THIS WEEK:

Red Sox title punches Schilling’s ticket to Hall

A few days of thought often adds perspective to a major event. When the Red Sox clinched their second World Championship in four years last Sunday, many emotions surfaced. Trying to impose one theme on a team of so many heroes is difficult.

The media tries to simplify things. Sign Lowell. Put Papelbon on every magazine cover and TV show this side of Popular Mechanics and “The View.” Ortiz did Conan. Ramirez did Leno. So, what is the crux? What is the root of this giant Red Sox redwood? Two words: Curt Schilling.

Schilling is the ultimate dichotomy. Off the field, he can be downright annoying, like that neighbor who insists on trying out the new chainsaw on Sunday at 6am. Schilling’s chainsaw is his mouth.

He is the epitome of checkbook journalism with his paid guest appearances on Boston’s Sportsradio WEEI. Granted, the money goes to Schilling’s many charitable endeavors, but those endeavors are seldom the topic of conversation. Schilling consistently shoots his mouth off on WEEI, making it his own personal pulpit.

Earlier this year, Curt Schilling’s comments on Barry Bonds only served to confirm that he can be one the biggest horse’s ass in sports. His remarks so angered Bonds that the ex-Giants slugger implied that he might even pursue a lawsuit against Schilling.

Questioning the validity of Bonds’ home run record given the cloud of steroid use was vintage Schilling. If a network would televise it, Schilling would hold a press conference questioning the validity of Tuesday coming after Monday.

Schilling was similarly arrogant in the aftermath of a Red Sox-Devil Rays brawl in 2005. Following the brawl, Schilling trashed then-Tampa Bay manger Lou Piniella, implying that the game had passed him by.

Schilling’s former teammate and current ESPN analyst John Kruk told Media Blitz, “That’s Curt. He’s going to say whatever he feels like saying because he thinks he’s always right. He doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.

“The thing here is that Curt is not right. Piniella has never left the game. How can he be out of touch? Curt needs to stop talking so much and concentrate on what he needs to do to come back and pitch.” At the time of Schilling’s anti-Piniella rant, he was in the midst of an injury-plagued season that saw him win just 8 games.

Kruk said that he and Schilling were “not really close” as teammates with the Phillies. “I played with guys in Philly who liked to fight, but we never looked for a fight. Curt is just adding fuel to the fire. I don’t know why he would want to continue this. I mean, it seems like Curt has ample opportunities to hear himself on radio, TV and in the newspaper.”

Schilling was equally vociferous when he played in Philadelphia, but Kruk said that veteran leadership ruled. “I know Boston has Jason Varitek, but we had (catcher) Darren Daulton, the best leader I ever saw. When Curt would talk too much, Darren would take him aside and tell him that we were not about that. When you’re young, you listen.”

Kruk said that Schilling’s affinity for the spotlight has rubbed some former teammates the wrong way. He stated, “When people become successful, they don’t necessarily become smarter.

“I’m not around the Red Sox, but I’ve talked to people who played with Curt and they do resent that he talks so much. Curt says a lot of things he shouldn’t say. In fact, a former Phillies teammate still wants a piece of him.”

This year, Schilling showed up to Red Sox Spring Training visibly heavier. Maybe that indeed wasn’t blood on his sock in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS. Given the girth that Schilling displayed in Fort Myers, it might have been ketchup.

In addition, he publicly campaigned for a new one year, $13 million contract from the team. Schilling used his media forum to issue the Red Sox a not so subtle ultimatum.

So, where’s that dichotomy, you ask? It’s simple. Despite the aforementioned faults, Curtis Montague Schilling is quite simply the best big game pitcher of our generation. Forget Roger Clemens. Forget the one-inning heroics of Mariano Rivera or Dennis Eckersley. Forget Andy Pettitte, Josh Beckett, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux or John Smoltz.

There was one more quote from Kruk in that 2005 interview. He stated, “Of all the pitchers of the last 10 or 15 years, Curt would be the guy I’d want to pitch a big game.” Amen

With an 11-2 postseason record, Schilling has punched his ticket to Cooperstown. His penchant for whining is surpassed only by his penchant for winning. Any Hall of Fame that does not eventually include Schilling should be the victim of the nearest wrecking ball.

Give me your Whitey Fords, Jim Palmers, Catfish Hunters, Steve Carltons, Nolan Ryans, Bob Gibsons, Juan Marichals, Fergie Jenkins and Don Suttons. I’ll toss them back and take Schilling in October. The ego that fuels his maddening desire to be heard is the same ego that fuels his unquenchable thirst for the ball when elimination is a near certainty.

In the panaplea of the contemporary Boston sports scene, the media has continually searched for the next Larry Bird, the next Ted Williams, the next Bill Russell, the next Bobby Orr. Schilling might just be that guy. He combines the intensity of Bird, the attitude of Williams, the pride of Russell and the fearlessness of Orr.

In the end, the Hall of Fame is about numbers. Schilling has 216 wins, more than enough to enter the doorways of Cooperstown, doorways that, in the past few years, have allowed the great, but hardly legendary likes of Tony Perez, Gary Carter and Bruce Sutter to pass.

He has pitched at a high level for 20 seasons and has a .597 winning percentage (216-146). His lifetime ERA is a dandy 3.46 and he has 3,116 strikeouts.

In the postseason, Schilling goes from impressive to immortal. His 11-2 overall mark is highlighted by a 3-1 record and a 0.93 ERA in the Division Series, a 4-0 mark in the League Championship Series and a 3-1 record with an ERA of 2.06 in four World Series.

He was the MVP of the 1993 NLCS with the Phillies and has a career postseason ERA of 2.23 with 25 walks and 120 strikeouts in 133.1 innings.

Schilling has won two titles with the Red Sox (2004 and 2007) and one with the Diamondbacks (2001). He would have won another with Philly in 1993 if closer Mitch Williams hadn’t given up more runs than cheap panty hose.

Beyond the numbers, in sports, it’s all about winning. A couple of years ago, CBS NFL analyst insultingly compared Peyton Manning to Dan Marino. The gist was that for all his stats, Manning, like Marino before him, had yet to win a Super Bowl. It was a crass comment, given that Marino was seated on the same panel as Esiason.

Some writers and reporters still hold the lack of a title against Marino, even though the astute likes of HBO’s Bryant Gumbel correctly assert that Marino was the best passer who ever lived.

The championship issue has to work both ways. Schilling most likely won’t get to that magical 300-win plateau. He won’t have 4000 strikeouts or an ERA under 3.00, but he is the ultimate winner. He also won’t desecrate the game by playing half a season or eschewing road games like certain Hall of Famer Roger Clemens.

Clemens’ disregard for the spirit of the sport is worse than any statistical shortcomings that Schilling may have. With a postseason record that is nothing short of sparkling and solid regular season numbers to back it up, Curt Schilling is a true Hall of Famer.

A week of thought does indeed put things into perspective. I’ve bashed the vociferous Schilling many times in the past, but I am turning in my Louisville Slugger. Schilling has shut me up.

The truth is clear. The Boston Red Sox B.C. (Before Curt): No World Titles in 86 years. The Boston Red Sox A.D. (After Dinner with Theo Epstein and Schilling on Thanksgiving 2003): Two World Titles in 4 years.

Schilling has taken the ball, the responsibility, and yes, the microphone. He has led a franchise with more snakebites than the late Steve Irwin to the brink of a dynasty. He is loud, proud and should be allowed into Cooperstown to join his fellow legends.

