What does Mike Francesa know about local hockey?

[MadDog2020]

If Mike Francesa wanted to clear the lines and do 5 hours on hockey, he could, and he'd have plenty of callers. He just chooses not to because he doesn't like hockey. Period. There are plenty of hockey fans in the Tri-State area. But there are a lot more fans of the other sports, so hockey largely gets ignored.

[Triumph]

Mike Francesa will turn 60 in March.  60 year old guys tend not to be hockey fans, the sport wasn't on TV very much in the 60s and 70s.  It used to be said about the Rangers that the only 18,000 hockey fans in New York were the people who went to see the Rangers' games.  And that's the mentality among certain types of sports fans to this day - baseball, football, basketball, and maybe they're a casual hockey fan, if that.

 

It's only with the rise of cable TV that hockey is available to people on a regular basis.  

Edited November 19, 2013 by Triumph

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

But CR they won't even take calls on the sport! I still think that, even given all of the other teams for more popular sports in our market, they could still easily slip hockey in if they actually wanted to mention it.. But they won't even really take any calls on the sport when it's not the playoffs.. That's just unacceptable to me

 

Who is "they"?  I agree, it's obvious Mike doesn't really want anything to do with hockey from a caller standpoint, there's no disputing that, but I've heard Joe and Evan take hockey calls...Boomer talks about Ranger games...they don't ignore it completely. 

 

Mike is an old reactionary dog who clearly isn't interested in learning new tricks.  He's almost 60 years old...sadly, I don't think he's ever going to have a "Eureka, I LOVE hockey, where has this been all my life?!" moment at this stage of his life.  So unfortunately, when it comes to him and his show only, yeah, you're never going to get him to talk hockey, and even if you could, it would be like talking to someone who barely follows the game.  You know more hockey than he ever will.      

Edited November 19, 2013 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

If Mike Francesa wanted to clear the lines and do 5 hours on hockey, he could, and he'd have plenty of callers. He just chooses not to because he doesn't like hockey. Period. There are plenty of hockey fans in the Tri-State area. But there are a lot more fans of the other sports, so hockey largely gets ignored.

 

And it would promptly be a disaster.  Remember, Mike knows very little about hockey.  Within the first hour callers would be saying "fvck this, this guy doesn't know jack sh!t, why the hell am I wasting my time."

 

What you really need is for Mike to retire.  The next guy who takes his slot might very well be willing to talk hockey and might be knowledgable enough to do it where everyone involved (callers, listeners, and host) is having a good time. 

[Colin226]

Who is "they"?  I agree, it's obvious Mike doesn't really want anything to do with hockey from a caller standpoint, there's no disputing that, but I've heard Joe and Evan take hockey calls...Boomer talks about Ranger games...they don't ignore it completely. 

 

Mike is an old reactionary dog who clearly isn't interested in learning new tricks.  He's almost 60 years old...sadly, I don't think he's ever going to have a "Eureka, I LOVE hockey, where has this been all my life?!" moment at this stage of his life.  So unfortunately, when it comes to him and his show only, yeah, you're never going to get him to talk hockey, and even if you could, it would be like talking to someone who barely follows the game.  You know more hockey than he ever will.      

 

I mean yeah I guess I'm mainly zoning in on Mike.. But for every hockey reference Boomer makes (Rangers 99.99% of the time), you have Craig screaming that no one care about hockey.. Sadly, things Craig says do resonate with people like a Jedi mind-trick on the weak.. Joe and Evan are good though, I give them props.. Somers used to be entertaining but he lost me when, one time a while back, the Devils ended a 5 game win streak and the Rangers ended a 5 game losing streak.. His comment was "the Devils lose tonight, falling into a slump while the Rangers are playing hot and poised to make a run".. I mean, really Steve?

 

It's the fact that they seemingly can't fit in hockey talk, yet can take calls all week long on the same god damn topics relating to the Jets/Giants/Yankees or whatever sports drama is hot that week.. I mean B&C take calls on Geno Smith, then J&E do the same, the Mike does it... And then they repeat the process all week long........ God forbid the refs blow a call in a crucial spot during any NFL game, then we have to hear 40 hours of calls and discussion that week about it

[Triumph]

Colin:  You're betraying the fact that you listen to this stuff a lot.  Sports talk radio is by its nature repetitive, people are constantly tuning in and out, so they have to accentuate the few big sports stories.  

[oofrostonoo]

Unbelievable Mike can watch at least a few hockey games a year and still not have any idea what is happening on the ice.

[StarDew]

Is this mike francesa? Did mike francesa make an njdevs.com account? Haha mike is not honest about being clueless about hockey, he just says ahh we're not talking about that yet its too early. Yet he'll talk about baseball for 3 hours in november. The prank calls make his show good. Tj in new hyde park had the best, "hey mike who do you think has lower expectations on a nightly basis, the new york islanders or your wife?"

Hes got zero sense of humor and thats why he gets pranked daily. If he laughed about falling asleep, or being wrong about the weather people wouldnt hate him. You shouldnt be in the primetime radio spot in NY with no knowledge of hockey

I sure hope you posted this (bolded) in jest about Joe B..  He makes a valid point.  btw Joe has been a poster since the beginning of this site.

