Well, today Dan Patrick was back on the radio, much to my surprise.

I didn't get to catch all of the show, but from what I heard, he had been vacationing, most likely using up vacation days before he leaves ESPN after Friday's show. I didn't hear an explanation why he missed Monday and Tuesday, when ESPN, himself, and the guest hosts had been saying that he would be there.

He also shared that he now has a website where fans can keep up with what his plans are after he leaves. 

It doesn't sound like his tag team partner, Keith Olbermann, will be around for any final Big Shows.

While it's old news that Dan Patrick apparently cut out of his not-yet-expired contract with ESPN to take a job with The Content Factory, it's surprising that Patrick wasn't hosting his radio show today. When he announced his departure, he said that the week of Aug. 13-17 would be his last week, and the fill-in hosts who have been serving in that time slot have been repeating this information, even as recently as last week.

But today, there was no Dan Patrick. There hasn't been any Dan Patrick since news leaked that he'd already found a new gig. It looks like there won't be any Dan Patrick on ESPN Radio ever again.

I have a confession to make.

All of this coverage of Barry Bonds and his quest to pass Hank Aaron as the all time HR leader? I haven't been paying attention.

This doesn't mean I'm not aware of how many homers he has, or when he's hit another one. That's too difficult to avoid -- it's on ESPN, scrolling across the bottom of the screen. It's on the news websites. It's on the ticker at the bottom of my web browser. I'm pretty sure there's blimps flying over our cities with hourly updates scrolling across them.

But I am not clicking on any of the stories to read them. I am changing the channel if the subject is broached. And I'm not watching the pitch-by-pitch coverage of his each and every at bat. I even change the radio station when it's being discussed ad nauseum.

Accuse me of burying my head in the sand, if you wish, but as far as I'm concerned, Henry Aaron is the HR King until someone doesn't need mysterious substances like the clear and the cream, or body armor that our troops in Iraq are envious of, to challenge the mark of 755.