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.

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

In the meantime. . .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

March 2, 2007
Hed: Red Sox Feast on Collegians

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’m just sayin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy the Madness.

David Scott writes from a seaside shanty on the shores of Hull, Mass. and can be reached at shotsATbostonsportsmediaDOTcom.

Scott’s first book, with Memphis Coach John Calipari, is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2009 and is now available for pre-order.

ANALYSIS

While his agent, his employer (Entercom) and undoubtedly his lackeys who ride his coattails are rejoicing over the news of Glenn Ordway’s re-signing with WEEI 850 AM, the move is far from the “landscape” altering event Ordway’s agent George Tobia would like us to believe.

Instead, it means there will more of the same juvenile, inane and insulting sports talk radio that Boston listeners have been subjected to for much of Ordway’s lengthy tenure. The only saving grace may be that since Entercom opened the purse strings for Ordway that they may be cash-poor to retain the collection of meatheads that populate the WEEI studio during afternoon drive time. But even that is a longshot because the Pete Sheppards, Fred Smerlases, Steve DeOssies, Butchie Stearns and Brian Daubachs of the world know better than to bite the hand that feeds them, lest they be exposed as the frauds they are. Those elephants would work for peanuts because no other circus would be foolish enough to pay them.

As for those who continue to think Ordway was able to get a deal on par with what John Dennis and Gerry Callahan finagled last year from Entercom, I’d ask you to look no further than the Entercom stock price. On Monday, it was trading near a buck-and-a-half and has plunged to as low as half-a-buck over the past 52-weeks. There is no way a sane-thinking business person could ever suggest that Ordway didn’t have to take some kind of “hometown discount” because of the current fiscal crisis facing the nation. Ordway and Tobia read the tea leaves and knew there was no sense in playing hardball with a media company dangling by its frayed wires and they decided to get the most they could without ever seriously risking Ordway’s Big Chair spot.

In fact, there’s probably even some respect that needs to be paid to both Ordway and WEEI for not milking the re-signing as a way to temporarily boost ratings (although with the fill-ins available, that would have been a risky proposition). [Interestingly, Shots is told that Dale Arnold was the fallback plan to take over for Ordway if he bolted.] The D&C saga last year had a whole lot of contrived elements and anything of similar odor would have been frowned upon – even by the dolts who continue to fawn over Ordway and his assemblage of blabberers – especially with layoffs and cost-cutting affecting even the most rundown of regular WEEI listeners.

Shots is also told by well-placed Entercom and media sources that the reported $1 million per year is more of a “max-obtainable” figure than what Ordway’s base pay will be. While he will continue to hit ratings incentives, the insiders say, it will be difficult for Ordway to reach other performance-based thresholds, especially any that pertain to TV and/or the Web.

Still, whatever the lofty six-figure amount of money Ordway will be paid, it will, without question, make him the country’s highest-paid babysitter. If Ordway were ever able to silence his peanut gallery for good, then – and only then – would he achieve the “legendary status” of which Jason Wolfe gushed about.

• As for the TV component, we’re just not seeing how four hours of watching feeding time at the zoo is going to play for Comcast SportsNet or anyone else. (We strongly doubt snafu-suffering NESN is a serious player in the “Big Show on TV” sweepstakes and if there has to be any investment at all made by the McGrail/Feld group, it’s a non-starter.)

The WFAN simulcast that is so often cited worked because Mike and the Mad Dog were intelligent, entertaining and informative. None of those words come to mind when thinking of Ordway’s posse. A couple of options that may work would be a one-hour live-simulcast (maybe in the 5 to 6 hour) when the day’s premier guests could be featured and/or a one hour “Best of” re-cap later in the evening. (Heaven help the producer who has to mine for 50 minutes of gold from that show on a daily basis).

Similarly, we’re not seeing how well a web video simulcast would work unless there are in-studio guests that will be featured.

• Some housekeeping to tend to. . .

No, the return of Shots over the past week is not an indication that I’m back in full service operation of Scott’s Shots or it subsidiaries. I had promised at least one more 2008 post and I delivered it. (Wow, am I starting to explain myself in Simmons’s tone? Yikes.)

