KGOW (1560 AM) talk show host Lance Zierlein, who with on-air partner John Granato formed the longest-tenured duo in Houston sports talk radio, said Thursday he has resigned because of what he described as philosophical differences with station management.

Zierlein, who had worked with Granato since 1997 at KILT (610 AM) and joined him four years ago at KGOW, is on vacation and thus has hosted his last show on the station. He had been working without a contract for several months.

"It was time for me to go in a different direction," he said. "I appreciate my time with 1560, but it has changed over the last year or so and they are headed in a different direction, which is fine.

"I was concerned where I would fit in from a local standpoint, where the morning show would be positioned, and I didn't feel like 1560 represented the vision that I hold."

David Gow, who owns KGOW and Yahoo! Sports Radio, said Granato will continue as the host of 1560 AM's morning show with rotating co-hosts, including Chronicle columnist Richard Justice and 1560 host John Harris.

He will not hire a permanent replacement for Zierlein at this time.

"Lance is talented, and we enjoyed having him on the station," Gow said. "We hope he goes on to do great things with whatever he pursues."

KGOW launched in 2007 by positioning itself as the independent outsider against stations owned by CBS Radio (KILT), Clear Channel Radio (KBME, 790 AM) and Cumulus Media (KFNC, 97.5 FM). Gow and his partners last year acquired Sporting News Radio, which was renamed to Yahoo! Sports Radio, and added network shows hosted by 1560 hosts Sean Pendergast and Travis Rodgers.

Gow said he is optimistic about the station's direction and its partnership with Yahoo and is committed to a local morning show on 1560.

"We think (Granato) is at the top in local sports talk and that the show will do very well with John's leadership," Gow said.

But Zierlein has questions about KGOW's ability to serve as a hybrid local/national station, particularly in drive time.

"When people want to talk Houston Texans, that is what they want to talk about," he said. "I never thought they would phase (his show with Granato) out, but it's a concern for people when the perception of your station is that it is more national than local."

Zierlein said he will miss his partnership with Granato.

He will continue writing a blog for chron.com and has launched in partnership with Harris, a football website called TheSidelineView.com.

CNN’s Martin says A&M should stay put in Big 12

You won’t find an Aggie more passionate about his alma mater than Roland Martin, the Yates and Texas A&M former student who works for CNN, and you’re not likely to find one more opposed to the Aggies joining the Southeastern Conference.

Roland is angry.

“I would say that some of the guys in my age bracket who are anxious to go to the SEC are some of the most idiotic people I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Martin argues that A&M has a better shot at football success in the Big 12, using Arkansas after its departure from the Southwest Conference as an example. He said the Aggies will face a tougher road to a BCS berth and that the potential loss of annual games against Texas Tech, Baylor and Texas is not worth the move.

“Would Alabama destroy a natural rivalry with Auburn? Of course not. It means something,” Martin said. “Would Oklahoma destroy a natural rivalry with Oklahoma State? Absolutely not.

“All these idiotic A&M graduates who keep saying we don’t want to be in the shadow of Texas — winning cures that. People forget that A&M was a dominant team in the 1980s and the early 1990s. No one can show me how running to the SEC will automatically mean, hey, we’re now cured of a weak football team over the last 10 years and things are going to be hunky-dory. It’s absolutely crazy.”

Martin wants A&M fans to “lose this inferiority complex of somehow thinking that they’re second fiddle to the University of Texas” and to relish the opportunity to succeed against the Longhorns, Red Raiders and Bears.

“What makes Texas unique is that we have the ability to interface with other schools and see them in the workplace,” he said. “That’s what makes us different. All those fans who want to lose that, they’re crazy.”

Ratings update

Coincidentally, the latest Arbitrons came out this week. KBME (790 AM) leads the four sports stations among men 25-54 in morning drive, middays and weekdays 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.; KILT has a narrow lead in afternoon drive and a slightly larger edge in the weeklong 6 a.m. to midnight listings, thanks in large part to an edge from 7 p.m. to midnight.

"We're having some success," said Eddie Martiny, Clear Channel's general manager. "It seems like sports fans in Houston are getting comfortable with KBME."

At KILT, which today has its annual promotion in which staff members swap time slots and responsibilities, program director Gavin Spittle said the station is looking forward to the Texans season.

He noted the station's morning and afternoon drive shows were both in the top 10 among men 25-54 for a couple of weeks last season.

Four DVRs, no waiting

The Alabama-Auburn rivalry will be the subject of an ESPN documentary titled Roll Tide, War Eagle, that will air Nov. 8, directed by E60 producer Martin Khodabakhshian.

The film traces the rivalry through the Tide's BCS championship in 2009, Auburn's championship in 2010, the poisoning of oak trees at Toomer's Corner in Auburn, allegedly by an embittered Alabama fan who confessed to the crime in a call to Paul Finebaum's radio show, and the deadly tornadoes that struck Birmingham this year. …

Paul Finebaumon the A&M-SEC talk: "I don't know that A&M is going to be welcomed that warmly. At the end of the day, they are not Texas or Oklahoma. Based on what the callers are saying, they think we're doing you a favor rather than the other way around. That's how the SEC is." …

Randy McIlvoyhosts KPRC's (Channel 2) high school football preview at 7 p.m. Aug. 19. Channel 2's weeklyFriday Football Frenzyairs at 10:15 p.m. beginning Aug. 26, and its Sunday highlights show after Sports Sunday begins Aug. 28. McIlvoy also will host a weekly radio show withMatt Malatesta at 8 p.m. Wednesdays beginning Aug. 24 on KBME. ...

Alabama coach Nick Saban, during a recent Houston trip, reviewed topics discussed in an ESPN series beginning Sunday called College Football: Blueprint for Change.

Saban is irked that students can sell personal property but student-athletes can't.

He thinks scholarships should be based on the cost of attending school and that student-athletes should be allowed to obtain loans based on future earnings.

"They nearly ran me out of Indianapolis (the NCAA's headquarters) when I said that," he said.

david.barron@chron.com