BRISTOL, Conn. -- Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN. Patrick, who has been with the network for 18 years, announced on his radio show Monday that he will appear on air for the last time Aug. 17. Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president for production, made a simultaneous announcement. A news release said that the mutual agreement will allow Patrick to pursue new interests outside of ESPN. The final week of Patrick's radio show, which started in 1999, will include a look back at memorable moments, interviews and guests. "If there was animosity, I wouldn't be doing any radio shows after today," Patrick said on his show, adding, "I hope to be doing radio somewhere, somehow, down the road." In a news release, Patrick said: "I feel privileged to have had this opportunity and I have extremely mixed emotions about leaving. With that said, I told ESPN that I believe it's time for me to try something different, something that will also be challenging and rewarding. While I'm not sure what that will be, I am grateful to ESPN for its willingness to allow me to pursue new endeavors." Said Williamson: "Dan has accomplished so much over the past two decades at ESPN, and fans and newsmakers have turned to him for his steady and trusted approach. We wish him the very best." Patrick was a "SportsCenter" anchor from 1989 to 2006, winning the National Sportscaster of the Year award from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in 2000. He also received a Sports Emmy Award in the Studio Host category in 1998. Patrick has also written the column "Outtakes" for ESPN The Magazine. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2930637
Time for him to get his own show, ala Jim Rome where he can control the content and more importantly have ownership of it.... Take control of your own celebrity Dan ! DD
i hope they start a new sports channel that doens't revolve around the yankees, bosox, kobe, barry or Rocket.
I'm a big fan of his show, it's the only radio show I'd make a point of catching sometimes. I hope he's back on the air soon after he leaves ESPN. I am worried he may not be accessible in my area though.
I like listening when Dan and Keith Olbermann get together on Patrick's radio show. Maybe they can do a full-time show together now and re-create the glory days of ESPN. Heck, throw in Craig Kilborn, David Aldridge, Kenny Mayne, and Rich Eisen, and I'm so there. (Well, assuming the topics of discussion aren't dominated by Yankees, Red Sox, Lebron, Kobe, Tiger, Bonds, Clemens, Lakers, Knicks, and A-Rod...)
Maybe he can join Keith Olbermann on MSNBC as a co-host. Instead of doing sports highlights, they can do political highlights...(Barack Obama is en fuego...)
I heard Patrick on the radio this afternoon on my way home for lunch. He denied that it was true, and they were making jokes about it. So I am not sure what's going on.
Somewhere along the way, he discovered ESPN was siphoning off his soul in their attempts to revive Walt Disney's severed head.
Man, that sucks! I am a HUGE fan of his show, it's the only one I makes a point of listening to whenever it's on. This is a HUGE loss for ESPN Radio, if true. I really hope he doesn't join XM or something, because then I might just have to fork up the money for a receiver and the monthly subscription. Call me old school, but I just believe that some things were meant to be free; radio is one of them.
I liked his show better when Dibble was on with him...but still enjoyed his show as an occasional alternate to Rome.
Dibble is probably the biggest moron I've ever listened to on sports radio. I don't listen to Dan Patrick often. There are times when his show is incredibly good and he is one of the best ever. Other times the guy is so full of himself I have to change the dial. It's OK to be full of yourself when making a great point nobody ever heard of, but sometimes I can't take his "hubris" (as someone put it) when his show is mediocre.
Tons of NBA talk; far and away the best interviews on radio because he gets most guys on his show, and regularly so; The "Big Show" with KO is very entertaining; and he is a great interviewer (those who listened to his interviews with the likes of Stern and Kobe and Nash and JVG can attest to it).