Then, NESN made a major mistake during the course of broadcasting an unexpected national story (BC’s upset of No. 1 UNC). I couldn’t just stand by and not delve into that a bit.

[As a minor follow-up to our earlier reporting on the incident, a national Fox SportsNet spokesperson had not heard of the situation, even after NESN had posted its Monday, "blame-FOX," non-explanation.

Shots' early afternoon phone call was, according to the spokesperson, "the first I'm hearing about it." As of the close of business Monday, FOX Sports Net was still looking into the matter.]

. . . Big ups to the Herald Dave Wedge’s better half, (Jessica Heslam), who did a nice job of cobbling together a NESN flub sidebar for the Monday print edition of the Herald. The sidebar drew heavily on Heslam’s prompt Sunday night post and included official comment from a NESN spinster.

. . . I will say it’s been nice to realize that some of you really do miss having us around. Okay, not “some.” But at least “one” of the crowd. Keep the clean comments coming and thanks for being there. I’d forgotten how passionate some of us are.

That said, some random observations:

• The ESPN.com re-design is solid. Nothing more. Put it this way, the one thing that I needed (Monday’s PTI episode) was no where to be found from the home page. Come on, People. You have a great product with PTI and you consistently under-promote it. Ride those two the way that Cardinal rode his pardner on Saturday night.

• Enough with college football already. Saturation point passed about a month ago with that whole traveshamockery.

. . . Then again, the Texas-OSU finish was compelling – except for you know, the non-compelling part where it didn’t mean a damn thing.

• Mariotti? One trick pony and he used his lone trick in the first column for AOL. I’ll never understand the recylcing that occurs in the business, but I do acknowledge there’s no stopping it. Lots of guys owing lots of other guys favors from wars gone by. Never gonna change in coaching and never gonna change in sports journalism.

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.

UPDATE: NESN has posted an “explanation” of its broadcast blunder as well as information on two scheduled re-broadcasts set for today at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. (The 1 p.m. re-broadcast is oddly void of a regular game clock, using only a score graphic in the lower right-hand corner. This was not the case in the original broadcast, so it seems even in trying to correct their error, NESN fell short.)

The posting at its website states, “NESN experienced a transmission problem at the end of last night’s Boston College basketball game that originated with the feed we received from Fox Sports Net. We apologize to all of our college basketball fans and will look into this problem to ensure that it does not occur again.”

Shots has left a phone message for a FOX Sports Net’s Director of Corporate Communications to get the FSN side of the story, but as some readers have already pointed out, the NESN explanation falls short when you consider that Fox College Sports Atlantic was able to stay with the game in its entirety (Channel 262 on some Comcast line-ups, including Shots’). NESN also does nothing to explain why there was no scroll or alert given to viewers when the snafu occurred. Shots is still awaiting reply from NESN spokesman Gary Roy on the incident. An email was sent to Roy last night at 8 p.m.

A Boston College athletics department spokesman had no comment on the matter when reached by Shots via email.

If a college basketball upset of mammoth proportions unfolds in Chapel Hill with BC dumping No. 1 and undefeated North Carolina, but the Boston market is deprived of seeing the end of said game, does the game really happen at all?

NESN viewers were left to ponder that very question after a gargantuan glitch prohibited anyone watching Sunday night’s game on the regional network from seeing BC put the finishing touches on its biggest regular season win in many a moon. The game was part of the ACC Sunday night hoops package and did remain on-air, in its entirety on FOX College Sports Atlantic (Channel 262 on some Comcast systems).

The final minute-plus of the game – which was still very much in doubt and hovering near a one or two possession game – was completely missed by NESN and viewers were not brought back to the contest until the teams were exchanging handshakes.

An email from Shots to NESN spokesperson Gary Roy on Sunday night seeking clarification on the bungle was not immediately returned.

The broadcast was doomed from the start as it was slated to start at 5:30 p.m., but NESN joined the game later after using a Program Alert scroll to inform viewers to stay tuned for the BC-UNC contest. Although NESN didn’t miss much of the start of the game, the first four minutes of game action were delivered without audio from Ron Thulin and Dan Bonner (and with no explanation).

