Enough. If Mike Francesa is such an all-knowing big shot, it’s time he backed up even one of his boasts with demonstrable facts.
He now claims to have discovered Sam Darnold long before lesser experts, then sharing his genius with WFAN listeners, beginning two years ago. This Sept. 5, Francesa bragged he was the first to declare Darnold, drafted by the Jets with the third pick, would be good, even special.
As heard on Twitter via the Francesa-monitoring @backaftathis, Francesa: “I told you about Sam Darnold before anyone on this station, before anyone else except for probably a couple of persons who didn’t even know who he was. I talked about this kid when he was two games in at USC.”
Stop there. Darnold’s first game with USC was Sept. 3, 2016, a 52-6 loss to Alabama. His second was Sept. 10, a 45-7 win at home versus paid-to-lose Utah State. Thus Francesa studied those two games then voiced that conclusion?
But if he did, the recording should be easily found and proudly replayed on the air, right, Mikey? Although Darnold played in USC’s first three games, totaling 22 pass attempts — as a backup!
Continuing: “So, I never knew he was going to be in New York and the way it turned out, so you know how high I’ve been on Darnold for years.”
Darnold played just two seasons at USC. So find something — anything — that proves you touted him “for years.”
Next, and again on Twitter via @backaftathis, on Sept. 15, after the Jets opened with an impressive win at Detroit:
“Remember, because he [Darnold] had a spotty year at USC, most guys had dropped him. We had guys who were on this show, quote, unquote ‘draft guys, QB guys,’ telling us he was the No. 5 QB in the draft.”
Name them. Name even one! Or was that another boast designed to emphasize Francesa’s clairvoyance and genius — when he’s a dishonest, hindsight-reliant, self-inflating gasbag?
Darnold was widely considered a top-three QB in the draft. And if even one “draft guy” said he’d fallen to fifth “on this show,” when would that have occurred? Francesa had no show months prior to the draft. Darnold was drafted April 26; Francesa was “retired” from Dec. 16 until May 1.
But we should all have employers who don’t care if we deal honestly with the public.
Francesa claims to be a career football savant and ultimate insider despite stacks of evidence to the contrary. Samples:
In August, Francesa mocked reports that the Raiders were trying to trade Khalil Mack. He called that laughable, reported and believed only by dopes. “There’s no chance — not a chance — that will happen!”
Soon, Mack was traded to the Bears.
He still boasts that he’s a gambling wiz. “My picks have value.” But for 20-plus years he has not only consistently demonstrated his inability to pick winners but specializes in being colossally wrong. A sucker for home favorites, this season his opening day top pick was the Saints at home, laying 9½ to the Buccaneers, the latter a team Francesa knew to be in complete disarray.
The Bucs won by eight, and are now 2-0.
Sitting Bull’s “inside sources” tipped him to the “sleeper quarterback” in the 2013 draft: Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater.
Bridgewater was ineligible for that draft.
He habitually presents hindsight as his gift of foresight and supreme wisdom. In 2016, he touted the Vikings as a likely Super Bowl team — but only after the Vikes began 5-0.
The Vikes lost six of their next seven and didn’t even make the playoffs.
He still claims to have nailed it two years ago, touting Clemson to win the national title. But when Clemson lost a home game to Pitt, Francesa declared Clemson “vastly overrated.”
There was his claim that the Pentagon solicited his advice on how to improve Army’s football team. Baloney, according to the Pentagon — unless the info remains classified, a matter of national security.
Who knew Tom Brady, the 199th pick in the 2000 draft, was going to be a superstar? Well, Francesa was the second to know, following a tip from his ex-pal Bill Parcells. But when Parcells said he had no idea that Brady would be any good, Francesa became the first to know!
Yet Francesa still pretends — or believes — to have never been wrong, far wiser than all.
It’s time Francesa just once come clean. Produce the evidence that he was “high on Darnold” after two games — or even two months — at USC. Produce the names of the experts he outsmarted — even one — who said on his show that Darnold had fallen to fifth. Produce the date of even one show.
Just once be a legitimate know-it-all, prove it!
Commentators celebrate selfish celebration foul
Early in his CBS college football analyst’s gig, which began in 2006, Gary Danielson struck me as important — someone with the courage and conviction not to pander, a man to say wrong is wrong on behalf of right-headed viewers.
But slowly, steadily and sadly, that’s no longer the case.
Saturday, LSU stopped Auburn on a fourth-and-1 from LSU’s 15 when linebacker Devin White bolted a gap to tackle the running back for a loss. White next carried on like a self-smitten fool, that “feed-me” gesture followed by that “I’m Superman!” mime.
An unsportsmanlike conduct flag followed. “Must’ve been for taunting,” Danielson said. LSU was penalized half the distance to its goal line as per the kind of uncivilized garbage that has made football a strain on the good senses.
But when CBS replayed White’s how-great-I-art performance, Danielson seemed delighted: “The way I look at it, if you can’t block me and you make that tackle, I gotta have the right to do that!” Partner Brad Nessler chuckled.
The way I look at it is that Danielson, off the air, would not think, let alone say, such a thing. He’d have shaken his head in sorrowful wonder as to how rank immodesty has been allowed to alter games and infest and diminish our sports.
It costs a lot to watch a bunch of strikeouts
Yankee Clippers: Yanks are selling “dynamically priced” bleacher seats to their anticipated wild-card game for $132 a pop. But for just $4,530 they’ll sell you two seats, six rows behind the plate — to watch six to eight pitchers strike out 20-plus fence-swinging batters.
At least CBS’ “Hollerin’ ” Kevin Harlan, who called Sunday’s Dolphins-Jets, is consistent. We expected a three-hour carnival sideshow barker and he delivered.
Does Fireman Ed perform on CBS’ cues, or does he cue CBS?
Go to YouTube. Type in Mike Zaun, the new, 1781 installment. Trust me.
With Elon Musk choosing passengers for his first SpaceX flight to the moon, reader Joe Miegoc strongly suggests Alice Kramden.
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