I’d like to report that I’m back in full force at this space, but I’m still in the editing process and as I’ve said from the beginning of this amazing project, I can’t justify devoting time to my love (Scott’s Shots) over my real-life job.

Thank you for your continued support and hopefully by the time the Nantasket Beach concession stands open for business, we’ll be back dissecting the local and national media scene on a regular basis.

The Re-Launch of WEEI.com

That sound you heard last Monday morning was BostonHerald.com’s sports offering plunging to the depths of irrelevance. That was the day Boston became a two horse town as far as mainstream media sports sites go. With its total overhaul and Entercom’s apparent commitment to make WEEI.com “. . .the new sports page in town,” as the site’s VP/GM Tim Murphy said, the site is now fully ready to compete with the region’s sports-on-the-web leader, Boston.com.

“We didn’t want the site to be just ‘radio good,’” said Murphy in an extensive March 13 pre-launch interview and “walk-through’ of the new site with Shots. “We’re redefining what a sports page is. I like our chances of being the No. 1 (destination for Boston sports fans) in time.”

Boasting aside, what the new WEEI.com does offer is clean navigation, a comprehensive mix of audio and text and, in time we’re told, a healthy dose of video. It is vibrant, well laid out and deep.

Some of the initial slow loading and optimization issues faced last week are beginning to disappear and a spokesman for the site said, “optimizing load times is a normal 1-2 weeks process for a brand new site.”

For the most part, the beta testing of 100 guinea pigs and the months of design which Murphy oversaw seem to have struck gold. This is what happens when good planning, clear vision and proper investments meet creative and forward-thinking people.

The new site is already using its potential to tout upcoming radio highlights – witness the Bill Simmons on D&C Monday morning plug that was posted in the “This Just In” box on Sunday night. The ability to use the site to promote the radio station and vice versa will truly be the biggest asset WEEI.com will have over its competition. Complete and total saturation with the ability to completely dictate the region’s sports discussion is both a powerful position and a scary concept (mostly on the radio side with the all-too-might Big Show’s mob of meatheads).

With a staff and contributors that still lags behind Boston.com (but surpasses, in most every way the Herald), WEEI.com editor Rob Bradford and his lieutenants have shown glimpses of brilliance in both reporting and analyzing – even before the re-launch.

Experiments that haven’t worked have been abandoned – see: Leitch, Will – and personalities who drive traffic like Mike Felger and Curt Schilling are easy to find and promoted prominently through the lead story picture box. (That box is still having loading issues which lead to blurry, unviewable pictures but those kinks will be worked out with further optimization.)

The aforementioned “TJI” box is placed in a strange position for our tastes, but Murphy explained the concept of the placement thusly, “(The) ‘This Just In’ widget was intentionally designed to overlap the lead story block. It never overlaps the core of the image. Subjective area to assess, but we think it offers a compelling visual while also bring TJI, a differentiating content feature, into a premium position on the homepage.”

Fair enough and a great example of how everything was very well thought out and conceived. Almost no stones seemed to have been left unturned.

Advertisers, according to Murphy, have been receptive to the new look. The site’s serious attempt to challenge Boston.com and the Verizon-sponsored re-launch along with a growing preferred partners list would indicate the ad community’s willingness to dabble with the packaging of radio and web sides to maximize exposure and penetration.

Some early signs that should worry Murphy and Bradford is the slacking already being displayed by some shows’ individual pages in terms of updating audio and some not-yet-ready-for-prime time and inconsistent blogging.

They must also either make a committed effort to utilize the LeeINKS space or abandon the idea all together. That is just the kind of offering that Murphy talked about with us when he said every morning while he was growing up, he’d eat his cereal and read the Globe sports page. A quick A.M. romp around the webosphere for Boston-centric stories and oddities could be hugely popular – and cereal appointment reading But not if it’s ignored for days at a time and not clearly defined.

That’s probably the biggest critique we can offer at this point: when building a new site and creating site loyalty, the consistency and quality of the content is HUGE. (And will lead to the high Time Spent Viewing numbers Murphy wants to deliver – “We want this site to be a much ‘stickier’ experience and show advertisers much more engagement through users’ commenting and other (strategies) to keep them at WEEI.com,” he said.