While that issue was resolved by the first media timeout, it did nothing to prevent the switch from end-of-game action at 7:40 p.m. to an extended roll of NESN commercials, most of them in-house, hockey promos – talk about Instigators! BC fans were outraged for sure.

NESN offered no scroll explanation at all, no apology and no mention whatsoever at the network’s all-fluff website of the infuriating, embarrassing and unforgivable screw-up. Then, to add insult to injury, good soldier Heidi Watney prefaced the BC highlights on Sunday night’s “SportsDesk Lights Out” by bragging about, “a game seen right here on NESN.” More accurately, Watney should have said, “a game not seen in its entirety right here on NESN.”

Boston viewers will remember a similar snafu during the MLB playoffs on TBS in October. While this BC boo-boo is no where near as impactful, it is a stark reminder of just how little BC matters in this market. The ACC and BC Athletic Director Gene DiFilippo need to demand an explanation from the Red Sox broadcast arm and there needs to be compensation made – perhaps in the form of a re-broadcast of the game on NESN.

Beyond that, NESN has to develop a better system for alerting viewers of technical issues they are experiencing. Before the NESN apologists can get their excuses/spin out for this one, let’s all remember that the game remained live and uninterrupted on another regional’s delivery of the game.

• The gaffe was immediately noted (of course) on the BSM message board and at Jessica Helsam’s Boston Herald blog, The Messenger delivers what sounds like a sad tale of hoops watching in the Heslam household. The Eagle in Atlanta also entertained some irate BC folks in its comments section. Expect more of the same on Monday as people talk about the upset around the water cooler.

Happy New Year, Joel Feld (and Sean McGrail). Way to get ’09 off to a rocking start at NESN.

David Scott writes from a seaside shanty on the shores of Hull, Mass. and can be reached at shotsATbostonsportsmediaDOTcom.

Scott’s first book, with Memphis Coach John Calipari, is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2009 and is now available for pre-order.

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

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

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

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

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

First, the Globe’s battle with NESN:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And now, to The Big O. . .

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

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

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

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

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

The Tom Ellis Shotty for Overstaying Their Welcome:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Shotty for the Worst Kept Sports Media Secret

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Shotty for Most Pleasant Surprise of 2008

WEEI.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Boston Globe (specifically Sunday notes columns)

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

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

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

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

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

The Shotty for the Region’s Most Complete Media Talent

Mike Reiss, Boston.com/Boston Globe

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

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

• And finally, some quick Shotties in various categories:

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

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

Oh, and of course, Butch Stearns.

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

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

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

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

And, for other reasons entirely, Bob Gamere.

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

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

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

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

Some other favorites from 2008 in Shots’ coverage:

Callahan v. Simers

Kimball v. Halloran

Sad exit from ProJo for Sean McAdam

Wilbon takes on Kimbo

David Scott writes from a seaside shanty on the shores of Hull, Mass. and can be reached at shotsATbostonsportsmediaDOTcom.

Scott’s first book, with Memphis Coach John Calipari, is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2009 and is now available for pre-order.

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.

WEEI.com editor Rob Bradford has confirmed to Scott’s Shots that part-timer Ron Borges is leaving the site for a full-time gig at the Boston Herald.

When reached on his cell phone Tuesday night in the 7 p.m. hour, Borges hung up on me after I identified myself. I took that as a classless way of saying “no comment.”

But Bradford indicated Borges would be done with WEEI.com on or about October 3 and that it is likely Borges will be writing for the Herald when the Patriots return from the bye week in San Francisco.

“The Herald is getting a guy who is being read and I have the numbers to prove it,” said Bradford, who declined to be specific on page views. “He was living up to the investment we made in him. I would encourage anyone to go back and look at the 14 (pieces) he has done for us (so far) and they will see exactly the reasons we hired Ron: (among them were) his NFL sources, his strong voice and his writing.”

Bradford said he has no regrets in what turns out to be a month-long rental of the former Boston Globe writer who “retired” after his suspension from that paper for what the Globe termed plagiarism.

