Dan Patrick Quitting ESPN

Dan Patrick announced on his ESPN Radio show today that he's leaving the network -- radio, TV, magazines and everything ESPN -- on Friday, Aug. 17.

The mutual agreement will allow Patrick -- known as Dan Pugh when he was an all-conference basketball star at Mason High School (Class of 1974) -- to pursue new interests outside ESPN.

He told listeners today: "If there was animosity, I wouldn't being doing any radio after today."

In a ESPN press release he said: "I’ve spent a third of my life at ESPN. All my children were born while I was employed here. 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."

Read ESPN's story at http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2930637

Patrick's resignation was not unexpected. A Los Angeles newspaper reported in late June he was on the short list to replace Bob Barker on CBS' "The Price Is Right."

Patrick was born in Zanesville and moved to Mason in about 1966. He graduated from the University of Dayton in 1979. He started in broadcasting at UD's WVUD-FM, then worked for WTUE-FM (and part-time at Dayton's Ch. 2). When he whiffed at getting a full-time TV job in Dayton, he landed a CNN Sports. Patrick joined ESPN in 1989, where he co-hosted SportsCenter until last year. His ESPN Radio show is broadcast 1-4 p.m. weekdays on WSAI-AM (1360) and Hamilton's WMOH-AM (1450).

As much as I liked him on SportsCenter, particularly back in the days with Keith Olbermann, I liked his radio show even better (particularly "The Big Show" 2 p.m. hour with Olbermann).

Will you miss him? Did you like Patrick better as a radio talk host or sports anchor?

And if anyone knew him as Dan Pugh in Mason in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I'm sure many would to read your posts here...