MUSHNICK CHIMES IN

I've been waiting for someone in the press to write about Mike Francesa's grumblings on Tuesday and Phil Mushnick finally chimed in.

Tuesday on WFAN, Francesa, now truly the One and Only, calmly snapped. He spent 40 minutes complaining that while Russo and his new gig were getting all the media attention, he'd received only unfair treatment by those who reported on their split. He claimed that no one had asked for his side of the story.
Does that mean that the story he repeatedly told on the air - the one about how they were often at war but genuinely liked each other, prospered together, and now, after 19 years, Russo had a nice opportunity, thus it was time for buddies to split - wasn't true? Would Francesa have provided a different tale, on the record, had he been asked off the air?
Francesa added that everything he has touched, with or without Russo, turns to ratings gold. Even his Sunday morning NFL radio show, he said, is No. 1 - with the exception of, he conceded, broadcasts of Spanish-language church services.
And Francesa said that bad reporting had badly underestimated the money he makes. But Tuesday, having given himself the opportunity to provide his eye-popping salary, he didn't (although he hinted that The King's counting room is darned near out of room).
Francesa repeated that he didn't want to come across as egotistical or jealous. He didn't. He came across as egotistical and jealous.
And then he took calls from listeners who pledged their allegiance to him, calls from those who declared their admiration and affection - even if at least one, conditioned to the Francesa treatment, was moved to beg, "Please don't cut me off."