"The Dogs Bark, But the Caravan Moves On"

You stay classy, Andy Polli!

Thirteen years with Andy Pollin from 4-7 p.m. on Sportstalk 980 here in DC.

It will end next Wednesday.

If you have enough juice in radio as a host to call your own shots, you probably should be retired and on a beach somewhere. As such, you play to the whistle, or in our line of work - talk until they kick you out.

Andy knows this. I know this. It was still a great run.

“Thirteen years, three ownership groups, six program directors, two buildings, five engineers, a flooded control room,” Czaban remembered. “We have been through so much together, and I’ve enjoyed absolutely every minute of it, not just you but all of our rotating guests who have come in as the third wheel sports reporter….You are the most professional radio person I’ve ever been with….And it’s been a great run. I know that you have plenty left in you, and you have more things you’re going to do in the market.

“Your knowledge of Redskins history and games and people and players is irreplaceable. It’s the deepest mental archive in the market. And more importantly, you have presided in front of this microphone [during] all of the little mini dramas involving the teams, coaches, athletes, players in this city, and that’s what sports radio is about. It’s there to chronicle the nonsense that goes on….That is going to be impossible to replace.”

It's what I said on the air Tuesday, and I meant every word of it. Eventually we were going to wander our separate ways, I just expected to confront that decision at the end of the football season when both of our contracts were up for renewal. The station wanted a jump on the new venture with Cooley on board, and so away we go.

Andy and I would bicker like an old married couple on air, I know. But it never got disrespectful because we are both pros. We have such different interests and passions, yet we are both very much alike, in ways only those who joined us in the studio as our rotating guest would know from the incredible and hilarious discussions that never made air. (Thank god!)

I think Cooley is going to be very good. Just don't quote me on how long he'll last, because with all ex-jocks, the concept of "every day" is completely foreign to them. But the fun thing is, I won't hesistate to bust Cooley's balls on air by saying "aren't you sick of this yet, Chris?"

As for Galdi I am very happy he is on board to "run the boat" so to speak. He's a tireless grinder, with tons of untapped talent ready to burst through. It's like I work for HIM now! Ha! I couldn't be more proud.

And hell yes, plenty of wrestling talk with Al's incomparable "Off the Top Rope" segment! I love it.

Al will depart the morning show on Yahoo! with me and Scott, because he now has a real job and a life. Everyone is happy for him. Hopefully we can get a "walk on" from time to time.

The mourning process now begins for every listener we have accumulated and kept for 13 years in afternoon drive. I don't want to minimize that by saying in an annoyingly chipper way: "Oh, you're going to LOVE the new show!"

Because you aren't. You are going to hate it.

Then curse it. Then give it another try. And hopefully over the proving ground of day after day, you will love it. But we plan to earn it from everybody.

Al Galdi bangs out another flawless update. He'll capably run "The Drive" with me and Cooley.