Snoozy start for FAN’s Francesa replacements
They didn’t revolutionize sports talk radio. Chris Carlin, Maggie Gray and Bart Scott only replaced a guy who did that.
Their new WFAN show, “The Afternoon Drive With Carlin, Bart and Maggie,” has an awkward title and the impossible job of following Mike Francesa, who left the station and the legendary time slot last month.
Their first show was as remarkable as a bowl of oatmeal, and after much fanfare about how this three-person team of diverse personalities was going to be such a departure from everything else that’s out there, in the end, “Afternoon Drive” sounded like every other sports show on every other station.
Tuesday was officially the first show for the three, and Carlin, a former “Mike and the Mad Dog” producer, immediately addressed the elephant in the room as part of his opening.
“Nobody replaces Mike Francesa,” Carlin said. “He is an incredible talent who helped carry this radio station for a long time, and none of us would be here doing this if not for what he accomplished.
“Look, we’re coming in, we’re not trying to be Mike. We’re not trying to copy him in any way, because you can’t. We’re just trying to carry on the tradition of excellence that has been established in our own way. We’re going to live and breathe New York sports with you. We’re going to ask the questions that you want to ask. And we’re going to get to know you; you’re going to get to know us. And hopefully we’ll have a few laughs along the way.”
Hopefully that day comes soon. Because in a word, their first show was meh. It was hours of straight-up sports talk, mostly focused on the Giants, some on the Jets, and very little of anything else. It’s not an exciting medium, which is why what Francesa and Russo did was so incredible. It’s why what Craig Carton did in the morning was so special because if you listen to the current show, you know it’s nothing compared to what it