He now is the host of KALB's morning program, "Jambalaya," and he anchors the noon news.

"In October, Michelle Goddard, who's now the general manager, told me Al Quartermont would be leaving to go to Louisiana College to teach full time, and she asked me if I'd be interested in hosting the morning show," said Hamblen. "I told her, 'Let me think about it.'"

Hamblen said he thought about the nights and weekends he had been working in sports and how the "Jambalaya" job would free his nights and weekends, and he agreed to the switch.

He said he has had to make some adjustments.

"In sports, you get about four or five minutes a day," he said. "In 'Jambalaya,' it's an hour-and-a-half. There's a different cadence, too, when doing the news. Sports, for the most part, is upbeat, but news has a lot of serious stories.

"I've got a couple of really good producers in Ashley Thomas and Brianna Biehl," he continued, "who have made the transition a lot easier."

A Tennessee native who was raised in Memphis, Hamblen joined the KALB staff as a news and sports reporter in 1981 and he became the sports director in 1984, and he has won numerous awards from the Associated Press for his work.

A father of three daughters, Hamblen said his new schedule of getting up around 3:15 a.m. and reporting to work at 4 has been a big change for someone who has been "a night person," but he likes being able to leave work shortly after 12:30 p.m. each day.

"The biggest plus with the change of hours is I've been able to see my family a lot more," said Hamblen, whose arrival at "Jambalaya" coincided with the show expanding from the 6-7 a.m. time slot to 5:30-7 a.m. "I miss sports, but I don't miss the (sports) hours."

Hamblen said he has especially enjoyed working with some local sports personalities who've been around as long as he has such as former Louisiana College coach Billy Allgood, LC basketball coaches Gene Rushing and Janice Joseph Richard and Peabody boys basketball coach Charles Smith.

Through his work, Hamblen said, he has made friends and enjoyed watching the progression of some local athletes to the professional level.

He said he may not cut all of his ties to sportscasts.

"I hope," he said, "to work on some special sports projects."