Don La Greca calls WFAN cutting Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata for Craig Carton ‘horrible mistake’

While Craig Carton returning to WFAN generated a lot of buzz, ESPN New York’s Don La Greca had no problem dubbing the decision a huge mistake.

When Carton lost his FS1 show last summer, a reunion with WFAN in some capacity seemed inevitable. But the obvious hurdle to a reunion with Carton was the fact that ratings were strong and WFAN had no openings in their weekday lineup.

Last week, however, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported WFAN was making room for Carton by moving current afternoon hosts Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber to middays, which would unfortunately leave Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata on the outside looking in. And that’s where La Greca, who co-hosts ESPN New York’s afternoon show with Alan Hahn and Peter Rosenberg, believes WFAN is making a big mistake.

“I’m told by our company, they’re not our competition,” La Greca said last week of WFAN. “So, I don’t have any problem bringing this up. That I think it’s a horrible mistake. I think those are two exceptionally talented guys. Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata are made to be talk radio guys.”

“This business is a really bad spot right now,” La Greca continued. “And to see two guys that I know personally… it sounds like two empty chairs when the music stops. And that sucks. Those are two guys that have families. Those are two guys that work their ass off, and it’s a huge mistake. And we don’t benefit from that mistake because again, we’re not rated and we’re not competing with them. It’s just, I feel real bad for two people that I consider friends and if they’re not working, New York is less for it.”

ESPN New York used to be WFAN’s competition. But ESPN New York’s operator, Good Karma Brands, doesn’t subscribe to Nielsen ratings. Also tempering their previous rivalry is the fact that ESPN New York now airs on 880 WHSQ, which is owned by WFAN’s parent company, Audacy.

“It’s the thing you hate about this business, if someone else gets an opportunity, whether they’re deserving or undeserving, that’s our opinion. People get left out,” Rosenberg added. “In this market, Don, there aren’t a lot of opportunities to do it. So where do you go? It’s a very challenging thing. There aren’t that many different places that you can go play the game. So, it sucks for those guys.”

Tierney and Licata generated strong ratings for WFAN, they also generated attention and social media engagement. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to fend off a Carton reunion with WFAN. And there probably isn’t anything they could have done to prevent what seemed like an inevitably comeback. WFAN didn’t want to lose Carton when he left for FS1 more than two years ago, and they were always going to relish the opportunity to bring him back.