It sounds as if Mike Francesa is returning to WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM is thisclose to being officially announced by Entercom. However, a lot of people are not happy about that and how it appears he forced his way back in.
Steve Politi of NJ.com called Francesa a "jerk" and a "bitter old man."
"This isn't a triumphant return," Politi wrote. "This is a bitter old man pushing himself back onto the stage because he couldn't stand that the show moved on without him."
Bob Raismann of the NY Daily News wrote this is just "business as usual" for Francesa.
"More reason for those who already can't stand Francesa to despise him even more. For Francesa, this is business as usual. He planted the seeds for his return on MLB Network when he callously laughed, with Chris (Mad Dog) Russo, while speculating who would be the next in line to be tossed out of WFAN."
Even Francesa's former partner, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, had harsh words.
"If you change your mind [about leaving], you look like a horse's fanny," Russo said.
According to BusinessInsider, it is no surprise that Francesa is coming back to the air, but most assumed his next gig would be at the national level or possibly a podcast. Russo confirmed that Francesa had been in talks about joining Sirius XM, including a part-time reunion show for the pair.
Instead, Francesa's decided to go back to WFAN — a move that will come with a significant pay cut— and the move appears to have been spurred on by criticism Francesa received from other on-air personalities at the station after his appearance on Russo's show.
Francesa made a recent appearance on Russo's MLB Network show and the pair joked about the current state of WFAN and the quality of programming, with Russo saying: "I'll tell you right now, though, there'll be nobody on WFAN before you know it. I guarantee it ... they've got nobody on [after Boomer Esiason's show in the morning]."
Those comments led to criticism from many in NYC sports radio. But according to Russo, there was one shot in particular that may have irked Francesa the most.
According to Russo, Chris Carlin, who is a former producer for "The Mike & the Mad Dog Show" and one of the three hosts in the new show that replaced Francesa, texted Russo and Francesa, "blank my you-know-what" (Russo's words). Russo said he let the comment slide, but suggested that Francesa did not.
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