“It’s not there anymore,” I remembered. “It’s gone.”

R Communications, which bought out Border Media and their properties – including KLNT 1490 AM (a.k.a. ESPN Radio) – months ago, declined to renew the contract with ESPN for April.

Laredo’s national radio sports coverage winked out of existence early Sunday, sometime after midnight.

Remembering what I had lost, I quickly fell through the five stages of grief.

• Denial.

  “It’s not really gone. This is all just some terribly unfunny April Fools joke!”

• Anger.

  “I hate you R Communications! I hate you!”

• Bargaining.

  “Please, anything but this! Take HOT 106.1 or one of the Tejano stations. You already took my classic rock, just leave ESPN Radio alone!”

• Depression.

  “This sucks.”

• Acceptance.

“This still sucks.”

All right, so maybe I’m not done with my five stages yet, but surely I’m not alone in thinking this is a monumentally sad day.

Laredo has a strong sports scene, and a strong sports scene deserves to be represented in every medium available — print, television and radio. Losing ESPN radio won’t hurt that scene, but it will stunt its growth.

Sporting fans are bred through their exposure to the sports they love; watching their favorite teams on TV, reading about them in the newspaper and listening to them play or hearing them discussed on the radio.

Listening to sports is a good way to get young Laredoans to start playing sports, and getting teens involved in competitive athletics is a good way to keep them out of gangs, away from drugs and in school.

Healthy sports scenes help breed healthy communities.

Mercifully, Laredo’s loss of sports radio isn’t total.

The locally produced “Bryan Benway Show” will continue to air at its usual times and dates, but without ESPN leading in and out, the program will feel a little naked.

Hopefully, the Benway Show can stay on the air despite the loss of its ESPN pillow-mates.

Benway does a good job shining a positive light on Laredo’s sport stars and achievements and gives his listeners a unique perspective on Laredo’s athletes by putting them on the air.

This exposure rewards the student-athletes for the hard work they’ve put into their sports and the hard work they put into their school work in order to remain eligible to compete.

Currently, the station is declining to comment on the change of format, but they promise to share an official press release explaining the changes and the plans in store for KLNT 1490 AM on Tuesday.

In the mean time, we’re stuck with oldies 22 hours of the day, and I’m stuck shopping for a satellite radio.