Watchdog

Back in October, Mike Francesa raised eyebrows (including mine) with a bold assertion: That in 2000 he was among three finalists for a spot in the “Monday Night Football’’ booth.

The others: Billy Crystal and Dennis Miller.

A few days later, I reported that while Francesa did audition and might well have been led to believe by producer Don Ohlmeyer that he was a finalist, he never came close to the job.

I since have talked to another half-dozen people with direct knowledge of that process and all confirmed the gist of my original report. (Crystal wasn’t a “finalist’’ either; he quickly rejected the idea.)

Why write this now? Because in fairness I kept at it until I finally could track down Ohlmeyer himself Tuesday at the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

He couldn’t recall what he did or did not say at the time. He did call Francesa “extraordinarily talented’’ and said he has “a great deal of respect for him.’’

So, was he in the final three? “I’ve never publicly gotten into who the finalists were, who anybody was. Michael was one of the people seriously considered; that’s all I’ve ever said and all I ever will say.’’