DOESN’T matter if they’re alone, together or alone together at the same time on the radio, Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, to paraphrase both Brian McNamee and Popeye – only one escaped the Mitchell Report – “They is what they is.”
Before his Sirius XM debut had ended Monday, Russo provided the unfamiliar with a good idea of the character of the character. Derek Jeter, the day before, had reached Lou Gehrig’s Yankee Stadium hit total, an accomplishment Russo belittled as meaningless. Later, with Joe Torre on, Russo declared it a super achievement.
Yes, America, that’s standard Chris Russo. His strongest convictions are based on mostly bad and visceral guesswork, thus the courage of his convictions is worth two minutes or two cents, whichever comes first.
But as long as radio rewards provocateurs, the kind who can stir the blood of fools, Sirius XM made a good, albeit pricey hire.
Tuesday on WFAN, Francesa, now truly the One and Only, calmly snapped. He spent 40 minutes complaining that while Russo and his new gig were getting all the media attention, he’d received only unfair treatment by those who reported on their split. He claimed that no one had asked for his side of the story.
Does that mean that the story he repeatedly told on the air – the one about how they were often at war but genuinely liked each other, prospered together, and now, after 19 years, Russo had a nice opportunity, thus it was time for buddies to split – wasn’t true? Would Francesa have provided a different tale, on the record, had he been asked off the air?
Francesa added that everything he has touched, with or without Russo, turns to ratings gold. Even his Sunday morning NFL radio show, he said, is No. 1 – with the exception of, he conceded, broadcasts of Spanish-language church services.
And Francesa said that bad reporting had badly underestimated the money he makes. But Tuesday, having given himself the opportunity to provide his eye-popping salary, he didn’t (although he hinted that The King’s counting room is darned near out of room).
Francesa repeated that he didn’t want to come across as egotistical or jealous. He didn’t. He came across as egotistical and jealous.
And then he took calls from listeners who pledged their allegiance to him, calls from those who declared their admiration and affection – even if at least one, conditioned to the Francesa treatment, was moved to beg, “Please don’t cut me off.”
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Department of Can’t Make This Stuff Up: How’d you like to be Michael Kay and/or any of the staffers on Kay’s 1050 ESPN afternoon show, tune to Tuesday morning’s “Mike & Mike” national ESPN radio show (also heard on 1050), and hear a commercial for Russo’s new afternoon show on Sirius XM?
What Eagles WR DeSean Jackson did Monday – discarding the ball before crossing the goal line as preface to his post-TD me-dance – was not unprecedented on Monday Night Football. On Oct, 18, 1971, MNF’s second year, Steelers WR Dave Smith, running for a TD in KC, spiked the ball at the 3.
BYU QB Max Hall was named Conference Player of the Week and Walter Camp National Player of the Week for throwing a school record-tying seven TD passes Saturday vs. UCLA. The seventh made it 49-0.
Two years ago, Chiefs’ RB Larry Johnson told HBO’s “Inside The NFL,” that he preferred, as an African-American, to play for a black head coach, Herm Edwards (imagine if a white player said he prefers white head coaches). With Edwards still at the wheel, Johnson last week complained that his carries are down.
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ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” not only remains a strong show within a sports network that often uses sports as a promotional prop, it remains one of the strongest magazine/investigative shows in all TV.
Thirty years ago this Wednesday, Lyman Bostock became the only MLB player murdered during a season. The 27-year-old Angels’ outfielder had two hits at Comiskey, was driven to his uncle’s home in nearby Gary, Ind., and was gunned down by Leonard Smith, whose estranged wife was in the car.
Smith beat the rap with an insanity plea – the prosecutor told “OTL” that Smith “got away with murder” – and recently was found by “OTL,” living freely in Gary.
Beyond that, “OTL” reminds us that Bostock was special for better reasons. After the ’77 season, he left the Twins for a five-year, $2.25 million deal – huge for the time – with Gene Autry‘s Angels. When Bostock began poorly, he insisted on returning his first month’s salary. Autry declined. Bostock donated the $40,000 to charity.
If Bostock wasn’t done justice in court – Smith was released after six months in a psychiatric facility – OTL certainly tries, at 9 a.m. Sunday on ESPN, noon on ESPNews.