Subject: The Francesa Incident (May 11 7:48) Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 17:11:29 -0400 From: Ron Hardin Organization: MindSpring Enterprises Newsgroups: alt.fan.don-imus Imus: ..but god almighty, but and then I, then, there was ah there was another pregame show with Mike and Chris.. McCord: ..ugh.. Imus: ..that was on, ah, was that sunday?.. Breen: ..yeah.. Bernie: ..yeah.. Breen: ..big pregame show.. Imus: ..oh god almighty.. Breen: ..but it was live from the Garden.. Imus: ..oh god almighty.. McCord: ..they can't do this to us.. Imus: ..by the way, I'll tell you how much impact that had, I had no idea where they were. We're talking about Mike and the Mad Dog who do this afternoon show on the radio station, you obviously know if you're in this area.. McCord: ..yeah.. Imus: ..but I mean, it's just dreadful.. McCord: ..stop it.. Bernie: ..take a day off for crying out.. Imus [over]: ..but I like both of them, you know, ah, we love Francesa, but it just I mean stop the madness.. Lou: ..that has nothing to do with it.. Imus: ..brrrrrr.. Bernie: ..he's not on enough?.. Imus: ..Francesa by the way, Ken Oletta was asking ah, he's the guy doing this, apparently doing this story for the New Yorker on the Iman, and he asked Joel, it's going to be a great day for Joel today by the way, asking Joel if ah, how difficult I was to work with, and Joel said he's not difficult at all to work with.. McCord: ..yeah.. Imus: ..the most difficult person to work here with at the radio station here is Francesa.. McCord: ..hands down.. Imus: ..who is impossible to work with.. McCord: ..hands down. sure.. Imus: ..to who refuses to meet with ah clients ah.. McCord: ..[unintelligible].. Imus [over]: ..ah but got a, just has, he's the sweetest guy in the world, by the way.. McCord: ..lovely [unintelligible].. Imus: ..but just has the absolute worst attitude of anybody, won he won't come to work.. Bernie: ..sales button sales people pass him in the hallway and say hi Mike and he just keeps going sees right ahead.. Imus: ..that's all.. McCord: ..yeah.. Imus: ..he's got this hideous horrible attitude.. Bernie: ..bring it on.. Imus: ..the worst attitude of anybody.. McCord: ..unbelievable.. Imus: ..I remember when I, well you remember I used to have the same attitude back at NBC in the 70s but I was drunk.. McCord: ..yeah.. Imus: ..coked up.. McCord: ..you know what you got.. Imus: ..of course I had a terrible attitude.. Bernie [drunk]: ..the hell have you got here.. McCord: ..but you weren't responsible.. Imus: ..but I mean god, what it just just imp makes makes the, you know, and our program director could be, he's the best program director I ever worked for, Chernoff, he absolutely.. McCord: ..yep.. Imus: ..I mean Pittman was a good program director.. McCord: ..yep.. Imus: ..but this guy's just fabulous, there's nobody better than Chernoff.. Lou: ..he's the nicest guy too.. Imus: ..and the nicest guy, and Francesa just treats him like dirt, it's on it's it's.. Bernie {Francesa voice]: ..Hey I know Bill Parsels.. McCord: ..yeah.. Lou [Francesa voice]: ..Do you mind [unintelligble].. Imus: ..and they, and it isn't like, you know, it isn't like, and then s as soon as anybody offers Mike another job, or as soon as he as soon as he somebody else even indicates that they want to hire him, he immediately he's hideously disloyal to us, it's hammer time.. Bernie: ..um hmmm.. Imus: ..here at the radio station and CBS by the say. Oh god, I mean I I, you know, and ah Joel I thought well, I I love Francesa, why don't I sit down and talk to him, try to talk some sense into.. McCord: ..reason.. Imus: ..talk about loyalty.. McCord: ..yeah, just basic.. Imus: ..that kind of that kind of thing just talk about being a just being a reasonable person.. McCord: ..principles.. Imus: ..yeah and principles.. McCord: ..sure.. Imus: ..no just out of control.. McCord: ..um hmm.. Imus: ..out of control.. McCord: ..at least years ago you could blame it on demon rum. He's stone sober.. Imus: ..he's cold sober.. McCord: ..sure.. Imus: ..I mean he's just the biggest jerk.. McCord: ..yeah, and a baby.. Imus: ..not personally, and not with me.. McCord: ..we're talking.. Imus: ..he's a good friend of mine.. McCord: ..professionally.. Imus: ..he's the best.. Bernie: ..right.. McCord: ..he is a sweetheart.. Imus: ..isn't he a great guy?.. McCord: ..love him. Love him to death.. Imus: ..but to work with him is just, he's the worst, it's the wor, it's a nightmare.. Bernie: ..he's an a-hole.. McCord: ..yep.. Imus: ..well that's not an exaggeration.. McCord: ..no, it's not.. Lou: ..I know.. McCord: ..no.. Bernie: ..a gaping.. Imus: ..just just a gaping a-hole.. McCord: ..well it's true.. Imus: ..well Charles knows it's true.. McCord: ..it's canyon sized, it's canyon sized.. Bernie: ..royal.. Lou: ..gargantuan.. Imus: ..do you have the Breen tape?... ...[Breen play-by-play tape replay]... Imus: ..that's pretty good, Breen. Now you're now you're great, Breen. McCord: ..absolutely.. Imus: ..another guy with a hideous attitude by the way is Breen.. somebody: [unintelligible] Breen: ..wait a minute.. Imus: ..who ah who ah, oh well we'll talk to you later.. Breen: ..yeah you're [unintelligible].. Imus [over]: ..no no no no, you and I will talk at ten, that's when we'll talk. Bernie: ..[unintelligible].. Imus: ..oh god, what's the matter with these people? They're lucky to have jobs.. Lou: ..get a perspective.. Imus: ..you know, it's like I used to say about John Gambling, he he he cou he couldn't put together an audition tape and get a job at any radio station in America.. Bernie: ..no.. Imus: ..they they they're lucky to have these jobs.. Bernie: ..what's new.. Lou: ..I didn't even brush.. Imus: ..do you think Francesa could make a tape and send it to a station anyplace and get a job? .. Chorus & Imus: ..No!.. Bernie: ..they don't appreciate it baby.. Imus: ..no, I mean it, they get these they get these jobs handed to them.. McCord: ..that they have fallen into.. Imus: ..paying them five six seven hundred thousand dollars a year, and it just well they act like idiots.. Bernie: ..you got the lottery baby.. Imus: ..if I if I'm if I'm lying I'm dying.. McCord: ..and you're not dying.. Imus: ..am I am I even exaggerating at all.. Chorus: ..no.. Imus [over]: ..no absoultely not.. McCord: ..exaggerating on the money.. Bernie [voice]: ..you're the Iman.. Imus: ..and then the the program director and the general manager are afraid of them.. McCord: ..sure.. Imus: ..I'd fire their ass today.. McCord: ..you're gone.. Lou: ..get out.. Bernie: ..fat ass.. