The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein has a nice piece on Dan Patrick and his new gig with Chicago radio impresario Jimmy de Castro:

His new company, Content Factory, plans to distribute Patrick across nine platforms: AM/FM radio, satellite and HD radio, online, television, mobile, publishing, out-of-home video (i.e. screens at gas station pumps), retail and event marketing.

It looks like we’ll still have access to whatever Dan’s doing pretty easily.

After edging out Patrick on the golf course, de Castro sent him a John Daly golf shirt. Why?

“It has 12 logos on it,” de Castro said. “We told Dan: ‘That’s what ESPN is to you. You don’t want to wear 12 logos. You want to wear Dan Patrick, and when we sell Budweiser here, you own it.’ ”

In other words, don’t simply serve as a vehicle for ESPN to sell ads.

“He had been a paid employee,” de Castro said. “Now he owns a percentage of the radio show.”

The Dan Patrick Broadcasting Empire, Inc?

De Castro says he’s looking at a lanch date of September 9 and that recurring guests will include Rick Reilly, Reggie Miller, and… yes. Keith Olbermann.

ETA: AOL Sports: “…an ESPN spokesman tells me that the speculation is wrong, and that Patrick will be back for a ‘farewell week.’” But not until then? My afternoons will be awfully bleak between now and September.

The Boston Globe talks to Dan:

Since Dan Patrick announced on his radio show Monday he’ll be leaving ESPN Aug. 17, rumors have swirled as to why he’s leaving and where he’ll end up.

One thing is for certain: Patrick will remain on the airwaves after it was announced yesterday he will join The Content Factory, which will distribute Patrick’s new radio show.

Rumors got even swirlier when Dan’s name was absent from the 1pm to 4pm slot yesterday. I wonder whether Ms. Bickelhaupt spoke to Dan before or after that time. Either way, it’s a nice write-up that touches on many subjects, like the incredible fact that the man has no agent.

The LA Daily News talks to Keith:

Olbermann added that ESPN has “been terrific and I’m very torn” about whether to continue on the network radio show - either hosting it by himself, as the network has offered, or do a shorter version. He could also join Patrick somewhere down the road at another syndicated show.

“I don’t think with my other jobs I could give it as much as the company and listeners deserve,” the MSNBC “Countdown” anchor said of taking Patrick’s ESPN Radio spot. “Plus, my motivation has been working with DP. In short, we’ll see.”

Stay with Dan, KO. You’re both great individually, but together you’re something really special.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

…Dan Patrick, who’s leaving the network after 18 years as one of its biggest stars, soon will announce his new deal: He’ll continue in radio and launch a new nationally syndicated program via Chicago-based Content Factory.

Oh, there may not be much of an interruption of service at all! Just as long as there’s streaming audio and/or podcasts.

Also, Dan pulled out of the Lake Tahoe Celebrity Golf Tournament as of last night.

[Via Deadspin, via The Big Lead]

Edit 2:14: Apparently, Dan left the golf tournament because today was announcement day. Here’s the press release!

Edit 2:37: Why is ESPN using generic drops on the show today? Is Dan being pushed out prematurely?

Dan will be leaving ESPN, on good terms. His final show will be August 17, with a week of special shows leading up to it. He was off the air while the folks at The Worldwide Leader tried to lure him back into the fold. There is no new radio or television project to announce at this time.

Here it is on ESPN.com.

Ok! Bob Valvano, filling in for Dan, just said we’d find out what Dan’s announcement was “sometime later this week.”

We hope all is well with Dan, and think perhaps, at this point, that The Announcement is about just how very much he likes being a Story Tease.

ETA: Ok! New plan. We here at ERT will still technically be going on vacation post-Countdown tonight. However, I’m going to stick around until The Announcement (whenever it happens), to pass along the news. So, check back, and we’ll have it for you as soon as we hear.

Edited 4:15pm by Becky: In the course of the afternoon I’ve read no fewer than six different sports blogs say that their “sources” say Dan Patrick’s announcement is that he is leaving The Worldwide Leader, some going as far as to say he’s shopping his own syndicated radio show. All rumors, remember, so take with liberal amounts of salt.

For the amount of time Dan Patrick spent teasing tomorrow’s “big announcement”, he might as well have been standing on a stage swinging his tie around. Still, he has given out very little concrete details other than:

1. It will change his life, but not necessarily the listeners (the fact that this is fairly impossible for me makes it clear that my life is way too intertwined with The Big Show lately).

2. It affects Keith too, but not as much.

3. It probably is a positive thing from DP’s perspective. He would not be pimping his firing, now would he?

4. He is most likely turning down the Price is Right offer to audition, so he won’t be coming on down. His mother is not pleased.