Since then, Borges has been on a road to redemption with frequent, paid TV spots and several writing gigs, in addition to a weak attempt at personal blogging. His short, but effective stint at WEEI.com may have helped remind locals what “Good Ron Borges” can offer in terms of expertise and insight. It’s the “Evil Ron Borges” that adds the intrigue to the whole package.

“That was a defining moment in getting Ron and it gave us some momentum that we haven’t relinquished,” Bradford said. “We are grateful to Ron for what he did for us and I think he was grateful for the (opportunity). What he did for us, I think, helped his position in the eyes of the marketplace and that’s good for him.”

It’s unclear whether the move will wind up being good for the Boston Herald and sports editor Hank Hryniewicz. The hire comes at a pivotal time for the scrappy tabloid, especially on the sports desk where recent defections have left the ranks of Hank’s Heroes very thin. Beyond the personnel losses, the Borges hire signifies a calculated risk by Hryniewicz, who finds himself only four months removed from the mid-May maelstrom over the John Tomase matter.

With Tomase and Borges on his staff, Hank Herald now holds two of the most notorious sportswriters in the city’s history on his roster. In reality, it amounts to a cross-highway trade of Borges for Tony Massarotti – a swap that would seem to favor the Globe.

The falling dominoes were set in motion over the course of the summer as the Herald lost valued contributors Bradford (WEEI.com), Massarotti (Globe), Mike Felger (WEEI) and Jeff Horrigan (lifestyle change). Hank Herald is in the process of filling three vacant spots and Borges appears to be the first move that has been locked down, with the two other spots likely going to baseball writers.

Last week, Hryniewicz told Shots in an email that he would have “no comment on any ongoing interviews or negotiations. I will say, however, that I continue to speak with a number of impressive candidates for the three positions and I am quite pleased with the quality of the individuals who have shown an interest in coming to work for the Boston Herald.”

Bradford said he knew there was a possibility that a full time offer would woo Borges away from Entercom’s fledgling webiste, “but it was still a good move for us and for Ron. I told him, ‘I’m happy for you and I’m also happy for Hank and the Herald.”

. . . It’s also unclear how the new job will affect Borges’s other multi-media affiliations. He currently averages about two nights per week on the CN8 7 p.m. edition of “Out of Bounds.” [Disclaimer: Shots also appears on that and the 11:30 p.m. OOB.] But Borges – who will likely be traveling more in his Herald role – also recently appeared on Comcast SportsNet and those appearances likely require less time at a similar payscale to the CN8 spots. Alliances such as the one with Golden Boy Promotions would clearly have to cease if, in fact, they are still in place (as they appear to be according to Dan Rafael). Other part-time gigs would also likely be out for Borges per terms of his Herald deal.

. . . Bradford has already begun the process of filling the soon-to-be vacant Borges spot and said “there is no shortage” of candidates. He also indicated the site is close to filling two part-time Celtics slots after having already posted some of new Bruins’ contributor, Joe Haggerty.

. . . Not sure if we should expect a “Welcome to the Paperhood” note from Kerry J. Byrne or not?

• SHOTS’ INSTANT ANALYSIS OF THE BORGES HIRE:

Bradford is right. The Herald is getting a voice. But at what cost?

Borges is both polarizing and abrasive – two traits that usually make for excellent tabloid journalism. But he’s also never fully explained his departure from the Globe and the lingering questions are something Hryniewicz needs to have answered before Borges can effectively do his job. The Tomase situation was handled with some very sloppy direction from above which makes it imperative for the re-birth of Borges at Wingo Way to be handled with glasnost and transparency by ALL involved.

I don’t want to get too personal on this assessment of Borges, but I do thing his reaction to my Tuesday call is quite telling. How hard is a “no comment” or an “I’m not talking to you,” instead of simply hanging up?

There’s no question I have been critical of the former Broadsheet Bully (turned Tabloid Tyrant), but I have also made every attempt to balance my coverage of Borges since his odd separation from the Globe. When his Brady scoop from earlier in the month happened, I – and others – gave Borges credit. When he started a personal blog and infrequently updated it, I called him out on it. When it was apparent that Borges was in cahoots with Oscar De La Hoya, I pointed it out. And when WEEI.com hired him, I gave both the pros and cons of such a move. In other words, I’ve covered Borges the way he covers his subjects.