Murphy would be wise to remember, there’s just too many local and national offerings out there to steal readers and page views and once users are let down a couple of times, they may never return. You have one chance to make a first impression.

Still, if the site maximizes its potential and utilizes all its new bells and whistles to the fullest, it will indeed be the revolutionary creation Murphy is envisioning.

What Exactly is CBS College Sports Trying to Be?

While serving as the cable home for the Tournament and “complementing CBS Sports’ exclusive live game broadcasts with over 75 hours of coverage,” the CBS College Sports Network did more confounding during the Tournament’s first two rounds than complementing.

What the network promised would be “exclusive in-progress game highlights, live look-ins and press conferences from every team at every site from the first-round through the Championship Game,” was instead, on Thursday through Sunday’s offering a complete head-scratcher.

With such a unique opportunity to augment the yeoman’s effort consistently put forth by its Sugar Daddy, CBS, the cable outlet put forth a product that felt and looked low budget, haphazard and discombobulated.

Let us count the ways that CBSCS disappointed:

1. It started from jump street when Thursday introductions of three in-studio, guest coach analysts showed IUPUI coach Ron Hunter on-screen as the frazzled host was clumsily giving the credentials of Marist coach Chuck Martin. It only got worse from there, although in fairness Hunter, Martin and Hofstra’s Tom Pecora did their best under some clearly difficult circumstances. Stage tests and rehearsals were apparently not employed by the network formerly known as CSTV (for whom Shots did freeelance work with over the past two seasons).

(Hunter actually shone throughout the weekend and Martin’s debut was also quite promising. Pecora went a little too hard for laughs, but his bluntness was appreciated. It took us two days to figure out who Tim Miles was in his underwhelming appearance.)

2. The in-game shows were billed as being hosted by Adam Zucker and Tracy Wolfson – both of whom were passable – but a constant rotation of other throw-ins from the shallow CBSCS stable only confused matters. Analysts were here one game, gone the next and if there was any pre-scheduling of on-air time, it wasn’t apparent. Almost every analyst spent more time looking for the camera with the red light on than analyzing and the one who did understand camera position – Steve Lappas – has never taken to the medium despite the network’s repeated efforts to make him TV-friendly. That’s a project that needs to be abandoned.

When Lappas got paired with current Drexel coach Bruiser Flint on Saturday night’s desk, the awkwardness of the duo never dissipated. (Flint, who is phenomenal on TV, was replaced as the UMass coach by Lappas, in a move that signaled a decided downturn in Minutemen basketball that has take years to recover from.) As Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports pointed out, “it was sort of akin to having Mike Davis and Bob Knight discuss the brackets together.”

3. The self-touted “Live Look-Ins” from CBSCS were a complete disaster with most coming at inopportune times or for too short a period. Now that all games are available FREE on the Internet, it would make sense to give viewers extended “looksies” into riveting games on CBSCS. We know CBS refuses to use the once-popular split screens, but does that mean CBSCS can’t? There’s definitely a sponsor who would buy up that space, wouldn’t you think?

Quite simply, it just seems that CBS doesn’t know what to do with CBSCS, so they’re throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what – if anything – sticks. (Viewer call-ins DID NOT stick and must be discontinued immediately. Callers ranged from school kids to morons who wanted to know how far their team could go in the “playoffs.” Ugh.)

The coup de grace came on Sunday night when three down-to-the-wire contests were being decided but the wizards at CBSCS found it more necessary to show not one but TWO, re-packaged features on Tyreke Evans of Memphis and Blake Griffin of Oklahoma. To call it mind-boggling is being kind.

When they finally did go to live look-ins for the fantastic finishes, the CBSCS feed was almost a minute ahead of the national feed on CBS. What a disaster and what an embarrassment to the mothership at Black Rock.

[On a positive note, the rising star Carter Blackburn proved to be the most capable studio host all weekend and his second year of play-by-play work for both CBSCS and CBS (where he gave first-round breathers to aging Dick Enberg) should have him high on every major, respectable broadcasters list for new and emerging talent.]

