Mike Francesa

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Mike Francesa on NBC Sports Mike'd Up in 2006.
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Mike Francesa on NBC Sports Mike'd Up in 2006.

Michael Patrick Francesa, Jr. (born March 20, 1954 in Long Beach, New York) is an American radio talk show host and television commentator. He is primarily known for co-hosting the popular Mike and the Mad Dog show on WFAN in New York City, which he has done since September 5, 1989 with Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo. Francesa is generally regarded as quite knowledgable about sports, but is extremely opinionated, which makes for a provocative show. He has a special interest in horse racing, the New York Yankees, Notre Dame football, the Dallas Cowboys and is a friend and fierce supporter of pro football coach Bill Parcells.

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] CBS Sports

Francesa started his career by spending six years at College and Pro Football Newsweekly. Then he was hired by CBS Sports in 1982 as a researcher, focusing primarily on college sports.[1] In CBS Sports, he was initially a behind-the-scenes, statistic-wielding, editorial assistant, but network excutives were so impressed by his knowledge that he was made a studio analyst for college basketball and football[2] and acquired a reputation as "Brent Musburger’s brain."[3]

When he was a studio analyst at CBS Sports, he said the common complaint he heard the most was his Long Island accent.[4] In the Midwest, for instance, viewers disliked his New York arrogance. He made no attempt to disguise it and said defiantly, "Hey, I'm a New York guy. I wear it as a badge."[5]

ESPN tried to lure Francesa as its studio expert on college football, college basketball and NFL in 1991, but Francesa declined the offer.[6]

Francesa announced on the radio that he quit CBS on April 1, 1993[7] before the 1993 Final Four began.[8]

[edit] WFAN

See also: Mike and the Mad Dog

When WFAN was launched in 1987, Francesa thought he would be good at radio and applied for a host job, but the station management was looking for top-shelf types, rather than someone with no-experience and he was only offered a producer's job, which he rejected.[5] With his then-wife Kate's encouragement, Francesa continued to pursue WFAN. Finally WFAN gave him a job as a weekend host talking college football and basketball. Because of the positive reviews, Francesa began to guest-host other shows.[1]

Because of his initial success as a weekend and fill-in host, he was teamed with local New York City host Ed Coleman and the duo had a popular show on the 10 a.m.-2 p.m. slot. In 1989, WFAN was looking for hosts to replace the controversial Pete Franklin in the afternoon drive time period between 3 and 7 p.m. Station management decided to team the knowledgeable, but somewhat dry Francesa with the young and vibrant Russo. While Francesa's brand of sports commentating was considered hard-hitting and serious, Russo's was lighter, unconventional, and more entertaining. The show was dubbed Mike and the Mad Dog. The show quickly gained popularity and has been a staple of the New York sports scene since 1989.

In addition to Mike and the Mad Dog, Francesa hosts a weekly radio show called The NFL Now, which has originated from WFAN since 1987. It eventually became syndicated and has been simulcast on MSNBC and YES Network. He also does the nightly "Sportstime" commentary on the CBS Radio Network and Westwood One. Francesa also contributes to Imus in the Morning with his views on sports and other stuff.

Francesa's trademark intro to a show he is hosting by himself is "From the studios of WFAN in New York this is the (show name)."

[edit] Other projects

Francesa hosted Around the NFL with Bill Parcells on MSG Network between August 30, 1991[9] and April 16, 1992. When the show was cancelled, Francesa said, "I was disappointed. I wanted to do a second year, but it's a very expensive show to produce."[10]

In 1990, Francesa began hosting a talk show following Knicks and Rangers games at Madison Square Garden called Live from the Play By Play. The Play By Play is a restaurant in Madison Square Garden. The show featured sports and entertainment figures in a "late night" talk style program. The show did not last past 1995, but was revived for one year in 2005 as a post-game show for Knicks home games. WEPN's Brandon Tierney was the host.

In 1998, Francesa began a website called mikesports.com, but the project was abandoned and is no longer online.