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THIS WEEK:

• Orsillo on the ‘Rocks
• Flip-flop Theismann

Orsillo gives Boston the “Rockie” Mountain lowdown
Ex-ESPN analyst Theismann changes his tune on Randy Moss

At 38 years old, sportscaster Don Orsillo has attained some impressive titles, from lead Red Sox play-by-play man on the New England Sports Network (NESN), to national announcer for TBS’s 2007 MLB Division Series.

This week, Orsillo has a new moniker, New England’s resident Colorado Rockies expert. Orsillo called the Colorado-Philadelphia Division series for TBS. Before that, he was at the microphone for the Rockies’ one game playoff win vs. San Diego.

As Colorado gets set to invade Fenway Park for Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday (Fox, 8pm), Orsillo has been besieged by the New England media looking for the straight scoop on what Colorado fans are calling “Rocktober.”

“Colorado was so on fire and their offense was so tough to deal with,” recalls Orsillo, who teamed with Joe Simpson in the Rockies-Phils series.

“Game 1 was the key. Philly was so fired up having beaten the Mets for the division title, then they lost the first two at home. Philly’s pitching and some managerial moves by Charlie Manuel were very suspect.”

This was Orsillo’s first foray into national play-by-play. “It was awesome,” he states. “It all came together when they approached me in August.

“At first, I thought I’d be doing an American League series, most likely Anaheim vs. Cleveland. At that time, it looked like the Yankees would not make the playoffs, but things shifted.

“TBS didn’t want a Red Sox announcer doing a Yankees series. They thought Yankee fans would not like that. It was the same with Cleveland or Anaheim fans. At the national level, they fear any perception of possible bias.”

Orsillo and Dick Stockton were the absolute best of a so-so lot of announcers and analysts on TBS. He deserves to be called back by TBS in 2008. “I had a great time,” says Orsillo. “TBS has an 8-year deal. I don’t know if I’ll be doing any games beyond this season, but I hope to talk to them later this year.”

One thing that is a certainty for Orsillo is the magnitude of what the Rockies have accomplished down the stretch and in the playoffs winning 21 of 22 games.

“The Rockies are amazing,” he gushes. “I knew nothing about them when they came to Boston for interleague play this year, but they beat Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett, and took two out of three games.

“I don’t put a lot of stock in what they did in June. They’re like the Twins, stockpiling young talent that has come through. As late as September 15, they were 6.5 games out with three teams ahead of them.

“The only thing I can compare it to is Morgan Magic, when Joe Morgan took over the Red Sox in 1988 and the team went on that great streak (12 straight wins and 19 out of 20).”

Orsillo says that the positive for Colorado is a mixture of young and veteran talent, but the team’s quick work of Philly and Arizona may have been a little too efficient for their own good.

“Their pitching staff has some young talent like Franklin Morales and Ubaldo Jimenez. Josh Fogg and Jeff Francis are solid. Todd Helton is a leader and Troy Tulowitzki is playing beyond his years, but I really think the layoff will hurt them.

“It was similar to the Tigers last year. Colorado has won 21 of 22. When you are on a streak like that, you want to play the next day.”

In doing the games for TBS, Orsillo had a crash course in the travails of life at Coors Field. He states, “The air is ridiculously thin there. It was so tough for them to sign free agents, especially pitchers. The baseball becomes harder at that altitude.

“They started putting the baseballs in a humidor and it has totally offset the thin air. That is as loud a crowd as I have ever heard, especially for that one game playoff against San Diego.”

Red Sox fans remain somewhat in the dark as to Colorado’s strengths, one of which is the team’s manager. “Their offense is very good,” Orsillo explains.

“With Garrett Atkins, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe and others, they can put up big run totals. This year, they broke the Red Sox (2006) record for fewest errors in a season.

“Clint Hurdle is an interesting manager and person. I met him when I was calling games for AA Binghamton and he was managing the Norfolk Tides in the Mets’ system. He has a saying, ‘Go eat!’ He tells his pitchers not to nibble, just go out there and eat.”

While Boston fans and media may not be totally familiar with the Rockies, Orsillo says the Red Sox brass certainly is. “I know that during the last two weeks of the season, the team sent guys to scout prospective postseason opponents. They have extensive information on Colorado. There will be no surprises.”

With seven holdovers from the 2004 championship squad, the Red Sox have a decided edge in World Series experience, but does that translate to the field? “It does,” answers Orsillo, who will have pregame and postgame duties for NESN during the World Series.

“Tim Wakefield was talking to me about this the other night. If you looked into the eyes of guys like Grady Sizemore during that Game 7 vs. Cleveland, their reaction to the pressure was different. Cleveland’s youth caught up to them.

“Eric Wedge is a friend and he told me that the youth of his team would be a factor. As it was in 2004, the Red Sox pitching will be the key. Colorado’s pitching simply does not match up with Boston’s. I like the Red Sox in six games.”

Randy reverse

Former ESPN “Monday Night Football” (MNF) analyst Joe Theismann is singing a different tune about Randy Moss these days.

In the October 17 edition of “Patriots Football Weekly,” NBCSports.com columnist Tom Curran quotes Theismann as saying, “I think Randy Moss is more reliable (than Terrell Owens). Randy doesn’t drop the ball.

“The two best pair of hands I ever saw were Deion Sanders’ and Randy Moss’. Comparing Randy and T.O. is like comparing night and day.”

This unending praise is a far cry from what Theismann said of Moss in a 2005 speaking engagement when Moss was still with the Vikings.

“I would trade Randy Moss,” Theismann stated. “He is a jerk. He doesn’t go over the middle. He is not physical and he won’t block. Joe Gibbs said that to play this game, you need character, intelligence and ability. Randy Moss only has the third.”

Theismann also related the 2005 thoughts of Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick on Moss. Theismann said, “I could sit for hours and listen to men like Bill Belichick. He has been able to keep a core group of unselfish players together.

“Bill Belichick told me that it would never even cross his mind to acquire a selfish player like Randy Moss.” Hmm, I’d say the turnarounds of Theismann and Belichick would rival any athletic move that even Moss himself could make.

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THIS WEEK:

• Johnson waxes
• Terry’s troubles
• Simms the seer

ESPN’s Johnson no expert on team leadership

I have no issues with former athletes overtaking the broadcast industry. Indeed, there are some observations that only an ex-player can make. I do, however, take issue with ex-players who seem to forget their own shortcomings when critiquing today’s athletes.

Case in point, ESPN’s “NFL Countdown” analyst Keyshawn Johnson. Johnson has, more than once this year, spoken about how many teams are lacking unselfish leaders. This past weekend, Johnson again took that path in discussing the differences between Terrell Owens and Randy Moss.

Johnson stated, “(Owens) loves the attention. He’s starving for the attention. Everything is about him. I’ve never once seen Randy Moss say, ‘Oh, it’s about me. I want to go to the Pro Bowl. I want to do this here.’ He’s (Moss) talking about winning championships.

“He went to the New England Patriots to try to win a championship. Terrell didn’t go to the Dallas Cowboys to win a championship. He went there to get money. It is all about him. You cannot do that.”

Excuse me while I cough up my esophagus. Keyshawn Johnson was one of the single most selfish players to ever slip on a jock strap. He says that Owens thinks it’s all about him, yet it was Johnson who wrote a book called “Just Give Me The Damn Ball!” Are you kidding me?

Back in 2003, The Buccaneers dumped Johnson because he was constantly undermining coach Jon Gruden and putting himself ahead of the team.

On Sunday, Johnson stated, “(Owens is) dropping way too many footballs. His natural athletic ability does not take over games at the end of games. If you look, Randy Moss makes big catches at the end of the football game. I need that from my wide receiver. Third down, I need that. In the red zone at the end of the game, I need that.

