Who’ve thought Michael Kay’s rep as a broadcast journalist would be bolstered by asking Giants signal-caller Eli Manning if he considered himself to be “a top 10, a top 5 quarterback”? Perhaps by mildly interrogating Manning a day or two before WFAN’s Mike Francesa could follow suit, Kay (above) and ESPN 1050 deserve (scant) credit for what the Daily News’ Bob Raissman calls, “opening a debate inside the Valley Of The Stupid”.
Now, more than ever, there is an unquenchable thirst for NFL information, whether it be nuts-and-bolts stuff or the kind of out-of-character sound bite the mellow Manning delivered on Kay’s show. Since the lockout has ended, football is where it’s at.
That’s what makes this scramble to pump NFL stuff into the ozone so intriguing. If the goal is to be at least a step ahead, how could 1050, the radio home of the Jets, possibly beat WFAN’s marquee attraction/ratings magnet Mike (Sports Pope) Francesa into Giants camp (WFAN is the Giants’ radio rights holder), allowing Kay to do his thing and leave the Pope with only crumbs to gather later in the day from Manning, Jerry Reese, John Mara and others?
“I guess yesterday you shocked the world,” Francesa told Manning. “Well you know what, what was your comment exactly? I didn’t hear it.”
What, you mean His Holiness doesn’t listen to Kay’s podcast? Stunning. Guess Francesa didn’t read Manning’s response, which was not hard to find in newspapers.