Former coach goes from calling plays to a new calling

Panama City Beach's James Hale feels most at home with a headset on talking sports.

You see, Hale wore a headset for three decades while on the sidelines coaching high school football, his last 13 years at Arnold High School.

"Football made me come out of that shell," said Hale. "I felt like I was somebody. I felt important. People were nice to me back then. They actually talked to me simply because I could play football pretty good."

And Hale played his high school football in Montgomery, Alabama before taking his game to the University of Southern Mississippi.

"I really believe football completely made my life, and that's the reason I love it so much," said Hale.

But now he dons the headset for a different reason.

"Randy Williams [the head of Bay County's ESPN radio affiliate] came in here and he says, 'We're going to put a brand new ESPN sports talk radio in Bay County,'" said Hale. "And he says, 'I want you to be the main show. We want you to be the guy that gets us on the map.'"

And many say he's navigating the sports talk landscape quite well. Hale is entering his third year on the air but is in his first month on ESPN radio, 104.3 F.M. on the local dial.

"It's going to be something special because there's no competition number one, and I think the people in Bay County love sports," said Hale.

Hale along with partner Ed Strickland, who he needles a lot, "Ed tells it like it is in his mind, which is not reality, so but it makes the show pretty good," said a chuckling Hale, appear to have scored a touchdown in the ratings.

"It's unbelievable," said Hale. I go to the stores and people talk about, 'Man, Coach, I love the radio show.'"

But it's not all fun and games. Hale also has to sell his own ad time and acts as his own on-location producer while broadcasting from J. Michael's restaurant in Panama City Beach.

"We're not brain scientists, we're not up on technology," said Hale. "I think people like listening to just the common guy talking about sports."

But many will argue Hale is anything but common.

You can find Hale's show during the coveted morning drive-time slot between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Monday through Friday.