“In all of Terrell Owens career, I’ve seen him make one big catch against the Green Bay Packers at the end of the game.”

Johnson saw nothing. He was too busy trashing Jets’ teammate Wayne Chrebet and calling out coaches on the sidelines. Maybe Johnson should have been watching Super Bowl XXXIX when Owens caught 9 passes for 122 yards essentially playing on one leg.

He dominated the Patriots defense even though the Eagles lost the game. Owens took Randall Gay to school, gave him lunch money and bought his books.

This is not the first time that Keyshawn has made an ass of himself on television. Back in 2003, after the Bucs deactivated Johnson, he appeared on Fox “NFL Sunday.” Then host James Brown tried to take Keyshawn off the hook, saying that the Buccaneers made Keyshawn “look like a major malcontent.”

In reality, Keyshawn Johnson made Keyshawn Johnson look like a major malcontent. The Bucs made him disappear. When asked what he did after being deactivated, Keyshawn first said that he called Jon Gruden, then retracted that saying he called then-GM Rich McKay. He finally stated that he called the team’s assistant GM. Hey, Keyshawn, which one was it?

The only member of the Fox on-air team who pressed Keyshawn for answers was Jimmy Johnson. When Keyshawn said that he was committed to the Bucs, Johnson asked him why he failed to show up for off-season and Monday workouts.

The issue of former athletes being critical of current players came up earlier this season when ex-Giant Tiki Barber ripped Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin. Barber has a right to tap into his knowledge of the Giants, just as the Giants have a right to be ticked off at Barber for airing locker room dirty laundry.

Fox analyst Troy Aikman took issue with Barber’s comments saying, “I’m a true believer in that a team needs great character in addition to great talent in order to achieve success. When you look at the Giants and see all of the talent they’ve had over the last several years, you almost have to say, ‘Why hasn’t this team been able to accomplish more?’

“Then you look at some of the public comments made recently by Barber about Eli Manning. I don’t think you have to look much further than that to say, ‘You know, maybe now I understand why this team has underachieved.’”

Fox’s Jimmy Johnson was equally critical of Barber. “If it hadn’t been for Tom Coughlin, Tiki Barber might not have even been playing these last couple of years,” said Johnson.

“(Tiki) dropped the ball so many times that there’s a good chance he’d be over on the sidelines. But I guess now that he’s in the broadcast business, he has gotten a lot smarter and forgot about all those fumbles.”

Aikman and Johnson aside, Barber was a team leader in New York and never had any of the character flaws that Keyshawn Johnson possessed. He has a lot more integrity in the leadership department.

Keyshawn Johnson has every right to discuss pass routes and play calling, but when the subject turns to leadership, he should best step aside and let more credible analysts take the floor.

Bradshaw’s bombs

What’s eating Fox’s Terry Bradshaw? Several weeks ago, he ignorantly trashed Donovan McNabb for statements McNabb made about being an African-American quarterback in the NFL. Bradshaw dismissed McNabb’s thoughtful statements as a cry for more love.

Two weeks ago, Raiders quarterback Daunte Culpepper had a great day against his former team, the Dolphins. Miami jettisoned Culpepper due to the quarterback’s lingering knee problems.

After scoring a touchdown, Culpepper pointed to his knee and triumphantly motioned to the Miami crowd as if to tell them that his knee was fine.

In response, Bradshaw said to Culpepper, “You should keep your mouth shut, go sit on the bench, show some class and be thankful you’ve been given another chance. That’s what wins people back to your side, and that’s what shuts your detractors up.”

What was Bradshaw talking about? In what way does Culpepper have to win anyone back? He got hurt and has battled back from it. The only detractor I see is Bradshaw himself. Culpepper’s touchdown celebration was harmless and joyous. It was hardly classless.

Bradshaw is being incredibly hypocritical given his longtime infatuation with Brett Favre, a guy who celebrates every touchdown pass as if it were a Super Bowl winner.

Favre has also made a habit of getting in the face of opposing defensive linemen. Bradshaw has done everything but give Favre a hot oil massage, yet he criticizes Culpepper for showing similar emotion.

The odd rants continued this week as Bradshaw commented on Vinny Testaverde’s return to the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. Bradshaw stated, “Just how thin is the National Football League as far as quality quarterbacks are concerned, that we have to go and get a guy out of a wheelchair, put him on a team and he stands a chance to start today?”

First of all, the “wheelchair” line is a bit insulting to a host of people and groups. Second, Bradshaw is showing his ignorance. Testaverde, most recently a New England Patriot, is no kid, but he is still one of the best-conditioned and smartest quarterbacks in the league.

You don’t make a Bill Belichick roster if you’re dead weight. Bradshaw’s unkind remarks were further buried when Testaverde completed 20 of 33 passes for 206 yards highlighted by a 65-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith.

Hmm, I wonder if Bradshaw will pull out that “wheelchair” line in five years when Brett Favre hits 43. Doubt it.

Phil’s forecast

In the aftermath of the NFL’s first Clash of the Titans, New England at Dallas, it’s interesting to break down the pregame thoughts of CBS’ game analyst Phil Simms.

Leading into the contest, Simms stated, “(New England) will be even more determined, more focused and more ready for this game because they know the environment. They know the team they are going to play is a well-rounded team. And, they know it will take their best to win. All that is right up New England’s alley.”

How true. There is no substitute for big game experience and you could tell right away which team seemed more used to the atmosphere. Many of Dallas’s players were dancing and strutting following mere tackles.

Conversely, the Patriots, save for a couple of celebrations by Vince Wilfork and Rodney Harrison, looked like they had been in important games previously.

Simms continued, “New England is a team where winning is important to them, but they also love to battle. I have always said that in athletics always be afraid of the person who loves to battle. They have proven ever since Bill Belichick has been there that they can fight for a long time.”

Simms taps into a part of the Patriots that is often overlooked. This team is incredibly tough. Smart, tested, proud and prepared are often-used terms to define the Patriots, but they are as down and dirty a bunch as any.

Simms also stated, “A lot of teams have wanted a piece of New England over the years and they enjoy that fight, but somewhere in the second half they end up asking is this fight ever going to end?”

Simms predicted the outcome perfectly. When Dallas jumped ahead of New England 24-21, the Patriots responded like a boxer who tastes his own blood. They went ballistic. From there on, it was a 24-6 drubbing with Dallas clearly out of gas at the end of the game. Credit Simms for accurately forecasting the game’s storyline.

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THIS WEEK:

• TBS is not OK
• McDonough musings

TBS announcers a postseason disappointment
Sean McDonough’s voice missed in baseball playoffs

TBS bobbled the ball, gave up a game-winning home run and struck out with the bases loaded. While Major League Baseball’s Division Series have given us some memorable moments, the broadcast teams describing those moments have been disappointing.

In each of the four series, TBS’s talent, with the exception of play-by-play announcers Don Orsillo and Dick Stockton, have lacked depth and rhythm. Orsillo, paired with Joe Simpson, and Stockton, teamed with Ron Darling, have been the saving graces for their respective broadcasts.

Most especially, the Red Sox-Angels team of Ted Robinson and Steve Stone seem to be better suited to the quiet confines of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show than the exciting drama of playoff baseball in Boston and LA. I half expected Stone to nod off a few times during the coverage.

Neither man gave viewers any new insights and Stone’s monotone voice was barely audible. When he was heard, Stone offered a host of meaningless thoughts.

In the third inning of Game 2, Stone said, “Mike Lowell has the all-time record defensively at third base.” Exactly what record is that, Steve? Fielding percentage? Assists? Best goatee? Give us some help here.

