The promise to not talk about ratings again did not last very long.
WFAN host Mike Francesa called out Alex Rodriguez for congratulating Francesa’s radio rival, Michael Kay, for claiming victory in their continuing ratings battle, which shows them neck-and-neck, though each has declared a win.
“That’s fine. That’s OK,” Francesa told a caller, who brought A-Rod’s words to Kay to his attention. “The truth of the matter is, that was a dumb statement by A-Rod. Because he didn’t (finish) first. … He finished behind me.”
It depends on how you look at the ratings book: ESPN radio’s “The Michael Kay Show” won 5.9-5.5 in the vaunted 25-42 demographic over the winter, the first loss for Francesa in the longtime rivalry.
Unless, that is, you count streaming listeners, in which case the WFAN host pulls ahead, 6.2 to 5.9. It’s safe to say that Francesa does indeed see things this way, even if it’s not the standard used to sell advertising.
“The stuff they did with the ratings was so offensive,” Francesa said of Kay and his ESPN radio cohorts.
“If you’re going to lose to someone 57 times in a row, you’d want to beat them legit if you’re going to beat them. My God, it just doesn’t make any sense. To lose all those times and then take a bogus win that isn’t even real is just … I couldn’t do that. I really couldn’t do that. I really couldn’t. But that just shows you. And they were never worth a damn anyway.”