5. Keith mentioned the Friday Big Show recap here at ERT. Dan asked what the blogs were saying about his big announcement, and KO cited what Gilbert said. And no, I do not own a single tin foil hat. Keith then went on to squash Gilbert’s idea of a Big Show TV time when they are together. Too bad, I would have liked that.

6. More clues on Countdown tonight with Inspector Olbermann.

Does Barry Bonds belong in the All-Star game? KO says no, as he is having a bad year. Furthermore, all the other fan voted-in outfielders are wrong too. Keith says that while the game was “designed as the fans’ game”, the fans need more guidance. Keith actually seems to want the whole All-Star Game thing to go away, or at least the fan voting. Maybe if they gave him a Hall of Fame vote he would leave this one alone?

If KO had to call the Barry Bonds’ home run record breaking moment he would use the base running victory lap to do a sponsorship message for a doctor’s office.

Alex Rodreiguez’s wife has poor choice in ballpark wear. Especially if you are sitting behind her. On the other hand, if you are from Patterson, NJ or Long Island, NY, Keith understands.

Dan wants to know the difference between The NY Post’s front page coverage of Mrs. A-Rod’s shirt vs the Daily News’ non-coverage. KO suggets the size of the Altlantic Ocean.

Dan wonders why the media critics at the Post don’t complain about their own paper like people at ESPN critize the mothership. KO suggests that ESPN’s competion is weak and therefore critisism causes little harm. He likens it to “throwing your gum at the side of a battleship”. He comes at this as quite a gum thrower himself.

Tune in tonight for Coundown, where Keith will provide more hints, show us someone else named Olbermann, and recap the Princess Di concert without actually having seen it (that should be interesting).

After a brief discussion about the Lakers and the NBA Draft, Dan confirms reports that he has been contacted by the Price is Right to audition to replace Bob Barker.

Dan is flattered, and is intrigued by the idea of working with Barker’s Beauties. If Bob got in trouble at times with the beauties, would kind of trouble can Dan get into?

Keith, as usual, plays the role as topper, and says that while he was still a sportscaster in LA, he was asked to audition for the game show “Your Face or Mine”, which looks like it was never made in the U.S. (But was in the UK for a while.)

Dan is honored that they asked him, but he hasn’t auditioned yet. I doubt he will, as when he mentions the possibility of it the rest of the show, he sounds like he’s in his sarcastic voice. What do you all think? Could Dan really leave ESPN for the Price is Right?

In a hopefully unrelated note, Dan says there will be a big announcement on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET that will change lives. My prediction: The Big Show will be rebroadcast on ESPN on days Dan is NYC with Keith. Obviously, the announcement has to do with both Dan and Keith since they it comes during the Big Show. Other possibilities: Expanded Big Show hours? Or god forbid, less Big Show?

Dan jokes about being a co-hostess of The View. Keith calls Elizabeth Hasselbeck squeaky annoying. Dan then raises the possibility of Rosie O’Donnell coming to MSNBC. Keith says a Rosie show would make him look conservative.

Dan and Keith mention it’s the 10th anniversary of their last Sportscenter on ESPN. Keith says his strongest memory of that was during the break before the farewell, when the producer asks Keith to shorten it to 5 seconds for a tennis score. Keith said no, and thanked a lot of people instead.

Dan: Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick of last night’s NBA Draft, looks older than LeBron James.
Keith: Greg Oden looks older than Robert Parrish.

Dan lifted the seat cushion on Letterman the other night because of confetti that fell before the show.

Keith thinks 3,000 hits by Craig Biggio will be more impressive than Frank Thomas’ 500 home runs, because the steroid era will diminish everyone’s accomplishments. Keith points to Dale Murphy and Andre Dawson as examples if players not getting into the Hall of Fame because of not getting to milestones like 500 homers or 3,000 hits.

Greg Oden joins the Big Show in the final segment. Oden says Joakim Noah’s outfit works for him. I guess Oden’s right, because Noah is crazy and so is that outfit. Oden woke up about two hours ago. (It’s 2:50 pm ET, and I assume he’s still somewhere in that time zone, since the draft was in New York. I am by no means a morning person, but isn’t a 1pm wakeup time kind of late?)

Dan and Keith then discuss franchises that were/are Mickey Mouse organizations. Keith brings up the Clippers, Lions, and the original Mets, Dan suggests Buccaneers, Cardinals, Yankees??? and Indians. All fit except for the Yankees, who may fit on this list soon if they keep having seasons like this one.

Watch Countdown tonight. Dan guarantees you’ll laugh, cry, and may throw something at the screen.

