By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed August 12, 2015
David Pollack, after three plus years, is leaving his afternoon show on 790/The Zone for the brighter lights and bigger stage of ESPN.
Today is his last day on the Pollack & Bell show, which airs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Bell made the announcement upfront at the 3 o'clock hour but didn't dwell on it.
Pollack was an All American defender at the University of Georgia and played for the Cincinnati Bengals. He played the straight man to Mike Bell's wacky, child-like routine and despite the odd couple combo, it worked.
Ratings improved so much, they became the station's biggest show and the Fan, in reaction swapped two of its shows recently. The Zone last month even gave Pollack & Bell an extra hour, taking away from the 2 Live Stews.
Bell today called the pair the "ying and the yang. The evil wore off more on the good than the good on the evil." Pollack didn't agree. He also didn't utter any particularly sentimental words before they jumped into talking pre-season NFL football.
Last year, Pollack started working heavily covering college football for ESPN and was only doing the afternoon show three times a week during that time period. Now he'll be doing even more work for ESPN, working with Jesse Palmer and fellow Atlantan Erin Andrews, along with appearances on "SportsCenter."
What will the Zone do next? Bell, in an interview, said he can't say who Pollack's replacement will be but he will start August 22. (Bell is on vacation next week.)
He said it was a person he personally chose."They'll be more shenanigans," Bell teased. "This will be the unholy alliance of two guys who think the same way." [Speculation points to Dave Archer, one of the fill ins last year while Pollack was working ESPN.]
As for Pollack, Bell said he enjoyed working with him. "He's a good friend," he said. "I taught him about food and a bit about life."
Pollack will continue to be an analyst and fill-in person for the Zone.
More details to come if I can get a hold of Pollack.
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By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog
