POMP & GASBAG

He is dismissive. He is arrogant. He is a bully. He is condescending with a sense of entitlement. He is a portly (I’m always polite) name dropper who knows just about everything and everybody. And he certainly knows more than you do. Is he Chris Christie ?Orishe Mike (Sports Pope) Francesa?

It’s easy to confuse the two. Governor Gasbag and the Pope both walk on the egocentric side. They share the same personality traits. So similar, that the obnoxious karma surrounding Christie will wind up working in his favor. It could be a key factor leading him to be teamed with a partner to replace Francesa, if the Pontiff actually does call it quits from WFAN’s afternoon-drive slot in December.

Christie may not have the inside track to the gig but he’s getting close to it.

Christie’s recent “Beach Bash,” where he and his family took in the sun at the empty Island Beach State Park while the unwashed masses of Jersey were banned from the sand because of a government shutdown, was just another example of his ability to infuriate. This has led to him breaking records when it comes to low approval ratings. He is approaching ground zero.

The bad publicity leads right into Christie’s audition shows Monday and Tuesday on FAN with Evan Roberts. This, and Christie’s aboveit-all attitude, could work in his favor depending on what sound the powers that be are looking for. If they want a Gasbag who projects the same pomposity as Francesa, Christie is the man.

Yet they could be looking to blow up the sound of the station and go in a new direction. If they are looking for a new sound, a younger sound that projects all the elements of “modern day sports talk,” then Christie better get the suntan lotion and baseball cap ready because he will be headed back to the beach. And that could happen. FAN started in 1987 and its sound, except for its morning drive show, is still caught in that time warp.

Nonetheless, Christie has another big advantage going into Monday and Tuesday. He inspires hate. He comes to the microphone as a guy who can provoke strong feelings. A lot of folks don’t like him. That’s not a stunning revelation. While this may be bad in politics it’s a good quality to have when working inside The Valley of the Stupid where “vanilla” is a dirty word.

It’s better to be either strongly hated or loved. Those who do not provoke strong feelings can look forward to working the overnight shift Saturday night into Sunday morning.

It’s still worth wondering if his hostile takeover of the Beach has brought Christie’s toxicity level to a point of no return where he is even bad for the radio business. Most of these talkies, including the often delusional Francesa, try passing themselves off as a “friend of the regular guy.” Christie can’t do that now.

Or can he? Remember he is smarter than everyone else. Just ask him.

On Monday night Aaron Judge’s mission will be to win the All-Star Home Run Derby.

Those who make their money in the marketing end of baseball have more grandiose expectations. They will be looking to see if Judge is a legit national attraction halfway through the season. ESPN’s highest rated HR Derby was in 1998. On that night in Coors Field, Ken Griffey Jr. won the Derby. ESPN registered a 5.8 rating with over 9 million viewers tuning in.

Can Judge juice that rating? Will the rating really soar if it winds up in a matchup between Judge and Giancarlo Stanton?

While Judge said the experience “will be like taking batting practice in front of 50,000 people” there is a lot more at stake here. While the Derby has no real meaning, Judge’s sensational season has lifted expectations of what he can do on the national stage. It’s a tremendous opportunity for him.

But if he should pull an El Foldo, the Valley of the Stupid will be filling the Tuesday hours ripping him apart.

JAX $ FALLOUT

Got to hand it to James (Guitar Jimmy) Dolan — he lost money on the Phil Jackson deal but he is already finding ways to close the deficit.

Tuning in to one of the recent Knicks summer league games on MSG, we saw John Giannone and Brendan Brown working in the Manhattan studio on the pregame. And when the game, from Orlando, began Giannone was doing play-byplay, and Brown handling the analysis, from the same Manhattan studio.

Our initial thought was MSG was going on the cheap. Then it came to us: Since he wasted $60 million on Jax, Dolan is now looking to cut corner$ in other areas—like the network.

Wonder if he will raise the price of hot dogs in the Gulag.

JAM OUT

Jamie (Jam)

What Fox executive hired Horowitz in the first place?

Horowitz, who was fired last week amidst an investigation into sexual harassment, was the executive in charge of FS1 and created shows like the highly-hyped “Undisputed” featuring Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe and the neverhyped “Speak for Yourself” with Jason Whitlock and Colin Cowherd.

While nobody knows what Horowitz did to get expelled from Fox’s Hollywood Bunker, the early sabre rattling by lawyers on both sides indicates this whole situation probably will end up in court. Still, there has been much talk about what a hard tumble from the top Horowitz took but little or no chatter about who is really accountable here.

Certainly if he did something untoward Horowitz is. And while Fox Sports boss Eric Shanks cannot be held accountable for Horowitz’s personal conduct, he is responsible (unless he was under orders from Rupert Murdoch) for running like a mad man to hire Jamie Jam when he was fired from NBC’s “Today” show after only 10 weeks on the job. Wouldn’t that raise a warning flag? Wouldn’t it be more prudent to pass on a cat who at the time was damaged goods?

But Shanks was in a hurry to hire Horowitz, who reinvented ESPN’s “First Take” and turned it into a powerhouse. Shanks gave Horowitz too much authority and got only mediocre results in return. Now, with the firing, Shanks’ decision looks even worse. Shanks was not thinking about his own role in this fiasco when he released an email to employees saying: “Everyone at Fox Sports, no matter what role we play, or what business function or show we contribute to — should act with respect and adhere to professional conduct at all times.”

Despite Shanks’ pious-toned missive, he might want to check out some of his talent’s twitter accounts to see if they “adhere to professional conduct.” He also might want to take his time, and think clearly, before he selects the next genius to replace Horowitz.

BUC ‘KNOCKS’ TREND

Only a month away from the return of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” on Aug. 8 and while I’ve never seen a Tampa Bay jersey or cap in midtown, this year’s series selection is highly intriguing.

Jameis Winston, DeSean Jackson, Gerald McCoy and a rookie named O.J. Howard might help rinse away the disappointment of the underachieving and bland Los Angeles Rams. They turned the 2016 version of “HK” into an incredible cure for insomnia.

Willie Colon, on fire on ESPN-98.7 Thursday ripping the HBO series “Ballers” as a “totally unrealistic” look at off-the-field life in the NFL. Colon did stop short of saying he would kick Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson’s tuchis… Just wondering if any of the NFL’s Sunday pregame shows are reaching out to Colin Kaepernick for an exclusive interview? Or has the league made him persona non grata, even on TV… Earth to Valley of the Stupid… Earth to Valley... Whining about the Mets losing Daniel Murphy is BORING, a crutch to fill time. All the Murphy talk actually drove me to listen to “Bernie and Sid” on WABC-AM.