Yahoo! Sports has done wonders with its morning Sports Minute update featuring a competent, attractive young lady. WEEI.com can do the very same things on a local level and probably use the very same sponsor already supporting the Y! offering – Dunkin’ Donuts.

3.Get an on-air show that prominently incorporates WEEI.com. This will have to be a “test kitchen” type of experiment, but one that could pay big dividends. By using a block of programming (weekend or late night, we’d guess) the station would be able to simultaneously promote the website and engage users with polls, email questions and on-line interactivity. Let Bradford and Speier have run of the studio and see what they come up with. It would have to be better than the current Saturday offerings of Musty, The Tracer and Butchie The Mayor, right?

• John Dennis admitted last week that he – and others at WEEI – were, at first, skeptical of what WEEI.com would actually be. The cynics rolled their eyes, Dennis said.

“But we were dead wrong,” Dennis said. “This is not out of altruism that they are doing this. This is the next revenue stream and they see that.

“It’s not unlike what the Red Sox have done,” he said. “They saw they could earn revenue from putting signage on the Wall. They saw they could get naming rights money. You drill holes and see what comes up from (beneath). For WEEI.com, they aren’t cutting any corners. I think it has potential to be (a game-changer).

“I think, in their wildest dreams, they probably see that it could become as a local version of ESPN.com, with all these ways to cross-promote and sell,” Dennis said.

He laid out a scenario where he could envision an existing major sponsor at the station expanding its reach by sponsoring some exclusive “Dennis and Callahan” audio at WEEI.com

• LEITCH LEFTOVERS:

. . . We couldn’t help but notice that Leitch now has slices of New York and Boston in his repertoire, we asked if LA was far behind?

“Well, all columns about LA would start three paragraphs in and end four paragraphs early. And those would be a bitch to edit,” he said.

Hear that Manny? Will Kills L.A.

. . . We let Leitch “out of here” with a closer that asked him to name three ways St. Louis (he is a lifelong Cards diehards card-carrying member) and Boston sports fans are alike and three ways they are different.

His reply:

SIMILARITIES:
1. Fans are extremely knowledgeable, devoted and respectful of history.
2. You get the sense that every fan at the home stadium would never want to be anywhere else than sitting in those stands.
3.The football team can do whatever it wants, but it’ll never compare to the baseball team.

DIFFERENCES

1. Cardinals fans STILL lustily cheer a groundout to the second baseman if it moves the runner to third. Boston fans are not that lame.
2. It is still possible to get tickets to a game at Busch Stadium.
3. Your signature city beer is still brewed and owned by Americans. (If Cincinnati still counts as “America.”) Ours? Not so much.

• According to the Boston Globe review of GSTF, Leitch has termed some of local sports figures thusly:

“. . . he describes Manny Ramirez as a ‘dingbat Red Sox slugger,’ Sox pitcher Curt Schilling as not ‘satisfied until he is deemed king,’ and Bill Belichick as the ‘Napoleonic Patriots coach’ hated by ‘anyone who happens not to work for him’. . .”

• Asked by the New York Post’s always-entertaining Lenn Robbins to name his “(f)avorite sport other than football,” Boston College linebacker Brian Toal answered, “Beer pong” in a Sunday Q&A with New Jersey LBs. Funny, or a trend or both?

• Herald Sports Editor Hank Hryniewicz responded to an email from Shots regarding the recent departures on Wingo Way by saying, rather defiantly, via email, “I’ve known Tony (Massarotti) as a friend for nearly two decades and as a co-worker for almost as long. Although I will miss the daily give-and-take I’ve enjoyed with Tony along with his contributions to the Herald, we’re already in the process of interviewing candidates to fill the vacancies on our sports staff.”

• The WEEI/NESN Radio-Telethon for the Jimmy Fund really knocked it out of the park by surpassing it’s $4 million goal by $800,000. Well done, folks. Especially the NESN people who were able to let the pictures tell so many stories.

• The WEEI.com press release on the “ground-breaking”:

WEEI.com Announces All-Star Roster Additions

Deadspin.com founder Will Leitch and former Boston Globe sportswriter Ron Borges headline latest additions to WEEI.com

BOSTON (August 18, 2008) – WEEI.com announced today the additions of six first-rate journalists joining its staff, along with the first upgrade to the website’s content and design. Joining WEEI.com editor Rob Bradford and columnist Mike Felger are a collection of top print and online journalists with excellent experience and reputations both in Boston and nationally.

Will Leitch, the founder of popular sports blog Deadspin.com, will be joining WEEI.com to provide an outsider’s look at Boston sports and its fans. Leitch has authored three books, including “God Save the Fan” and is currently a contributing editor to New York Magazine.

Ron Borges is a 24-year veteran of the Boston Globe, serving as the Patriots beat writer, national football writer and boxing reporter. He will serve as a columnist for WEEI.com covering the Patriots and national football news. Borges has received many awards and praise throughout his writing career, including being named Massachusetts Sports Writer of the Year by the National Association of Sportswriters and Sports Broadcasters five times since 1999.

