No sparks fly as Francesa and Mad Dog reunite on ‘First Take’

Call it poetic justice, symmetry, or dumb luck, that on the day Tom Brady retired for the second time, a guy who once did the same thing, Mike Francesa, made his debut on ESPN’S “First Take” in a “reunion” with his former radio partner, Christopher (Mad Dog) Russo.

“First Take’s” regulars, Molly Qerim and Stephen A. Smith, didn’t take advantage of Francesa’s intimate knowledge of double-retiring (Not even a: “Mike, what’s it like to retire than change your mind?”) during the two-hour session.

Yet the regular “First Take” duo and, Mad Dog, who was riding shotgun, allowed Francesa to proclaim Brady’s career as an NFL game analyst on Fox over before it even started.

“It takes a certain personality and a certain mindset to be a good [TV] analyst. I don’t think he [Brady] is going to be a good analyst,” said Francesa, who reminded listeners what a flop Joe Montana was as an NFL analyst on NBC.

“He [Brady] is not going to be bombastic. I don’t think he’s got an oversized personality outside of being Tom Brady,” Francesa said. “I think he will find other things he likes more than announcing. I just don’t see the connection. Not every great player is going to be a great analyst.”

Francesa’s proclamation came in response to Smith saying Brady “knows there’s a right way to play the game” and would use that to his advantage by calling out players on TV who were not doing it the right way.

At that point someone on the panel, if only to inject some juice into the show, could have challenged Francesa. Instead, they let his take slide. Could it be they all think Brady is going to flop on Fox?

Brady topics dominated the show. Predictable but necessary but it clogged any real juice from flowing.

The overall tone wasn’t lost on Francesa who at one point said: “Too much sweetness for me . ... This is a very polite show.”

There was a spark of confrontation when the discussion shifted to Lebron James. Francesa said he did not count LBJ’S NBA title with the Lakers. “I don’t count anything that happened in the Bubble,” he said.

Russo then asked who Francesa would want on his team in a best-of-seven, James or Larry Bird? Francesa: “Lebron” Smith: “Mike Francesa, I am proud of you.”