Another day....another ESPN hire. This time it's the bane of Red Sox fans everywhere, Aaron Boone. Boone officially retired today, and immediately following that announcement, signed with ESPN. Via the "Leader"....

Aaron Boone today formally announced his retirement from Major League Baseball after a 12-year career and his new role as an ESPN baseball analyst. Boone will mainly be seen on Baseball Tonight (debuting in March), in addition to select appearances as a game analyst. He worked for ESPN Radio as a guest analyst during the 2009 National League Division Series.

“It is with a sense of pride, sadness, and enthusiasm that I formally announce my retirement after 16 years of professional baseball,” Boone said. “It has been a privilege and honor to have played in the Major Leagues for 12 seasons for six different clubs.

“While it's tough to leave the game as a player, I am eager to start my next career with my new team at ESPN. I am very grateful that I'll be able to stay in the game as an ESPN analyst and work with people who share the same passion for baseball that I do. I really appreciate ESPN giving me the opportunity to evolve in the sport that I love.

“Finally, I'd like to express my thanks to everyone that treated me so well throughout my Major League career.”

Jay Levy, ESPN senior coordinating producer, said, “As a player, Aaron was a tremendous competitor known for one of baseball's most dramatic postseason walk-off home runs. He offers an important perspective, being recently removed from the game and having deep baseball roots, which will make him a great addition to our team.”

I caught a bit of Boone on the radio last year, and I have to say that he wasn't that bad. He obviously needs some time under his belt, but I think he might actually work out for them.

Shawn Springs always seemed like such a likeable guy to me, but he made a really bad joke on ESPN First Take yesterday. Host Dana Jacobson asked Springs who he would rather not play in the Super Bowl, and the cornerback had this to say....

“Well if it was me, I would hope a hurricane comes through.”- Shawn Springs

I get what you're saying, Shawn. As a defensive player you would hope the weather would affect the play of the quarterbacks. But, you seem to forget that a huge hurricane named Katrina went through one of the teams backyards not too long ago. Obviously not intentional, but he should of avoided that one.

Shawn Springs Is a Natural On ESPN. Disaster. (Sports by Brooks)

ESPN's NBA Hiring Department has nabbed another former player/coach, and this time he's even a former employee of the network. Recently fired Hornets' Coach Byron Scott will be back with the network this January. Via ESPN PR....

Former NBA star and head coach Byron Scott has joined ESPN as an NBA studio analyst and will start his new role in January. Scott previously served as an ESPN analyst during the 2003-04 season.

“Byron has excelled in every professional endeavor and we know his success will carry over to his on-air role,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, production. “We welcome him back. His experience and passion for the game will resonate with our fans.”

“I look forward to being able to contribute my insights and perspective on the game I love,” said Scott. “ESPN has an abundance of terrific talent and I’m glad to be back in broadcasting with the premier sports network.”

Former Denver Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith is currently an analyst on the NFL Network, and before the season, he made a very bold prediction. I don't think a single planet predicted the Broncos to go 5-0 to start the season, but that's exactly what Rod did.

Now I know that was the homer pick of all homer picks, but still you have to give him some credit. In fact with Denver winning, Invesco is one of the loudest stadiums in the league. Too bad they have to play San Diego, Baltimore, Indy and Philly on the road.

In ESPN's press release, when they hired Bobby Valentine, they stated that he will have a large role in 2010. Well today, that "larger role" for Valentine might be back in Japan with the Yokohama Bay Stars. According to Fox Sports, the former manager is already in talks to go back overseas....

The Yokohama Bay Stars of the Japanese Central League are making a "concentrated effort" to hire Valentine, according to a major-league source.

Valentine, 59, also is on the Cleveland Indians' short list of candidates who will receive interviews, sources say.

A planned meeting between Valentine and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria in Europe failed to materialize after ESPN.com reported the team's interest in Valentine.

The Marlins instead chose to retain Fredi Gonzalez rather than face a backlash of negative publicity for firing him after an 87-win season.

Valentine, currently working for ESPN, is not aggressively pursuing the Nationals' opening and is not believed to be a serious candidate for the Astros, sources say.

I guess that's the risk you run when you hire a former manager, but this does bring up an interesting PR angle that coaches are using now. Instead of toiling around at home, managers and coaches are almost to the point where they're using ESPN as a launching point. The perfect example of this will be when the Redskins hire Jon Gruden in the offseason, but it seems to be happening more and more lately.

