With 260 all sports-talk radio stations in the U.S.,
there are "something like a thousand" hosts, but "none of
them remotely as good or remotely as powerful" as "Mike and
the Mad Dog," WFAN's Mike Francesa and Chris Russo,
according to GQ's Peter Richmond. Through January 1, 1998,
the duo had topped the drive-time ratings for eight of the
last ten quarterly rating periods in the NYC area, making
their afternoon show the "jewel of the nation's most
successful radio station," and "one of the most listened-to"
local shows in the country. Richmond calls radio "sports'
truest voice, the humblest and most democratic medium for
the culture's least pretentious enterprise," and adds that
the "phenomenal growth" of sports radio "reflects the growth
of the sports world." Francesa: "The business of sports
continues to explode. It stretches and stretches, and there
seems to be enough material to keep stretching it."
FRIENDS TILL THE END? Richmond describes Russo as "no
more enlightened than the guy next to you in the Midas
customer waiting room," and who gives most issues "a good
eleven seconds of thought before spouting an opinion."
Francesa, meanwhile, "knows what he's talking about ... but
often comes off as being overly satisfied with himself."
Richmond: "[T]here's no particular magic in their
relationship. They're not great friends. There are times
when they don't even like each other." Still, their success
is unquestioned, and they have "been approached a dozen
times about doing a national show." Most recently, they
"declined a national talk show on Fox" (GQ, 3/98 issue).