Robinson seems like a nice man and his broadcasting resume includes the Olympics, but in the heat of playoff baseball, that and a quarter will get you a gumball. His voice is a cross between Mr. Rogers and the Scarecrow from the “Wizard of Oz.” Shame on Robinson for taking two great characters and turning them into one disappointing play-by-play man.

The fact is that most Boston and LA fans know more about the Red Sox and Angels than Ted Robinson and Steve Stone. TBS’s broadcast teams have fallen victim to an age-old error on the part of programmers, specifically, hiring generic talent for important games.

Why wasn’t Orsillo, Boston’s local TV announcer on NESN, calling the Red Sox series? Was wasn’t Stone, a longtime Cubs analyst, doing the Chicago-Arizona series? Why was Ron Darling of SportsNet NY doing the Cubs-D’Backs series while Chip Caray, a former Cubs announcer, calls the Yanks-Indians matchup?

Former Padre Tony Gwynn and ex-D’Backs manager Bob Brenly are longtime NL West guys. Don’t you think they’d be better suited to a series involving the D’Backs or Rockies as opposed to the Indians and Yankees?

These men could have provided great insight from seasons of experience in those cities. Maybe TBS feared that the announcers would be biased toward their local teams or cities. That’s silly.

Stone resigned from his post as Cubs analyst in 2004 because he was tired of hearing that he was too critical of the home team. All of these guys are professionals and there is precedence for using local announcers in postseason games, ironically involving one of TBS’s 2007 announcers.

In 1975, Dick Stockton, then the Red Sox play-by-play man on Channel 38 in Boston, joined Curt Gowdy et al for NBC’s coverage of the World Series between Boston and Cincinnati.

It was Stockton who provided the national guys with information and insight into all things Red Sox. It was Stockton who gave the memorable call of Carlton Fisk’s game-winning home run in Game 6 of that series. Great announcers like Stockton rise above any perceived local bias.

The Division Series gave TBS a chance to make its mark on a national stage. Instead, they seemingly pulled broadcasters’ names out of a hat and assigned them to games. The result is predominantly bland and detached television that has failed to appropriately capture the fine moments that the players have provided.

Missing McDonough

Despite TBS’s shortcomings, I was glued to the set watching Game 2 of the Red Sox-Angels series in Boston last Friday, but during a break, I flipped to the Utah-Louisville college football tilt on ESPN and heard the familiarly superb tones of play-by-play man Sean McDonough.

It raised a question. Why isn’t McDonough doing any baseball locally or nationally?

McDonough was born and bred to be a baseball announcer. The son of the late great sportswriter and commentator Will McDonough, he grew up with the sport as a backdrop.

“I have vivid childhood memories of being at Spring Training in Winter Haven sitting in the booth watching (legendary Red Sox announcers) Ned Martin and Ken Coleman call the games,” says the 45 year-old McDonough, who does college football and basketball for ESPN. “Al Walker the broadcast engineer would make sure I had plenty of popcorn and hot dogs.”

McDonough attended Syracuse University (Class of 1984). After three years of minor league baseball play-by-play with the Syracuse Chiefs and several other regional and national broadcasting gigs, he attained his dream job in baseball.

“I was only 25 years old when I got the Red Sox play-by-play job with NESN in 1988,” explains McDonough. “My dad told me not to worry if I didn’t get it because I was so young. I looked at Ken Coleman and Ned Martin who had been doing it for thirty years and realized that jobs like this don’t open up too often.”

McDonough would eventually team with current NESN analyst Jerry Remy as arguably the best Boston sports broadcasting tandem ever. “We had a great time,” says McDonough.

“You can’t fake that type of chemistry. A woman once wrote a letter complaining about our “inane banter,” so we started running an Inane Banter Warning whenever Jerry and I got off on a tangent. We are still good friends.”

Following the Red Sox 2004 championship season, McDonough was abruptly fired from NESN. He recalls, “They never had a conversation with me about why I was fired. I got the call in December of 2004. I had an option year left on my contract and figured I’d be back. I heard it was because I was making more money than Don Orsillo, but they never came to me and negotiated.

“That’s the only thing that angered me. If NESN thought I was making too much money, but there should have been some back and forth, some negotiation.”

As a former lead baseball announcer for CBS, McDonough delivered superb calls of two of baseball’s most memorable moments. “I had no idea that Joe Carter was going to hit a home run (in Game 6) to win the World Series in 1993,” he explains.

“There’s no advance notice. Those calls tend to be the best. You just do it. I also called Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS when Francisco Cabrera won the game for Atlanta. As Sid Bream slid into home, my voice fell apart and I thought I botched the call. The next day, CBS sent me a bunch of great reviews. You have to go with the moment.”

McDonough remains on an elite list of the best baseball play-by-play announcers in the business, and one of the most philanthropic. In 2002, he established the Sean McDonough Foundation (seanmcdonoughfoundation.org), which raises funds and distributes them to children’s charities throughout Massachusetts.

In 5 years, McDonough and friends have raised upwards of $2 million for 86 different Massachusetts charities.

Despite a busy schedule, McDonough does not rule out a return to baseball. “It would have to be the right situation,” he states. “I talked to the Arizona Diamondbacks last winter about doing some games for them, but I would have had to move to do it.

“I had the baseball job I wanted in Boston. The next move would have to be perfect.” As a baseball fan, here’s hoping that next move comes quickly

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THIS WEEK:

• Jay’s day
• Terry’s time

Rothman guides new era of Monday Night magic
Terry Francona earns his stripes as game’s best manager

As the Patriots get set to invade Cincinnati Monday night at 8:30 p.m., so to do the cameras and cavalcade that is ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” (MNF). Producer Jay Rothman says that this particular game has no shortage of storylines.

“It’s all right there for you,” says the 45 year-old Rothman. “Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, I hope we get a shootout. This game is an easy sell. The personalities make people watch.”

As a lead-in to the game, ESPN will feature Jamie Foxx, star of the film “The Kingdom,” in a pregame parody that caused some waves in New England this week. The Boston Herald wrote that the espionage theme is tied to the recent spying issue that resulted in fines for Bill Belichick and the Patriots.

Says Rothman, “Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve had to do some damage control on this. The idea was actually conceived in the summertime. We worked with (“The Kingdom” director) Peter Berg on the concept. It was shot between weeks one and two of this season.

“Basically, Jamie Foxx breaks into a vault and finds photos of some players in this game. When the spying stuff went down with the Pats, I seriously looked at this again and thought about not running it. The Herald piece was way off and they ran a correction. It has nothing to do with the Patriots spying issue.”

Rothman is the keeper of one of sports most legendary properties. MNF has become part of Americana, first on ABC and now on sister network ESPN. “We are not shy about going into the vault,” says Rothman, who previously produced ESPN’s “Sunday Night Football.”

“First off, Hank Williams, Jr. is “Monday Night Football.” This off-season, we did extensive focus groups comparing our game with other networks. Hank resonated more than anything else.”

According to Rothman, the move to ESPN has not dampened MNF’s impact. “Current players don’t differentiate between broadcast and cable. ESPN is older than most of the players in the NFL. The combination of ESPN and MNF resonates with them. It is a bigger deal to be on Monday night than any other night.”

Indeed, ESPN’s SportsCenter and a host of related catch phrases and MNF’s deep history with Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, et al are a powerful combination. Rothman says that it remains a numbers game.

“38% of people who watch ESPN are hardcore sports fans. 62% of ESPN’s viewers are casual sports fans. However, with ESPN’s NFL coverage, it is 50% hardcore and 50% casual fans.

