Michael Patrick Francesa was born on March 20,1954 and is an American sports-radio talk-show host.
49 Facts About Mike Francesa
2.
Mike Francesa was succeeded by Chris Carlin, Maggie Gray and Bart Scott in the same time slot for the first ratings book of 2018.
3.
Mike Francesa hosted this shortened afternoon drive WFAN slot during a tumultuous tenure through the end of 2019 before he retired for a second time, moving to a half-hour evening slot on WFAN while producing content for the Entercom-owned Radio.
4.
On March 24,2020, Mike Francesa was tapped to return to the station for a daytime slot on Sundays, and on May 26,2020, he returned to WFAN on weekdays for an hour each day.
5.
On July 24,2020, Mike Francesa retired for the third time, citing the desire for more time with his family.
6.
Mike Francesa was born and raised in Long Beach, New York.
7.
Mike Francesa is the second son of Michael Anthony Francesa and his mother Marilyn, who abandoned the family when Francesa was eight years old.
8.
Mike Francesa has an older brother John and had a younger brother named Marty who committed suicide on November 27,1990.
9.
Mike Francesa attended Maria Regina High School in Uniondale and graduated from St John's University in 1977, majoring in communications and athletic administration.
10.
Mike Francesa first married a woman named Kate in 1983 but divorced in 1994.
11.
Mike Francesa started his career by spending six years at College and Pro Football Newsweekly.
12.
Mike Francesa was hired by CBS Sports in 1982 as a researcher, focusing primarily on college sports.
13.
Mike Francesa announced on the radio that he quit CBS on April 1,1993 before the 1993 Final Four began.
14.
When WFAN was launched in 1987, Mike Francesa applied for a host job.
15.
Mike Francesa hosted a weekly radio show called The NFL Now, which originated from WFAN and aired from 1987 to 2016.
16.
Mike Francesa provided the nightly "Sportstime" commentary on the CBS Radio Network and Westwood One.
17.
Mike Francesa regularly contributed to the Imus in the Morning program with his views on sports while it aired on WFAN and Westwood One.
18.
Mike Francesa's show was simulcast on the YES Network from 2008 until 2014.
19.
On September 10,2012, Mike Francesa fell asleep live on air during a segment with Yankees beat reporter Sweeny Murti.
20.
Mike Francesa later denied that he had fallen asleep after national ridicule and mockery, including that from callers to the show.
21.
On March 24,2014, Mike Francesa's show began broadcasting nationally on Fox Sports 1.
22.
Mike Francesa took primary responsibility for the failure of the relationship.
23.
On January 19,2016, Mike Francesa stated that he planned to leave WFAN when his contract with the station expired at the end of 2017.
24.
Mike Francesa said that the incident contrasted with the "great character" of the draft class that the Giants claimed to have picked, despite evidence that the shooting was completely random.
25.
On May 16,2019, Mike Francesa fell asleep on the air while taking a call from a listener.
26.
Mike Francesa never revealed the number of paying customers for his app, which was roundly criticized by the media throughout its existence.
27.
Mike Francesa later denied that the incident had occurred, saying on his afternoon show the same day that it was "fake news" and that the media was desperate for a headline.
28.
Mike Francesa's show was described as "grumbles and contentious conversations with callers on a regular basis" by Deadspin, and Francesa was noted for responding negatively to a caller who told him that Stan Lee had died.
29.
Video clips of Mike Francesa making inaccurate predictions often went viral on Twitter, with players such as Virginia basketball's Ty Jerome coming onto the show to specifically address them.
30.
Mike Francesa received attention for maintaining that Tiger Woods had "nil" chance after the second round to win the 2019 Masters Tournament, which Woods later won, and then later claiming that the video clips that contained the inaccurate predictions were doctored or altered.
31.
On November 5,2019, Mike Francesa announced his retirement from WFAN for a second time, announcing he would leave the station that December.
32.
Mike Francesa's departure left WFAN needing a replacement for its afternoon-drive slot, which was eventually filled by Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts, who had formerly hosted the midday show.
33.
On January 6,2020, Mike Francesa debuted the first show in his new format, hosting a half-hour show on WFAN nights during the week while hosting on Entercom's Radio.
34.
Mike Francesa announced plans to branch out to more than New York sports, talking about national sports as well as political matters.
35.
On July 24,2020, Mike Francesa retired from broadcasting his daily WFAN and Radio.
36.
Mike Francesa played a bookie in the 2019 film Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler.
37.
Mike Francesa had a role playing himself in the 2003 TV movie Undefeated.
38.
Currently a resident of Manhasset, New York, Mike Francesa married his current wife Rose on July 14,2000, and they have three children, fraternal twins Emily Grace and Jack Patrick and Harrison James.
39.
In November 2019, Mike Francesa bought a home in South Florida, reportedly to reduce his tax burden.
40.
Mike Francesa has expressed support for Trump's position on the national anthem at sporting events, tweeting that the "NFL has lost its way" by allowing players to kneel during the anthem.
41.
Mike Francesa brushed off reports that Trump's finances were in trouble, pointing out that he was still able to win the 2016 election.
42.
In March 2020, Mike Francesa criticized Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
43.
Mike Francesa underwent emergency knee surgery on August 31,2006, to repair a shattered kneecap suffered during a golf game the previous day.
44.
In 2012, Mike Francesa was ranked first among the 100 most important sports-talk radio hosts in the US by Talkers Magazine.
45.
Mike Francesa credited colleagues at WFAN for his success, with a special salute to Russo.
46.
Mike Francesa remained the top sports-talk radio host by Talkers in 2013 and 2014.
47.
Mike Francesa won the 2000 Marconi Award for Major Market Personality of the Year and won again in 2012.
48.
New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick and Mike Francesa have waged a long-running public battle, which has continued into 2022.
49.
At the root of Mushnick's dislike of Mike Francesa is his perception of the latter's egotism, condescension, "know-it-all" attitude, and pomposity.