In 2003, Francesa began hosting an 11:30 PM Sunday Night Sports Show on WNBC-TV in New York City entitled Mike'd Up. He takes a live hand-off from the end of the Channel 4 local news and then launches into in-depth analysis of the weekend games of New York area teams. He also interviews notable athletes, coaches, and sportswriters. The show was intended to span the length of the NFL season, but proved so successful that WNBC extended the show to run year-round. Weekend sports anchor Bruce Beck fills in when Francesa is off.

[edit] Personal

Francesa grew up in Long Beach, New York.[11] He is the second son of Michael Francesa, Sr. He has an older brother, John and a younger brother, Marty, who committed suicide on November 27, 1990.[5] He graduated from St. John's University in 1977, majoring in communications and athletic administration. He first married Kate in 1983[12] but divorced in the 1990s.

He currently lives in Manhasset, New York. Francesa married his current wife, Rose (whom he usually refers to as Roe, who grew up in Smithtown, New York[13]), on July 14, 2000[14] and they have three children, fraternal twins Emily Grace and Jack Patrick, born on January 17, 2005[13][15] and Harrison James, born on November 20, 2006.[16]

[edit] Health

Francesa has also had a number of health problems; most recently having reconstructive surgery on both of his knees. He participated in high school baseball, but was cut low by multiple injuries to his knees.[3] There is some speculation that because of his inability to keep in shape[5], his weight also contributes to these knee problems.[17]

During the first week of June 2006, Francesa missed a few days on the radio for what was termed as 'personal reasons'. Soon after returning, on the June 8, 2006 show, he revealed that following medical tests, he needed to change his diet.[18] He also admitted to going to the hospital to get an angioplasty done. His doctor told him he needed to totally change his diet and lose a large amount of weight.

Francesa had emergency knee surgery on August 31, 2006 to repair his shattered kneecap when he played golf the day before in Westhampton Beach, New York.[19][20]

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ a b Shane Fitzgerald (1990-03-30), CBS' Francesa first worked behind scenes, Rocky Mountain News.
  2. ^ Charles Siebert (1990-08-19), The Sportscasters, The New York Times Magazine.
  3. ^ a b Nick Paumgarten (2004-08-30). The boys: what Mike and the Mad Dog talk about when they talk about sports. The New Yorker.
  4. ^ Jack Craig (1990-03-30), CBS' Francesa is plainly a success basketball, football expert defies network standards for appearance, accent, The Boston Globe.
  5. ^ a b c d Steve Zipay (1993-04-01), Mr. Sports Tawk Some national viewers don't like Mike Francesa's accent and attitude. Hey, I'm a New York guy,' the sportscaster says defiantly. `I wear it as a badge,' Newsday
  6. ^ News wire (1991-04-14), Sports People: Television; Francesa declines offer, The New York Times.
  7. ^ Richard Sandomir (1993-04-03), Final Four: it's prime time, bay-bee!, The New York Times.
  8. ^ Richard Sandomir (1996-04-02), CBS wins on court and falls flat off it, The New York Times.
  9. ^ Richard Sandomir (1991-08-30), Parcells on airwaves: coach in him lingers, The New York Times.
  10. ^ Richard Sandomir (1992-04-17), The young McDonough plays ball with CBS, The New York Times.
  11. ^ Steve Zipay. Long Island history: Mike Francesa and Chris Russo. Newsday. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
  12. ^ Larry Schwartz (1991-09-01), Behind the Mike, The Bergen Record.
  13. ^ a b Steve Zipay (2004-09-09), Francesa roster to add 2 in February, Newsday.
  14. ^ Jeff Pearlman (2004-02-24). Mike and the Mad Dog make nice. Newsday.
  15. ^ Steve Zipay (2005-01-19), Brief: Francesa father, Newsday.
  16. ^ Mike Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo, Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN. (2006-11-20)
  17. ^ This week in health: obesity and knee problems. AetnaInteliHealth. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
  18. ^ Phil Mushnick (2006-06-12), Luis lite, New York Post.
  19. ^ Phil Simms interview audio on Imus in the Morning. WFAN (2006-09-07).
  20. ^ Mike Francesa, Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN, (2006-09-08)

[edit] External links

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