When I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, my father’s truck radio got only two stations: country and talk.

Country was Radio KEEN on 1370 AM in San Jose that shut down after 40 years in 1993. The land underneath the transmission tower became more valuable than the station itself. Radio KEEN folded its cards and walked away with the money.

Talk was KGO Radio on 810 AM in San Francisco that shut down after 80 years last week. The station owner, Cumulus Media, shut down talk without warning and hinted that a new format was coming. The station reopened as “The Spread: The Bay’s Best Bet on Sports.”

Did Cumulus Media gamble away KGO Radio on a sports gambling bet?