Mike Francesa is ramping up the rhetoric vs Fox Sports 1

Mike Francesa may have been told to stop talking about his Fox Sports 1 simulcast problems, but it doesn’t mean that he won’t complain when given the opportunity.

In a rare case of his show was actually airing on Fox Sports 1 on Thursday, Francesa discussed his situation with two callers who complained that they could not watch him every day. Of course, the Sports Pope agreed with them, but lamented the issue was out of his hands.

Francesa told one caller:

“What do you want me to do? I can’t leave. I have a contract to honor. I have a contract. I understand that . . . I’ve already raised all those things many times that you’ve brought up. There’s nothing you can say that I haven’t said.

“But I am no longer in charge of its destiny. I wasn’t anyway but I’m no longer even an active part of the destiny. Again, all I can do is show up and do what I do. I have a contract. There’s nothing I can do.

“I have a contract with both places, with FAN and with Fox, so that’s it. There’s nothing I can do. So I’m at their whim. Like next week we’re on once. There’s nothing I can tell you. It’s not my scheduling.”

After a second caller complained about the simulcast schedule, Francesa added: “But I’d take less and put it on every day, but I can’t do anything about it.”

We have discussed here at Awful Announcing how the live soccer and NASCAR preemptions since this relationship began have rated better than Francesa’s show, and additionally as the baseball postseason is doing extremely well for the network, how his representation did not do its homework when it came to the Fox Sports 1 simulcast.

Francesa can continue to drop anchor and hope to get some continuity and perhaps he will in December and January, but by that time, who knows if Fox and the Pope can find some common ground by then.

In the meantime, Francesa will continue to complain over the lack of time on Fox Sports 1 until he’s able to find a true home that will air his show uninterrupted.

[Newsday]