Dan Patrick apparently missed the cutting-edge excitement he and Keith Olbermann generated when they used to appear together on "SportsCenter." Patrick started saying "Welcome to the Big Show" only because the it was longer than other editions of "SportsCenter," but eventually, it was The Big Show in every sense of the word.

When Olbermann left ESPN, the chemistry went with him. Both did and still do good work, but neither has been the must-see TV they were in the '90s that even inspired the fictional series "Sports Night."

Patrick, 51, had recently stopped doing "SportsCenter," to concentrate on his NBA studio work for ESPN and ABC. His biggest enjoyment seemed to come from hosting "The Dan Patrick Show" on ESPN Radio, which he started in 1999. He was able to attract top-name guests, many of whom seldom appeared on radio talk shows.

Still, he felt like something was missing and like he was just going through the motions. So, after 18 years at ESPN, he announced Monday he was leaving the network. His last radio show is Aug. 17.

"It's been home," Patrick said on his show, "but I think I was starting to take it for granted, and I did not want to do that. I did not think that was fair to these great people."

Unlike others who have left ESPN (including Olbermann), Patrick has never wavered in his loyalty to the network. When I had the opportunity to interview him a few years back during a show he was broadcasting from KSPN (710 AM), one thing that struck me was his faithfulness to his employer. He actually liked living in Bristol, Conn. (where ESPN is located), saying it was a nice place to raise a family.

Patrick told the Houston Chronicle, however, it was when he was doing his 10 a.m.-1 p.m. radio show, followed by the 3 p.m. "SportsCenter" on TV that he started to consider making a move.

"I was jumping out of my radio chair and putting on a suit and tie and makeup and running down to the set to do SportsCenter,' and I didn't think I was doing either job well, and it started to eat at me," he told the Chronicle.

After the NBA Finals, Patrick said ESPN executives tried to talk him out of leaving. He originally planned to make the announcement last week, but they asked him to reconsider. Again, there was loyalty from both sides.

"If there was animosity, I wouldn't be doing radio shows after this one today," he said on the air Monday.

"Dan has accomplished so much over the past two decades at ESPN and fans and newsmakers have turned to him for his steady and trusted approach," ESPN executive vice president for production Norby Williamson said in a statement. "We wish him the very best."

In explaining his decision to the Houston Chronicle, he made reference to "Ball Four," the book written by former pitcher Jim Bouton.

"I didn't want to leave it," he said of ESPN. "I felt it was leaving me. I go back to the adage in Ball Four': You think you're holding the baseball, but eventually it holds you. It (ESPN) lost its hold on me, and I was OK to sort of wave goodbye."

What's next? There has been lots of speculation. Patrick declined an invitation to audition for Bob Barker's job on "The Price is Right." The Chicago Sun-Times said Patrick will soon announce plans for a syndicated radio show; that show, apparently, would be over the air, not on satellite radio, which has also been rumored as a possibility.

There have also been rumors about who would replace Patrick on ESPN Radio. Mike Tirico and Tony Bruno are some of the more interesting names bandied about.

Along with his future, even Patrick's past has been thrown into question. According to AOL Sports, his Wikipedia entry has been edited more than 100 times in the past week, including an apocryphal addition saying he is the "reigning champion of the Butler County (Ohio) 4-H Pig Wrestling Contest."

No doubt you couldn't stop him; you could only hope to contain him.

— Jim Carlisle is a staff writer for The Star. E-mail address: jcarlisle@VenturaCountyStar.com.