The potential for CBSCS in future Tournaments – and maybe even this year as they continue through the Final Four – is limitless. If used properly, with pre-planning and clear guidelines, it can truly enhance the viewers’ experience of what is already a phenomenal event. Left in its current state, however, the network’s supplemental coverage does nothing but frustrate viewers and diminish the overall product shown to the nation.

. . . Over at CBS, Greg Anthony gets the most-improved award for his in-studio work. Partner Seth Davis got the most-annoying award when he referred to Greg Gumbel as “Gregory.” And the netowrk had its share of audio problems, most glaringly with Jim Spanarkel who sometimes couldn’t be heard at all.

Dan Shaughnessy, Cartographer

The site dedicated to such things does a pretty good job of critiquing Danny Boy for this laugher of an offering from Friday.

But there’s probably some good to be done from piling on in this instance. Emailers to Shots were equally appalled by the Curt’s BF’s assertion that, “New England’s history in the NCAA basketball tourney is ancient and rare.”

Shaughnessy bases the column on a completely fraudulent premise based in poor geography and worse institutional memory. Does anyone edit the man? And couldn’t he have had the decency to, I don’t know, write something that justified the expense of sending him on the road? Wouldn’t it have been nice to see a senior-year-unsung-hero Tyrese Rice column from Dan? Or maybe a Rakim Sanders of Pawtucket, RI piece? Or is Rhody too small of a state to be considered New England. Or how about something on the UVM transfer (oh look, another New England basketball school) Joe Trapani? Oh, wait, he’s from Connecticut and since that’s not part of New England, well, he probably doesn’t merit an introduction to the once-a-year BC followers who pop up annually.

I really hope Shaughnessy brings a t-shirt back from Minnesota for his chief enabler, sports editor, Joe Sullivan. You know the one. It reads, “My editor sent me to Minnesota and all I produced were two lousy columns that I put next to no effort into.”

Is there not anyone who talks with Shaughnessy about what he might be writing on? Don’t co-workers like Bob Ryan or Tony Massarotti get embarrassed by the drivel their cohort hands in while they actually still get after it? Things are tough all over and morale at newspapers is below sea level – but it can only be compounded for Globies who have to watch as Shaughnessy skates by on three out of every four offerings.

None of the Globe’s college hoops coverage bodes well for this weekend’s East Regional. Let’s hope Adam Kilgore comes up North from FLA and that Ryan doesn’t get sent to Memphis, Indy or Phoenix.

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.

Long-time Providence Journal writer Sean McAdam is headed north on 95 to become a baseball columnist and writer for the Boston Herald.

Early Thursday afternoon, McAdam confirmed to Scott’s Shots that “[he and the Herald] are talking, but nothing is in place.” That changed later in the day and a memo confirming the departure was sent to ProJo staffers late Thursday afternoon. A separate source close to the negotiations also confirmed to Shots that McAdam will be on the Herald staff, possibly as soon as the start of the playoffs.

McAdam could not be reached for comment on Thursday night, as of post time.

Sources have confirmed to Shots that McAdam has been looking for new employment after the ProJo squashed McAdam’s outside work at WEEI 850 AM and ESPN.com over the summer. At least one upper management ProJoer, Shots is told by industry sources, found fault in McAdam being on-air at WEEI during the afternoon drive on baseball’s trade deadline day. That person – not directly associated with the sports department – evidently had a problem with where McAdam’s allegiance rested and subsequently put the kibosh on McAdam’s outside gigs (the very same gigs that provided exposure for the buzzless, sagging Belo Corp. property).

(McAdam’s last ESPN.com column appeared in early August and that coincided with his last WEEI appearance. There has also been a dearth of McAdam at other outside media outlets in the area, although he did remain a guest at Comcast SportsNet.)

In fact, the day after the trade deadline, an ESPN ticker item was giving credit to the ProJo (thanks to McAdam) for information about veteran players meeting with Sox management over the Manny situation. The amount of traffic that kind of mention (and others) can generate for a website is substantial. It’s the ProJo’s fault for not maximizing McAdam – not McAdam’s fault for earning some extra income the same way most of his competitors do.

