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Say it ain't so! The Observer gossips today that Lowdown Lloyd Grove might well be out of the Daily News by the end of the month.

Grove arrived from The Washington Post to start Lowdown two years ago this month, and reports at the time suggested he had a three-year deal with the tab, at $250,000 per year. Now Gabriel Sherman's sources say it was actually a two-year deal at $225k per, and Sherman suggests there won't be a third. Sherman's piece doesn't actually quote — either directly or indirectly — anyone saying Grove's contract won't be renewed, but he does note jurisdictional disputes with the other News gossips, the shrinking Lowdown wordcount, and Angelino blogger Mickey Kaus's feeling that Grove should head to the L.A. Times.

While we were previously unaware that Kaus had hiring and firing authority at either the News or the Times, we nevertheless image that Sherman must have had some good — if unmentioned — sourcing that Grove is on his way out. Which therefore leaves one enormous, troubling question unanswered:

If Lloyd goes, who's going to take care of feeding Bravo star Hud Morgan?

Off the Record [NYO]