The Red Sox begin the post-All Star break portion of their schedule tonight in Tampa as they begin a weekend series with the Rays.

David Ortiz received a four-game suspension from the league as a result of his role in a bench-clearing ruckus with the Baltimore Orioles. Ortiz plans to appeal the suspension and play this weekend in Tampa.

With the Sox yet to play, things are still fairly slow on the sports pages. Today, we’ll look at a few sports media columns, some baseball stuff, and a thought or two.

First, it seems I need to clarify a couple of paragraphs from the other day. I wrote:

Speaking of Jeter’s absence, I found it funny that in the past, Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez had skipped All Star games, and the furor from the media was fierce. In 2006 when Manny skipped, Buster Olney said that his name should never again appear on an All Star ballot.

Derek Jeter is “mentally exhausted” from his quest for 3000 hits, and that’s why he stayed home from last night’s game. No problem at all from anyone. He’s Derek Jeter. I’m not a Derek Jeter basher, and this is not a shot at him, it’s a shot at the double-standards employed by so many in the media toward their favorite sons.

I’ve received quite a bit of feedback regarding the mention of Buster Olney. In retrospect, I made it appear that I was singling him out for letting Jeter off the hook while being harsh towards Manny Ramirez for doing the same thing. I was only attempting to use what Olney said about Manny as an example of the things that were being said on a national level at that time, not insinuating that Olney was letting Jeter skate. Olney in fact, has been pretty critical of Jeter not making an appearance at the All Star game (though he hasn’t called for his name never to appear on an All Star ballot again).

I probably just should’ve used the quote, perhaps without attributing it to Olney, or been more verbose and specific in my views on this. Either way, my intention was not to imply that Olney was being hypocritical in the two cases. (To clarify even more, since I apparently am incapable of making myself coherent on this topic, my scorn was more aimed at the likes of Tim McCarver and the other Jeter fanboys in the media. I do know that he’s gotten some amount of critism, but no one to my knowledge has called for Jeter to never be allowed to be on the All Star ballot ever again.)

Now, let’s get down to what’s happening today:

How Can WEEI Bounce Back After Ratings Slip? - My SBNation Boston Media column looks at what has gone wrong for WEEI, and what things they can do to get back on top of the ratings war.

The Cup spilleth over - Chad Finn’s media column has Jason Wolfe predictably downplaying the significance of the 98.5 win.

Jessica Heslam posts a nasty memo signed by Entercom boss Julie Kahn and several WEEI-AM (850) personalities, including John Dennis and Michael Holley, from last summer, in which WEEI accuses WBZ-FM of  a “patently false misinformation campaign in an effort to discredit our ratings supremacy in the Boston market.“

Sports Media Musings: Taking Stock in Finn’s Column, Grading Gary Tanguay, Dismissing Andy Gresh - Ryan Hadfield (who is going to get some time here on BSMW in the near future) weighs in with an epic amount of thoughts and notes on the Boston sports media scene.

ESPN has changed British Open coverage for the better  - Bill Doyle’s media column looks at ESPN’s coverage of The Open Championship.

Fife delivering after changes – Monique Walker’s Minor League notebook has updates on several Red Sox prospects.

Minor-league talent gives Sox options and roster problems – Brian MacPherson says that the depth of the Red Sox system will make it hard to protect all their prospects in the Rule V draft this winter.

Under studies – Nicole Auerbach has a pair of Australian brothers learning the game while playing for the Lowell Spinners.

Kevin Youkilis again a hidden gem among stars – Michael Silverman has Kevin Youkilis managing to be overlooked while still producing.

Five keys for the Red Sox’ second half – Sean McAdam has a few things that need to work out for the Red Sox in the second half of the season. Kirk Minihane also cranks out five storylines for the second half of the season.

The day after the MLB All Star game is usually among the slowest on the sports calendar. Today is no exception. It’s mainly filler, as we wait for the second half of the season to begin, and for the NFL lockout to finally lift.

A few thoughts and links for a Tuesday:

From the FOX broadcast last night, if you were wondering about Joe Buck’s voice, apparently he is recovering from a virus that weakened his vocal cords, and caused him to almost lose his voice permanently.

While I feel bad for Buck’s condition, (OK, not really) among the highlights of the night was Justin Timberlake heaping sarcastic praise on Buck during an interview with Mark Grace on the telecast.

No, Tim McCarver, the whole country would not have celebrated Derek Jeter with you last night…

Speaking of Jeter’s absence, I found it funny that in the past, Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez had skipped All Star games, and the furor from the media was fierce. In 2006 when Manny skipped, Buster Olney said that his name should never again appear on an All Star ballot.

Derek Jeter is “mentally exhausted” from his quest for 3000 hits, and that’s why he stayed home from last night’s game. No problem at all from anyone. He’s Derek Jeter. I’m not a Derek Jeter basher, and this is not a shot at him, it’s a shot at the double-standards employed by so many in the media toward their favorite sons.

Will the Chris Berman era ever end? - Kirk Minihane on WEEI.com thinks it’s time for Chris Berman to be eased off of ESPN.

These Sox may have fit - John Tomase looks at the mutual interest between the Red Sox and Matt Holliday in the winter of 2009, and how different things might be right now had they been able to work something out.

All-Star trip has special meaning - Gordon Edes looks at how the trip to Arizona held family significance for Jacoby Ellsbury.

If season is lost, C’s could make run at Howard - A. Sherrod Blakely explains why Celtics fan might want to root for a lost season, though he does says that his belief is “that Howard will never wear the Green and White.”