[NJDevs4978]

The irony is Francesa and Russo were actually following the Rangers around like lapdogs in '94 even doing live remotes, then barely paid attention to the Devils in '95.  Obviously some of that was a 'NY bias' as well as the Rangers' whole curse story and post-lockout hangover during '95 but still.

 

No I don't actually listen to him much these days (more because of Mike's anti-Jet obsession and yes the fact he's a boring solo host), but I get the gist of what he talks about and how much he talks about it by the subject of his monologue and who he interviews on the WFAN podcasts, plus his general history.  I do listen sometimes when he has Pierre McGuire interviews during the playoffs.  Pierre's not usually a favorite, but he's probably at his best when he's 'educating' people on hockey and Mike actually lets him - he's one of the few guys he doesn't talk over afaik.

 

And sadly the ESPN show really isn't any better and everyone knows Steven A. Smith is a basketball guy first and foremost, but at least you get some pro-Jets talk THERE since it is the flagship station.  I wouldn't expect them to talk hockey since they don't have it on their TV network though.  That's what makes WFAN worse compared to ESPN, ironically.  At least ESPN has an instituitionalized excuse not to talk hockey.  

 

But it's not like I don't listen to sports talk radio for the other stuff.  Obviously there's a market for it, and yes satelite radio offers specialized tastes for everyone but it's just ridiculous that's ALL WFAN/ESPN talk about all the time in the afternoon.  I can't often listen to satelite radio till I get home on the computer.

Edited November 19, 2013 by NJDevs4978

[devlman]

The "who cares about hockey!" anger from some people confuses me. Since when did ragging on other sports become a thing? Are people threatened by it or something lol. Growing up, it seemed people respected all sports and at least tried to keep up on championships and such. But today it's just venom and disgust towards hockey from people like Carton. Compounding this, like Colin says, is that the listeners are sheep and parrot along with what they perceive to be popular. I wish people would think for themselves and not look for what's popular. Every buzzword parroted by the media like something is "trending" or "liked" just reinforces our society that one has to follow what is perceived as popular. It's childish...but now I'm rambling like an old man so leme stop there.

[devilsfan26]

The "who cares about hockey!" anger from some people confuses me. Since when did ragging on other sports become a thing? Are people threatened by it or something lol. Growing up, it seemed people respected all sports and at least tried to keep up on championships and such. But today it's just venom and disgust towards hockey from people like Carton. Compounding this, like Colin says, is that the listeners are sheep and parrot along with what they perceive to be popular. I wish people would think for themselves and not look for what's popular. Every buzzword parroted by the media like something is "trending" or "liked" just reinforces our society that one has to follow what is perceived as popular. It's childish...but now I'm rambling like an old man so leme stop there.

Good point, I don't get it either.  I had a different experience growing up, I was one of very few kids in my school who was into hockey, and I constantly had to defend the sport and explain why it's fun to watch and play.  I didn't bother attacking everyone else's sports and could not understand why people felt the need to trash hockey all the time.  I'm no psychologist or anything, but I wonder if at least part of it is that when guys aren't able to contribute to sports conversations it makes them feel less manly or something, so instead of saying, "I don't really know much about hockey," they have to defend their lack of knowledge by dismissing the sport as not worthy of their time anyway.

Edited November 20, 2013 by devilsfan26

[devilsfan26]

While we're on the topic of local sports media, did anyone watch the Rangers game tonight?  During intermission they do this segment called MSG 150 where they quickly go over a bunch of different sports topics in 150 seconds.  Today they spent literally half the time going over today being the 30th anniversary of the Oilers beating the Devils 13-4 and Gretzky calling the Devils a Mickey Mouse operation.  At first I wondered to myself is there anyone out there that actually still gives a crap about this game, and then as this topic went on for as long as all the other topics they talked about during this segment combined, showing highlights and quotes etc., I just had to laugh at how much effort was put into just bashing the Devils over an early regular season game that happened three decades ago.  Aside from the Rangers, the Islanders and Knicks also had games tonight, but no this, THIS is big news and we must make sure everyone is aware and well-informed about it.

Edited November 20, 2013 by devilsfan26

[Triumph]

The "who cares about hockey!" anger from some people confuses me. Since when did ragging on other sports become a thing? Are people threatened by it or something lol. Growing up, it seemed people respected all sports and at least tried to keep up on championships and such. But today it's just venom and disgust towards hockey from people like Carton. Compounding this, like Colin says, is that the listeners are sheep and parrot along with what they perceive to be popular. I wish people would think for themselves and not look for what's popular. Every buzzword parroted by the media like something is "trending" or "liked" just reinforces our society that one has to follow what is perceived as popular. It's childish...but now I'm rambling like an old man so leme stop there.

 

Just go ahead and bring up basketball in a random thread and see how people feel about it.

[point]

When WFAN gets someone to sponsor a hockey show they will air one.

