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Damien Cox, who has had three separate stints as co-host of Prime Time Sports and spent nearly 30 years covering a variety of sports for the Star, called McCown’s departure from Sportsnet “the end of an era.”

“He was a pioneer in the field of sports talk radio ... a guy who was able to brace himself against the winds of sports media,” said Cox. “It’s sad, but I know Bob well enough to know that this is not the end.”

McCown did not reply to a request for comment from the Star, but added some intrigue to the announcement on his Twitter account.

“Speculation concerning my imminent retirement are 100% inaccurate!,” Thursday afternoon, prompting a mix of relief and confusion among his followers.

About an hour later , saying, “Okay ... I am leaving Prime Time Sports and Rogers. But nobody can shut me up when I still have things to say. Stay tuned. ‘I’ll be back!’ ”

Cox speculated that McCown might be the latest in a series of people to leave Sportsnet.

“I think Rogers is going through a lot of changes. I left at the end of last year,” he said.

“A lot of people have left ... and I’m sure Bob got caught up in all of that, too.”

The announcement has inspired tweets from many industry professionals singing McCown’s praises or speculating on reasons behind his departure.

“Bob McCown, who had no Canadian equivalent over the past 30 years in sports radio, is done with Rogers and them with him. No one can replace him. We all benefitted from his excellence. When he and the late Jim Hunt did Prime Time Sports, it was radio at its best,” said Steve Simmons (@simmonssteve) in a tweet.

Details of a new afternoon drive show will be announced in the fall, Sportsnet spokesperson Andrew Garas said, although he declined requests for further comment. A series of rotating hosts will take over in the summer.

Temur Durrani is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in ɫɫ��. Follow him on Twitter: