Mike Francesa has had a torrid run of content in recent months.
With the Mets making a surprise run to the NLCS, the Yankees making the World Series and nightmare seasons for the Giants and Jets, Francesa has had a lot to talk about in the world of New York sports.
The timing has been fortuitous as it coincided with a boost in production capability from the BetRivers podcast network.
“As we moved into a new realm with the company, I just started doing more — and doing them much more after events,” Francesa, 70, said in an exclusive conversation with The Post on Wednesday.
When Francesa had his legendary run in afternoon drive at WFAN, first with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and later as a solo host, fans had to wait until 1 p.m. the day after games to hear his musings.
For the first two years of his podcast, there would also often be a lag until his show was up.
Now, he goes live on YouTube right after games — such as the Yankees and Mets playoff series, and nearly every Giants and Jets game this season — as well as when major news breaks, and the podcast gets posted to various audio platforms shortly after.
“We started doing a lot of stuff right after the games, which we had not been doing. I knew when that was the case that it would be very popular,” Francesa said.
“That was really the biggest change more than anything else — we started reacting right after events. That’s what I always wanted to do. I just didn’t have it available with the company to do them all the time as topical as that. They have people available to me whenever I want now.
“A lot of times now, the fans have a chance to hear stuff from me before they hear from almost anybody else in New York, other than maybe somebody on a postgame show because I put stuff out that quickly.”
Francesa said that the YouTube channel was always in the company’s plans, but that they had to take time to build up the network first.
One moment that stuck out came when Francesa went live with Barstool Sports during Game 5 of the World Series.
“I did that because my son Harrison works there. He really was the person who coordinated that. This past year, he worked with Frank the Tank and some of their top producers. He asked me to go in and do that for him,” Francesa said.
Francesa also has twins, Jack, who plays tight end at Hamilton College, and his sister Emily, who is studying at Villanova.
The broadcaster’s staying power has been partly attributable to millennials who grew up listening to “Mike and the Mad Dog” in the backseat of their fathers’ cars, who have continued to stay plugged into his content.
“I have been amazed by it in that when I go out, like even yesterday at the St. John’s game, how many young people, people in their 20’s, come up to me and talk to me about something they heard on the podcast or they listen all the time. It’s amazing how much of that I hear,” Francesa said, noting that this was a special environment because as a St. John’s grad he’s being welcomed home.
“But still: I do hear that all the time. I got that reaction especially from the Barstool people. You walk in there and they’re all young. They’re so respectful and they know so much about your career and react so much to what you do. It’s eye-opening. It really is.”
Francesa has long had an uncanny broadcasting ability to speak for a half-hour or more at a time, uninterrupted, in perfectly-formed paragraphs — without any apparent notes.
“I don’t have notes or anything. What I do is I watch the games. I watch everything. I’ll write down on a piece of paper something I want to remember, but I don’t bring it down with me when I bring it down to my studio,” Francesa said.
“I have a very good memory. If I say something or I write it down, I’ll remember it. I remember when I want to make a point about something. I’ve always been very good at organizing things the way I want to say them. I can organize a whole string of things in my head and prevent them the way that I want to say in order.
“It’s something I have a knack for. I don’t script anything. Everything is off the top of my head. I have no staff — I do this all by myself. I have producers, but anything that comes out of my mouth is something I’ve produced. Nobody produces any information for me.”
Brian Monzo, who was with Francesa at WFAN, works with him on the show on the BetRivers network.
Francesa said that doing the digital show has been “invigorating” for him and keeps him “current.”
“I still watch everything,” Francesa said. “I still follow everything. I don’t go to as many games as I used to. I love watching the games, and I love being able to react right away.”
In recent months, Francesa has seemed particularly inspired by the downtrodden Giants and Jets seasons.
“Especially the Jets,” Francesa emphasized.
“I’ve been fascinated by the whole Aaron Rodgers story from the beginning. Because rarely do you get someone that good. His personality doesn’t interest me that much but the football part of it interests me greatly. To have someone who is an all-time great come in at this stage of his life and try to do this, and then to watch as our worst fears …
“My forecast was that this was a playoff team, but I kept stressing in the spring that I really fear that this coaching staff could destroy this team. My worst fears came true. And they were made even weaker with [owner] Woody [Johnson’s] decision — I wasn’t against Woody demoting [offensive coordinator Nathaniel] Hackett or getting rid of [head coach Robert] Saleh. I thought Saleh was a terrible head coach. But he actually weakened this team because he didn’t bring anything in. He actually created a staff that wasn’t equipped to do anything!”
Francesa labeled the Jets as “frustrating but interesting” because “they’ve invented ways to lose games,” pointing to missed kicks, bad coaching decisions and defensive collapses.
“It’s really not even a stretch to say that the Jets could’ve won six games that they lost this year — not even a little bit of a stretch,” Francesa said.
He marveled at how much “fuel” the Jets have given him in terms of situations to react to, and asserted that he’s in the “minority” of having the opinion that the team should bring Rodgers back next year, albeit with an experienced coaching staff that will make it clear to the quarterback that he is a player and in no way in charge of personnel.
The Giants have also brought out passion in Francesa, but that has abated in recent weeks as their losses aren’t quite as interesting as the Jets’.
“Now, the second part of the Giants’ season has been worthless,” Francesa said.
“You can only bang on the Giants so long. There comes a point where it’s like kicking a dead carcass. There’s nothing left. That’s been the case for many weeks now.”
