"The 757 Club," carried each weekday between 5 and 7 p.m. on "The Game," 102.1 FM and 1490 AM, is hosted by John DeCandido and his sidekick, Bartley Barefoot.

Their first show went on the air in mid-December.

And they said it would never last.

"I feel that if people give us a week," said DeCandido, "they'll listen full time."

How would he describe his show? For starters, he said, "We're different than the other guy."

That would be Tony Mercurio, the long-time afternoon charmer at ESPN 1310.

In the mid-1990s, when 1310 went by a different name, DeCandido began working at the station as a producer, eventually hosting a morning show. A native of the Bronx, he attended Virginia Wesleyan College. At 6-feet-7, he played on the basketball team, once sinking seven 3 -pointers against Emory & Henry.

Flashing a wry smile, he said, "I may be the tallest sports talk host in the country."

By the late '90s, "Johnny D," as he calls himself on air, was stretching his long legs. Parlaying local radio experience into a job in Las Vegas, he soon graduated to a syndicated morning drive show for Westwood One that aired in more than 150 markets.

That led to an offer from Miami in 2000 to host an afternoon drive-time show with former major-league player Orestes Destrade and former Dolphins running back Mercury Morris. His duties included covering the Dolphins, Marlins and local colleges, but by 2002, he was ready to get married and resume a more normal life.

After settling in Virginia Beach and into a day job, DeCandido found time to do a weekend show for 1310. That's when he caught the attention of an official for RedZebra Broadcasting, the network created by Redskins owner Dan Snyder that owns "The Game."

Before the debut of "The 757 Club," the station hadn't had a local afternoon call-in show for more than a year, since John Castleberry went off the air. Anchoring the station's daytime sports programming are "The Dan Patrick Show" in the mornings, followed by the impenetrable Jim Rome.

"We need a local presence in this market," said DeCandido, who rightly refers to his show as an "underdog."

"We have to work a little bit harder, make more calls, try to get better guests," he said. "We don't have the ESPN name."

They've got the Redskins, though. Broadcasting all the games - and carrying pre- and post-game coverage - "The Game" blankets Hampton Roads' favorite team.

"The perceived success of the Redskins in the offseason," DeCandido says, "has created more buzz for us."

(Interest in the station's Nationals broadcasts is dubious, though that might have changed a little, too, with the addition of Stephen Strasburg to the rotation.)

The Redskins and NFL are always hot topics, but true to its name, "The 757 Club" serves up a lot of local fare, bringing on homegrown athletes, Tides and Admirals players, as well as college coaches with connections to the area. Recently, DeCandido sat down with Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer, while Mike London has been on the show more than once since taking over as Virginia's football coach.

The show's lineup of regular guests includes former Redskin, Cowboy and Virginia Beach high school star Brandon Noble, NASCAR maven Joe Moore and TV analyst Dan Bonner.

Sometimes the show wanders off the beaten path, as evidenced by the autographed picture on the studio wall of actor/comedian Jon Lovitz.

While appearing at a Virginia Beach comedy club, Lovitz was invited to drop by the station and go on the air.

It's DeCandido's way of keeping things loose.

"I think we have a little bit more fun," he said, comparing his show to the other guy's.

Radio isn't a living for DeCandido anymore, but it remains a passion.

"I love interacting with listeners," he said.

He's counting on more listeners over the next six months, trusting that passion for the Redskins will create greater awareness of "The 757 Club."

"Let's just get to the football season," he said.

Sounds like a plan.