RON DIBBLE IS ON-AIR AND D. PATRICK ISN’T - WHO KNEW? Privately knowing that he was embroiled in a contentious contract dispute with ESPN, Dan Patrick earlier this month on his radio show began teasing an announcement that would “change lives” - which he promised to release last Tuesday.

He never made it.

After his radio show Monday, ESPN execs quite obviously pulled Patrick off the air, using fill-in hosts for the remainder of the week. Those hosts (and guests) were mum on his whereabouts and much anticipated (ok, not really, but play along) announcement during the show.

Like so many before him, it appears the insufferably arrogant Patrick (yes, we do occasionally stumble onto listen to his show, how else would we know?) might be overplaying his cards. The Bristol suits by now know that no one, and we mean NO ONE, will fail to tune into the broadcast properties of the Worldwide Leader because Patrick isn’t present.

But the NEW YORK POST paints a different picture, reporting late last week that “ESPN officials now say that contract talks are ongoing” after “Dan Patrick didn’t show up for work yesterday (Tuesday)“.

Anyone with a thimbleful of industry knowledge knows that Patrick was forced off the air and will have to take what ESPN offers. If he wants to drop a potato sack over his media career and throw it down the stairs, then he’ll attempt to go the route of Chris Myers and Craig Kilborn (and for a time, Keith Olbermann).

Oh yeah, something called CO-ED magazine is reporting a bit more definitively that Patrick has already been thrown out on his ass.
Unfortunately we can’t vouch for the veracity of the report.

For us, something called CO-ED magazine conjurs up hidden sorority house cams, not the employment status of a 52-year-old teleprompter jockey.