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        <title><![CDATA[Mike Francesa bids farewell in final WFAN show]]></title>
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            <media:title type="html">Mike Francesa bids farewell in final WFAN show</media:title>
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        <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mike Francesa won&#8217;t be &#8220;back afta this.&#8221;</p><p>The New York sports radio legend signed off from his daily WFAN show for the final time Friday, a day after announcing that he would be <strong>stepping away from the half-hour program.</strong> It marked his second retirement from the station in three years.</p><p>Francesa&#8217;s final show was filled with reactions to the <strong>Mets Opening Day win</strong> over the Braves and goodbyes from long-time callers like Ira Leiberfarb — better known as &#8220;Ira from Staten Island&#8221; — who bemoaned not being able to talk with Francesa over the Jets winning a Super Bowl. There was also &#8220;Sal in Sayville,&#8221; a 43-year-old in his Long Island patrol car who said he had been listening to Francesa since he was 14.</p><p>“I thank all of you – hey, it’s about the audience, and without you listening, being there day after day, I would’ve never had the run that I’ve had,&#8221; <strong>the 66-year-old Francesa said</strong>. &#8220;I’ve had one of the really enduring runs in the history of radio, which I’m very proud of. For 33 years, to have a show as successful as it was, first with Dog [Christopher Russo] for 19 years and by myself afterwards, I thank you for that.”</p><p>Francesa said he made the decision to step away from his program so he could spend more time with his family.</p><p>Insisting that this wouldn&#8217;t be the last you&#8217;ve heard from him, Francesa said he wasn&#8217;t retiring altogether and that he had &#8220;received a couple&#8221; offers, but didn&#8217;t specify what they were. He added that he has &#8220;dabbled&#8221; with the idea of writing a book about his career, during which he and Russo set the standard for sports talk radio with &#8220;Mike and the Mad Dog.&#8221;</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The final 2 minutes: <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeFrancesa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MikeFrancesa</a> says goodbye. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MikesOn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MikesOn</a> <strong>pic.twitter.com/vGn6q22AOU</strong></p><p>&mdash; WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) <a href="https://twitter.com/WFAN660/status/1286803865912979457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p><p>The show lasted for two decades until 2008, when Russo left WFAN for Sirius XM Radio with the pair&#8217;s relationship having reportedly soured.</p><p>Francesa remained on the air, but to many listeners it was never the same once he and Russo split.</p><p>Francesa first retired in 2017 — only to return less than five months later on an exclusive $8.99-per-month streaming service <strong>that was shut down</strong> a year after it started. He left his afternoon slot again in 2019 after <strong>getting smoked by &#8220;The Michael Kay Show&#8221;</strong> in the ratings book, but began hosting a shorter show in the evening.</p><p>While Francesa&#8217;s ratings dipped, clips of his show were immortalized on Twitter by the account &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/BackAftaThis?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BackAftaThis,</a>&#8221; a phrase used by Francesa when he would go into a commercial break.</p><p>Francesa had tried to get the account with over 100,000 followers to stop posting the clips, which often showed the Long Beach native in an unflattering light, <strong>but ultimately relented.</strong></p><p>&#8220;Enjoy this crazy year as best you can,&#8221; Francesa said. &#8220;And until we meet again, be safe. Thank you, goodbye.”</p>]]></content:encoded>
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