It’s the end of an era. After 22 years, The Michael Kay Show as we know it, has come to an end on ESPN Radio in New York.
The Michael Kay Show went through several iterations over its more than two decades on-air, filling different timeslots with different personalities on different frequencies under different leadership. But throughout every change, Kay and Don La Greca were the duo that anchored ESPN New York. And after 22 years, that partnership is over.
Sure, fans will still be able to hear them on ESPN New York with Kay moving to an earlier timeslot and La Greca continuing in afternoon drive alongside Peter Rosenberg and the addition of Alan Hahn. But after Friday, Dec. 13, sports fans will no longer be able to do something they’ve been able to do since 2002: Listen to Michael Kay and Don La Greca on the radio, together.
10 years is a lifetime in radio and 22 years is extremely rare territory. For reference, Mike and Mike lasted 17 years. Mike and the Mad Dog were on-air together for 19 years. Kay and La Greca lasting 22 years by breaking into a space that was already dominated by WFAN is a success that deserves to be lauded.
In celebration of their run, here are 10 of the most memorable moments in The Michael Kay Show’s history.
10. Sept. 15, 2015: Peter Rosenberg’s first official day
The Michael Kay Show cycled through several third personalities in its history, including Michelle Beadle, Bonnie Bernstein, and Joey Salvia. But Rosenberg is the one who went from being the show’s third personality to an equal partner during his tenure. Kay and La Greca were reluctant to add him. And many of their listeners were confused by the addition. A Hot 97 host talking sports? But Rosenberg brought a new dynamic and a new audience to the show. And it’s no coincidence that Rosenberg’s addition was followed by something that was previously considered unattainable. The Michael Kay Show became a legitimate ratings competitor to WFAN, eventually winning that battle in the fall of 2019.
9. Oct. 16, 2012: Donald Trump joins The Michael Kay Show
Long before he was a politician, Donald Trump was a New York radio regular. Trump was a fan favorite on The Howard Stern Show, but considering he was a noted Knicks and Yankees fan, the polarizing personality also made his share of sports radio appearances. On Oct. 16, 2012, Trump joined The Michael Kay Show during what would turn out to be Derek Jeter’s final playoff run with the Yankees. Trump tore Alex Rodriguez to shreds during his appearance, claiming he would “terminate” the third baseman’s contract. The future president also criticized Jeter in the most Trumpian way, believing the Yankees shortstop suffered a broken ankle days earlier because of bad karma from selling his Trump World Tower penthouse. As far as his criticism of A-Rod, Trump was right. Three months later, Rodriguez found himself embroiled in another PED scandal.
8. Dec. 13, 2019: Edith from Mahwah joins The Michael Kay Show
That’s right, Edith ranks higher than Trump. Callers are often considered a nuisance or detriment to sports radio shows. But in New York, callers are the pulse of sports radio, helping to build a feeling of community that makes the medium so unique and special. Edith from Mahwah dropped by the show’s holiday party in 2019 and while her appearance was great, her leaving La Greca out to dry during his high-five attempt is what really made this a special moment.
7: Jan. 25, 2018. Michael Kay eats a Whopper
Clearly, Burger King was not a sponsor of The Michael Kay Show at this time. Kay lost the show’s NFL picks bet and was forced to eat a whopper, with ketchup and mayo. As a former intern of The Michael Kay Show, I can confirm Kay eats burgers. I hand-delivered them to him myself from Kabooz’s Bar and Grill in Penn Station. But a burger with ketchup and mayo? Kay would never. For more than 10 minutes on this day, Kay suffered through one of the worst punishments he could think of, having to eat a Whopper with condiments. Or “ointment” as he called them.