Baseball writing veteran Alex Speier assist in handling the Red Sox beat and serve as Online Content Manager for WEEI.com. Speier is a graduate of Harvard University and has covered the Red Sox for several local and national publications, including the New Hampshire Union Leader, Boston Metro, Boston Herald and Baseball America.

“We’ve assembled a great new team at WEEI.com,” said Bradford. “It is an amazing collection of talent and I think that New England sports fans will enjoy the new voices and content our website is putting out. WEEI.com will be a great complement to the best sports radio station in the country.”

Also joining WEEI.com are Mike Petraglia, Jeff Goodman and Gary Marbry. Petraglia has more than 15 years experience covering Boston sports and will be contributing real time updates and breaking news to the site. Goodman is a basketball writer for Fox Sports and will write a column on professional and local college basketball. Marbry, better known as “Gary from Chapel Hill,” is WEEI.com’s stat geek. He’ll contribute to the site regularly examining sports through a number cruncher’s perspective.

WEEI.com will work as a complementary medium to WEEI Radio Network, taking the market’s top audio content and having it readily available online, while using the radio station to drive traffic to the website. Audio content, including weekly interviews with Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Terry Francona, will be easily available for users. WEEI veteran Carlson Mozdiez will handle this aspect of the site, shifting from the marketing and promotions department to take on the role of Digital Radio Content Manager.

“This isn’t a ribbon cutting, it’s a ground-breaking,” WEEI.com Vice President and General Manager Tim Murphy said. “These are just our first steps in creating a website that will provide the more local sports content than anyone else in Boston. Our aim is to, over time, make WEEI.com a must-bookmark site for news, opinions and fun features about the local sports scene.”

Among the new content today on WEEI.com is “Patriots 360,” a complement to the radio station’s Patriots Monday and Friday. Felger will grade the Pats every Tuesday in his report card and also answer questions in a weekly mailbag. Borges will write a GameDay column, as well as other pieces centered around the Patriots throughout the week. In addition, Patriots 360 will feature updates from Gillette Stadium throughout the week and a collection of links to stories, statistics and features to make WEEI.com a must read for Patriots fans.

WEEI.com is also creating a dedicated Red Sox area on the site as the team drives toward the playoffs. Bradford and Speier will provide original content throughout the week, along with audio, links and other features. WEEI.com will also have exclusive content from Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey and other players, offering insight from the clubhouse and showing behind the scenes look at the defending World Series champions.

Log onto WEEI.com to see the website’s first upgrade and for all new content and contributors.

Entercom is one of the nation’s largest radio broadcasters with operations in San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Sacramento, Cincinnati, Portland, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Austin, Norfolk, Buffalo, New Orleans, Providence, Memphis, Greensboro, Rochester, Greenville/Spartanburg, Madison, Wichita, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Springfield and Gainesville/Ocala.

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.

Embattled Boston Herald sportswriter, John Tomase, remains on the Patriots beat despite working the weekend’s Red Sox-Mariners series, according to Herald sports editor Hank Hryniewicz.

Tomase, who was at the epicenter of the latest chapter of Spygate, had bylines in the paper over the weekend with all of them coming from Fenway. The Patriots held minicamp in Foxborough over the weekend and Karen Guregian was the by-lined reporter for those Herald stories. The Sunday NFL notes column was supplied by wire reports, although an accompanying sidebar had text from Tomase.

“John Tomase is still the Herald’s Patriots Beat columnist. He remains on the
beat,” said Hryniewicz in an email response to Shots. “I have used John ocassionally on the Sox beat since hiring him and will continue to do so when needed. John’s versatility allows me to use him on
various assignments and for various projects. That will not change.”

As to whether Tomase would be put at a disadvantage by not covering the Pats’ camp and thus not getting to know new players, Hryniewicz said, “John attended some of the Pats mini camp this past weekend to speak with some players and to collect notes but did not write because I had him writing
elsewhere.”

Tomase’s versatility will extend to the hardwood this week.

“He will be traveling to LA for Celts stuff this week, too, again due to my staffing needs,” wrote Hryniewicz. “But I plan to keep him on the Pats beat where he has been since coming to the Herald.”

• One other Patriots thought to pass along: Why did the Boston Globe’s Christopher Gasper insist, in his Sunday story, that “(Tom) Brady broke his offseason silence. . .” with Saturday’s talk? Brady had a very well-publicized interview on WEEI 850 AM last month. Just because Gasper, the Globe or any other media outlet wasn’t the chosen entity for that interview doesn’t mean Brady was silent since the Super Bowl meltdown.

Tomase, at least, specified in his Sunday blog that it was the first “en masse” talk with Brady.

