Courtesy the Boston Globe

(November 5, 2010) Those ubiquitous radio commercials make a career in sports broadcasting seem like all fun and games, and the television life certainly can be a glamorous one, particularly when the job is right for the broadcaster and the broadcaster is right for the job.

But there is a downside, one fraught with blunt assessments and subjective opinions that can alter a career and a life in the brief time it takes for the red light to go off.

Two local sports television personalities became harshly acquainted with that side of the business this week.

Cole Wright, who arrived at NESN in November 2008 as the replacement for the popular Hazel Mae on “SportsDesk,’’ made his final appearance on the network Saturday night when he hosted “NESN Daily.’’ A NESN spokesman confirmed that the 32-year-old Wright did not have his contract renewed.

Efforts to reach Wright for comment were unsuccessful.

Wright’s role at the network was diminished when NESN swapped the “SportsDesk’’ news-and-highlights format for “NESN Daily,’’ which ostensibly is about the sports issues of the day but usually degenerates into awkward, banal banter between the ill-matched hosts. The irony is that Wright — who is likable, if quick to use a turn of phrase even Stuart Scott might dismiss as too forced — would have been a much better fit on “NESN Daily’’ than he was on “SportsDesk.’’

With Wright’s departure, NESN has hired freelance anchor-reporter Randy Scott, who worked at WINK in Fort Myers, Fla. If his name sounds familiar, it’s probably because he has occasionally filed freelance reports for Channel 4 during spring training.

Comcast SportsNet New England, NESN’s cable television competition for the viewership of Boston sports fans, also has a roster move upcoming, this one a bit more of a surprise.

Jackie Pepper, the enthusiastic reporter/anchor who arrived among the influx of relatively unknown on-air talent Comcast SportsNet New England hired when it launched “SportsNet Central’’ last December, will appear on CSNNE for the final time Sunday.

Pepper’s departure comes less than a year after her arrival. The native of Santa Monica, Calif., and University of Arizona grad signed a two-year deal last year, but her contract had a provision in which CSNNE could choose to not renew the second year.

“Which is exactly what happened,’’ said Pepper, who acknowledged the disappointment of losing what she called a “dream job.’’

“In the last year, I was lucky enough to live my professional dream as a sports anchor and reporter in Boston, unquestionably the greatest sports town in the country,’’ she said. “I can’t thank the people of New England enough for reaching out and welcoming me into the community with open arms and positivity.’’

Pepper isn’t sure what comes next, let alone why it came to this. It may be telling that she was hired not by CSNNE management, but by Comcast executives in Philadelphia, though that applies to other on-air talent.

She was told that her “West Coast personality’’ rubbed some at CSNNE the wrong way. That could be a reference to her jokingly wearing Lakers gear to the CSNNE studios during the NBA Finals, which didn’t go over the way she intended.

“It’s tough to say goodbye,’’ she said. “In some ways, I feel like I just got here. It’s really tough. But you know, I’m not the first one in this business to have to leave a job or a place I love. That’s what we signed up for.’’

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