Mike Vrabel was the very personification of a football player - Jim Donaldson looks at the career of the former Patriots linebacker.

So I apparently lost the entire first version of this post, which really doesn’t happen all that often.

Quickly – Lots of articles on Adrian Gonzalez’s greatness this morning, as well as the future of David Ortiz, who could be elsewhere next season.

Rather than do them all again, I’m bringing you the top five, plus a few miscellaneous pieces:

Gonzo is just out of this world  - Dan Shaughnessy is a fawning fanboy over Gonzalez in this piece. More on Gonzo from Bob Nightengale | John Tomase

Is there life after David Ortiz for the Red Sox? - Alex Speier looks at the possibility that this is the last year in Boston for Ortiz. More on this from Michael Silverman | Nick Cafardo

Ortiz the home run champ in Boston – Gordon Edes makes the case for Big Papi as the great home run hitter in Red Sox history, over guys like Jim Rice and Ted Williams.

Star in fixed position - Peter Abraham has Josh Beckett accepting responsibility for his lousy 2010, and working hard to return to ace form.

Sox look like fall guys – Gerry Callahan says that the Red Sox look like a sure bet for the postseason.

Wild move leads former sportswriter to Flames’ front office – The Montreal Gazette reports on former Boston Globe Red Sox beat writer Chris Snow taking a new position with the Calgary Flames.

Five things we learned from Bruins’ development camp – DJ Bean with a look at the Bruins youngsters.

Mike Vrabel goes out a winner 0 Ian Rapoport has the former Patriots linebacker calling it a career, and going into coaching.

The Red Sox finished up a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles yesterday, and hit the All Star break on a six-game winning streak, and a 55-35 record.

Yesterday’s 8-6 win featured still more ejections (four), as the two clubs continued to snipe at each other, on and off the field.

Things try to get ugly in Boston’s 8-6 win over the Baltimore - Nick Underhill has the Orioles continuing to try to settle their perceived feud with the American League East leaders. More game stories from Michael Vega | Dan Duggan | Brian MacPherson | Mike Fine | Maureen Mullen

Red Sox still can hit historic highs - Scott Lauber says that it is still possible that this The Best Red Sox Team Ever. Joe McDonald says that this team is living up their preseason hype.

Playing it forward - Amalie Benjamin has a mini-feature on Jacoby Ellsbury putting a tough 2010 season behind him. Alex Speier explains why this resurgence is not entirely surprising.

Gordon Edes’ interactive midseason Red Sox report card - The ESPN writer gives you the chance to grade the Red Sox for the first half of the season. Scott Lauber lists out the studs and duds from the first half of the season.

Umpires were out of control in Sox-Birds tiff - Jim Donaldson has the umpires losing control of the series. Rich Thompson  has the umpires with a very busy series.

Middlebrooks has the will, finding way - Nick Cafardo has power hitting prospect Will Middlebrooks looking to find his way to Fenway Park sooner rather than later.

Weiland’s debut is one for the history books -  Tim Britton has the Sox rookie starter becoming only the seventh player to be ejected in his Major League debut. Nicole Auerbach has more on Weiland.

Players hit break, speed away - Rich Thompson has the players heading their separate ways for the break.

Shopping smart at the trade deadline - The Red Sox Journal has Theo Epstein looking at options for the trade deadline at the end of the month. The Herald notebook from Dan Duggan has Jon Lester getting an All Star call, even though he won’t participate. The Globe notebook from Michael Vega has Lester pleased with the honor. The CSNNE.com notes have more on Weiland’s ejection. The Gatehouse notebook from Mike Fine  has more on Weiland.

It’s a mixed bag of goods today, while the Red Sox hit six home runs in a 10-4 win over the Orioles that vaulted Boston into first place, we’re going to focus mainly here today on a few other items. You can get all the Red Sox coverage today at RedSoxLinks.com.

Chad Finn in the Globe today has a mini-feature on the competition between Comcast SportsNet New England and NESN, which have battled to be the top TV destination for Boston sports fans. Finn examines the recent Bruins Stanley Cup run as an example, and looks at the two outlets differing philosophies on programming and what each is looking to do. He also has a gallery where you can vote for the top personalities and shows between the two outlets. (I can’t stand galleries – they’re nothing more than a way for websites to generate more page views and click-throughs, at the expense of the convenience of the reader, but this one is worth going through.)

My SB Nation Boston media column today looks at the week Fill-Ins Rule The Airwaves.

Former Dodgers slugger Eric Karros enjoys times in All-Star dugout – Bill Doyle talks to the FOX analyst about the All Star Game, the Red Sox, and the chaos that is the LA Dodgers right now.

Williams changed culture at Fenway - Sean McAdam remembers former Red Sox manager Dick Williams, who passed away yesterday at the age of 82. More on Williams from Bill Reynolds | Dan Shaughnessy | John Tomase | Mike Fine | Joe McDonald | Peter Abraham has the obituary for Williams in the Globe.

The remembrances of George Kimball continue to pile in, Dan Kennedy recalls an encounter with Kimball at the 1986 Woburn toxic-waste trial, where Kimball was called as a potential juror. Charles P. Pierce recalls the first time he met Kimball, and was asked if he had any speed on him. Thus began a 30-year friendship. Sean Kerrigan in The Phoenix looks at Kimball’s time at the publication. If you haven’t read the appreciation from Michael Gee in the Herald yet, I encourage you to do so.