NYC Radio: WEPN's Michael To Mike F..Bring It On

WEPN ESPN New York’s 98.7 FM Michael Kay thinks that his longtime sports talk show nemesis Mike Francesa might regret his comeback.

In Kay’s mind, Francesa potentially could put a black mark on his legacy if Kay and his teammates ever climb past Francesa in the ratings. Kay’s show never beat Francesa’s.

“Bring it on,” Kay told The NYPost. “Let’s go. Let’s do it. Let’s see who wins now. If he wins, he wins. If he loses, it really does affect his legacy. He has never lost before with Dog [Chris Russo]. He has never lost to anybody [in sports]. I wonder if he is going to regret it if he comes back and loses.”

Michael Kay

The competition is expected to begin again soon, as Francesa could be on the air as early as next week, possibly Tuesday, from 3 to 6:30 p.m., going head to head with Kay. Kay, with partners Don La Greca and Peter Rosenberg, squeaked by Kay’s replacements, Chris Carlin, Maggie Gray and Bart Scott, in the winter ratings book. CMB is expected to be moved to the 1-3 p.m. slot to make way for Francesa, but CMB’s hours are not fully set yet.

Francesa, 64, went over the heads of executives at WFAN and asked David Field, president of the station’s parent company, Entercom, for his job back, accepting a significant pay cut from the around $3 million he previously made, according to sources. The move may have been made, even if CMB had won, because Entercom is taking advantage of Francesa’s ratings prowess at a discounted price. Francesa could have remained on many occasions at his former salary, if he had decided earlier to back out of his “retirement.”

The “Kay Show” beat CMB in the winter book, but it was bittersweet for Kay because it was not Francesa, and he personally likes the CMB trio. He is not as close with Francesa.

“If we can beat him, I don’t think it affects his legacy, but it puts a black mark on it,” Kay said.

Kay previously took Francesa’s YES simulcast from him, which has improved his show’s reach, though, in terms of the radio ratings, he thinks Francesa still has the count in his favor.