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Mike and the Mad Dog Shine During Reunion Special

Jason Barrett

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Despite being apart for eight years, Mike Francesa and Chris Russo haven’t lost any zip on their fastball.

The partners of 19 years on WFAN received raucous applause from the moment they took the stage for their three-hour reunion special LIVE from Radio City music hall. Russo opened with his classic, “Good afternoon, everybody!” and off they went, treating it just like any other show.

The show included live appearances by former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, former Yankees manager Joe Torre, former Rangers captain Mark Messier, former Mets skipper Bobby Valentin, and former Knicks Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy. All of them spoke with Mike and Chris for 15-20 minutes about their time in New York, and their future endeavors.

One thing that remained the same for the duo was their shtick as they offered their passionate opinions.

At one point, Russo screamed at free-agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was in the audience, to re-sign with the Jets. When Francesa countered Russo by asking “How much are they going to have to give him”? Russo replied “16 million” to which Mike followed up by adding “if that’s the number he’s heading there now to sign it. You’re going to look back in a few minutes and see an empty seat because he’s left the building to sign that deal”.

Prior to the show, Francesa and Russo allowed themselves to enjoy the moment and reflect back on what they had accomplished together.

“When we started, sports talk show was at the bottom. No one respected the job,” Francesa said. “Now kids go to school to become a sports talk show host. Now being a sports talk show host is a really good job.”

Added Russo: “Sports talk creates a bond. … I didn’t realize how many 35-, 40-year-olds are so into this. Twenty years ago, they were 10, but they listened to it with their fathers. So they have a bond with their father while listening to Mike and me.”

To buildup to the reunion show, WFAN aired a “Best of Mike and the Mad Dog” throughout the afternoon and early evening yesterday. The station brought back many of Mike and Chris’ famous debates and discussions, funny moments, and special interviews including a classic conversation with former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

The reunion special was carried LIVE on WFAN and SiriusXM radio, and on MSG television.

Credit to the New York Post who provided some of this information.

Sports Radio News

Los Angeles Angels: Costs Don’t Justify Sending Radio Crew On Road

“We just found that the economics – 40,000-50,000 miles is not going to change that experience.”

Jordan Bondurant

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The 2023 Los Angeles Angels begin their new season Thursday in Oakland, and almost 400 miles south of RingCentral Coliseum at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The team’s radio broadcasters will be virtually alone in the broadcast booth calling the game remotely.

Terry Smith and Mark Langston, the Angels’ radio broadcast team, will not travel for road games this season. It marks the fourth year since the COVID-shortened season in 2020 that the team has decided to keep the radio crew grounded.

The Angels and the Toronto Blue Jays are the only two teams that don’t send their main English speaking radio broadcasters to road games. Both in Anaheim and Toronto, the moves are viewed as a cost-cutting measure.

“We just found that the economics – 40,000-50,000 miles is not going to change that experience,” Angels owner Arte Moreno said earlier this month in a press conference earlier this week.

As for the Angels’ Spanish speaking broadcasts, half of the 2023 season will air on KWKW. Rolando Gonzalez will be the play-by-play voice.

Gonzalez replaces longtime Spanish broadcaster Jose Tolentino, who told The Athletic that he was forced out of the role by the team.

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Mike Valenti: Mike Tannenbaum’s Mock Drafts Show Why He Got Fired As GM

“I think Tannenbaum’s gotta be drug tested, but I’ll take it.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum released the third edition of his mock first round of the upcoming NFL draft on Tuesday, and one host at 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit couldn’t stand some of Tannenbaum’s selections.

Mike Valenti asked for some of the surprises that Tannenbaum had in the first round and lost it when Tannenbaum had University of Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker coming off the board fifth overall.

“What is this guy on crack? Maybe that’s why Tannenbaum lost his job as a GM,” Valenti said Tuesday on The Valenti Show with Rico. “Hendon Hooker is a system quarterback where Josh Heupel managed to create unnatural matchups by putting receivers out of bounds basically.”

“Automatically I hate this mock draft,” he added.

Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter falls to the home town Lions at 18th overall on Tannenbaum’s board, and Valenti doesn’t believe Carter waits that long to be selected. But in this case, with Carter dealing with charges related to a fatal crash in January that killed Georgia teammate Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy, Valenti thinks Detroit gets a steal if Carter is still available.

“I think Tannenbaum’s gotta be drug tested, but I’ll take it,” Valenti said.

To be fair, Tannenbaum did write that he was going “a different route” with this year’s mock.

“I’m sliding into the general manager chair for each team with a first-rounder and making my own picks,” Tannenbaum wrote. “This isn’t what I’m expecting but rather how I’d personally approach each Day 1 selection. And what follows is based off my own evaluations, preferences and philosophies.”

The first round of the NFL draft is on Thursday, April 27.

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Sports Radio News

Dan Patrick: NBC Created ‘Something That Was Brilliant’ With Flex Scheduling

“Networks were so upset that NBC would go ‘Hey, you know what? We’re gonna take that game and we’re gonna have it on Sunday night.’ Then FOX and CBS would be scrambling there.”

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Roger Goodell wants flex scheduling to come to Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football package. It could happen this season, but we won’t know for sure until May after league owners decided to table a vote on the proposal. On Wednesday, FOX Sports Radio’s Dan Patrick joined the chorus of critics calling it a bad idea.

Patrick said that the league always prioritizes revenue. If it were thinking about the fans, this isn’t something that would even be discussed.

The idea of flex scheduling was first introduced for NBC’s Sunday Night Football package in 2006. The goal was to make sure the prime time TV package could deliver high quality games every week.

“NBC did something that was brilliant where they were able to flex Sunday night games,” Patrick said. “Everyone wanted it.”

While the fate of flex scheduling for Thursdays remains up in the air, we do know that flex scheduling is coming to Monday Night Football on ESPN this season. Patrick, who worked for NBC when the practice was introduced, said that it always took care of one broadcast partner by screwing others.

“Networks were so upset that NBC would go ‘Hey, you know what? We’re gonna take that game and we’re gonna have it on Sunday night.’ Then FOX and CBS would be scrambling there.”

Dan Patrick suggested that perhaps Amazon’s Prime Video doesn’t deserve the same treatment as NBC or ESPN. Far fewer people watch the Thursday night game than any other primetime NFL contest.

Whether or not flex scheduling comes to Thursday Night Football, Patrick says it does not guarantee to change the package’s reputation for delivering largely unappealing games.

“I’ve long said it’s crazy to say you have to play Sunday and then turn around and play Thursday and we’d always go ‘Man, these Thursday games aren’t good,’” he concluded. “Well, was it the matchup or just the quality of play?”

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