Mike Francesa Vs The Islanders/Rick Dipietro Is The Sportstalk Radio Beef We Need
I’m so serious when I say this, but we here in New York are sooooo close to an East Coast vs West Coast-type sportstalk radio beef and it’s going to be GLORIOUS. I’m talking Tupac vs Biggie. WFAN vs ESPN. Humpty vs the Sports Pope. When Mike flat-out compared Dipietro’s ratings to his own by saying “It’s a typical night in net… 7-1… 8-1″ I can only imagine DP was sitting in studio with Alan Hahn holding him back from dropping some hot fire on the air.
I’ll be honest, like most of us at Barstool New York, I am a YUGE Francesa fan. Not a day goes by that I don’t tune in to his show to catch each and every Mongo spewing their taeks, their idiotic questions about the JFK assassination, and Mike himself letting dead air take up a good 45% of his air time. But with that being said, Im aware enough to know that at this point in his career, Mike wholeheartedly thinks his shit don’t stink and this whole vendetta against the Islanders is just Mike catching a classic case of sour grapes over Capuano not coming onto the show. [where Mike himself always brings up how his audience doesn’t care about hockey]
Dipietro’s comments [going as far as calling Mike “Fatso” on air] were pretty ill-advised to say the least. I understand Dipietro felt the need to step up to the plate for the Islanders and their fans alike, as he is still looking to get into the good graces of Isles fans holding their grudges, but there are far better ways to have taken his shots at the Pope. As a small fish in the large, large pond that is the New York Media, reducing himself to name calling was more him swinging at the clouds then actually getting his point across and defending his own.
At the end of the day this is Mike being Mike and Dipietro trying to go toe to toe with the King, and all of New York is coming along for the ride. It’s gunna get bloody in these New York Sportstalk Radio streets. I’m talking brother against brother, father against son, Humpty against the Pope but this is something we all need. Mike is on his final months on the air and doesn’t give a shit about what he says, while Dipeitro is hungry to make a name for himself. It’s the perfect storm for beef. Enjoy it while you can.