The Mike Francesa-sphere has had huge fun with this clip of Thursday's incident at the Coliseum, in which Mike expresses concern with the work of his engineer, "Jim."
I'm going to withhold Jim's last name because I haven't been able to get his side of this, but an eyewitness e-mailed WatchDog over the weekend to say Francesa had legitimate cause to be frustrated.
There had been technical issues earlier in the day that required the help of YES and Coliseum staffers to get the show on the air by its 1 p.m. start time. Hence the cryptic comment from Mike: "If it weren't for TV, we wouldn't be on the air, Jim."
During the blowup itself, Francesa and Chris Russo were hearing voices in their ears and mistakenly thought said voices also were being heard on the air. The issue wasn't resolved until the break, during which the bickering between Francesa and Jim continued, much to the amusement of onlookers on hand for the Rangers-Isles tilt that night.
Asked to confirm all of this, operations manager Mark Chernoff explained in an e-mail Saturday night that there had been difficulties with the ISDN connection so the YES connection was used a backup, something he called a "normal procedure" for "Mike and the Mad Dog" remotes.
Chernoff attributed Francesa's frustration to hearing cross-talk in his ear while he was on the air.
Fair enough. But I'm going to go out on a limb and assume Mike and Jim won't be working a remote together again anytime soon.
(UPDATE: I heard from a reader late Sunday night who seemed to be in the know based on a detailed account of all that occurred before and during the infamous Uniondale remote. Said reader insisted the problems were in part a result of YES moving the originally planned location at the Coliseum. Sigh. I KNEW I shouldn't have waded into this one. This would be like YES or WFAN trying to get to the bottom of a squabble that occurs on Newsday's copy desk when we're trying to get the paper out on deadline. Of course, such squabbles are not generally aired on a 50,000-watt, clear channel radio station and the most-viewed regional sports TV network in the nation. Bottom line: Let's just enjoy the YouTube video for its entertainment value and leave it at that, shall we?)
Comments (9)
The face on Russo's face when Francessa yells "MY SHOW!" is priceless. A "Say something funny Mike!" would've been perfect.
A radio legend of Mikey's prominence really should know the difference between what's "on the air" and what's not. But, besides all that, it's NEVER acceptable to berate a subordinate in public. In ANY profession.
Tank'll get his some day.
I have a friend of a friend who actually knows Jim. I hope that helps me get girls.
By the way, in case Joba, Hughes, and Kennedy can't make their "Miked Up" segment tonight, the rumor is Jim will fill in.
Let's not forget these two million dollar broadcasters actually managed to stay for two periods of the hockey game. Such dedication!.
I am glad to see his co-workers get the same treatment as the callers.
Face it, this is why we tune in. To hear Mike being Mike. :-)
Whether it's yelling at an engineer or yelling a disagreeing caller's name three times before he tells them they're "lost" and cutting them off (with the finger wave). Or it could be when he gets on Spotty Eddie Erickson to get a darn Big East official on the line (they all listen ya know), or being upset because he can't read Chernoff's handwriting of the Mitchell list. It's a sight/listen to behold and you will miss the sheer arrogance when it is gone. Admit it.
Why is he such a miserable bastage?
Hopefully the days are numbered for these two clowns....
Days should've been numbered for these clowns when they started. Don't hold your breath.