Watney making a connection

She's embracing 'Nation' for NESN

Heidi Watney, NESN's new Red Sox reporter, had spent her entire life in her native California but was ready for a change. So when the opportunity to come cross-country was presented, she jumped at it.

"It's going great, it's the ideal situation for being in a new place with a new job," said Watney, reached by telephone from Detroit Wednesday where she was covering the Red Sox.

She knows the expectations are high, given the performance and popularity of her predecessor, Tina Cervasio.

"I definitely know I have big shoes to fill, people have told me that," said Watney, 26. "She was wonderful, she was great, and from all accounts, she's a wonderful person as well. I hope to bring something new to it and my own style to it. With hard work and doing a good job, I hope to win everyone over."

Watney, a former beauty queen, was born and raised in Fresno and graduated from the University of San Diego in 2003. She said her brief time with the Red Sox has been positive.

"I was told and warned almost [about the passion of Red Sox Nation]," said Watney.

During a couple of games at Fenway Park, she moved from one area of the ballpark to another to speak with fans.

"I sat on the Green Monster one night, I sat in the dugout seats, and I sat in the grandstand," said Watney. "I just kind of made my way around the park. I talked to fans and sat there and listened. I got an idea of everyone's fanhood and how passionate people are about the Red Sox.

"People volunteer their opinions. I guess you could say I'm an outsider but I don't look at it that way. I've lived in California my whole life. I'm the kind of person, I love new adventures. I love to travel, I don't mind living out of a suitcase. To me, it's exciting and that's part of the draw to this job."

The former Miss California contestant (she was the third runner-up in 2003) said competing in pageants was just a small facet of her life.

"My experience was great," she said. "You practice your interviewing skills, you practice your public speaking. It's something that really propelled me into this career. If I hadn't done that, I don't know that I would've been as prepared for this job.

"I don't consider myself a pageant girl. In college, I was on an academic scholarship. I was a National Merit Scholar. I graduated with honors. There is a lot more to me than the couple of years I competed in beauty pageants."

Watney, whose father, Mike, is the golf coach at Fresno State, said she has always loved sports. Her cousin, Nick Watney, is on the PGA Tour.

Heidi came to Boston from Fox affiliate KMPH-TV in Fresno. The Fresno Bee reported in December she had been suspended for cursing at a school administrator, but Watney said she left the station on good terms.

"It was time for me to move on," she said. "I got to cover baseball a lot because of Barry Bonds [and his quest for the home run record]. That's when I got the itch to cover professional sports and get out of the comfort of my local market. I wanted to push myself to the next level. They kind of knew it was time for me to move on, too."

Cherry pickings

For those familiar with CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada," and "Coach's Corner," in particular, it's no secret former Bruins coach Don Cherry doesn't shy from controversy. Beginning tonight, Cherry will expand his audience to ESPN's "SportsCenter" after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The game begins at 7:30. "Pairing Don Cherry and Barry Melrose will provide NHL fans with two of the most respected and opinionated voices in hockey today," said Norby Williamson, ESPN's executive vice president of production. " 'SportsCenter' will be the place to turn for Stanley Cup analysis, debate, and highlights." Cherry's involvement with ESPN will extend through the Stanley Cup finals. He will also appear on ESPNEWS and on ESPN Radio . . . "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" on HBO will take on an unsettling topic Monday at 10 p.m. Correspondent Bernard Goldberg explores the dark side of thoroughbred racing, particularly underperforming horses who are auctioned off and sent to a slaughterhouse. Other topics are a profile of tennis star Venus Williams, the political campaign of former NBA star Kevin Johnson, and a look at auto racing sensation Danica Patrick . . . The Fox Saturday Game of the Week will feature the Yankees at Detroit at 3:30 p.m. MLB on Fox pregame show, with Jeanne Zelasko and analyst Kevin Kennedy, airs at 3 . . . Fox analyst Darrell Waltrip had some harsh words for Kyle Busch after the Sprint Cup race last week at Richmond Raceway. Busch bumped leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. with three laps to go, knocking him out of the running and extending Earnhardt's winless streak to 72. "Kyle needs a good PR person to tell him what to say," said Waltrip. "It's not his driving that is making so many enemies, it's his postrace interview skills that are killing him. They are terrible. He is alienating so many people and making a lot of enemies after the race, not during. People will have a lot more respect for him if he works on his PR skills because he is doing a great job behind the wheel." Asked about the fans booing him after the incident, Busch said, "I pretty much told them, 'Grow up, that's racing.' We're racing hard and I feel like there's a lot more worse cases in this world than someone getting spun out in a race." The next NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Fox is tomorrow night at 7 from South Carolina's Darlington Raceway.