Kevin Garnett doesn’t wanna’ go to Boston, and he’s not the only one. Seems Beantown’s long, glorious history of being a bit unfriendly to people of color (quotas for black baseball players in the 50s/60s! The championship Celtics not being nearly as popular as the hopeless Bruins!) is alive and well in present day professional athletics. Keith talks about the peculiarity of Boston as a huge diverse city – the accent’s the same, everyone takes the same trains and buses, but those heavily heavily separated neighborhoods remain divided by race in a way you don’t see so often in, say, New York or Los Angeles. Keith says that, having lived there, yeah – he noticed and felt the sort of thing guys like KG are talking about (having also lived in the area and in other parts of the state – I can say, yes. It’s a weird little facet of what’s overwhelmingly viewed as a liberal region).

In the toss to commercial, Dan brings up the “Dan Olbermann” thing – neither Dan nor Keith is sure which of them Dave was referring to, but … they know one of them’s deeply offended.

Ten years ago tonight, Mike Tyson went all “nom nom nom” on Evander Holyfield’s ear. [Evidently, Tyson came out of the corner earlier, sans mouthpiece. It was biteytimes aforethought!]

Ten years ago tomorrow, the last Sportscenter with Dan and Keith behind the desk aired. But – more on that tomorrow.

They talk about how, backstage at Letterman, they were kept away from the main guest Claire Danes. Honestly, Dan, you’ve peppered the last hour and a half with what I imagine you imagine are wink!nudge references to the temperature of the theatre vis-à-vis Ms. Dane’s nipples. Maybe it’s not so bad they kept you elsewhere.

Hey, Frank Thomas hit his 500th career home run!

The Great Peter Gammons joins Dan and Keith to do a little rundown of baseball topics.

Ken Griffey Jr.: will he go back to the Mariners? As much as Junior loves Seattle, Pete doesn’t see him heading back right now.

When can we expect a Roger Clemens backlash? Aside from the fact that the Yanks not having their first baseman is really pretty detrimental to how the bullpen works, Pete thinks - at the moment - everyone’s ok. Clemens has never been a big strikeout guy (yeah but they lost-) and now he’s in a busted bullpen (-to the Orioles!). Pete thinks he’s doing fine, but it may not be enough to satisfy NY fans. He also thinks this’d be a damn sad way for him to end his career. Rocket’s, not Peter’s. Pete’s not going anywhere.

What the heck is going to happen with Mark Buehrle?

Dan replays some of the “B List repartee from a pair of B List celebrities,” and Keith challenges Dan’s timeline-bending assertion that he “grew up” watching Letterman. After some prevarication, Dan admits he regretted saying it. Immediately.

Dan cops to not having mentioned Countdown last night, and – actually, I think Dan really wants to be in Worst Persons one day. Keith says Dan won’t be on the list, Keith will just complain about the slight forever, a la Dan (thanks for catching yourself and saying “complain,” KO).

The paparazzi presence outside the Ed Sullivan theatre kinda’ surprised KO last night. Surprised him and quite possibly blinded his girlfriend. Ah, the cornea-searing price of … moderate fame.

We’ll see you later on, for Countdown.

Keith Olbermann showed up early for today’s Big Show and offered to sit quietly. He didn’t.

They immediately commenced discussing their appearance tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman. Like past shows, Dan is convinced that something will happen to Letterman’s other guest, either bumping or reducing his appearance time. KO suggests if nothing happens to the other guests, it could be them it will happen to. Keith offers these possibilities:

1. One of them says something career ending (though Dan offers that if it hasn’t happened by now, it probably won’t).

2. Keith gets stuck in an elevator. Dan thinks that would be a good thing as it means more time for him.

3. Chris Berman is a special “surprise guest”. This leads Dan to call Berman “Fred Flintstone” and Keith to warn Dan that stuff like that is what he used to say at ESPN just before the end.

4. Musical artist Ryan Adams‘ guitar catches fire. Oh, and he may sound like Neil Young if you are Stephen King.

Dan is still concerned about tonight’s show. He wants to either race Keith to the seat or switch seats at a certain time. Keith thinks he will forget and they bet a dinner (place your bets now). Keith assures Dan that he can sit next to Dave since Keith has been on these things many times and it is no big deal. Dan realizes he is being mocked, and Keith gives himself snaps (really, he actually says “Oh, snap.”) This leads to worry #5:

5. Dan gets up to switch seats and Keith doesn’t, winding Dan up in Keith’s lap. Keith adds that will end their secret of 25 years. Dennis Rodman doesn’t think it is much of a secret.

After exhausting Dan’s fears, and a retelling of how the show came to be called “The Big Show”, we move on to DP and KO’s favorite SportsCenter ads. Keith likes the Lounge Singer (I think this is the one he means) and also the Operating Room (sorry, I couln’t find this link!). Dan likes Lance Armstrong as Generator. Sadly, neither man ever got paid for them. BTW, this is my favorite.

Dan once caught rainwater in a coffee cup while on air with SportsCenter, while Keith had to do the show in the dark (I assume there was studio lighting but nothing else) due to a lightening storm. I am getting the feeling that ESPN is cheap.

