Mike Francesa has had a string of steamy content in recent months.
With the Mets making a surprise run to the NLCS, the Yankees making the World Series, and nightmare seasons for the Giants and Jets, Francesa has had a lot to say in the New York sports world.
The timing is fortuitous as it coincided with an increase in production capacity at the BetRivers podcast network.
“As we moved into a new area with the business, I just started doing more – and doing a lot more after the events,” Francesa, 70, said in an exclusive chat with The Post Wednesday.
When Francesa did her legendary afternoon run on WFAN, first with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and later, as a solo host, fans had to wait until 1 p.m. the day after matches to hear his thoughts.
During the first two years of his podcast, there was also often a lag until the end of his show.
Now it goes live on YouTube right after games – like the Yankees and Mets playoffs, and almost every Giants and Jets game this season – as well as when major news breaks, and the podcast is released on various audio platforms shortly after.
“We started doing a lot of things right after the games that we didn’t do before. I knew when it did, it would be very popular,” Francesa said.
“That was really the biggest change, more than anything else: we started reacting right after the events. This is what I always wanted to do. I just didn’t have access to the business to make them as current all the time. They have people available to me whenever I want now.
“A lot of times now, fans get to hear stuff from me before they hear almost anyone else in New York, except maybe someone at a post- match, because I put stuff out there so quickly.”
Francesa said the YouTube channel had always been in the company’s plans, but it needed to take time to build the network first.
A standout moment came when Francesa went live with Barstool Sports during Game 5 of the World Series.
“I did it because my son Harrison works there. He was really the one who coordinated all of this. Last year he worked with Frank the Tank and some of their top producers. He asked me to come in and do this for him,” Francesa said.
Francesa also has twins, Jack, who plays at Hamilton College, and sister Emily, who studies at Villanova.
The broadcaster’s longevity is partly attributable to millennials who grew up listening to “Mike and the Mad Dog” in the backseat of their father’s car, and who have continued to stay tuned to its content.
“I’ve been amazed by the fact that when I go out, like just yesterday at the St. John’s game, how many young people, people in their 20s, come up to me and talk to me about something they heard on the podcast they listen to all the time. It’s amazing what I hear,” Francesa said, noting that it’s a special environment because as a St. John’s graduate, he’s welcome home.
“But still: I hear that all the time. I got this reaction mostly from the people at Barstool. You walk in there and they’re all young. They are so respectful, know so much about your career, and are so responsive to what you do. It’s revealing. It really is.
Francesa has long had a uncanny broadcast ability to talk for half an hour or more at once, without interruption, in perfectly formed paragraphs – without any apparent notes.
“I don’t have any grades or anything. What I do is watch the games. I watch everything. I write something on a piece of paper that I want to remember, but I don’t take it with me when I bring it to my studio,” Francesa said.
“I have a very good memory. If I say something or write it down, I will remember it. I remember when I want to make a point about something. I’ve always been very good at organizing things the way I want to say them. I can organize a whole series of things in my head and prevent them in the order I want.
“It’s something I have a gift for. I don’t script anything. Everything comes to mind. I don’t have any staff, I do it all myself. I have producers, but everything that comes out of my mouth is something I produced. No one produces information for me.
Brian Monzo, who was with Francesa at WFAN, works with him on the BetRivers network show.
Francesa said doing the show digitally had been “invigorating” for him and kept him “current”.
“I always watch everything,” Francesa said. “I’m still everything. I don’t go to as many games as I used to. I love watching matches and I like being able to react straight away.
In recent months, Francesa has seemed particularly inspired by the downtrodden seasons of the Giants and Jets.
“Especially the Jets,” Francesa pointed out.
“I was fascinated by the whole Aaron Rodgers story from the beginning. Because you rarely find someone that good. His personality doesn’t interest me much but the football part interests me a lot. Having someone who is an all-time great come to this point in their life and try to do that, and then watch our worst fears…
“My prediction was that this would be a playoff team, but I kept emphasizing in the spring that I was really afraid that this coaching staff could destroy this team. My worst fears came true. And they were made even weaker with (owner) Woody (Johnson)’s decision – I wasn’t against Woody demoting (offensive coordinator Nathaniel) Hackett or getting rid of (head coach Robert) Saleh. I I thought Saleh was a bad head coach. But he actually weakened this team because he didn’t contribute anything. He actually created a staff that was not equipped to do anything!
Francesa called the Jets “frustrating but interesting” because “they invented ways to lose games,” pointing to missed penalties, poor coaching decisions and defensive collapses.
“It’s really not a stretch to say the Jets could have won six games that they lost this year — not even a bit of a stretch,” Francesa said.
He marveled how much “fuel” the Jets gave him in terms of situations to react to, and claimed he was in the “minority” who thought the team should bring Rodgers back next year, albeit with an experienced coaching staff who will make the quarterback understand -back that he is a player and in no way responsible for personnel.
The Giants also brought out the passion in Francesa, but that has waned in recent weeks as their losses haven’t been as interesting as the Jets’.
“Now the second part of the Giants’ season has been for nothing,” Francesa said.
“You can only hit the Giants for so long. There comes a time when it’s like kicking a dead carcass. There’s nothing left. This has been the case for several weeks now.