We've all become accustomed to WFAN's Mike Francesa's pathological lying. His rapidly shrinking audience has heard him claim 'many players' told him this or 'several coaches' asked him that on a weekly basis. We all recall how he spoke to a few New Jersey law enforcement officials about Lawrence Taylor's rape charge the morning after it happened...until he found out that it was in a hotel in Ramapo NY, not Rampo NJ, that the event took place. And for years Mike played his confabulation off on listeners in the form of the weekly changing of his NFL picks, after the fact, so as to appear a more successful handicapper (until the Post's Phil Mushnick along with TheMikeFrancesa.com and BobsBlitz.com caught him red handed and he was forced to cease).
Mike was at his journalistic worst over the past two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. In much the same way that he's lied about saying the Yankees could not lose Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS (Not on Mickey Mantle's birthday!) -- Francesa claimed to listeners that before Super Bowl XLII, he picked the Patriots to beat the Giants, 20-17, a wagering cover because the Pats were favored by 13. Mushnick pointed out and of course the Blitz provided audio of Francesa predicting, on the air, a 35-17 Pats win. For two weeks, Mike 'reported' that new Indianapolis Colts GM Ryan Grigson "hasn't even spoken to the QB!" -- Until Grigson said he did speak to Peyton Manning. Thursday. On Francesa's Mike's On show. Ouch.
But Mike's mythomania reached new lows Friday live on YES Network. Broadcasting from radio row, Francesa proclaimed that Denver Bronco Tim Tebow "had refused to meet Rosie O'Donnell due to her lifestyle." Tweets from O'Donnell and pictures definitively proved otherwise.
If Francesa's bosses at CBS won't put Mike in timeout for his acts of journalistic fraud, perhaps a nice defamation suit for slander will.
A truncated version of this article appears in today's NY Post. (Photo via MF Photography)
**Update, fake Phil Mushnick tweeted: "The @LGBT has to be up in arms over @MikeFrancesaYES saying @TimTebow wouldn't sit with @Rosie because she's queer." To which Rosie responded: "@PhilMushnickNY @LGBT @MikeFrancesaYES @TimTebow - tim was quite kind and sweet and mike is wrong - whoop dare it is"
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