James enjoys media role with Pats

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Patriots notebook

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – His official job title is “media relations director,” but when your employer is the New England Patriots football franchise and your team is two days away from playing for a conference title, a more accurate title might be chaos manager.

That’s probably what it seems like for Stacey James, the Patriots’ main media point man as he balances the needs of his employers and players with those of the media and its readers, viewers and listeners.

“This is fun and exciting,” James said after concluding a round of press conferences, locker room interviews, and live shots involving about 80 media representatives at Gillette Stadium Wednesday afternoon. “The only difficulty involving the workload is when your 5-year-old has to call you because he didn’t see you all day.

“Time flies by, but if it’s flying by and you’re not looking at the clock, it tells you something… It doesn’t seem like work.”

The National Football League has taken over the job of assigning media credentials and passes, but that hasn’t lessened the workload on James, who is responsible for accommodating at least 400 print, radio television, and internet media members before, during and after Sunday’s AFC Championship game at Gillette between New England and Indianapolis.

“We’ll probably easily exceed that,” James said frankly. “Four hundred (credentials) is just what the NFL recommends we accommodate.”

For a typical regular season game, James has to make arrangements for anywhere from 50 to 100 media personnel. Once the stage shifts to the postseason, the NFL recommends 175 for wild card games, 250 for second round games, and 400 for conference finals.

“It’s not quite as bad as it could be for us. We’re actually in a very good position from a media standpoint because we serve a six-state region,” James said. “So we’re used to getting a lot of media outlet members here for all our games.”

Obviously, this is much more than normal, but the spacious facilities at the new Gillette Stadium alleviate the media crunch somewhat. And when he compares the accommodations at his disposal now compared to what he had to work with at the old Foxboro Stadium, it seems even easier to manage.

“Oh sure. We did this in 1996 and it was a joke from a logistical, technical and comfort perspective,” said James, now in his 11th season with New England. “The difference is night and day … In everything.”

To provide some idea of the media crunch, consider that a typical Wednesday afternoon press day during the regular season draws 13-16 camera people and 40-50 reporters. Last week, it was 17 cameras and 60 reporters. Yesterday, the count was 25 cameras and 85 reporters.

“This is the first time in my 11 years that we’ve exceeded 100 media people for this,” James said.

No brewskis for Bruschi

When the question was put to him, New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi looked all around the locker room to see if he was the target of a practical joke.

“How come a player as integral to this team and popular as you are, with a last name pronounced broo-ski hasn’t been given an endorsement deal for a Boston-area beer company?”

After being assured that it was, in fact a serious question, Bruschi answered.

“NFL rules prohibit players from advertising alcohol and tobacco products,” he said.

That’s why you see kicker Adam Vinatieri extolling the virtues of New England Ford dealers, but not Bruschi making a pitch for Sam Adams Light.

What about the old Miller All-Stars commercials featuring NFL greats like Bubba Smith, Art Donovan and others?

“Those were retired players. If you’re an active player, you can’t do it,” said the 30-year-old Patriots linebacker.

Might we see him shilling for suds in a few years after he hangs up his cleats and pads?

“Maybe. Who knows? We’ll see,” he said.

Pats integral part of Foxborough

When so many reporters and writers converge on a relatively modest-sized area like Foxborough, it can be difficult, if not impossible to come up with any kind of unique angle or under-reported story, but if you’re lucky enough to get pointed toward a source like Vinnie Igo, it’s no longer impossible.

While talking about the nuances of his hometown, Igo recalled the story of how the American Football League’s Boston Patriots came to Foxborough, became the New England Patriots and brought the NFL along.

“A few of us got together one night at a party in the late ’60s and we were talking football,” said the 80-year-old former town selectman. “We were talking about the Patriots and how they didn’t have a home, and one of the guys just called up Billy Sullivan, who was at a league meeting in Hawaii.”

Sullivan was the patriarch and president of the Boston/New England Patriots.

“This guy asked Sullivan to look at Foxboro since Boston didn’t want him and because there was a good piece of land including the racetrack that was for sale. He looked into it and came out here and met with our selectmen.”

The site’s proximity to Interstate 95 also was a selling point, and things gradually gained momentum after that fateful phone call.

Now the Patriots are one of the town’s top three employers as well as a publicity magnet.

“Some people didn’t think much of it at the time, but then they saw the potential and the possibilities,” Igo said. “More than anything, I’m sure the money was what really turned people’s attitudes around.”

Igo’s family benefited as his wife took a job as an assistant and secretary in the Patriots’ scouting department and worked there for almost two decades.

“They’ve been very good to me,” said Igo, who worked as a sports and general assignment reporter for the Foxboro Reporter for 47 years and covered the team. “I could go up there any time and be around and even as professional and big as they are now, I still can. They’re very good to us even though they don’t have to be.

“We recognize them as a part of Foxboro and they’ve become an integral part of the community.”

Some former Patriots have literally become a part of the community. Ex-Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan and linebacker Steve Nelson, both former team captains, have settled in the area, according to Igo.

Grogan runs Grogan-Marciano Sporting Goods in Mansfield and Nelson is a football coach at Curry College who lives in Norfolk.

“Grogan’s a great guy and he loves it here. Nelson is still here and he does a lot of work with disadvantaged kids,” Igo said.

Quotes from the coach

New England head coach Bill Belichick, who was known more for his disdain of the spotlight and strained relationships with reporters during his days in Cleveland, has shown a surprising flair behind the microphone his last two seasons with the Patriots.

Belichick, who reportedly has a dry wit which was rarely documented during his tenure as the Cleveland Browns head coach from 1991 through 1995, came up with several amusing quotes and one-liners at Wednesday’s press conference.

Belichick was asked about quarterback Tom Brady’s physical block when Bethel Johnson reversed field to escape a horde of defenders on the right side of the field last week. A reporter asked him if he was happy to see that kind of play by his quarterback, given the probability for injury to such an integral player.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Belichick asked.

The reporter responded that some coaches might not want star players to put themselves in harm’s way like that.

“You’ll never hear me say that,” he responded. “That’s what he’s expected to do. He’s a football player.”

Speaking of football players, another reporter asked Belichick about the talent and importance of wide receiver and team leader Troy Brown.

“He’s a football playing dude, man. He’s a good player,” Belichick said with a smile.