Mike-Dog arcticle

[Heavy]

Newsday (http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-p2two3682479feb24,0,7937684.story)

http://www.nynewsday.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2004-02/11528303.jpg


I'm sure the link will be inactive or require membership soon, so heres a few keypoints:


Russo and Francesa are permanent icons, as much a part of the average fan's vocabulary as Piazza and Jeter. Just look at the latest Arbitron ratings: From 3 to 7 p.m., WFAN leads all AM stations in total listenership. And in the coveted category of men ages 25-54, "Mike and the Mad Dog" slightly trails only Q104.3, an FM classic rock station.

Francesa also admits that his least favorite part of the show is taking calls from fans ("I consider it a part of the job," he says, "but they need to remember that we're the experts here"), and that he has little use for players ("Except for stars," he says, "they're mostly interchangeable parts").

Yet traditionally, Francesa's greatest dislike sat directly across from him. What began as a disagreement over the merits of Clark vs. Mattingly transformed itself into a lengthy series of gripes, whines, challenges and near-scuffles. Often, it was a battle of perceptions: Francesa considered Russo's sports knowledge to be semi- mediocre, and he rarely hesitated (on or off the air) to convey that viewpoint. Russo found Francesa to be holier than thou, and said so.

The worst fight in Russo- Francesa history began in the spring of 2000, when, according to one published account, the two were scheduled to travel to Indiana for the Knicks- Pacers playoff series. When the flight was canceled, they were rebooked a few hours later - in coach. Francesa, a large man used to traveling in style, refused to take the tickets, and he and a fuming Russo waited several more hours for a more accommodating travel plan. Program director Mark Chernoff held a closed-door meeting to clear the air, but it didn't work. Russo and Francesa went weeks without talking. "I really wondered whether we were finally looking at the end," says Chernoff. "I thought, 'My God, am I going to have to split these two up?'"

Two years ago, with "Mike and the Mad Dog" monopolizing the market and the city's passion for sports growing exponentially, ESPN Radio smelled blood. It hired a couple of decorated ex- New York sports writers, Wally Matthews and Tom Keegan, to form a radio talk duo to compete directly with Russo and Francesa. ESPN ran ads slyly mocking the WFAN tandem, and fully expected to make a large dent in the market.

In the same Arbitron ratings that recently placed WFAN first among all AM stations, ESPN finished 28th with a measly 0.8. It has been, in sports terminology, a blowout.



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This message was edited by Wadd on 2-25-04 @ 2:20 AM

[ChickenHawk]

Mike Francessa is and always has been a huge homo. I fuckin' hate him.

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[shamus mcfitzy]

well if you didn't realize mike didn't like the fans, then you don't listen. He likes Yankee fans....that's about it. Russo aint much better, but at least he's less "bullheaded" ("of a dickwad") then Mike.

[ChickenHawk]

I never really had a problem with Chris. He can get annoying at times, but as long as he's a Giants fan, I can continue to have a part of me that pities him. Mike is just a huge fat-headed douche.

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[MizzleTizzle]

("I consider it a part of the job," he says, "but they need to remember that we're the experts here"),


The person who thinks this about their audience doesn't belong in talk radio. I might open that up to any form of entertainment whatsoever.

I know teachers like this. They suck.



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[newport king]

Francesa also admits that his least favorite part of the show is taking calls from fans ("I consider it a part of the job," he says, "but they need to remember that we're the experts here"),

what an absolute holier-than-thou fat bastard. i listen to these two alot because espn radio runs the syndicated dan patrick show till 4pm and i prefer new york sports to what dan usually does nationally. although when bernard hopkins was in the other day and hit phil the show killer with a 6 piece combo that was pretty funny.
this is why i love when fans call up and bust mike's balls when he is wrong. he can't cut them off fast enough. last year when jeter hurt his shoulder he gets on and says "look i talked to my guy and he told me, he's done. done for the season. no way he's coming back." when he came back and was doing his stint in the minors while rehabbing the listeners that called up to bust his balls were damn near told to go fuck themselves.
and anytime a player has a knee injury, i guess his knee finally gave out after lugging around so much weight it blew out, he acts like he's a god damn doctor when it come to knee injuries.
and they're not experts they're fans. like when someone calls up and is talking about a player, mike will scream at the top of his lungs, "what was his slugging percentage in 1994!!!!! do you know?? DO YOU KNOW?!? oh ok, but you're the genius here."
espn should put on tony kornheiser's show opposite theirs. wally and the keeg are ok but they need to dump that brandon tierney guy and his forced opinions are annoying.