Would I hire Ron Borges if I were Hank Herald. Probably not. But maybe that’s because I don’t know Ron’s side of things from the plagiarism examples that were unearthed while he was at the Globe. He once suggested that the Lord would have a role in dispersing the true story, but as of yet the Almighty has not deemed it a worthy topic. Perhaps He should.

There is, as a trusted reader reminded me recently, only one mortal sin in the business of professional journalism and that is the act of plagiarism. Even if the industry has long forgotten that tenet (Witness: Barnicle, Mike; Davis, Ken; et al), it is still the duty of reputable news organizations to have the decency to ensure readers that the highest level of journalism is being practiced. If there is someone on staff who has had blemishes on his past works, it would seem only proper that those blemishes be addressed before the writer begins earnestly trying to gain our trust again.

Especially at a paper where the “bond” of trust is so valued.

• The Papelbon-fueled post-game celebration from Fenway on Tuesday night gave a telling glimpse into how the NESN people are considering using their sideline talent as the season wends into October. Using both Heidi Watney and Kathryn Tappen for post-game reaction, the network leaned much more heavily on the more polished Tappen for interviews (including Terry Francona’s). Watney was caught unprepared with follow-up questions several times (with a very patient Theo Epstein once) and was clearly asked by a producer to fall back on the catch-all “greatest memory of the season” question.

It’s worth monitoring who NESN sends on the road with the Sox in the playoffs as it might behoove the in-house network of the team to have a more seasoned and ready reporter (Tappen) under the pressure of post-season pre- and post-game duties.

. . . “It never gets old,” but then again, it gets old pretty quickly. I mean really, WHAT have they accomplished? I hate to be cranky, but it’s just a little too much champagne spraying for September 23. Save the bubbly for October wins of note.

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.

Watch the following clip get a taste for just how incongruous and out of place it was to have Bob Costas introduce John Mellencamp at Saturday’s Farm Aid music extravaganza in Mansfield.

Was that odd or what? And Costas doesn’t deliver on his 10-second promise, instead taking 30 uncomfortable seconds to bring on the ever-more schmaltzy artist formerly known as John Cougar. Costas was in the NBC Sunday night studios, so he evidently snuck in from Manhattan for his bizarre appearance from stage left which had been delivering Carson Daly to the Mansfield stage as the day’s emcee.

Some more Farm Aid-related tidbits below if anyone cares, but first a few updates and tidbits for your Monday morning:

• The final stages of the Boston Herald’s attempt to fill three sportswriting positions appear to be nearing as Scott’s Shots is still being told by several reliable sources that Ron Borges is close to joining Hank Hryniewicz’s staff as a general columnist. Two other positions – now believed to BOTH be on the baseball beat – are also close to being wrapped up with a local writer and a New York tabloid baseball scribe holding the edge for what will likely become a baseball columnist and a Sox beat position.

That development is intriguing because it could potentially mean that John Tomase would remain on the Patriots beat instead of being switched over to the Sox, as had been discussed over the past month.

A Friday email response to s Shot’s request from Hank Herald would only say, “I will have no comment on any ongoing interviews or negotiations. I will say, however, that I continue to speak with a number of impressive candidates for the three positions and I am quite pleased with the quality of the individuals who have shown an interest in coming to work for the Boston Herald.”

. . . A Borges hire would be similar to the tactic the Herald used in 2004 – with mixed results – in employing Mike Barnicle. That track record alone, would make the hire a must-follow storyline for area business and media writers.

• Meanwhile, one of Borges’s most fervent opponents has entered into an agreement with the Bully’s former employer (which directly accused Borges of plagiarism). Scott’s Shots has learned that Kerry Byrne, the founder of Cold Hard Football Facts has signed a sales and content deal with Boston.com. Combined with pre-existing deals with both Sports Illustrated and OpenSports.com, the move completes an impressive “Big Three” of content distributors for Byrne’s wide-ranging site.

Adding further intrigue into the new deal for CHFF is the fact that Byrne is also a part-timer at the Herald for the Food section.

