After 30-plus years on WFAN, the Mike’s Off.
Mike Francesa went out on the airwaves Friday for his final drive-time show, and he began with some introspection.
“I first did an afternoon drive show in November of 1987,” he said. “That was the first one that I did an afternoon drive show by myself. I sat in on Thanksgiving Day and the day after for Pete Franklin.”
The notoriously hard-nosed host won’t be disappearing from anyone’s ears, though. The Post’s Andrew Marchand reported Francesa will continue a daily half-hour appearance at 6 p.m. next year, as well as talking sports and politics on Radio.com.
Francesa, who famously went on to team up with Chris Russo for a 19-year run on “Mike and the Mad Dog,” has been solo for the past 12 after their split in August 2008.
“That’s a lot of time — that’s half a lifetime, that I have spent these hours — and there are very few people that even get to work in a major station in New York,” Francesa said, “but to have the same show and the same hours for over 30 years is more than anybody could ask for. This is the last one, we will, you know, not spend a lot of time dwelling on that. This is the final afternoon drive show for me after all these years.”
Friday’s show didn’t go on without some unexpected fireworks: David Fizdale’s firing by the Knicks gave Francesa another chance to rant.
“Fizdale walks the plank,” he said. “That doesn’t matter. It’s a headline for 10 minutes. Who cares? It didn’t work out, he didn’t do the job. It isn’t about him, it’s about the team. They have to — have to — clean house and start over. That’s all there is to it. And they gotta get somebody in there who can run the franchise. They are 4-18, they are utterly dreadful, the have won one of their last 10 games, they are putrid.”
Francesa made his thanks in a way only he could, showing appreciation for long-time New York radio executive Mark Mason, who green-lit the original show.
“A show that most people were against, most people thought could not work, most people who critiqued said it wouldn’t work,” Francesa reminded his listeners. “A month in, most of them felt it was doomed for failure — most people inside the station felt the same thing. It obviously became the biggest and most successful sports talk show of all time.”
Whoever takes over the drive time slot — not even Francesa knows exactly what will go on in 2020 — will have big shoes to fill. It’s an unenviable task Francesa himself can appreciate.
“I wish them even a portion of the good fortune and success I’ve had doing this for these many, many years,” he said. “It’s been an incredible run.”
