Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Fans will no longer be able to ask questions to Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer on the former "The Hokie Hotline" this fall.

Are you there, caller?

When it comes to Virginia Tech, the answer is: not anymore.

The Virginia Tech radio network has had a call-in talk show since 1978. But this year, Tech fans will no longer be able to call in Monday nights and tell football coach Frank Beamer they aren't pleased with his offense.

The call-in aspect to the show is being scrapped, said the show's host, Bill Roth.

"If there's something controversial, I'll still ask," Roth said. "I don't want someone calling the show to say, 'Good luck Saturday. We really think you're doing a great job.'

"That's a wasted minute and a half. ... The show needed a new spark to pick up the pacing. ... It'll be a better show. I thought it was getting a little stale."

By eliminating callers, Roth said there will now be time to have Tech players come on as guests each week.

The name of the show has been changed from "The Hokie Hotline" to "Tech Talk LIVE!" because of the no-callers rule.

Fans will still be able to e-mail their questions to Beamer during the weekly two-hour show. Fans who attend the show will also still be able to ask questions in person. The show used to be held at the Awful Arthur's Seafood Company restaurant in Blacksburg but is moving to the Bull & Bones restaurant in Blacksburg.

In another change, fans will also be able to send in questions via text message.

Did Beamer go to Roth and say he wanted to remove critical callers from the program?

No, said Roth. He said the decision was made by himself and others at ISP Sports, which produces the show and runs the radio network.

"We can get in more questions by reading them off a screen than we can by going to the phone," said Roth, the play-by-play voice of the Hokies. "I can ask a question faster than ... [when] people call in and they want to schmooze with the coach."

The show will also now have time to include interviews with ex-Hokies each week, Roth said.

"I'd rather have a guy like an Al Clark or Corey Moore on and have time to talk with him on the phone and get more information out there than talking to 'Bob in Bonsack,' " Roth said.

The season premiere will air at 7 p.m. on Aug. 24. In addition to Beamer and two players, the first show also will include athletic director Jim Weaver and offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring.

Roth said the no-callers rule will probably remain when men's basketball coach Seth Greenberg replaces Beamer during the winter.

Blackledge likes Hokies

ESPN college football analyst Todd Blackledge is more impressed with Virginia Tech than with any other team in the ACC heading into the season.

"They've got some guys that can make some plays offensively," he said last week at the ACC's preseason media gathering in Greensboro, N.C. "The quarterback [Tyrod Taylor] is due to really take a step forward. If he can stay healthy, I think he's got the tools and the mentality and the makeup to really have a good year.

"And they're always going to play defense. ... I just like their style. They're a physical, blue-collar, hit-you-in-the-mouth kind of team.

"There's more question marks with all the other teams right now than with them."

The Hokies open the season against Alabama at the Georgia Dome.

"Their physical style will match up with Alabama well," Blackledge said. "They'll have a great chance to win the game.

"Both defenses will be real solid. I think both offenses will have trouble moving consistently and scoring."

The former Penn State quarterback isn't sure how Virginia will do with its new spread offense.

"It's not a magic formula," he said. "You've got to have a quarterback that knows what he's doing and can make good decisions. Depending on what kind of play they get out of that position, that'll go a long way in determining how successful their new offense is."

Blackledge considers the Southeastern Conference the best league in the nation because of its "top-to-bottom" strength.

"There's a gap between them and everybody else," he said of the SEC. "You've got a couple really good teams in the Big 12, but I don't think as a league it's in the same caliber. I think the ACC is as close to [the SEC] as any of those other leagues. ... Top to bottom, they're as good as the Big 12."

Blackledge, who will work ESPN's Saturday night telecasts, considers Florida to be the team to beat nationally.

"They've got the fiercest competitor and leader that I've ever seen," he said of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.

Dialing up your team

Area fans can listen to the Beamer show and to the Hokie football games on Tech radio network affiliates WSFF-FM 106.1 in Roanoke; WBRW-FM 105.3 in Blacksburg; WXCF-AM 1230 and WXCF-FM 103.9 in Clifton Forge; WWWJ-AM 1360 in Galax; WOLD-FM 102.5 in Marion; WMVA-AM 1450 in Martinsville; and WXBX-FM 95.3 in Wytheville.

• Virginia's radio affiliates in the area will be WZZI-FM 101.5 in Roanoke; WZFM-FM 101.3 in Blacksburg; WIQO-FM 100.9 in Covington; and WHEE-AM 1370 in Martinsville.

• VMI's area affiliates are WRIS-AM 1410 in Roanoke and WWZW-FM 96.7 in Lexington.

• James Madison's games will again be heard on WWWR-AM 910 in Roanoke.