• Last week’s travel schedule allowed us to have access to the debut week of Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo on Sirius XM and we were pretty encouraged by the Puppy’s first nibbles. There was – as should have been expected – a huge New York presence on the phone lines, but that’s a big reason why Russo was coveted by the satellite radio giant. There’s potential for strong banter with Steve Torre and the addition of a another few “characters” will go a long way in solidifying the show. But overall, Russo is deft enough to handle the show by himself and gets a fairly intelligent and well-spoken class of caller (at least early in the show’s existence).

Russo also happened to be 100 percent correct when he explained on Friday that EVERY sports fan – or TRUE sports fan – would be wise to take in the Yankee Stadium ceremonies on Sunday night. From Don Larsen scooping dirt from the pitcher’s mound to Bern Baby Bern’s ovation and with many other moments mixed in, the event had significance and meaning beyond the glitz and glamour it artificially created (thanks, ESPN).

• Those master marketers, the Kraft Family, last week sent out “2008 Season Ticket Holder lapel pins” as a “small token of appreciation for your loyal support and to recognize your unique status in the Patriots fan base.” Conveniently included in the same padded envelope were four coupons for use at four separate Patriot Place stores (20 percent off at Off Broadway, Reebok and Bed, Bath & Beyond and 10 percent at Bass Pro Shops) and a reminder “Be a part of Patriots history!” at the newly opened Hall of Fame (but no discounts or comps for admission to the new venue).

. . . Fear not, Boston sports media inhalers – the Pats’ bye week will not be as all-encompassing and banal as it would be in, say, Novemeber when they are the only meaningful show in town. The start of the baseball post-season will surely temper the overkill and over-reaction to Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Miami Dolphins.

• Stop, already, with the people who truly believe that the team’s radio duo of Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti is still worthy of being on-air. The misidentifications, missed plays and repeated mis-speaks by G&G are ghastly. In less than a full (first) half of listening on Sunday, Shots heard one or the other or both of the duo call Bill Belichick “Bill Parcells”; completely miss a Miami penalty flag that led to a Patriots first down; and give a reception to a receiver who didn’t get his first reception until the second half (an error feintly corrected by Santos when he gave the catch to Ted Ginn, Jr.).

The Rock Radio Nitwits are ready for their curtain call and it’s time to send in the replacements (where the new conjoining of Scott Zolak and Mike Lynch at WCVB has some informed people thinking that duo could be next in the radio booth.)

[Harsh? Maybe - but let's not allow the Krafts to get a pass for foisting the past-their-prime pairing upon us for another full season of sub-par broadcasting.]

. . . WEEI 850 AM picked up the Marconi Award for national Sports Station of the Year and we’d be foolish not to recognize the significance of that accomplishment. So, yes, loud and boorish is actually a way to go through life, we suppose. Congrats to the Wolfe Man and the gang – the formula does seem to work.

. . . Bob Lobel on morning radio at an oldies station. Perfect. Just perfect.

• So, the Neil Young set list at Farm Aid – which started off completely smoking and peaked with a stirring “Powderfinger,” went like this:

Love And Only Love
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Powderfinger
Mother Earth
Unknown Legend
Old Man
Get Back To The Country
A Day In The Life

. . . Kenny Chesney had the women swooning and we gotta admit, there’s some appeal to the Sox-inclusive She’s From Boston Girl and this one, too (having been there before. Several times.) Consider Shots a newfound Chesney chooser (although I was unfairly swayed by a Section 13, bespectacled beauty who sang every song and glowed through the entire Chesney set.)

. . . The Pretenders set was completely overlooked in all the early reviews I saw. Chrissie Hynde still has the sultry voice that can’t be ignored.

. . . Last moment of playing “Rolling Stone Shots”: Great Woods (insert real name if you feel it necessary) is an awful, awful venue that needs to be thoroughly re-done or simply imploded. Saturday night’s monster gathering stretched the place to its limits and it was an ugly sight to see the hammering the facilities took. Concession costs were OUTRAGEOUS and the feel of “Farm Aid” was lost on a very young, very drunk and very green crowd that roamed the upper portions of the seating area and the incredible, shrinking, grassy knoll up top.

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.