Well, we finally managed to catch up with Rick Hodge and he tells us he’s enjoyed his time off…sort of: “I was sleeping in until about 7:30 and then I found myself getting up about five to listen to the radio.”

On being back on chain gang: “The alarm rings at 2 a.m., I have about an hour’s drive into the city and get to work at 3:30.” The first few days have been pretty hectic, he reports, so he’s been doing overtime, following which “as a rule I get home around noon and have a 90 minute nap before I sit with the cats and watch recorded programs from the night before.”

Life as a voice on morning radio has its perks, and its drawbacks. Now get an image of Rick in his rural home, post nap, watching TV: “I have 16 cats and a new puppy (and) love spending time with them.”

I’ve been in the face of Pat Holiday and Brian DePoe at Astral’s Radio division for weeks now, trying hard to get verbal or written confirmation of former CHUM star-announcer Rick Hodge’s hiring at CFRB and or EZ ROCK, and the best I could ever get was a knowing look.

Behind knowing looks and zippered lips there was a cautionary tale of long knives and case study professionals, in Ivory Towers, wielding wordy paragraphs, printed on up-market stationary, delivered in attention-getting envelopes by couriers on bicycles.

From the CFRB website this morning

“Bill Carroll is back from Vacation..  And the show has a great new addition!

We’re excited and proud to welcome Canadian radio Icon Rick Hodge to the Bill Carroll show and the Newstalk 1010 CFRB Family.

The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum is chattering about the goings on at CFRB, the morning show and Rick Hodge. ITGeek posts that he’s noticed CRFRB has started running promos along the lines of “Bill Carroll has a new morning show member” and listeners can find out who by turning in on Aug. 18.  The speculation is that Rick Hodge might be signing on.

A non-compete clause has given popular morning show host and sportscaster Rick Hodge the better part of the summer off. A confidentiality agreement appears to have silenced the former CHUM morning show co-host as well. Hodge’s team replacement with Roger Ashby and Marilyn Denis is Darren B. Lamb who moved from his afternoon drive slot at CHUM-FM to add his own wit to the the coffee time repartee.

No one is willing to talk but it can be said with a degree of authority that Hodge will be re-appearing at 2 St. Clair Ave. West in Toronto next month. Some insiders have suggested he will be used to add some bounce to CFRB, but it is expected that Astral will use Hodge’s brand popularity for more than hosting a show on the Standard flagship AM.

CHUM-FM’s trimmed down morning team consisting of Roger Ashby and Marilyn Denis has officially announced the departure of long-time associate Rick Hodge. It was made clear in the on-air announcement that it was Rick’s choice to pursue other opportunities. “Saddened” by his decision, the duo has stated they will remain as anchors for the successful CHUM FM morning show.

The name Rick Hodge goes a long way in Toronto. For over 20 years Hodge has been one-third of the Roger, Rick & Marilyn CHUM FM Morning Show team. Yesterday the chat rooms were buzzing about “the Hodge” being missing in action and speculation had him heading up the road to jon Ross Davies and the Astral crew at the corner of Yonge and St. Clair.

Turns out the buzz is in fact correct, although Astral has yet to make the announcement official as of writing. Hodge and his “Sports Snorts” could be re-appearing in some fashion on CFRB. We’ll have to wait and see on that. Meantime, the CHUM-FM long-standing morning show is now minus Hodge’s measured tone and ‘insider’ sports talk. Like so much about radio today, it’s the end of an era. It should be interesting to see what CHUM does to reconfigure the celebrated morning show team, and how Astral plans to use Hodge’s immense talents and voice.