Why Would an Atlanta Sports Talk Radio Station Want to Employ Someone Who Knows a Ton About Atlanta Sports?

As someone who's four years at the University of Georgia coincided with David Pollack's All-American career, I really hoped that if I ever found myself talking about him a few years after leaving Athens, it would be about his NFL career, his time with the Dawgs, or maybe, if the NFL thing didn't work out, as it often doesn't and in this case didn't, how he was coaching linebackers now for (fill-in-the-blank) college or high school.

I never expected to be talking about Pollack joining 790 the Zone as their latest and greatest bloviator. Yet, as I sat in traffic in downtown on Tuesday afternoon, there he was on the airwaves as part of the always enjoyable "Afternoon Saloon" program. In all honesty, Pollack wasn't that bad. He was confident, opinionated, and clearly knew his shit about college and pro football (which, uh, would be a pretty big problem if he didn't). Unfortunately, in order to bring Pollack into the mix, that meant that the former third wheel on "Saloon," Brandon 'Hometeam' Leak had been jettisoned from the 790 lineup. Our loss.

Leak was one of those guys that just flat out knew his sports. The fact he was from Atlanta, knew the local sports scene in-and-out, and was the only sports talk personality that gave two shits about the Hawks were all added bonuses. Maybe he didn't have the outsized personalities of a Mike Bell or a John Kincade, but like Chris Dimino, Nick Cellini or Chuck Oliver, the guy just knew his sports. Novel concept, I know. For a station that allows Steak Shapiro to blather on about the "ATMOSPHERE in the arena," "the BUZZ around town," "the MOOD in the clubhouse," "the ENERGY they played with," and other mindless cliches morning after morning, surely they could have utilized Leak's knowledge and evident passion for Atlanta sports (maybe during the awful Brandon and Wolvie mid-day show?).

Pollack might bring in strong ratings, and could prove to be a fine complement to Bell and Oliver (let's see how well he does when football isn't in season), but here's to hoping Leak can land on his feet with 680 The Fan or some other outlet where his talents and local ties can be better served.

(Ugh, that feel dirty...no more media related posts for awhile. Back to sports...)