'Inside' shift gets face lift

When HBO canceled 'Inside the NFL,' plenty of fans were disappointed. However, Showtime (in conjunction with CBS Sports) has taken it over and will put its stamp on the new version, which will air at 9 p.m. Wednesdays beginning Sept. 10.

Former NFL star Warren Sapp will be an integral part of the series. Sapp, who will team with Cris Collinsworth, Phil Simms, and James Brown, promises the show will be an improvement.

"I would hope to God it would be because the one on HBO just got bland," said Sapp, not one to edit himself. "It got bland, it got boring, and it just sat there that it was a foregone conclusion that somebody was supposed to tune in because it was what it was. You have to entertain the people. I think us four guys are diverse in every way possible and complement each other. We've got two champions. We've got a quarterback, a receiver, a defensive lineman, and a non-football guy. We've got four guys who are respected throughout the league."

When asked about the Patriots, Sapp said he remembers the bad old days of the franchise.

"When I was in Tampa, we laughed at them," said Sapp. "When they had [Drew] Bledsoe, [Terry] Glenn, Bill Parcells on the sidelines. They didn't get a first down until the third quarter. We always laughed at the Patriots.

"But they are what you would want as a franchise as I look at them over the last five or six years. When people talk about Spygate, there's one rule in football and this is the golden rule -- if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying to win. If you're going to let me see your signals, I'm going to get them, I'm going to dissect them, and I'm going to use them against you."

Sapp said he doesn't know coach Bill Belichick well, but knows him well enough that he would've liked to have played for him.

"I had the grand opportunity of sitting with Bill Belichick in Cleveland when he was the head coach,"said Sapp. "He came to the University of Miami to see me because he wanted to draft me and put me next to Michael Dean Perry and Dan Footman and run that defense in Cleveland.

"Personnel director] Mike Lombardi wouldn't let him pick me. I've always had an affection for Bill Belichick. I've always liked him because he liked me when I was a kid. If he's a winner, he's a winner. He's doing something right. I've never played for Belichick and I'd take Belichick [as his coach] because I know what he's going to do. He's going to prepare me, he's going to give me a plan, and he's going to ask me to execute it and he's going to have me ready to go. That's all you can ask from a coach."

As for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Sapp said there are only two he would take over Brady --Brett Favre and Brad Johnson.

"Brett has always been my guy,"he said. "I've chased and banged him around and I know what he brings to the table. And Brad Johnson helped me win a Super Bowl [in 2003]. Those are the only two quarterbacks I'd take before him. After them, Tom Terrific is coming with me. This man is a field general."

Cut and paste
The NFL Network will air a two-hour special on roster cutdown day tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Entitled &"Around the League: Roster Cuts," the program will feature Adam Schefter, Alex Flanagan, and Jamie Dukes. The trio will break down the day's transactions as the opening of the season draws closer. In addition, Michael Fabiano will host a fantasy football segment ..... The Fox Saturday Baseball Game of the Week at 3:30 p.m. will wrap up August with games at the homes of first-place teams. The NL-East leading Cubs face the Phillies and the AL-East leading Rays host the Orioles. Prior to the featured game is the MLB on Fox pregame show, hosted by Jeanne Zelasko with analysts Kevin Kennedy and Mark Grace. Fox announcer Kenny Albert, in the booth for the Rays-Orioles game along with analyst Joe Magrane, believes the Rays are for real. "The Tampa Bay Rays are one of the biggest feel-good stories in Major League Baseball in the last decade,"said Albert. "After 10 straight losing seasons, including nine last-place finishes, the Rays are just over a month away from knocking the Red Sox and Yankees off the America League East perch. Can the Rays continue their dream run into October? Why not? Not all fairy tales must come to an end."

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese9@globe.com.