“(NBC Sunday Night announcers) Al Michaels and John Madden may appeal to the hardcore fan more than our show, but we also have to play a bit to those casual fans. We do this through news, analysis, fun features and having celebrities visit the booth. The way I see it, we do a Super Bowl every Monday night.”

For the Pats-Bengals tilt, Cincy defensive end Justin Smith will be “Wired” for sound. The New England-Cincinnati game and pregame show will highlight new music from Bruce Springsteen and Matchbox Twenty.

Inevitably, there will be comparisons between NBC’s Sunday Night fare and ESPN’s Monday Night game. The NBC plate is loaded with star power from Madden and Michaels to Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, Peter King, Tiki Barber, etc. NBC also has the advantage of flex-scheduling, the ability to change its schedule to show a meaningful late season game.

The latter option was not available to ESPN. Says Rothman, “It’s impossible to switch a game to Monday night. With hotels, tickets and all that, it would be problematic from a logistical standpoint. In that way, not getting flex-scheduling was a non-issue.”

ESPN counters NBC’s talent with technique. One strategy is the use of two sideline reporters, Michele Tafoya and Suzy Kolber.

“It allows us to cover both teams extensively,” says Rothman whose 19-year football producing career includes both ABC’s and ESPN’s lead college football game, Major League Baseball and the NHL.

“They are the eyes and ears of the game, they can smell it and hear it. If an injury happens on one side of the field, we don’t have to lose time running a reporter over there. Michele and Suzy work very hard before and during the game.

“They are most compelling when they react to a moment. They create a sense of immediacy and urgency. Look at CBS, they touted last year that they were going without any sideline reporters, yet in the Super Bowl, they had one on each sideline.”

Tafoya and Kolber’s impact is not always seen. Rothman explains, “They constantly feed info to the booth. Last week, during a break, Michele told us that due to the noise in the Superdome, they had to turn the volume up in Vince Young’s helmet. Michele was not on air with this, but she provided the information to us.”

If there is a wild card in ESPN’s booth team it’s sportswriter and “Pardon the Interruption” cohost Tony Kornheiser. Kornheiser is neither an announcer, nor a former player. Rothman took note of the comments of NBC “Sunday Night Football” producer Fred Gaudelli in a recent edition of Media Blitz.

Gaudelli stated, “I was at ABC for Dennis Miller’s second season on “Monday Night Football” and he brought more than Kornheiser. I just don’t see what he brings to the broadcast and if he has a place. He is not negative or positive. He’s just there.”

Rothman, who worked with Gaudelli at ESPN, responds, “It is a disservice and a cheap shot to Tony to compare him to Dennis Miller. Saying that Dennis added more value is garbage. The people doing the game couldn’t understand Dennis. Tony is extremely articulate and experienced as a reporter.”

“We were the only NFL television group to be nominated for an Emmy and our Emmy reel was dominated by Tony. He has a great way of elevating a big moment in the game.

“There are some fixable mechanics issues such as when to elaborate on a moment in the game or when to let Jaws run with the X’s and O’s analysis.” In response to Rothman, Gaudelli would only offer, “Jay, thou dost protest too much.”

Jaws, of course, is Ron Jaworski, easily the breakthrough performer in this 2007 NFL media season. Jaworski has impeccably applied his immense skills as a studio analyst to the broadcast booth. In short, Ron Jaworski is the most in-depth and intelligent NFL analyst in the business, period.

Rothman agrees stating, “He is a great team player and breaks the game down like no one else. He called me the other day to tell me that he had just charted every Brady pass and every Moss catch. Jaws can laugh at himself and he fires up everyone around him. The respect he has around the league is incredible.”

Regarding the Pats-Bengals matchup, Jaworski states, “(New England) can run the football inside. The offensive line has the athletic ability to run the football outside and clear the way for the running backs the Patriots have. They have also been protecting Tom Brady very well. That’s why Brady is off to such a fantastic start.”

The emergence of Jaworski, Kornheiser and play-by-play man Mike Tirico has come at the expense of longtime ESPN Sunday Night booth mates Mike Patrick, Paul Maguire and Joe Theismann. Rothman worked with that trio for five years.

“I love those guys and I’d do anything for them, but anyone who understands the business knows that change can be good sometimes. It is personally tough, but I had to move on. They handed me a new playbook and I have to run with it.”

Monday’s game will present challenges to both teams. Can the Bengals stop the balanced New England attack? Can New England go into hostile territory and remain undefeated?

For Rothman the challenge is ongoing. “Covering a football game is easy. The challenge for us is to find a balance in playing to that total audience, casual and hardcore. We’ve won our night’s ratings outright two times in three weeks.

“At the end of the day, I want a rich, balanced telecast with all the bells and whistles. It’s my job to pull out the right tools at the right time. “

Viva Francona

He lacks Tony LaRussa’s hair, Tommy Lasorda’s wit and Joe Torre’s Kleenex bill, but Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona deserves some props for what he is, quite simply the best manager in baseball. I’m writing this before the playoffs because what the Red Sox do over the next few weeks is immaterial as it pertains to Francona’s feats.

Since joining the club in 2004, Francona has ended an eternal curse, mastered the heretofore-brutal Boston media, shrewdly combined youth and experience on the field, created chemistry with a $100 million roster and kept some of the most unique personalities in the game happy and healthy.

Francona’s greatest strength is his handling of the media. Make no mistake. Boston is the toughest place to manage in all of sports. With a media horde that prefers hangings to harmony and a fan base that can be as lethal as they are loyal, every day is a season unto itself. In Boston, one loss is Armageddon.

Francona has been nothing short of exemplary in his weekly radio stints on Sportsradio WEEI and other outlets. He plays the media like Clapton plays the ax. There are no outbursts, dumb statements or public humiliations. He protects his players, takes the blame and effortlessly sidesteps the many silly questions he is posed.

Moreover, Francona has been professional in victory and levelheaded in defeat. His postgame chats with NESN’s Tina Cervasio are models of consistency and his press conferences reveal the game’s nuances without sharing family secrets.

While Patriots coach Bill Belichick treats the media like IRS agents, Francona kills them with cooperation. He massages their needy egos, but in the end, gives them nothing more than what he wants to give them.

While Celtics mentor Doc Rivers tends to tell the media his entire life story on a nightly basis, Francona knows when to clam up or toss in an interview-ending cliché. He is stern, and unafraid to scoff justifiably at the oftentimes-inane queries he faces.

So, here’s some long overdue credit to Terry Francona, a superb leader who truly puts the man in manager.

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THIS WEEK:

• McNabb on the money
• Speeding Sports

Fox analysts show ignorance toward McNabb
TV and radio veteran Ed Berliner starts sports website

Things can get ugly when certain middle-aged white men attempt to analyze race related comments made by an African-American. Such was the case this past Sunday when Fox “NFL Sunday” analysts Terry Bradshaw and Barry Switzer opined on Donovan McNabb’s recent comments.

McNabb told James Brown on HBO’s “RealSports” that African-American quarterbacks are criticized differently than their white counterparts. In response, Bradshaw stated, “Psychologically speaking, it seems to me that Donovan is one of those kids that’s reaching out for some love.”

Bradshaw went on to talk about how McNabb was largely unwanted as a talented high school recruit, booed by Philly fans when he was drafted and criticized for not winning a Super Bowl despite tremendous success as an Eagle. Hmm, sounds like McNabb has a point, doesn’t it, Terry?

Bradshaw continued, “(McNabb) gets hurt with a groin injury, goes on the bench, then he gets hurt with a knee injury and Jeff Garcia plays so well. Now we hear this thing about the black quarterback. I’m just wondering if we’re not hearing from Donovan McNabb that he’s saying, ‘I want out of Philadelphia. I don’t trust anybody.’”

