Sports Talk Legend Mike Francesa Retiring from WFAN Show, Again

The Sports Pope announced on Thursday that Friday's half-hour show will be his last

Sports Talk Legend Mike Francesa Retiring
Radio host Mike Francesa attends the DraftKings Kickoff Bash in 2018. (Sean Zanni/Getty for DraftKings)
Getty Images for DraftKings

Sportstalk radio legend Mike Francesa is hosting the final edition of his daily WFAN show, again.

Francesa, who previously retired from WFAN at the end of 2017 before returning to the network less than five months later, said during the Thursday edition of his half-hour program Mike’s On that his final show will be on Friday.

“I want to spend more time with my family,” Francesa said. “I have been discussing this with the company for a while. We agreed I would stay until sports came back. The reason – I have cut back dramatically. This has been a very strange year. It has made me think about different things and do different things.”

The door seems to be open for Francesa to return to the air for special appearances and one-offs but, for now at least, his daily show (which was killed in the ratings by ESPN New York’s The Michael Kay Show in the last book) is done.

Francesa and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo teamed up to host the iconic Mike and the Mad Dog show in 1989 and remained on the air for 19 years while laying the foundation for sports talk radios across the country.

“Mike has been the heart of WFAN for over 30 years, and though his day in and day out presence has come to an end, that bond happily will continue,” said WFAN market manager Chris Oliviero. “The future of WFAN as the premiere sports platform in New York is bright, and that is in large part to the foundation that Mike has helped build.”

Given some of the stories surrounding this iteration of Francesa’s show, perhaps it is for the best he’s stepping away.

God Bless, Sports Pope.

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