To the surprise of almost nobody, the tone of upstart sports-only station 710-ESPN (formerly KIRO-710) is far more measured and pragmatic than the balls-out bluster of its formidable rival, KJR-950. Nowhere is this contrast more pronounced than during the mid-day showdown between KJR’s Dave “Softy” Mahler and the 710 tandem of ex-UW quarterback Brock Huard and Mike Salk, and yesterday’s conversation concerning the Seahawks’ decision to pull the franchise tag from free agent linebacker Leroy Hill was a perfect example of the divergent tones.Softy struck a reactionary tone right out of the box, arguing that what the team had decided to do with Hill amounted to the idiotic disrespecting of a franchise cornerstone. His listeners, naturally, followed suit. Meanwhile, Huard and Salk took the business school angle, saying that while the move might be a risky psychological play on the Hawks’ part, they were casting Hill into a economically dry free agent market at an extremely late juncture, giving Hill little chance of earning the $8 million per year he would have made had he kept the franchise tag. They also pointed to HIll’s recent pot bust and refusal to attend mini-camp as reasons why he should have humbly accepted his lucrative one-year fate. What’s more, they said the team’s draft-day selection of Aaron Curry makes Hill somewhat expendable.We expect more spirited, polarizing views from these rivals in the future. Ultimately, perhaps they’ll agree to a live debate/joint broadcast, although we won’t be holding our breath.