MIKE Francesa, Thursday, re turned from one of his long er-than-yours vacations. And not one minute too soon. I was beginning to miss the big fella, no kidding.
I could be suffering from a minor case of Dick Young Syndrome. Not that Young ever took much time off, and certainly not during the baseball season, but Young was one of those columnists who readers generally loved or detested. I grew to become among the former.
And in 1987, after Young passed, so help me, those who missed him the most were those who claimed to detest him most. Those folks not only read every word he wrote, they in some part derived pleasure and a sense of all-is-well by being infuriated by him.
Either way, those who loved Young and those who loathed (but never left) him, existed as fans of his in that they were fanatic followers.
And that may be the emerging case with Francesa.
Surely, if he had been back this past Monday, instead of Thursday, we would have heard him imply that he knew — even before the grand jury — but chose not to tell us that that grand jury would indict Plaxico Burress but not Antonio Pierce. And that he knew Rachel Alexandra easily would win Sunday’s Haskell Stakes, even if he failed to mention that on the Friday before he had picked against her.
And so, Thursday, upon Francesa’s return to WFAN and YES, it was wonderful to hear him emphatically declare that he coordinated his return to coincide with the Red Sox-Yankee series because he knew, months ago, that this would be a big one.
Funny, I couldn’t recall, months ago, Francesa saying such a thing. I do recall that in May, when the Yankees were 15-17, he claimed that the team was in trouble, that it was beset with flaws and shortages not easily overcome, and that manager Joe Girardi was in the habit of pushing the wrong buttons.
Gee, I missed Francesa. I admit it.
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Everything ESPN touches is left diminished by comical excess, the kind designed to impress the goofiest kids on the block.
The Chris Mortensen “Mort Goes To Camp” bit — he’s visiting 30 NFL training camps, one a day, in 30 days — means what? On “SportsCenter,” so far, it mostly means quick, half-empty hits designed more to cover Mortensen in a Flat Stanley mode — Look, now I’m in Colorado! — than the NFL.
Thursday’s SportsCenter included a segment in which Mel Kiper Jr. touted college football prospects as to where they might be drafted. The draft, on ESPN, of course, isn’t until April 22.
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It’s getting tough for the Mets’ announcers. Thursday from San Diego, Gary Cohen and Ron Darling said the return of Anderson Hernandez — the Nationals deemed him expendable — represents an upgrade from Angel Berroa.
Interesting to hear Michael Kay on Ch. 9, Thursday, announce the Yankee Stadium attendance as 49,005, then add, “Second sellout of the season and it’s the highest attendance of the season, to this point.” How can both be true? Additionally, capacity, including standing room, is listed as 52,325.
Say This, Take Money, Walk Away: Comedian/actor Denis Leary, in ads for DirecTV’s NFL package, mocks those who “still have cable.” Really? Leary’s fame and fortune are in large part rooted in cable TV enterprises and exposures, from HBO, to FX, to Comedy Central to movies that appear on cable networks.
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The NBA and NCAA are now joined in iHoops, a venture to help basketball counter the underworld that pushes kids and the sport into the arms of unscrupulous adults. An iHoops rep recently said he wasn’t happy with some of the pay-to-scout activities of those running some summer talent showcases for high school players.
But if the NCAA and NBA wanted to cleanse the game of its worst influences, they’re, a) 30 years too late, and, b) disinclined to go after the biggest bad guys, those with the most money, thus the most pull.
The nation’s best players and most powerful programs and coaches, from AAU, to high school, through college and into the pros, are controlled by the sneaker companies and their agents. That’s why top college recruits are known as “belonging” to certain sneaker giants, that’s why certain kids play in some sneaker company-run talent show events but not in others. That’s why certain kids are “delivered” to certain colleges and even high schools and prep schools.
The muscle that sneaker giants exert, including purchasing full influence over the biggest college programs and their coaches, is extraordinary and often evil. And it has been that way for 30 years. But to go after the biggest problems would be to sacrifice the money that the sneaker cartel generously spreads here, there and everywhere, but especially to the NCAA and NBA.
Besides, in June, when the formation of iHoops was announced, joining the NBA and NCAA as founding partners in the initiative were Nike and adidas. iHoops wouldn’t be needed if the NCAA and NBA, anytime in the last 30 years, demanded that the sneaker companies cut it out.