promised the Force would honor their existing radio contract with WGAR. Coincidentally, WWWE morning sportscaster Mike Snyder, who called the Force games over WGAR, was himself dismissed. Bruce Drennan returned to WWWE in November 1987 as guest host of Sportsline, asserting that "the show needs me"; Drennan was contacted directly by Tom Wilson and had worked previously for Embresica at WBBG. Meanwhile, Michael Freedman was fired from WWWE for the second time in one year, this time owing to a disagreement over paid vacations. Former WSLR executive Harvey Simms was hired by the outgoing management to be the station's marketing director, then was promoted to general manager by the new ownership less than three months later. David George, a station veteran of eight years, was also promoted from production director to program director. Enter Gary Dee and Drennan Despite Bruce Drennan's open lobbying for the open Sportsline slot, he was generally seen as a long shot to take over the program. Terry Pluto of the Akron Beacon Journal regarded Drennan as having "a voice that sounds as if he gargled with Drano" and in ranking probable Sportsline hosts, said of Drennan, "if nothing else, he's available." WWWE general manager Harvey Simms promised a permanent host by the end of 1987, to which Pete Franklin commented, "When Jack Kennedy was shot, they had a guy lined up in a few minutes, but it has taken them seven months to replace (me)... what that tells me is the new owners don't have the money to pay anybody." WWWE also conducted a newspaper poll to help choose Franklin's successor; Dan Coughlin, who also was a Sportsline fill-in host, retrospectively called the polling process less honest than the "fan vote" for the 1988 MLB All-Star Game and the Rolling Stone "Radio Station of the Year" poll that WMMS infamously rigged. Drennan was chosen to host Sportsline on December 28, 1987, beating out WERE's Greg Brinda, setting off a war of words between the two—and between Franklin and Drennan—while Franklin committed to an interview on Brinda's competing show. Drennan's addition was one of many changes ushered in at WWWE that sought to reorient the audience towards the 25–54 demographic typically accustomed to rock music and the FM dial. While Simms merely suggested at first of "fine-tuning and polishing" the format, program director David George intended to make WWWE the top-rated station in Cleveland overall, "...and