McAdam, a father of two, who turns 49 in November, has been with the ProJo company since the early 1980s (first, in a radio role) after he graduated from Providence College (Class of 1981). (Scroll down here for a good bio on McAdam from his off-off-Broadway gig of a couple of summers back.) He’s been on the Sox beat since 1989 and is one of the most-respected (and connected) baseball men on the East Coast.

If the reason for his pending departure from the ProJo is because some tyrannical, Stuffed Suit doesn’t understand the inherent benefits of multi-media-platform guys like McAdam, then it’s probably time to start digging the grave for that paper’s sports section – if not the entire operation.

. . . The Herald, Shots has been informed, has no problem with McAdam’s WEEI work or his contributions to ESPN.com. “They’re fine with it as long as he keeps his first allegiance to the Herald,” said one source with direct knowledge, “the way he did all those years for the ProJo.”

. . . The move to the Herald for McAdam makes sports editor Hank Hryniewicz 2-for-2 on his replacements for the Goodbye Four (Mike Felger, Rob Bradford, Tony Massarotti and Jeff Horrigan).

Earlier in the week Hank Herald tapped lightning rod Ron Borges, who was born to write for a tabloid, and now he nabs McAdam, whose breadth and depth on the Sox certainly offsets the Tony Mazz loss (who, by the way, may be most valuable for the Globies on the TV side). McAdam will take over the baseball notes column and also have some type of web presence for the Herald.

Hryniewicz still has one more slot to fill and Shots is told by several informed insiders that a New York tabloid baseball writer is in the lead for that slot. However, there is still a movement afoot on Hank Herald’s desk to go with a football specialist and move John Tomase off the Patriots and back to the Sox. That hire should be made in the coming week.

The key now for Hryniewicz will be maximizing the content delivered by both McAdam and Borges to prop up the sagging Sports section of BostonHerald.com. Neither Borges (at least at his own personal blog) nor McAdam (at the ProJo) have been what you would call “prolific” bloggers. But both are surely capable of breaking stories through the Internet and reacting with voice and authority when stories are broken. Problem is, the Herald’s website has shown little in terms of audio and video content on the Sports side, leading many to surmise they don’t have the manpower to fully implement such rudimentary Web accessories.

But make no mistake, the success of these hires will be determined on the Web page, NOT the printed page.

. . . The “McBrothers”, Joe McDonald of the ProJo and Kevin McNamara will probably be leaned on a bit more to make up for the missing McAdam coverage by ProJo sports editor, Art Martone. Martone has now lost Tom Curran and McAdam – two of his stalwarts – in the course of 24 months. It’s quite possible there won’t be a McAdam replacement made until late Winter, Shots is told.

• Heck of a Thursday night football game for ESPN. Jacked, pumped and totally blindsided. If only college football mattered around here.

• The Herald trumpeted its hiring of Borges as a general sports columnist with an eight paragraph announcement on Page 68 of Wednesday’s paper with quotes welcoming Borges from both Hank Hryniewicz and the paper’s editor, Kevin R. Convey.

However, neither of those veteran, grizzled journalists addressed plagiarism charges leveled against the ex-Boston Globe writer by his former employer.

Instead, the un-bylined announcement/celebration touted Borges for his “in-your-face coverage” that has both “entertained and aggravated” - they seem to have omitted “ethically violated a peer” - “local fans for almost 25 years. . . ”

An email to Hryniewicz on Wednesday afternoon seeking comment on Borges’ past plagiaristic ways was not returned. The email requested comment from either Hryniewicz or Convey.

Convey, who recently whistled in the wind about a sacred bond between the Herald and its readers in the wake of the embarrassing John Tomase affair, crowed in the Wednesday announcement that, “Borges’ arrival is one more reason why the Herald’s sports coverage is a must-read in this town. I’m looking forward to having him on the staff and watching him shake things up.”

Hryniewicz gushed, “I’m thrilled to have him on our team. . .what intrigues me most about adding him to our staff is the idea of turning Ron loose on this town and giving readers a dose of his unique take on the local sports scene.”

According to the announcement, Borges will start writing for the Wingo Waywards from San Francisco for Pats/Niners next weekend.

. . . The Herald was never overly hard on Borges during his tribulations at the Globe. But it was fairly diligent in following up. And, of course, Borges’s new bully teammate, Howie Carr, took a nice swipe at the time of the suspension. This is from Carr’s March 16, 2007 column, titled “Pols’ St. Pat’s time nothing to laugh at”:

. . . It’s sad, though, that none of these hacks who’ll trek to the Convention Center on Sunday can write their own lame stuff anymore. And by the way, if any of my material sounds familiar, take it up with my joke writer, the Globe’s Ron Borges. He has assured me everything came off a joke Web site that everybody has a right to steal from. . .

. . . We’re still waiting to hear if Herald part-timer and Cold, Hard man Kerry J. Byrne will be at the “Welcome to the Building” party for Borges.

. . . Borges will likely be asked to give the Herald some boxing coverage – and every tabloid worth its weight needs outlandish coverage of the outlandish sport – but it better keep a close eye on who and whom, Borges is still in cahoots with.

EVERYTHING that Borges does needs to pass the smell test in order for Hank Herald’s (and Kevin R. Convey’s) risk to pay off.

• As with all start-ups, we are willing to give the Boston Globe’s new weekly sports offering, OT some time to crawl before it walks.

Still, for the sake of maintaining my cranky ways, there have already been three noticeable missteps:

1. How about NO BUZZ whatsoever? Shouldn’t NESN have been promo-ing the bejeezus out of this launch? I mean, the inventory is there during the games, wouldn’t you think? What’s one more product for Jerry Remy to read? Were there any Globe in-house ads?

That wouldn’t have even taken an investment. [This leads to the bigger question of branding. It would have been a lot more sensible to name the magazine "Globe 10.0" and tie it in directly with the Bob Ryan show and maximize the year-plus already invested into "10.0" - which, by the way has OT's Charlie Pierce as a regular foil for Ryan. Now, OT could be part of a larger plan with expansion in other cities, but still, the "10.0" brand has already developed some cache here and it would have made sense to leverage that.]

2. (Bruce Allen pointed this out already, but it bears repeating:) The line about Sports Illustrated from the Globe’s Jay Fogarty in the Thursday story about the launch. What did he even mean? There shouldn’t be a single new media venture that tries to emulate SI because SI doesn’t even know what it is right now. Fogarty needed to emphasis the additional avenue that OT gives advertisers to get into people’s homes – and stay there for a week. The Globe’s ability to package its print and digital offerings is what will ultimately decide whether “OT” has a sudden death or a long life.

The only thing SI is these days is very thin and very disheveled – with a readership that is dying off or jumping ship to the Internet. Is that what Fogarty wants? Doesn’t sound like the best business model to me.

. . . (I knew the name sounded familiar and there’s good reason. I used to contribute to a magazine named OT. Failed miserably as I recall. But that happens with just about every place I’m at. Trend? I think not.)

3. Competing with thyself. How many different sections of the Boston.com site can Chad Finn appear on? When someone asks me if I read Finn today, I am going to have say “Which one?” There’s a point of diminishing returns with over-content and the Globe is now perilously close to that point.

. . . ON THE OTHER HAND - the early staff roster for editor (and ex-Herald writer and current Emerson lecturer) (NOTE: Cofman is actually lecturing at Endicott College – although he did graduate from Emerson in 1979) Mark Cofman is very strong. I’ll probably plunk down two quarters just to read Charlie Pierce (he of the 120 somewhat-related comments in his first offering), Tony Mazz and Finn. But the supporting cast includes ever-steady and under-appreciated Maureen Mullen, Celts’ stalwart Scott Souza, Tom Wilcox on the Patriots and a newbie Umie with whole lot of Kevin Cullen’s pluck in him, Danny Picard on the Bruins.

That right there is a solid justification for $26 bucks a year (assuming they go every week through holidays). Everything else is gravy.

So it’s priced right and the bylines are respectable.

Now let’s see what it can deliver as far as content, originality and – this is where it all shakes down – ad revenue.

. . . We were able to catch up with Souza on Thursday and he indicated by email that he will maintain his full-time role at Gatehouse Media’s MetroWest Daily News and the Daily News Tribune of Waltham (the latter of which he has been the sports editor for since 1999) as well as with the rest of those papers.

