Phone call with Dog’s father

his show.

Francesa announced the white smoke (“that doesn’t even look white. Is that white? I guess it is ... it looks kinda dark to me”) rising from the Sistine Chapel and breaking down the candidates and their odds to become pope like they were horses.

Of course, Francesa initially got wrong.

“(Angelo) Scola is the pope. The favorite is the pope. So the lead Italian is the pope. Is that him? They just put his picture up there. Are they announcing he’s the pope?” But eventually he got it right, sorta. “This is it? The archbishop — wait, he’s an archbishop, though — this is it? This is the pope? From Buenos Aires? From Argentina? Is that it? So Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergolio? Ber-joli-o? He’s the new pope? The cardinal from Argentina. Seventy-six year-old pope. So they went with an older pope. Cardinal Ber, Berg. Um, well you guys will tell me how to say his name, and then we’ll find out his papal name but the cardinal from Argentina — there might be two, I don’t know — but the 76-year-old from Argentina is the new pope. it he returned from the break he tried to clear things up in the most Francesa way possible.

“I thought he was making a joke about Al-ba-querque. Get it? But the guy’s name is Alberto Jose Alburquerque and I’m not sure, maybe they do call him Al Alburquerque ... but that’s who he was alluding to. I didn’t know he was talking about the pitcher last night, I thought he was making a joke.”

We can laugh at Francesa all we want, but he is human, too, and one of the most touching moments of his tenure at WFAN came during an emotional phone call with Tony Russo, the father of Chris “Mad Dog” Russo. The call came during the show where Francesa announced that Mike and the Mad Dog would no longer exist and the two were parting ways. Tony, who frequently called into the show, gave Francesa a call that got the normally stone-faced host to tear up a bit.

What got Francesa was when Tony asked him, “One thing I want to ask you, can I call at any time?”

“You’re killing me, Tony,” Francesa said, scratching his face. “Yes, yes any time Tony. Any time. When the Yankees move back into first place, it will kill your son, but you can come in and host the show with me.”