Sources: Valentine could return to Japan as coach (Fox Sports)

Last year it was Donovan McNabb who didn't understand that there were ties in the NFL, but this year it's Rich Gannon that couldn't grasp the intricities of the extra period. During overtime of the Cincinnati-Cleveland game, the Bengals called timeout to give kicker Shayne Graham some time to prepare for the game winning kick. Gannon immediately chastised the team for leaving too much time on the clock for Browns' return man Josh Cribbs.

There's only one problem with that....it's called "sudden" death for a reason. Via Shutdown Corner....

No, Gannon didn't like the timeout because he thought that if Graham hit the field goal, it would leave too much time for dangerous Cleveland return man Joshua Cribbs(notes) to take back the subsequent kickoff for a touchdown. You know, that dreaded post-score overtime kickoff that has felled so many teams throughout history.

Gannon's partner in the booth, Ian Eagle, quickly and politely informed Gannon that the game would be over if Graham successfully converted the field goal, since NFL overtime is sudden death. Gannon laughed and apologized for his mistake. Awesomely, Eagle then asked if McNabb had infiltrated the broadcast booth. Nah, Ian, if that were true, Gannon would have vomited when the game got down to crunch time. (Rimshot!)

It was a ridiculous mistake, but unlike McNabb's ignorance of overtime rules (and his continued defense of said ignorance later in the week), we'll give Gannon the benefit of the doubt and say this was more likely a slip of the tongue than a complete misunderstanding of how overtime works. But, of course, it didn't seem possible that McNabb wouldn't know about ties, so maybe we're giving Gannon too much credit.

No offense to Yahoo, but yes....you're giving him way too much credit. Ties rarely happen in the NFL, and McNabb's mistake was somewhat excusable. To have played multiple overtime games in the NFL, and not know that the game ends on a score, is just the opposite of that.

Rich Gannon doesn't know how NFL overtimes work either (Shutdown Corner)

If anyone stuck around for the halftime show on Sunday Night Football, they were given a treat. Rodney Harrison decided to call out one of his former teammates, and it caught me so off guard, that I had to rewind it about seven times. Here's the clip if you missed it....

Obviously as a defensive player Harrison would side with Ray Lewis, but to call out his former quarterback like that is usually unheard of. It's no secret that the league protects quarterbacks, and is it wrong for Brady to lobby for the flag? Maybe, but it happens in every sport and really isn't a big enough deal to tell someone to "take their skirt off" though. Still, it was hilarious.

Video: Rodney Harrison Tells Tom Brady to Take His Skirt Off (BSO)

It's amazing how fast athletes get scooped up by the networks these days, and no network does it faster than ESPN. The "Leader" waited about two days before signing Tedy Bruschi, and he'll be contributing to the new ESPNBoston.com, as well as some on air segments....

Three-time New England Patriots Super Bowl champion Tedy Bruschi is joining ESPN. The veteran linebacker, who just announced his retirement from pro football last week after 13 seasons, will provide NFL analysis on ESPNBoston.com – ESPN’s new local sports site, launching September 14 – and appear on NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio and other ESPN platforms.

Bruschi, who played in five of the Patriots franchise’s six Super Bowl appearances, will offer his NFL insights and analysis in multiple contributions per week on ESPNBoston.com, ESPN’s new home for New England sports news and information, online video, and original and customized content. He will also offer analysis on ESPN, beginning this week when he debuts on NFL Live Thursday (4 p.m. and 12 a.m. ET) and Friday (4 p.m.) with host Trey Wingo and Darren Woodson.

As part of studio coverage leading into ESPN’s season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader on Monday, Bruschi will be on-site at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., for SportsCenter and Monday Night Countdown before the Buffalo Bills-Patriots game. Also, Bruschi will attend ESPN’s MNF Chalk Talk Series event at the Hall at Patriot Place that morning (11:30 a.m.), and during halftime he will be recognized on the field as an honorary captain of the Patriots’ 50th Anniversary Team.

I guess if he's going to spend most of his time on the .com side of things, than it's not a bad hire. But if they hired him for on-air things like NFL Live, that might have been a bad move. Again though, it's really just a roll of the dice with former players, and if they work out good....if not, no harm no foul.