In an age when the consumer can get information from radio, TV, computer, newspaper, carrier pigeon and whatever other means, the old rule of “breaking media silence” no longer apply. Gasper – a young ‘un in the game – should know that better than most.

• Did we all catch the return of Jackie MacMullan’s byline in Sunday’s Globe? We had been under the impression that a term of the buyout agreement was that buyout takers could not be by-lined in the Globe for a specified amount of time. Unless the term was a month, it’s probably wasn’t a stipulation in this latest round of buyouts.

So strange to see the “correspondent” tag for Jackie Mack. The paper has missed both her and Peter May for the latter part of the playoffs, there can be no doubt.

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.

An ERISA specialist and attorney at The McCormack Firm, LLC, Stephen D. Rosenberg, helped educate us on what the process would probably be like for Edes or any potential, fellow appealers.

“Generally, in any ERISA governed employee benefit plan. . . there is a right of appeal granted to an employee if the initial decision is unfavorable to him or her,” wrote Rosenberg (a prolific blogger, it should be noted and appreciated) in an email. “The appeal is to an internal entity charged under the ERISA plan with making final decisions over requests for the benefits in question, which in this instance is participation in the buy out. The ERISA Management Committee is presumably the entity named in the governing plan documents as having the authority to hear and decide appeals, and issue final determinations.

“From there, an employee, if still unhappy with the outcome, could normally seek review in federal court.”

Rosenberg then addressed what the appeal would likely be judged upon by the committee:

“Generally, the entire issue should be decided solely on the exact written terms of the buy out/retirement plan, and whether the particular individual employee qualifies for the buy out under those terms,” Rosenberg said. “The plan itself should lay out in writing exactly when a person qualifies, and thus also when they do not. The Management Committee to which the appeal is presented is charged with deciding whether those terms are satisfied with regard to that particular employee, and thus he or she is entitled to the buy out, or are not satisfied.

“The possible reasons for denying the buyout will vary, and simply depends on what was built into the plan as the framework governing who is and who is not eligible.”

. . . Shots is now being told that of the 26 buyout applications submitted from the editorial side, just three people were denied – Edes and two business writers. It is not known whether either of the other two will appeal, but it is reasonably safe to assume that new WBUR FM hire, Sacha “Pulitzer” Pfeiffer was one of the rejected.

All this comes in the week where the Times executed layoffs and Globe bigwig, Alfred Larkin announces his retirement. One Globie, who was under the assumption Larkin took part in the the buyout, suggested that the whole acceptance/denial line process was arbitrary at best and suggested that all three who were denied are long-tenured employees with a decade-plus of service to the company.

Aside from the ill-will the Edes incident is probably fostering on both sides, the process is also delaying the Edes jump to Yahoo! Sports. At this rate, Edes will be lucky to be in the Big Y!’s uniform by the All-Star break. Each of the other “finalists,” we’re told, were ready to jump ship post-haste.

• My next blog, in my next life, will be called, as Michelle Tafoya uttered from the lips of Danny Ferry on Thursday night, “A Moment of Vertigo.” My life has been a series of those moments.

• Peter May appears to have hung on for a bit longer than the Atlanta series, but an email to his Globe account late this week went un-returned, which may indicate buy-out taker May’s days are done.

Jackie MacMullan is long gone and talk of a pending (and prosperous) book deal has already passed through the Shots lint trap. We’re told it involves Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and we’re told Bird insisted on having Jackie Mack.

. . . The sad thing is that if you strictly read the Globe’s printed and web pages, you would probably think a black hole on Morrissey Boulevard sucked the suddenly gone writers and editors into oblivion. There hasn’t been – to our knowledge or through our searches – an explanation of who was leaving, when, why and maybe even a short goodbye from Joe Sullivan or the writers/editors themselves.

Here’s what you do, Sully: Instead of another metsa-mets Stan Grossfeld Sunday snoozer picture, you use that half page for 300-word goodbyes from the Laymances and the Fratuses, not to mention the Mays and JMacks. Anything that feels the least bit open and transparent about the transformation that the Globe brand is undergoing. Anything at all that lets us know that you still appreciate our 50 cents a day or our patronage at your website. . . An editor’s note? A blog entry? Anything, really.

Just some level of transparency and informing your customers of what amounts to MAJOR changes.

• Bowling on CBS this weekend. Oh my.

• At last check the Bloggerific Blogford, Rob Bradford, was running second in Amazon’s ‘Baseball’ category to the runner-up in the Biggest Ego in the Biz contest (to unparalleled Mike Lupica).

We have faith that Red Sox Nation can remedy that situation and send that Feinfellow free-falling down the chart.

• The commenting took away from it, but this was a fairly important and worthwhile post at The Big Lead on Thursday.

• Save the date to meet the new UMass head basketball coach: May 21 at Quincy Market.

• To The Shirl and all the girls who get called “Mom” – enjoy your day. To the rest of us, make sure they get to enjoy their day.

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.