“One of the editors of (“OT”) was apparently a fan of the way I have covered the team the past three years and emailed me about the chance to write a weekly notebook and occasional feature for (the magazine),” Souza said. “With the volume of sports copy floating around out there these days, it was nice to be noticed. The folks here thankfully understood that it wouldn’t affect the amount of effort I dedicate to both the Celtics and local sports coverage I provide at Gatehouse.

“I was most impressed at the concept of trying a new print publication in this media climate. With all the bad news that comes out of the industry these days, it is intriguing to be a part of something aiming to buck the trend,” he said. “Hopefully, any success it enjoys will be a positive sign for print publications in general, which I have always felt still have a rightful place in the media environment even with all the advances and benefits of Web reporting and blogs. . .The editors seemed very upbeat about the potential to tap into a different demographic and it would be satisfying to play a small part in helping them do that.

“In a way, the idea of it reminded me of the very impressive publication Jerry Spar used to produce at Boston Sports Review, which I know you were involved with . . . Hopefully, with the corporate backing this will have the legs to keep going.”

RIP, BSR. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

• Been following the YouCastr evolution and the Paul Shirley show may be the first development that keeps us coming back for the foreseeable future. Dude’s funny and irreverent and we did enjoy the book version.

• Rob Bradford confirmed to Shots that WEEI.com’s Celtics coverage will be anchored by contributors Jessica Camerato and Boston Magazine’s Paul Flannery.

• An experiment in sports blogging with the PawSox.

• The movie, “American Pastime” will air on ESPN Classic this Friday night at 9 p.m. ET. Kerry Yo Nakagawa is a big Sox fan and was the associate producer for the film (in addition to having a cameo role). Compelling story indeed.

• Sounds like the return game for this one could be headed to the Boston Garden. That would be very sweet, indeed. And we’re guessing the Tigers will sneak in a meal at Coach Calipari’s new-found North End favorite, Pizzeria Regina.

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.

Numerous reliable Scott’s Shots’ sources are confirming that ex-Boston Globe writer, Ron Borges, is in discussions with the Boston Herald about filling one of three vacant spots on sports editor Hank Hryniewicz’s desk.

If true, a Borges hire would indicate the Herald is either very bold or very desperate, as the scars from the John Tomase Saga still linger at the city’s struggling second fiddle news gatherer. At the very least, the paper’s editor, Kevin R. Convey, would be stretching his promised “bond of trust” with readers to the limits if his sports department scoops up Borges, the crosstown rival’s ex-plagiairst.

When asked specifically about Borges via a Monday afternoon email from Shots, Hryniewicz would only say, “I’m still in the interviewing process for all three openings on the staff and I’m quite happy with the way the process is moving forward.”

Borges, it appears, would be in line for the general columnist slot left vacant by Tony Massarotti’s departure to the Globe. Borges would obviously have a heavy football bent to his columns, the way the now-branded “Mazz” leaned toward baseball and as the Brady injury showed for WEEI.com on Sunday, Borges does have a lot of bulldog left in that bully persona of his. (Traffic soared at the site Sunday night and into Monday, according to a WEEI.com operative.) For his new part-time employer, Entercom, Borges was ahead of the Brady-out-for-season story (with Yahoo!’s Michael Silver, it should be noted) as his deep and well-placed league connections were once again on display while the competing locals struggled to gain confirmation of the ACL injury.

• The other two slots – a baseball position and a football opening – have seen local names filter into One Herald Square for sit-downs, as well the inclusion of at least one tabloid baseball writer from New York, according to several sources.

Depending upon how Hank Herald chooses to use his tool chest, the combination of the three hires will go a long way in deciding whether the Herald Sports department is going to be a ‘player’ or an ‘also-ran’ in the rapidly evolving Boston sports media landscape. The paper lost Mike Felger, Rob Bradford, Jeff Horrigan and Mazz in what felt like one fell swoop over the summer. Those were some major contributors across the board for the Heraldos and the hires to replace them will be significant ones for Hryniewicz as he attempts to feed coal into the Little Engine That Could.

There has to be a heavy Internet presence as the paper moves forward and despite the Herald’s site being woefully outdated, the infrastructure is, in fact, in place if the “replacements” are allowed to capitalize on 24-hour drop bin that the is the World Wide Web.

