Mike Francesa, aka The Sports Pope, can be the only person that says in one breath he’s not comparing himself to Derek Jeter, but then promptly compares himself to Derek Jeter. Neil Best of Newsday caught up with Francesa, as well as WFAN Operations Manager, V/P Programming CBS Radio New York, and V/P Sports Programming CBS Radio Mark Chernoff and ESPN Radio’s Michael Kay. Best talked about the transition from “Mike and the Mad Dog,” competition with Kay, and Francesa’s recent fall to #2 in the market (he blames people listening to FM music). When discussing the transition due to the departure of Mad Dog, this is what Francesa said:

Francesa: “Other shows shut down. We never did that. We actually liked our time to work by ourselves, and I think we were competitive about it, too. We were highly competitive about it. That’s part of what Dog and I always were about. It was a team but it also was a highly competitive aspect of our relationship.

“I can’t tell you the company wasn’t worried, and I can’t tell you that I wasn’t at least saying, hey, I know what I have to do here. I knew that people were lining up. They’ve been waiting for a long time. They’re still waiting for a long time. You get to a point in this town where the only thing left is to write someone’s demise.”

Best: Sounds like what Derek Jeter is going through . . .

Francesa: “I actually have watched what’s going on with Jeter and thought, geez! I am not comparing myself to Jeter. What I’m saying is when you’ve had a lot of success over a long period of time, some people are going to revel. I think Jeter is incredibly popular. A lot more people are going to revel in my demise, many more. I readily admit that.

“I do understand that the big story that everyone was lined up for was, hey, this could be it, finally. And it didn’t happen and I’m sure it disappointed a lot of people. But I tell you, I was very concerned about it. I took it seriously. I felt there was a lot of pressure, no question about it. But what I went in to do was just basically do what I do and be true to who I am and what my personality is.

The funniest part of the interview is when Francesa tells Best his way of “keeping up with the younger audience” is to watch American Idol and listen to Katy Perry.

I like Neil Best’s work, but the amount of propaganda and BS that Chernoff and Francesa spewed in this interview is nauseating. Here are some questions I would have liked to see:

1. Mr. Chernoff, compare your rating now to 10 years ago. Has your audience remained the same or shrunk?

2. Mr. Chernoff, is it fair to say that people are listening to WFAN less than a decade ago? Why do you think that is the case?

3. Mr. Chernoff, why are you so behind the internet age? How come a majority of your hosts do not incorporate any popular internet sports writers into your guest list and discussion? Explain to me why your FAN bloggers are never given a role on the station?

4. Give a prospective radio host a career path at WFAN. How are you recognizing talent to grow WFAN for the next 10 years post Francesa?

5. Mr. Chernoff, how is the Fantasy Phenom Contest fair to your hard working people that have put in numerous hours at your station for low pay, but are going to run the board for some person that won a contest at a local mall? Is that a long term plan for success? Is that a way to motivate your employees?

6. Mr. Chernoff, with reports that SNY is bleeding cash, is it fair to say the economy has done the same to WFAN? With the low end commercials and constant remotes, isn’t that a signal (no pun intended) of financial distress? Especially when you are currently doing a promotion where a listener can host a show with Francesa for the day.

7. Hey Mike. You say you are keeping current with the younger generation. How come you don’t use that thing called a computer in front of you? Tell me the listening habits of the next wave of 25 year olds?

8. Mike, why do you yell at your callers like they’re school kids?

9. Mike, do you give a $5 million dollar (reported salary) effort every day? Why is the guest list so dry? Why are most segments of the paid variety? Why does it appear many luminaries don’t want to come on your show, but will go on the Morning Show?

10. Do you think the listeners didn’t go to FM Stations, as you claim, but just stopped listening to do other things?

11. Final question. Mike, do you realize how lame is it for an adult in his late fifties to squeal over the summer coming like a school boy? This is something you have done consistently the last week. You do realize that people in the real world don’t get “summer vacation,” but rather take a week here or there while they do their job?

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Derek Jeter, Mark Chernoff, Mike Francesa, Neil Best, New York Yankees, Newsday, WFAN