Controversial sports-talk host Mark Madden is set to return to radio later this year in an as-yet undetermined format, according to industry sources.

Madden, a source said, will join WXDX, a new-rock music station, and fill in the afternoon drive-time slot, at either 3 to 6 p.m. or 3 to 7 p.m, if contract details can be finalized.

Phone and e-mail messages left by the Post-Gazette with Madden, who was fired at 1250 ESPN in late May, and executives of Clear Channel, which operates WXDX, were not returned.

The exact format of the show is not known. It's possible Madden will intersperse music with his sports talk. Tim Benz left 1250 ESPN two years ago and has been a success attracting a young audience in the morning drive-time slot at WXDX with music and talk, with an emphasis on sports. Sources said Madden reached a buyout with ESPN, which can keep him off the air for up to six months. He was removed after making inflammatory remarks about Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

FM radio and WXDX are near-perfect landing spots for Madden. The FM dial is more suitable for his edgy style and sexual references. What probably will be missing from his repertoire is the mean-spirited attacks on popular figures that have been one of his trademarks. He used such popular figures as Myron Cope, Franco Harris, Willie Stargell, Bruno Sammartino, Arnold Palmer and Hines Ward as verbal punching bags, often not allowing the facts to get in his way.

Clear Channel, which owns and operates about 1,200 radio stations across the country, would probably frown on such attacks. One of Madden's strengths is his knowledge of the Penguins and the close rapport he has with many of the players. That will be more than welcome at WXDX, which carries the Penguins games. His show would be a natural lead-in to Penguins broadcasts.

The Penguins' contract with Clear Channel expires after the upcoming season. With the great success the team has had and the strong following it has developed, there will almost certainly be much interest from other stations. Among them would be KDKA, which lost the Pirates after the 2006 season, and 1250 ESPN, where general manager Mike Thompson has expressed an interest in acquiring broadcasting rights to one of the local teams. Madden's presence would make WXDX all the more attractive to the Penguins.

Bettis rumors continue

Rumors circulating around town that 1250 ESPN would bring in Jerome Bettis as part of its new afternoon drive-time team seemed too preposterous to even investigate. Bettis would not figure to be interested in such a role and nor did his skill set seem to be right for such a show. But a phone call to Bettis' business manager Jahmal Dokes put a different spin on the possibility.

"We're not going to comment on that," Dokes said.

That's not quite an admission that negotiations are in progress, but close. If Bettis did the show, he would need a strong studio presence with him. He is comfortable behind the microphone, as evidenced by his work on television for NBC, but talk-radio is a whole different, and less scripted, thing. Nor is Bettis particularly up to speed on sports other than football or local teams other than the Steelers. But he's one of the biggest names in town and his arrival would certainly cause a splash and draw listeners.

Keeping them would be the problem. One name floated as a possible co-host is Eddy Crow, currently with the successful "Junker & Crow Show," heard weekdays on 1250 ESPN from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. If Crow left the midday show, it would open the door for Stan Savran, of FSN Pittsburgh, to team once again with his longtime partner Guy Junker.

Other in-house candidates would be Ken Laird and Chris Mack. Neither can match Madden's on-air showmanship but both, like Madden, are clearly Penguins partisans. Mack brings a little bit extra in that like Madden he's not afraid to deliver vicious personal attacks against people he doesn't like. Thompson said he hopes to have his afternoon drive-time team in place by the time the Steelers go to camp or shortly thereafter.