Carton set to land afternoon FAN offer
Thibs: ‘Terrific’ practice shows RJ working hard to get better
TALKS between Craig Carton and WFAN have intensified to the point that a formal offer to host in the afternoons is expected to be extended by the end of the week, The Post has learned.
Carton, 51, has been off of WFAN for three years ever since he was charged and convicted of fraud in a scheme in which he misallocated loans to repay gambling debts.
After serving a year in a federal prison, Carton was released this summer for what can be termed good behavior.
Carton to the afternoons is not a sure thing just yet, despite the industry-wide feeling it will happen. He has a legitimate offer to host mornings in Philadelphia at 97.5 The Fanatic, which The Post has previously reported.
WFAN is also trying to figure out with whom to pair Carton if he goes headto-head with “The Michael Kay Show.” An ex-athlete is the preferred choice, as Carton worked well with Boomer Esiason for a decade. The FAN may need to move off that idea if it cannot find the right fit.
The idea of returning to mornings is not happening, as Esiason and partner Gregg Giannotti continue to rate well. They were again No. 1 in the market this summer.
As for WFAN’s current team of Evan Roberts and Joe Benigno, after excelling in middays they have struggled against Kay and haven’t been helped by the pandemic limiting sports in recent months.
If Carton returns, Roberts could very well return to middays, replacing Marc Malusis and teaming with Maggie Gray. Gray’s contract is up at the end of the year. WFAN/CBS Sports Radio would likely find another spot for Malusis further down in the order.
Joe Benigno, who turned 67 this week, has constantly talked about retirement. He could get his wish with Carton’s return.
Benigno would likely be offered to some spot appearances on WFAN, if he wants after he relocates to Florida, where he has repeatedly said he will go after hanging up his headset. ➤ Around the dial: ESPN/ABC are the broadcast home of seven of the eight first-round MLB playoff series. Its broadcasters will call the games from ESPN’s Bristol studio or their homes.
Some teams, like the “Sunday Night Baseball” crew of Matt Vasgersian and Alex Rodriguez, will do two series. The duo are on the Yankees’ games, as well as the Reds and the Braves.
Meanwhile, TBS will have its team of Rich Waltz and Jimmy Rollins in St. Petersburg for the Rays-Jays series.
It is understandable during the pandemic for ESPN/ ABC to do the first fall frenzy remotely, but it would be a mistake to make that the norm in the future.
In the divisional round and beyond, both Fox and TBS will have announcers on site.
Good idea by baseball and ESPN+ to have “Squeeze Play” on the service starting Wednesday. While the name is only OK — we’d go Fall Frenzy+ — the concept could have an old-school March Madness feel. With four afternoon games on Wednesday, ESPN+ will have Jason Benetti, Kyle Peterson and Mike Petriello host a whip-around show. For the pure baseball fan, this could be nirvana because you can bounce from potential scoring opportunities.
➤ Clicker Consulting: With ABC broadcasting its first game in a quarter century, here’s a little free advice for the next TV deal between MLB/Disney. With Disney really only wanting premium baseball, the two sides should create a September Sprint/Monday series for ABC. If you had two Yankees games among the five, it probably could rate pretty well; especially if it were an exclusive window, meaning no regional sports broadcasts. From what we’ve heard, this hasn’t come up yet, but might be worth a discussion.
On the eve of the NBA Finals, RJ Barrett had his best practice in the bubble.
Of course, not that bubble. The Knicks are in their own Manhattan/Westchester bubble, winding down “Delete 8’’ OTAs — away from the national spotlight of Orlando’s Disney World.
But it’s a start for the face of the Knicks franchise who never saw his rookie season completed. Just as Barrett was coming on strong, the pandemic canceled the Knicks’ season on March 11 in Atlanta. It may have cost him any chance of allrookie honors — as he was left off both teams.
Sources say Barrett, the third pick in last year’s draft who turned 20 in June, was itching to get back onto the practice court more than any Knick after a six-month hiatus.
Wednesday will stand as the last of the Knicks’ group practices, but new coach Tom Thibodeau said some players will stick around for “individual’’ workouts and film sessions for another six days.
“That stuff, I think a lot of that is tied to team success,’’ Thibodeau said on Zoom about Barrett’s snub. “And that’s what everyone has to understand. The better a team does, the more recognition the players will get. So that’s the past. I want him looking forward.”
On the seventh day of scrimmages, Barrett looked like the No. 3 pick, according to the new Knicks coach. During the abbreviated season Barrett averaged 14.3 points but shot just 40.2 percent with poor analytics.
“Today, he had a terrific practice,’’ Thibodeau said. “Today was his best practice. He was rebounding the ball extremely well, he made plays, did a great job with that. So I just want him to concentrate on improvement.
“He’s a young player.
Just getting the work part down. That’s the first step. Conditioning, continuing to work on his shooting. There’s a lot of things that he can do well.’’
The eight clubs who missed out on the Orlando restart in July staged these voluntary OTAs. It gave the Knicks’ new coaching staff a chance to work with their youngsters, including their last three lottery picks, Barrett, Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina.
It also allowed veteran Julius Randle, who is signed for two more years, a chance to bond with Thibodeau as the club stayed in a Manhattan hotel.
Randle was one of the few veterans to stick around for the group sessions and the coach said it showed “leadership.”
“The thing that pleased me most was that he came in prior to even Phase 1 and spent time with us and then he was there for Phase 1 and then came in for Phase 2,’’ Thibodeau said. “He’s a pro’s pro. He’s in great shape. He’s willing to work and do anything that you ask.
“Having that type of leadership is important for our team. We need a consistency from our entire team and we also need for everyone to want to continue to improve and I think he’s shown that and he demonstrated that to me over the past three or four weeks.”
Neither Randle nor Barrett were made available to the media.
➤ Thibodeau worked as an associate coach under Doc Rivers in Boston from 2007-10. Rivers was let go by the Clippers on Monday.
“I was surprised like most people,’’ Thibodeau said. “Obviously I spent a lot of time out there this past season [in LA]. He’s one of my closest friends. We worked together in Boston. Doc is not only a great, great, coach, he’s also a great person. I’m sure he’ll be back very soon. He’s a terrific leader and great coach. It sort of shows the nature of our league and there’s constant change.”