Should we care about wrestlers or football players taking steroids, like we do with baseball players? This discussion seems in response to the horrible murders-suicide of wrestler Chris Benoit. KO says that wrestlers may be influencing kids even if the performance enhancers don’t affect the match outcome. As for football players, Keith laments that we will only care once a big name player dies. Same with head injuries in the NFL.

A big, contorted discussion of East-West Championship games versus Conference Championship games versus Best Two-Teams Championship games. Nothing was solved.

Do we want a nine game World Series, or even a 15 game one? Even baseball fans Keith and Dan say “no”. Keith then walks us back the last seven years of World Series games to prove his point.

If you are hitting below the Mendoza line, don’t expect to make the Sunday paper.

How will Bobby Cox celebrate being the MLB manager with the most career ejections? By throwing the cake at the umpires of course. Well, that’s Keith’s idea anyway.

A listener writes in to ask Dan if he is going for the record of saying “Yaaaaayyyyyy” in one day’s show. Which of course leads the boys to repeatedly say “Yaaaaayyyyyy”.

Tune in tonight for Countdown. Or as Dan says, “Your leading source of Paris Hilton news!”

Dan also advises you to then take a nap, and wake up to watch them at 11:30 EDT on Letterman.

Kobe Bryant blogged about wanting to be traded (although apparently the entry wasn’t new). Dan & Keith talk about the changing role of blogs (hellooo!) and the internet in how information is disseminated. Could one, for example, post info on a site that could only be accessed after the user paid $2? Hold on, let me stop giggling. Ok.

Everyone assumes Kobe would go to the Knicks, were he to leave Los Angeles. However, the Lakers can’t afford to rebuild post-Kobe, and New York has literally nothing to offer in return. They’d have to trade everyone on the team, the maintenance staff, and the top three floors of office space at Madison Square Garden. Luckily, it doesn’t seem like the Lakers are ready to deal yet.

Tiger Woods is a dad! Dan talks about following in your dad’s athletic footsteps. Keith thinks it might be a bit early to fit the kid for spikes.

Given how attractive little baby Woods’ mother is, and regarding the roulette wheel that is genetics, Keith reminds Dan that when Alexa Joel was a kid, she looked like an “If They Mated” bit. Mind you, Keith had wondered, prior to saying that, what the most delicate way to express himself was. I’m not quite sure that was it.

It’s ‘Turn Off Cable for a Month’ … month again in the Patrick household, so Dan will miss not only Hannah Montana, but Countdown, as well. Sad. However, stock in Hooters is expected to rise dramatically.

There’s allegedly a video that shows Kobe Bryant spouting some smack talk re: the Lakers organization and his future with the team. Keith wonders what would possess Kobe to say that stuff in public. In front of a camera. How does no one, not the government, not athletes or celebrities – how does no one understand that things are recorded, that things they say are preserved?

Jason Giambi’s supposed to meet with George Mitchell this Thursday. Keith thinks the two main concerns in what he says will be, one: Giambi wants to be sure neither Major League Baseball nor the Yankees will go after his contract, and two: Giambi doesn’t want to name names – outside of that, what does he know? KO says he may name people outside the game, maybe distributors, trainers, strength coaches, etc. Maybe he just won’t name any new names. But he’s got to say something. He stood up; he took a moral stance when he made that half-assed apology a month or so ago – now it’s incumbent upon him to take the initiative and do something about the wrongs he sees as having been perpetrated.

In breaking news, Keith respects people more when they admit they were wrong (shock) – Dan asks if that includes Pete Rose. Well, yes it did, Dan, and that kinda’ bit him in the ass, remember?

Ok, more word on Keith’s stress fracture – evidently it was bone spur on top of his foot which caused the break, and it had him doing his Greg House impression for five weeks.

Joe Girardi: Is he still in line to succeed Joe Torre? Does he go to the Orioles? Keith doesn’t think the Orioles are as lost a cause as everyone seems to think. They’re just a victim of an old, bad decision to focus the entire team’s image around Cal Ripken, Jr. They rode that pony a mile too far. They, in fact: “Cal Ripkin’ed themselves into a non-competitive situation.”

A golfer in Reno accidentally started a fire that consumed 20 acres of land, and a guy on Long Island is lucky he didn’t set his own stupid ass on fire after trying to steal gas by drilling a hole in a gas tank wiiiiiith an electric drill (yes, it was on Newsmakers last night, but I didn’t mention it then. I’m mentioning it now).

In an attempt to entice Dan to watch, Keith says nudity on Countdown could be negotiated. I … don’t know how to feel about that. Well, anyway, whether Keith’s nekkid, wearing a sombrero, or is merely his usual be-suit-ed self, we’ll be watching. And we’ll see you then.