Well, thanks for that diagnosis Dr. Terry. I understand that Bradshaw has battled depression for years, but when it comes to psychology, he has experience as a patient, not as a professional. This is a classic example of the media creating a story and putting words in a player’s mouth.

McNabb never said he needs more love from the Philadelphia fans, and he never said that he wants out of Philly. Of course, those with an IQ similar to Bradshaw’s (i.e., a mason jar, a butter churn and chewing tobacco) will take Terry’s comments and run with them, further painting the portrait of McNabb as a disgruntled player.

Speaking of IQ’s similar to Terry Bradshaw’s, I give you Barry Switzer. In response to McNabb’s comments, Switzer stated, “I thought that we were long past this but I look at it this way. I played a black quarterback in 1972, before Donovan was ever born.

“He thinks that maybe he’s being criticized with what he’s going through today. It didn’t compare to what my guys had to go through.”

Exactly who is the “we” that Switzer is referring to when he says that we are long past this? How does he even begin to know what it feels like to be an African-American quarterback? Maybe he has some tertiary knowledge based on players he has coached, but he has never coached McNabb.

Moreover, Switzer’s comments make it sound as if McNabb is being disrespectful to those who came before him. On the contrary, McNabb is a part and a product of past struggles, and there is a real difference in the histories of white and African-American quarterbacks.

I take McNabb at his word for one simple reason. He is an African-American quarterback and I am not. As for Bradshaw and Switzer, their ignorant analysis and opinions served not to refute McNabb’s points, but rather to give them even more credence.

Berliner’s bullet

Former Fox, ESPN, CBS, WFAN and CN8 sportscaster Ed Berliner is back with a speeding bullet. Speeding Bullet Network (speedingbulletnetwork.com) is Berliner’s new website providing regional sports content in a fast-paced, opinionated style.

“Newspapers are struggling and radio is struggling,” says Berliner. “TV is scared to death of the Internet. They don’t know how to use it and they don’t know how to make money on it.

“Most television station or network websites just push people to watch their shows. The Internet is becoming the new broadcast hub. In truth, the Internet is another TV and radio channel.”

As a media lifer, Berliner recognized the immense amount of sports content available and that led to a question.

“How do I get all this information in one spot? We won’t have highlights because you can get that anywhere. Look at any station in Boston. They all run the same highlights, especially with the NFL’s ban on sideline cameramen. We want to show targeted regional information in a national and international forum.”

The genesis of Speeding Bullet Network lies in the desire of the fan. Says Berliner, “Sports fans want things that start an argument. The idea is to get differing regional perspectives in one place. A Cowboys fan in Boston can log on and hear or see a reporter from Dallas talking about the Cowboys. It is a platform.

“Reporters who come on as contributors will be pushing viewers back to their sites or stations. I am in talks with 15-20 websites to provide video and audio exclusively to us. It will be a constant promotional site between Speeding Bullet and our contributors. It’s all about creating traffic.”

Berliner’s enterprise is ever growing with big plans for the near future. “I am actively talking about including an instructional piece to the puzzle, where lessons in golf, hockey and other sports will be available on our site.

“We are expecting NASCAR to do some things next year. I’ve also spoken to a couple of ex-NFL players about creating content that prepares high school athletes for college and college athletes for the NFL draft. It’s all about seeing it and hearing it, not just reading it.”

The site will also provide opportunities for original concepts. “People with original programming ideas will have a forum,” explains Berliner. “These days, you have to hijack a station to get new ideas considered. If you can create content and edit it to five minutes, we’ll run it.”

Keeping with the theme of fan-friendliness, Speeding Bullet will include a vital interactive component. “We call it Vox Populi, or the Vlog,” says Berliner.

“Fans can send us one minute of video or audio and we’ll post it. They can rant, rave, scream, holler and opine. There is no centralized place where sports fans can go right now. Our site will allow Red Sox and Yankee fans to go at it online.”

Berliner calls Speeding Bullet “a web site run by media professionals for media professionals, a content service that reporters and commentators can use 24/7, via voice or video.”

More to the point, it is an exciting business venture for a long time media pro. “This is my baby and it has taken a lot longer than I thought to get to this point, more than two years. Safety NetAccess and its owner Sean Gorman have been instrumental in the fabulous design and look of the website. They do amazing work.”

Speedingbulletnetwork.com is currently in test mode with the official launch scheduled for October 8. Berliner has put much work into it, but is poised for even greater labor pains from his baby.

“We’ve been working at this 24/7,” he explains. “I’ve had so many outlets say that they love the idea, but we need to grow and show them what we can do. We’ll hit bumps and make mistakes, but the Internet is constantly a work in progress. I don’t expect to get much sleep for the next six months.”

So what drives a seasoned radio and TV guy to the still vastly unknown world of cyberspace? “In the next 5 years, sports fans’ viewing habits are going to change drastically,” Berliner responds. “TV is losing numbers in droves and people are not buying newspapers.”

Berliner spent three years at CN8 in Boston before leaving abruptly in June of 2006. His award-winning “Sports Pulse” show helped launch the television and radio careers of then-unheralded writers such as Shira Springer, Mike Reiss and others

“Compared to the Internet, a network like CN8 reaches two people,” says Berliner. “I am happy to say that many of my former CN8 guests are going to be working on Speeding Bullet Network.

“It’s refreshing to work with good media people from New England and around the country, not those who suffer from a lack of professionalism.”

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THIS WEEK:

• Belichick’s bane
• McDonough’s Mission

Belichick’s punishment an end and a beginning
Get involved with the McDonough Foundation online auction

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has handed down his punishment to Bill Belichick and the Patriots. It was harsh, too harsh in my opinion, but in line with Sheriff, I mean, Commissioner Goodell’s quest to change the NFL from midnight in Amsterdam to Mr. Rogers’ Land of Make Believe.

In a move that can only be described as Nixonian, a Patriots staffer was caught videotaping the Jets sideline during the first quarter of last Sunday’s game. Quartergate has resulted in a $500,000 fine for Belichick and a $250,000 fine for the Patriots. New England will also lose a first round draft pick if they make the postseason or a second and third if they don’t.

The punishments should put an end to the cheating chatter, depending on geography. Nationally, this is a story with legs, arms and a torso. It’s the kind of story that Belichick’s enemies will hold and feed. Mark my words. If the Patriots win the Super Bowl come February, there will be more than a few people who say they do not deserve the title because of Quartergate.

Listening to SIRIUS satellite radio it’s clear that most fans around the country were hoping not only for a suspension, but a public hanging for Belichick. Typical.

Fox NFL insider Jay Glazer said that fellow coaches and GM’s around the NFL are outraged that Belichick was not suspended for his deeds. Glazer also disagreed with Belichick’s claim that the taping did not give New England a competitive while the game was in progress.

Obviously, the Pats would have benefited from the tape in future games with the Jets, but what Belichick said in his statement was absolutely true. No matter, Belichick is cooked. He will never live this down nationally no matter how many more Super Bowls he wins.

Locally, it will be another story altogether. The Patriots have cultivated a truly symbiotic relationship with the regional media. They make their players available and they have been at the forefront of multimedia accessibility and information. Granted, Belichick would choose scurvy over a press conference, but the franchise as a whole is very accommodating.

The Kraft family is a model of media friendliness, and other franchises have followed suit, including the owners of the Red Sox. Case in point is the following quote. “I’m here to get my fair share of money. My main priority is to stay healthy and be able to make money, not to go out and try and hurry up and win a championship this year (at the risk of injury).