6. Michael Kay became the James Dolan whisperer
There were several moments when the New York Knicks and Rangers owner went in-studio with The Michael Kay Show. Two notable instances occurred after Dolan banned Charles Oakley from Madison Square Garden in 2017 and when he expelled a fan from the arena in 2019. Much to the dismay of Knicks fans, Dolan rarely makes media appearances in New York. But for some reason, he chose The Michael Kay Show to make several appearances. Dolan arrived at the interviews with his piece of loose-leaf paper filled with notes, and he left them looking poorly. To The Kay Show’s credit, they never provided Dolan with a soft-landing spot, yet he still came back for more.
5. Apr. 1, 2005: The Mike Piazza Prank
Longtime ESPN New York contributor Larry Hardesty called into The Michael Kay Show and reported the Mets traded Mike Piazza and Mike Cameron for Sammy Sosa. Hardesty was in on the joke, La Greca was in on the joke, and Kay was not. It was an April Fools’ prank set up by then-producer Aaron Spielberg. Kay, however, believing the trade was real, proceeded to criticize the Mets and take calls on the trade.
To be fair, the Mets were interested in trading for Sosa in 2004, Piazza was in the final year of his contract and Mike Cameron wasn’t thrilled about moving from centerfield to rightfield to make room for Carlos Beltran. So, the trade proposal did have some legs.
Kay, however, didn’t find it amusing and later threatened to quit the show. ESPN New York and The Michael Kay Show were just three years young at the time. Who knows what would have happened to the station if Kay had quit? Instead, Spielberg was removed and reassigned to producing other shows. Kay doesn’t hide the fact that he has thin skin, and this certainly exemplifies that. Spielberg later became the station’s program director for several years, paving the way for Ryan Hurley and Andrew Gundling to have their tenures producing The Michael Kay Show. Hurley and Gundling proved to be excellent fits on the show.
4. July 6, 2016: Don La Greca’s Jose Reyes rant
Thankfully, the end of The Michael Kay Show in afternoon drive does not mean the end of Don La Greca rants. This list easily could have been dominated by La Greca rants because it’s nearly impossible to pick the best one. Ed Kranepool, Evan Neal, the time he threatened Rosenberg with “I’ll smack your face dead.” Any one of them could top the list. But there was only one rant that drove La Greca to pour a bottle of water over his head: The Jose Reyes rant.
3. Oct. 18, 2019: Gil from Bensonhurst
Ok, one more Don La Greca rant. The time La Greca ranted at caller Gil from Bensonhurst deserves its own spot on this list. But that’s only because La Greca’s rant was secondary to the fact that Gil from Bensonhurst turned out to be a prank call by Rosenberg. During the reveal, Rosenberg admitted he was attempting to prank Kay, the unforeseen La Greca rant was just a bonus. This must have been before Rosenberg learned about the Mike Piazza prank that nearly drove Kay to quit years earlier.
2. Aug. 11, 2011: Is Eli Manning elite?
It’s amazing that this moment rates as high as it does. Because when Michael Kay asked the question, “Is Eli Manning an elite quarterback, are you a top five, top ten quarterback?” in 2011, it didn’t seem like a question that would follow Kay or Manning forever. But after Manning answered, “Yeah, I think I am,” it sparked mass debate throughout sports media. And when Manning proceeded to win the second Super Bowl of his career six months later, this question and answer became a significant moment in the quarterback’s career and The Michael Kay Show history.
1. Feb. 3, 2014: First YES show
Mike and the Mad Dog were sports radio pioneers. They also pioneered sports radio shows getting TV simulcasts with their YES Network partnership that launched in 2002. But on Feb. 3, 2014, The Michael Kay Show replaced Mike Francesa’s WFAN show on YES. In their first act, Kay and La Greca controversially threw a bottle of Diet Coke in the trash to signal the end of Francesa’s tenure on YES. Francesa left YES for FS1, which proved to be a terrible pairing. The Michael Kay Show, meanwhile, launched a new era on YES, a partnership they enjoyed for over a decade. While it would still be more than five years before The Michael Kay Show was able to WFAN in radio ratings, their move to YES undoubtedly helped close the gap.
