N.Y.-based WFAN-AM is "going to sound a lot different when Mike Francesa leaves his afternoon show next month," as it replaces him with an "intriguing trio ... that will immediately make the FAN a little less white, male and conservative than it has been," according to Evan Grossman of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. WFAN is "primarily populated during the day by older white guys who share similar political beliefs." But now the station is "shifting away from a one-man show to a three-headed afternoon sports gab session that promises to feature far different insight, opinion and energy than Francesa has been able to muster on his own." It is a "wise business decision, and might be highly entertaining." The trio of replacements includes Chris Carlin, Maggie Gray and Bart Scott, and with SI.com's Gray, listeners are "getting a smart, strong woman who has never been afraid to take on the NFL and issues like domestic violence." Former NFLer Scott has been "highly entertaining and edgy at times in his WFAN cameos." In today's world, this is a "necessary and refreshing step to take" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/15).
ALUMNI CHIME IN: On Long Island, Neil Best notes former WFAN host Chris Russo "mostly is fine" with Carlin being a part of the trio replacing Francesa. However, Russo "called the choice of Scott 'dubious.'" Russo: "They’ve had all this time to figure it out and the guy that they’re going to throw at you is Bart Scott? I’m being fair. I know that sounds a little harsh, but I mean, you have to be honest." Russo added, "He’s not from here. (He’s from Detroit.) He doesn’t know anything about New York." Russo said he thought Gray will “do a good job." He also said “you can’t go wrong” with Carlin, who “knows what he’s doing.” But he did "question whether Gray, Carlin or Scott would be able to adequately analyze" N.Y. baseball, a "longtime staple of the station." Russo: “Carlin likes the Texas Rangers, for crying out loud, so he doesn’t count" (NEWSDAY, 11/15). In N.Y., Brett Bodner notes former WFAN hosts Don Imus and Sid Rosenberg "aren't impressed with the station's Mike Francesa replacements." Rosenberg said, "It's just funny because they had this extensive search and tryouts and all these names, in the end they took someone doing the CBS show Saturday mornings, they took Carlin who's been around for 20 years and is Mike's old whipping boy, and they took Bart Scott who's hanging around doing the Jets. Doesn't seem like they went out of the box and grabbed somebody different" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/15).
TWITTER REAX: The Newark Star-Ledger's Steve Politi tweeted, "WFAN got it right with both shows. If that makes me the only person who feels that way, well, I’ve been on an island before." Bergen Record's Art Stapleton: "If WFAN is hiring Carlin as part of team to replace Francesa, they should just make the show of his old producers: Carlin, Malusis and Monzo. They can swap stories about Mike for 4.5 hours every day." CBS Sports' Adam Schein: "Words cannot express how happy I am for my friend @ChrisCarlin. ... I can't wait to listen to my guy CC in afternoon drive." Newsday's Best noted, "There will be no reax to @WFAN660 announcements from Mike Francesa on his show this afternoon. He is off because of event at Tilles Center tonight." OrdioMongo, a Francesa fan account with about 18,000 followers: "Looks like I'm in the minority, but I'm ok with Carlin. They had to have someone that had a connection with WFAN/MMD. But not sure why they went full mongo and thought three hosts was a good idea."