[Chuck the Duck]

While we're on the topic of local sports media, did anyone watch the Rangers game tonight?  During intermission they do this segment called MSG 150 where they quickly go over a bunch of different sports topics in 150 seconds.  Today they spent literally half the time going over today being the 30th anniversary of the Oilers beating the Devils 13-4 and Gretzky calling the Devils a Mickey Mouse operation.  At first I wondered to myself is there anyone out there that actually still gives a crap about this game, and then as this topic went on for as long as all the other topics they talked about during this segment combined, showing highlights and quotes etc., I just had to laugh at how much effort was put into just bashing the Devils over an early regular season game that happened three decades ago.  Aside from the Rangers, the Islanders and Knicks also had games tonight, but no this, THIS is big news and we must make sure everyone is aware and well-informed about it.

 

Just like when they went through with the "Rise of the Devils" program a few years back, more than half of it was dedicated to that game alone.  It amazes me how disrespected the Devils are on their own cable and radio networks.  I really hope they move to YES or SNY when the cable deal is up in a few years.

[Triumph]

Just like when they went through with the "Rise of the Devils" program a few years back, more than half of it was dedicated to that game alone.  It amazes me how disrespected the Devils are on their own cable and radio networks.  I really hope they move to YES or SNY when the cable deal is up in a few years.

 

Their cable deal isn't up for at least a decade, and MSG offers advantages that SNY can't possibly offer.  Where are Devils playoff games going to go in the spring?

[roomtemp]

Just like when they went through with the "Rise of the Devils" program a few years back, more than half of it was dedicated to that game alone.  It amazes me how disrespected the Devils are on their own cable and radio networks.

I wouldn't be bothered with that if they did other Devils related from the Vault specials like that one. Its been how long since that one? Not like there aren't other games to show highlights of

[thecoffeecake]

I've always been aggravated that MSG constantly airs behind-the-scenes kind of stuff on the Rangers, and nothing outside of gameday stuff for the Devils, or Islanders for that matter.

[Daniel]

I've always been aggravated that MSG constantly airs behind-the-scenes kind of stuff on the Rangers, and nothing outside of gameday stuff for the Devils, or Islanders for that matter.

 

The Devils are apparently paid quite well by MSG network.  It ultimately benefits the team as a going concern, which is much more important to me than a bunch of fluff pieces that I wouldn't watch anyway, the same way I wouldn't care about a half hour program devoted to Ryan McDonough's upbringing if I were a Ranger fan.  If the Devils can get even a dollar more from MSG than another network, I'd take that over getting to watch "Behind the Scenes with Stephen GIonta".

[TheRedStorm]

The Devils are apparently paid quite well by MSG network.  It ultimately benefits the team as a going concern, which is much more important to me than a bunch of fluff pieces that I wouldn't watch anyway, the same way I wouldn't care about a half hour program devoted to Ryan McDonough's upbringing if I were a Ranger fan.  If the Devils can get even a dollar more from MSG than another network, I'd take that over getting to watch "Behind the Scenes with Stephen GIonta".

 

Derek Dorsett "Beginnings" LOL! Why???    

[NJDevs26]

FYI, Russo is still on Sirius/XM....he's assembled a group of equally unlistenable trolls for his station on there too.... Dan Patrick..... Adam Schein....oh the pain....MDR was great until Bill Pido left, it's gone piece by piece down the crapper since.... it's a shame.... Satelite radio is a breath of fresh air compared to the NY Sports Drivel....now I listen exclusive to the NFL and NHL (and Busted Open M, W and F) channels and have happy drives throughout the day

 

Russo and Fatcessa need each other, but other are too damn full of themselves to realize it

 

Russo's a lot better solo host than Francesa.  Plus he actually engages Torre on-air to the point where he almost has a partner anyway.  He doesn't need Francesa, he needs WFAN.  Francesa can just coast staying on a well-known network with his name recognition while Russo started a national subscription radio station from the ground up and business isn't all that great afaik (his program got cut back from 5 hours to 3).  

 

The "who cares about hockey!" anger from some people confuses me. Since when did ragging on other sports become a thing? Are people threatened by it or something lol. Growing up, it seemed people respected all sports and at least tried to keep up on championships and such. But today it's just venom and disgust towards hockey from people like Carton. Compounding this, like Colin says, is that the listeners are sheep and parrot along with what they perceive to be popular. I wish people would think for themselves and not look for what's popular. Every buzzword parroted by the media like something is "trending" or "liked" just reinforces our society that one has to follow what is perceived as popular. It's childish...but now I'm rambling like an old man so leme stop there.

 

Hockey fans get a bit uppity about basketball too, but because basketball's big brother it just comes off a little brother sniping under his breath as opposed to the basketball fans laughing at hockey fans because they're the cool kids.  I don't know very many people that like both hockey and basketball, it's usually one or the other.

 

I've always been aggravated that MSG constantly airs behind-the-scenes kind of stuff on the Rangers, and nothing outside of gameday stuff for the Devils, or Islanders for that matter.

 

Big deal, you can get that stuff from the Devils website/YouTube anyway.  If MSG's not going to air any Devils stuff of consequence besides the games no skin off my nose, I don't have to help them get ratings for anything except Devil games.

Edited November 20, 2013 by NJDevs26