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[blakjeezis]

Remember this, these guys are first and foremost radio personalities. It doesn't matter what they're talking about, sports, politics, sex in a church; their first order of business is to get listeners and ratings. The best way of getting people to listen to you is by playing a character that people either love or hate. That's what Francessa and Russo have done, and quite successfully as is apparent by the numbers. Hannity does it. Limbaugh does it. "Fez" does it.

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This message was edited by blakjeezis on 2-25-04 @ 10:39 AM

[Wormwood]

Is it me or do all these guys know about is baseball.

I can't stand it when they spend about 30 seconds of time on a blockbuster hockey trade or playoff race, yet they take hour long calls on how the Yankees are gonna do this upcoming season in the middle of fucking December. Who gives a shit, talk about what's happening now. I'm not interested in Enrique Wilson's training routine during the offseason.


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[East Side Dave]

I like it when Dog says "aaaaaaaaaaaaaand GOOD afternoon, everybody, and how are you todaaaaay!" But I don't like it when the Dog kidnaps children all I'm sayin' is I think we should get a bunch of milk cartons and go over to Dog's house and see if they're there 'cause I think he kidnaps children he's sick he is...

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[schmega]

this thread would not exist if not for one blabbering paul mercurio. the blob and the angry puppy will be irrelevant once again in june.

and even though mike's a dick to the callers, you really gotta admit most callers are either stupid or talk about the same things over and over. when your team stinks, be it the mets, knicks, or rangers, you get the same tired calls. and most jocks ARE interchangeable. do we REALLY get any insights to the game from most athletes? no, we get canned answers 9 times out of 10.

o&a, r&f have shown that callers are an integral part of a radio show. all 4 of those guys love their callers and treat them well. if sports talk show hosts did the same, it would be a step up. and if they let drunk callers get through too, it'd be even better. anyone thats been to a ballgame knows drunk sports fans are hysterical, and would be radio gold.

[newport king]

blockbuster hockey trade

i think i know about 7 people that watch hockey. the season is way too fucking long too many teams get in the playoffs. although the playoffs are usually very good.



all 4 of those guys love their callers

i distinctly remember opie saying something about what kind of loser calls radio shows.

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[shamus mcfitzy]

yeah, newport king is right. I love O and A, but Opie doesn't seem to care about most of the callers. Yet I still say he's a better guy than Mike, just based on accounts of people who I know who have met Opie, and those who have met Mike (like 3 people each)

[Dudeman]

this sports talk stuff sucks shit. i can't figure out which is worse-
the way they talk about stupid shit for so long with such
conviction or just their obnoxious delivery. someone at work
plays them out loud, which is totally inappropiate. he is as dumb
as shit and can't figure out that when we turn it down or off, or
ask him to do it every time he turns them on, that he should
just stop turning on this mindless drivel out loud.


-the dude is online-

This message was edited by Dudeman on 2-25-04 @ 7:31 PM

[NewYorkDragons80]

What pisses me off most about that bullshit quote is that there are no credentials to be a "expert". What a pompous ass. Just another guy who can't come to terms with the fact that he talks about a kids' games like it's geo-politics.

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[Tall_James]

I just found out that I can get WFAN on my car radio here in Massachusetts (if the car isn't running). Although these 2 guys are bozos, it was nice to hear a NY station again.


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[zoom2457]

Francesa also admits that his least favorite part of the show is taking calls from fans ("I consider it a part of the job," he says, "but they need to remember that we're the experts here"), and that he has little use for players ("Except for stars," he says, "they're mostly interchangeable parts").


If by expert you mean complete fucking retards, then Francesa is right, they are the experts.

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[WindowSill]

Say what you want about ESPN but I love the Dan Patrick Show, and I sure as hell like Wally and the Keeg than I do those two fuckers on WFAN...I cant stand listening to them. Theyre so obnoxious and think they are the top experts at football, baseball, and even basketball....ugh they piss me off to no end...

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[who6489]

Say what you want about ESPN but I love the Dan Patrick Show, and I sure as hell like Wally and the Keeg than I do those two fuckers on WFAN...I cant stand listening to them. Theyre so obnoxious and think they are the top experts at football, baseball, and even basketball....ugh they piss me off to no end...

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I like Patrick and his gay sidekick Rob Dibble. They can be pretty funny sometimes. Wally and the Keeg are decent as well. And I havta admit that lately, the Michael Kay Show has been good. It used to suck, but Kay has relaxed in the past few months, and just goes with the flow.
As far as Mike & Dog, I can listen if they're solo, but together they are VERY annoying. But now after reading the article, Fat Boy can go to Hell.

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