Mike Francesa used his third-to-last day on the WFAN airwaves to remind New York sports radio listeners who’s boss.
Francesa, when asked by a Brooklyn caller Wednesday whether ESPN Radio host Michael Kay had thanked him for retiring and giving him the opportunity to enjoy top ratings, threw one last punch the way of his radio arch-nemesis. After 30 years at the New York station, Francesa makes his WFAN curtain call on Friday.
“Nah, somehow he forgot,” Francesa said after a drawn-out laugh. “But, you know what, now they still might have their work cut out for them, I don’t know. They never came close though. They talked a lot, never came close. Not even remotely close.”
Francesa and Kay have been battling over the ratings for years, with Kay reigniting the feud this summer when he called his show on ESPN “quantifiably better” than Francesa’s.
Kay, who doubles as the play-by-play announcer for the Yankees on the YES Network, said what’s bothered him most is Francesa consistently arguing his show tops the charts.
“There’s no way that if Mike started today, he would be No. 1 in the market,” Kay said in July.
Kay will have some new, though unproven, competition when the trio of Chris Carlin, Bart Scott and Maggie Gray assume Francesa’s slot on WFAN in the new year.