Now that Brett Favre has officially turned down the Vikings, we can finally get back to the "Favre the Analyst" sweepstakes. It's been no secret that ESPN has been buddy-buddy with the ex-QB, and has pandered to his every whim and announcement, so the obvious choice is for him to sign on with the "Leader". While that makes the most sense, there are other networks that need him more, namely CBS. There are some issues though, and Michael Hiestand of USA Today, has laid them out for us....

•He might not have much to say. This seems unlikely. But there is precedent for something like that, such as Joe Montana's stint on NBC.

•He'd never do TV. Just like Bob Knight never would.

•Hamlet can still change his mind. You've offered to mount cameras on Favre's riding mower so he can talk from there and not drop by a studio. You've put him in clever promos. And then by, say Week 4, some NFL quarterbacks go down and vacancies pop up and … well, who knows what happens then?

•Would he matter? Occasionally, analysts who've never called football on TV — the late Bill Walsh, Tony Kornheiser and, this season, Jon Gruden— go directly to calling marquee games. That involves quickly learning TV's mechanics and could be risky. But otherwise, it could be a waste to sign such a star for obscure games going to, say, 7% of the U.S.

Which leaves NFL studio shows which, in TV terms, are a pretty big deal. The four pregame shows — on Fox, CBS, ESPN and NFL Network — each week collectively draw ratings that approach coverage of, say, a big college bowl game or final-round coverage of The Masters. And, unlike live event coverage where networks can't control whether you end up getting a good game, pregame shows are one of the few venues where networks compete directly for the same viewers with shows they control.

While I don't think he would have "nothing to say", I certainly think he's not cut out for calling live games. However, during an age of Sports Broadcasting in which networks hire big name former players for tryouts all the time just for the hell of it, there's really no risk in taking a flier on Favre. If he works....he works. If he doesn't....there's another crop of big names retiring this year.

While I'd personally like some time without Brett Favre taking up the screen every second, I completely understand why ESPN would try to grab him now. But there is one thing that could save us from Favre in an analysts chair. The seriousness of Tavaris Jackson's knee injury. It's basically a coin flip but I'd much rather deal with Favre the Player nonsense, over Favre the Analyst nonsense, every week. That's just me though.

Favre on TV? Seems like a no-brainer but ... (USA Today)

Every year the NFL holds a training camp for players that want a crash course in broadcasting, and this year is no different. Names like Renaldo Wynn, Kyle Brady and JJ Stokes, are all going through the course, and the Washington Post got an unprecedented look inside the camp recently. Here is video of the players getting tips from the likes of Curt Menefee, Solomon Wilcots, Brian Baldinger and Ron Jaworski....

Great clip there. The biggest issue the attendees seem to have, is how they can bash former teammates and coaches, while still being able to be seen at future NFL functions. Obviously this is the most difficult part of the broadcasting game, but players just need to look at it the same way they look at trades, while still in the league. The quote, "it's just business," should be recited a hell of a lot more than it currently is.

Tackling TV After Football (Washington Post)

Every summer, the NFL holds a broadcasting boot camp for players interested in the field, and the league just released this year's list of participants. Past attendees include Darren Sharper, Dhani Jones and ESPN's Tim Hasselbeck, and this year's group looks like they could follow in their shoes. Via USA Today....

Traditionally, TV networks scout for future NFL on-air prospects in venues such as the production meetings where they meet with players to talk about the games they're about to cover.

But through the NFL's Broadcast Boot Camp — where players sign up to get tips from TV producers and announcers — players can essentially announce they're interest in sportscasting and go through a sort of TV combine at the NFL Films office. Last year's session drew 40 players — 21 went on to on-air gigs.

The NFL, says spokesman Dan Masonson, Monday will announce the players heading to its June 22-25 camp. They include Cleveland's Joe Jurevicius, Washington's Antwaan Randle-El, Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew, New England's Matt Light, Arizona's Bryant McFadden and N.Y. Giant Osi Umenyiora. They'll see if they have what it takes as their TV pancake makeup smears during two-a-days.

Pretty good group there. Most have been on programs like First Talk before, and both Umenyiora and MJD have done extensive work across many channels and stations. A few weeks at Boot Camp, a couple times through the ESPN carwash, and you're ready to be hired.

NFL takes would-be broadcasters to different training camp (USA Today)