One sports talk show with a professional former football player picking on his wimpy journalistic sidekick is more than enough.

But I appreciated "The Spread" because it was local, local, local.

Or, at least, I did.

Last week, Three Eagles Communications canceled "The Spread," which had been on the air since the summer of 2007. Wilkerson also lost his job as the station's program director.

Three Eagles replaced "The Spread" with "The Doug Gottlieb Show," syndicated by ESPN Radio.

Husker fans may remember that Gottlieb, who also is a college basketball analyst for ESPN, called former Nebraska basketball player Cookie Miller "a punk" during the telecast of last season's Nebraska-Kansas game.

Gottlieb, a former Oklahoma State point guard, will adequately address national topics, but he won't break down Husker football and basketball the way Wilkerson and Peter did. That's why a local show is a must.

Three Eagles general manager Joy Patten had no comment on "The Spread," beyond saying it was a financial decision.

Sadly, "The Spread's" departure leaves a void in local sports talk radio.

Fans can tune in, reception permitting, to Kevin Kugler and Mike'L Severe on "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" on The Zone, Omaha's ESPN affiliate (KOZN 1620 AM).

Or they can dial in Lane Grindle on "Sports Nightly" on KLIN (1400 AM) or KFAB (1110 AM).

"SN," though, is a Husker Sports Network broadcast, so you won't hear much criticism, if any, from Grindle of Husker coaches and players.

"The Spread's" demise comes on the heels of Omaha's Big Sports 590 forgoing its local show. The station dumped Matt Perrault and his afternoon show in March, replacing him with syndicated talent from Fox Sports Radio.

And so it goes.

Patten declined to speculate on the future of local sports talk on ESPN 1480.

"We're on a holding pattern, trying to get through December and into January," she said. "Then, we'll be focusing on what we want to do."

My hope is the focus again will be locally oriented, but I'm not holding my breath.