It didn’t take long for WFAN to replace Tiki Barber as Brandon Tierney’s partner on the station’s midday show.
A few days after it was reported that Barber would be leaving the show to replace Craig Carton as Evan Roberts’ partner on the station’s afternoon drive-time show, Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reported that Licata, who was doing overnights for the station, will co-host the show with Tierney.
NEWS: Sal Licata will succeed Tiki Barber as Brandon Tierney's partner on mid-days at WFAN, The Post has learned.https://t.co/djnLJEpzUA
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) June 20, 2023
This domino effect was created by Carton leaving WFAN to focus on his FS1 morning show, which has allowed Barber and now Licata to move up the ranks.
According to Marchand, Licata is expected to continue his nightly work on SportsNet New York (SNY), as well as his weekly spot on Jimmy Traina’s Sports Illustrated Media Podcast.
Licata is perhaps best known for a proclamation he made in May 2022. At the time, he appeared on SNY’s Baseball Night in New York to proclaim that the National League East race was over and that the Mets would win the division.
"THE NL EAST IS OVER" – @sal_licata on Baseball Night in New York pic.twitter.com/caPEQM4w6w
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 31, 2022
At the time, the Mets were 34-17. They held a 10.5-game edge over the then 23-27 Atlanta Braves.
The Braves ultimately edged the Mets at the end of the season and won the NL East. Though they finished with identical records, Atlanta had the advantage after a three-game sweep of New York in the second-to-last series of the regular season. And while the Mets still had one of their best seasons in franchise history, several fans chose to blame Licata for the end result. Needless to say, he was not happy with a caller who insinuated that he was at fault.
https://twitter.com/WFAN660/status/1631697190027395091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1631697190027395091%7Ctwgr%5Ed7be342286ada6c9cfd09d1e5b5de5ae5179de82%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fawfulannouncing.com%2Fradio%2Fwfan-sal-licata-mets-braves.html
That’s just a glimpse of what Licata brings to the table. And now he’ll be partnered with Tierney, who has offered his own takes on the Mets.
Per Marchand, Jerry Ferrara, most known for his 2004-2011 run as Salvatore “Turtle” Assante on Entourage, was also in the mix to co-host alongside Tierney, after his name was floated to replace Carton. Instead, the gig will go to Licata, who is the latest WFAN host to be bumped from the overnight slot to a day show.