“It’s not like I’m hurrying up and going back to the closer’s role because we have a good team this year and I’m going to blow (my arm) out and try and win as many games as we can (at any cost). No, it’s not going to happen.”

The above quote was from Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon in a May Boston Herald column by Rob Bradford. The quote was largely dismissed by the local media and now is not even a footnote.

Can you even begin to imagine what the media reaction around here would have been if Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez or any Red Sox foe had uttered those words?

Can you even begin to imagine the utter outrage that would have flowed from the lips of the likes of WEEI gabber Steve Buckley, a staunch Nomar basher, or FSN’s Greg Dickerson, who routinely questioned the honesty and integrity of Martinez?

Subsequently, on FSN’s “Friendly’s Scoop with Jonathan Papelbon,” Dickerson did everything but give Papelbon a shiatsu massage. He allowed Papelbon to “clarify” his comments and nearly had a full-blown panic attack as he defended the young pitcher.

What Papelbon said was absolutely heinous within the realm of team sports, but it doesn’t matter because he is always quick to chat with Tina Cervasio on NESN after the game and has a sponsored segment on FSN.

It will be the same for Belichick. He is a regular guest on WEEI and his players regularly appear on that station, 890 ESPN Boston, FSN, WBZ and other stations.

Boston is known as perhaps the toughest media city in sports, but for the likes of Papelbon and Belichick, it’s a walk in the park. Maybe, in this case, Boston has it right. Belichick screwed up, apologized and will pay the price. That should be the final act of this play. Nationally, however, the drama for Belichick has just begun.

Awesome Auction

ESPN football play-by-play man and local broadcasting legend Sean McDonough will be hosting his 6th Annual Sean McDonough Charitable Foundation fundraising events. “Our Celebrity Golf Classic is Monday (September 17) at the Oaks Course at the International in Bolton,” explains McDonough.

“We have the Samuel Adams Celebrity Draw Party and Auction the night before at the Boston Harbor Hotel. It is at the Draw Party that we do our auction, and unfortunately this year our party will be going on at the same time as the Red Sox-Yankees and Patriots-Chargers games, so we are losing some of our bidders to those games.”

Because of the scheduling issues, fans can bid for a host of excellent items online at seanmcdonoughfoundation.org. Says McDonough, “A number of people asked if they could receive the auction booklet via email and bid on-line because they know that we always have some great stuff, so we decided we would take bids on our website and open it up to the public.”

“We have raised $1.56 million dollars which we have distributed to 86 children’s charities throughout Massachusetts in the past five years. All of the money raised goes directly to charity. We have no employees, no executive directors, secretaries, just a volunteer army trying to help the most needy children in our state.”

Among the items up for bid is a golf outing with PGA pro Brad Faxon, dinner with Matt Damon, a day inside the ropes at a PGA event with David Feherty, trips to the 2008 ESPY Awards, two rounds of golf at Oakmont and much more.

Fans can bid online until 3pm this Sunday. The highest online bids will serve as the opening bids on all live and silent auction items at the Samuel Adams Celebrity Draw Party and Auctions on Sunday.

“I’d encourage you to go to the website and look around,” says McDonough. “I think you’ll be very impressed by what you see. Some of the auction items are incredible. You will be helping literally thousands of kids who could really use our help.”

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THIS WEEK:

• Gaudelli’s gridiron
• Miserable Meadowlands

Gaudelli leads “Sunday Night Football” team to success
Jets show no class as Pennington fights through injury

The under card is completed. Bring on the main event. NBC’s second season of “Sunday Night Football” rides into Gillette Stadium this Sunday for a prime time grudge match between the Chargers and Patriots, both successful in their season openers.

“Sunday Night Football” producer Fred Gaudelli brings a selective bag of technological tricks. “I try to focus on things that will provide clarity and make the viewers’ experience better,” says Gaudelli, who spent eleven seasons as producer of ESPN “Sunday Night Football” and five more producing ABC’s “Monday Night Football.”

“Last year, we acquired a microscope and applied it to our taped replays. We called it NBSee It and it allows the viewer to get a closer look at a play. Using surveillance technology, we can enhance pictures without losing quality.”

Technology aside, the success of “Sunday Night Football” is about the people. Says Gaudelli, “John Madden and Al Michaels are as good as it gets. They can easily move from discussing the best cheese steak in Philadelphia to the cover 2 zone.

“(Sideline reporter) Andrea Kremer’s appetite for news is insatiable and she gives us a great safety blanket on the sidelines. Andrea had to make an adjustment last year from longer feature stories to working live and within a shorter time frame. People respect her work, but they know if she is calling, it’s like hearing that Mike Wallace is here to see you.”

Flex scheduling will again help NBC’s cause. Beginning in November, the best and most important NFL games will be moved to Sunday night. “It could not have gone better last year,” says the 47 year-old Gaudelli.

“People know that NBC will be doing a showcase game later in the season. When you have a meaningless game, it’s kind of depressing and can kill your ratings. We might not have the best game of the week, but we are assured of having a meaningful game.”

NBC doesn’t have to wait until November for a meaningful game in 2007. This week’s Chargers-Pats tilt is drenched with playoff implications and memories. Says Gaudelli, “The NFL did a huge favor for us scheduling this game when they did.

“San Diego couldn’t put the Patriots away in the playoffs last year and Tom Brady, as always, made the plays he had to make. You have two teams with legitimate Super Bowl shots.

“The Chargers will show us this year if the NFL is about the coaches or the players. San Diego takes a backseat to no one in terms of talent, but can they overcome the loss of their head coach and two coordinators?”

As for the Pats, Gaudelli sees a shift, “New England stepped out of their philosophy and went deep into free agency. Everyone knows Bill Belichick is a top coach. This game could decide home field advantage.

“I remember when the Patriots beat the Colts in a season opener a few years ago. Tony Dungy told me that that loss put them behind the eight ball for the rest of the season.”

Gaudelli has been through the prime time wars and is not shy to comment on news of the day. NBC analyst Tiki Barber has come under fire for criticizing his former Giant quarterback Eli Manning. Gaudelli says it might be a necessary evil.

“When a guy retires, he has to talk about the team he played for. I actually found Tiki’s comments interesting and Eli’s response interesting. When you move from football to broadcasting, you have to be honest. How critical you are is up to you.”

Last season, Gaudelli said that Tony Kornheiser would have “a short-lived tenure” on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.” He remains unimpressed stating, “I still think that Tony Kornheiser is very niche. If he were not a sportswriter, I think the media would be more critical of him. Writers protect one another.

“I was at ABC for Dennis Miller’s second season on “Monday Night Football” and he brought more than Kornheiser. I just don’t see what he brings to the broadcast and if he has a place. He is not negative or positive. He’s just there.”

Gaudelli is also frank in his assessment of a former ESPN booth analyst. “I’m sorry for the way it ended for Joe Theismann. It was messy and ESPN was so disingenuous. When someone tells you that you did a great job, but they are replacing you, they are not being completely honest.”

Last year, NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” finished in the top 6 prime time shows and was far superior to ESPN’s broadcast in on-air talent and technical presentation. NBC provides the best NFL game broadcast in the business, but Gaudelli wants more.

He states, “Roone Arledge used to say, ‘Give them something they can’t see anywhere else.’ I’m not scouring Fox, ESPN or CBS to see what they’re doing, but I want our show to be distinctive.

“I view last season as a good start. We are every bit as formidable as the old “Monday Night Football” on ABC. People know that the big game is now on Sunday night, not Monday night.”

J-E-R-K-S

Fans often use the word arrogant to describe today’s professional athletes. Funny, that same word can be used to describe many of today’s fans. High ticket prices and fan-based blogs have truly given contemporary fans a false sense of worth.

