According to this story that an NBC-owned website pulled from the Associated Press, NBC is rumored to finally be ready — six months after Tim Russert's death — to announce an official replacement host for Meet the Press. Almost.

Now, when you hear the name, you'll most likely think to yourself "Gregory who?" But that's a very naive response.

The correct response should be "David who?"

NBC News is close to naming chief White House correspondent David Gregory as Tim Russert's replacement on the top-ranked Sunday political talk show "Meet the Press," a network executive said Tuesday.

Gregory is negotiating terms of a deal that would give him the job, said the NBC News executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal wasn't final.

For those of you familiar with MSNBC's early evening programing, you might recognize David Gregory as the hour-long blank space on your television screen between Chris Matthews at 5 pm and Chris Matthews at 7 pm.

I knew that NBC was looking to find a replacement who could match the depth and strength of Tim Russert's personality.

I'd just assumed that they meant before Russert's heart attack.