On Mike Francesa’s penultimate day at WFAN, the station gave him an impressive parting gift: It named his studio after him. That means that when Chris Carlin, Maggie Gray, and Bart Scott take over next week, they’ll do so in the Mike Francesa Studio.
Mark Chernoff: WFAN names Mike Francesa's studio in his honor.
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) December 14, 2017
Ironically, Francesa’s show Thursday was not actually broadcast from his studio; it was held at the Paley Center for Media. According to Newsday, Francesa’s final show on Friday will feature no guests, only Mike and his callers, which meant the penultimate edition was absolutely packed with high-profile appearances, some of which Francesa and his producers apparently weren’t expecting.
Newsday’s Neil Best chronicled the stream of big-name callers and visitors, which included Eli Manning, Kurt Warner, Jim Nantz, Joe Girardi, Bernie Williams, Darryl Strawberry, Chris Christie, Chris Russo, Don Imus, Keith Hernandez, Bob Costas, and so many others.
First hour of guests on penultimate Mike Francesa show: Jim Nantz, Dan Patrick, Dick Ebersol, Jay Horwitz, Doug Gottlieb, Steve Somers, Victor Cruz, Damon Amendolara, Mark Feinsand, Kim Jones, Ottis Anderson, Chris Russo
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) December 14, 2017
2nd hour of Francesa guests: Joe Benigno/Evan Roberts (in person), Tiki Barber, Kevin Burkhardt, Jim Cramer, Sweeny Murti, Steve Phillips, Willie Randolph (in person), Mitchell Etess, Joe Mihalich, Brendan Brown, Lonn Trost, Mike Breen, Joe Micheletti, Jerry Bailey, Brian Cashman
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) December 14, 2017
Third hour of guests on penultimate Mike Francesa show: Regis Philbin, Bobby Valentine (in person), Joel Hollander (in person), Ira Winderman, Chris Kay, Kurt Warner, Ed Coleman, Pierre McGuire, Tim Cluess, Marc Malusis, Julie Stewart-Binks, Bob Ojeda, Bob Baffert, Linda Cohn
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) December 14, 2017
Fourth hour: Cliff Floyd, Darryl Strawberry, Chris Christie, Mike Breed, John Davidson, Jay Wright, Katie Nolan, Bob Costas, Steve Schirripa, David Diehl, Todd Pletcher, Jay Glazer, Shaun O’Hara, Jim Fassel, Bernie Williams, Suzyn Waldman, Peter Schrager, Tim McCarver, Ian Eagle
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) December 14, 2017
5th hour Francesa guests: Don Imus, Tom Pecora, Neil Smith, Mike Tannenbaum, John Franco, Rich Eisen, Erica Herskowitz, Kenny Smith, P.J. Carlesimo, Eli Manning, Brandon Marshall, Lonnie Quinn, Barry Watkins, Ed Olczyk, Keith Hernandez, John Calipari, Joe Girardi
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) December 14, 2017
Sixth hour Francesa guests: John Minko, Carl Banks, Tom Coughlin (on tape), Mark Chernoff (in person), Bob Heussler, Julio Rosa (in person). Total guests for the day, according to my count: 84
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) December 14, 2017
Over 30 years on the radio, you get to know a lot of people, apparently.
Now Francesa will air one final show before the post-Mike era at WFAN begins. Though “The Afternoon Drive with Carlin, Bart and Maggie” is slated to officially debut on Jan. 2, Carlin will host in the weekday afternoon slot next week, with Gray and Scott joining in for some of the time. The goal seems to be easing in the new hosts without any sort of frenzy around their first show, which could help mitigate the inevitable comparisons to Francesa.
We’ve found plenty to needle Francesa about over the years, but now that the end of his show is upon us… we’re gonna miss him.
Mike Francesa cuts his cake before his big show today at the Paley Center for Media. Listen to it live starting at 1 p.m. pic.twitter.com/rDmQ50iEvk
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) December 14, 2017
About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.