In yesterday’s Patriots at Jets game, we saw the lowest common denominator of fans and, no surprise, it happened at the Meadowlands. When Jets quarterback Chad Pennington suffered an injury in the third quarter, an eruption of applause emanated from the Jets faithful.

The valiant Pennington fell numerous times and pulled himself up, finally hopping off the field on one leg.

At first, I thought the applause was for Pennington’s tenacity, but when backup quarterback Kellen Clemens, ran onto the field, the applause grew louder. Jets fans were actually rejoicing in what, at the time, appeared to be a serious injury to Pennington. It was gross.

New York fans like to view themselves as something special, but much of their fan base is quite sadistic. Remember the New York Ranger fan who took a swipe at several Bruins players with a hockey stick back in 1979.

The action incited then-Bruins Mike Milbury, Terry O’Reilly and Peter McNab to go into the Madison Square Garden stands and pummel the perpetrators. Too bad that trio wasn’t at the Meadowlands yesterday.

How do you think the heroic Pennington feels about his hometown crowd now? The guy has led the Jets, a hopeless organization since Joe Namath slapped on his last splash of Brut 33, to multiple playoff appearances and has fought through numerous injuries, and this is the thanks he gets.

New England fans are brutal, but even in the darkest days of Jim Plunkett, Steve Grogan and Drew Bledsoe, the Foxboro faithful never cheered a potentially debilitating injury.

Amid the Meadowlands cheers, CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Phil Simms had the guts to scold the crowd for its lowbrow celebration.

On Sunday night, ESPN’s Chris Berman also admonished the cheering fans saying that Jets fans are better than that. I don’t think they are. Here’s hoping that Pennington eventually leaves the pit that is New York and finds his way to some fans who don’t dabble in chew toys and finger painting.

As for those in attendance who cheered, maybe you should become Packer fans. Rats like cheese, don’t they?

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THIS WEEK:

• Jim Dandy
• Roger and out

Nantz carves a classy niche in sportscaster pantheon
Red Sox followers need to fire the “Rocket”

A few years ago, I wrote a column criticizing CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz. The gist of the critique was that Nantz was very blasé and even kind of boring in his approach. In response to the column, CBS Sports and now also CBS News president Sean McManus emailed to voice his displeasure at the column.

It made me wonder if I was missing something. Time has shown that I was. The versatile Nantz covers events with an understated grace that has become the exception, not the rule in sports television.

Nantz has no catch phrases, no desire to exceed the volume of a police siren and no political agenda. These days, that makes him quite the exception and extremely interesting.

“I never will go there,” says Nantz, who will call this Sunday’s Patriots at Jets season opener alongside Phil Simms. “For young kids who want to break into the business, there is a feeling that you have to be goofy or, in some similar way, attention-grabbing.

“There is this in-your-face attitude that many sportscasters have, like they are on the brink of a tantrum. If you look at them the wrong way, they will explode.”

Nantz compares his own style to that of Bill Belichick, and the two coaches who met last February in Super Bowl XLI. He states, “Belichick, Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith are wonderful role models for their players and the public. It is a rarity to see men succeed in a role of leadership without raising their voices.

“These guys barely talk above a whisper. They don’t cheapen the message by falling back on a swear word. They are dignified, distinguished gentlemen.”

This past winter and spring, Nantz enjoyed a 63-day stretch that saw him work Super Bowl XLI, the NCAA men’s hoop tournament and the Masters. In all these endeavors, he maintains a terrific consistency.

“I don’t say, ‘It’s time to turn on my football voice.’ It’s more of a natural thing. If the crowd is stirred to frenzy, you talk louder to cut through it. In golf, we are only a few yards away from the action. Sometimes, we get ridiculed for whispering, but if not, we’d be disturbing play.”

While Nantz’s focus this weekend will be football, he considers golf the most difficult to broadcast, this from a man who has partnered on the course with former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton.

“Golf broadcasters get the least amount of credit. It’s the most difficult sport to do. When you are at the 18th hole and you have 20-minute stretches to fill, it’s a challenge to hold the audience’s attention. Media writers don’t watch golf, so it doesn’t count to them. They wouldn’t recognize the work if Shakespeare was in the booth.”

With his unique class and unquestioned versatility, Nantz has become our generation’s Curt Gowdy, a compliment he relishes. “I was smitten by the voices in my living room on weekends,” says Nantz, the 2005 National Sportscaster of the Year.

“Before there was cable TV, ESPN or VCR’s, broadcasters had a knowledge of language and did not draw attention to themselves. There was an elegance to the broadcasts of men like Gowdy, Ray Scott, Jack Whittaker, Dick Enberg and Jack Buck. They were storytellers with a graceful style. I have a reverence for this profession.”

Nantz moved from CBS “NFL Today” studio host to lead play-by-play announcer in 2004. Change has become natural to the veteran broadcaster. “Sean McManus wanted me to do it. He thought I should be doing games.

“I’ve been at CBS for 22 years and we used to have all the major events. We acquired Major League Baseball in 1990 and it was a bad deal for the network. I lost a lot of colleagues.”

Nantz has seen it all at CBS, but has yet to do it all in media. “I’d like to do something where I can give more of my opinions. I am considering writing a book about the Super Bowl, NCAA Tournament and Masters 63-day stretch, but I’m not sure I’d have the time to do a talk show.”

Regardless, Nantz has climbed to the top of his profession and shares that current rarified air with an elite trio of contemporaries, Al Michaels, Bob Costas and Joe Buck (Sorry Chris Berman).

Michaels is the best football play-by-play man in the business, but he cannot match Nantz’s studio hosting skills or versatility.

Buck’s forays into what he considers humor and commentary detract from his overall performance. The same can be said of Costas who, while immensely gifted, tends to impose himself on a story too frequently, as evidenced by his late entry into the Barry Bonds beat-down.

The latest edition of Premiere Network’s “Costas on the Radio” was the clincher. Costas and his guest, the aforementioned Buck, spent several minutes of the interview discussing each other’s cameo appearances in movies. Yikes!

Nantz, meanwhile, was most likely focused on the Pats-Jets opener, and his approach to a big game is typically cerebral. “This is how I see it. This Sunday, I’m going to watch a football game with a great friend of mine, Phil Simms. Oh, and there will also be 100 million people eavesdropping.”

Retread Rocket

Well, Roger Clemens did it to the Red Sox again. The Rocket’s two-hitter against Boston last week once again had fans and media alike poetically pining for the Rocket that got away. To be honest, I’m sick of it.

Clemens’ gem against Boston was the highlight of his latest ho-hum comeback. Other than that, he’s won a few, lost a few and had a decent commercial for Cingular. In two words: Big Deal.

The hope here is that Red Sox fans and media once and for all let go of Clemens. Since Clemens left in 1997, and despite the heralded arrivals of Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling, Boston has retained this odd attachment to Clemens.

The organization has also clinged, as evidenced by their pathetic wooing of Clemens last spring and the silly fact that no one has worn number 21 since Clemens left. It’s foolish. Granted, Clemens was forced out by the small-minded idiocy of ex-GM Dan Duquette, but since then, he has been nothing less than a self-serving mercenary.

He cares about Boston about as much as he cares about Toronto, Houston or New York, and that is about as deep as his wallet. Clemens may be forced to go into the Hall of Fame in a Boston cap, but he is hardly a sacred New England treasure.

Number 21 is not Tiny Tim’s crutch. It’s time for the Red Sox organization to give the number to someone else, and for fans and media to stop the pining and let Clemens go. He let you go a long time ago.

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