• Borges, is in the midst of a remarkable renaissance after his “retirement” from the Globe, which followed a company-mandated suspension when it was revealed that Borges had taken Mike Sando’s work and passed it off as his own. But like Mike Barnicle and Ken Davis before (and many others surely to come), Borges has found a journalistic second life and is now drawing paychecks from respected media giants, Entercom and Comcast (locally on both CN8 and Comcast SportsNet). So, the Herald wasn’t necessarily first to the Borges re-birth party, but it would be taking the largest risk by putting him on full-time staff and opening up all sorts of scrutiny and, perhaps, unwanted attention that will come with hiring such a polarizing figure.

Still, there is a part of me that thinks Borges would be perfect for the Herald, in that he has always had that “tabloid edge” to his writing and his personality in general. The biggest question is: “Are we still too close to Tomasegate to trust the Herald’s judgment on Borges?”

The coming days and Hank Herald’s ultimate moves will decide all that.

• Speaking of that tabloid edge, Howie Carr once again says what most are too afraid to utter in this town. We do need to get over ourselves a bit.

• Yet another nice get by Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski who beat everyone on the new Doc deal. Can’t imagine why shoehorned Globe Celts’ beat man Frank Dell’Apa didn’t have that one!?!?

• A tease of tonight’s comical Jonathan Papelbon Video that will be shown on Comcast SportsNet:

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.

Scott’s Shots has confirmed that Boston Herald sportswriter Jeff Horrigan (mostly Red Sox) will be leaving the paper on Septembeer 10. Horrigan confirmed in a Friday phone interview that his wife, Katie, has taken a job as a public health administrator at Children’s Hospital in her hometown of Milwaukee.

“This is strictly a lifestyle decision,” said the popular, amiable and soft-spoken Horrigan, who has been at the Herald for nine years. “I’m looking in to a non-journalism job in Wisconsin and to be honest, I want to be a better father (to 11-month old, Sadie) and a better husband. It’s hard when you’re leaving in the morning and Sadie is crying in hysterics, wondering if I’ll be gone for another 7 or ten days on the road?”

Horrigan, who is heavily involved in the Hot Stove, Cool Music events confirmed that he is looking into a “non-journalism” job that will utilize his great passion for music. “I follow the music industry as close as the baseball industry,” said Horrigan, 45.

The departure from Hank Hryniewicz’s staff means the sports desk has now lost Rob Bradford, Tony Massarotti and Horrigan in the course of the Summer.

“Jeff handed in his resignation on Wednesday. He’ll be working with us up until Sept. 10,” Hank Herald confirmed via email. “We will be filling the vacancy and our search for replacements for Rob Bradford’s slot, Tony Massarotti’s slot and now Jeff Horrigan’s slot continue.”

Horrigan echoed the sentiments of Bradford and Massarotti upon their departures from Wingo Way. “The toughest thing is to leave Hank,” Horrigan said. “He’s a human being, and he sees US (his employees) as people, not cogs in the system. He was kind of laughing when I told him and he said, ‘At this point, nothing surprises me anymore.’”

The move will leave Michael Silverman, John Tomase (who is sliding over from the Patriots’ beat) and likely Steve Buckley on the Sox beat for the stretch drive and the possible playoffs. Meanwhile, the main competitors at the Boston Globe and upstart WEEI.com are beefing up their Sox coverage as Massarotti adds considerable Sox punch to the Globies and Bradford and Alex Speier give WEEI.com a formidable one-two on Fenway happenings.

Hryniewicz, who seems to thrive on being the scrappy underdog and doing battle with all comers, simply plows ahead.

“It truly means a lot to hear that my staff trusts in me to get things done,” said Hank Herald. “I have every confidence that the Herald, and particularly the sports department, will come out of this stronger and will continue to set the standard for sports coverage, analysis and opinion in this sports-crazed city…. and I say sports-crazed in the most positive sense.”

• You can not miss this absolutely terrific takedown of Jay Mariotti penned by Roger Ebert. I’m still not hearing any legitimate talk of Mariotti landing in Boston and at this point people just seem to be putting logical old relationships together – none of which would have the cash or resources to afford the widely disliked Mariotti.

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.

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.

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.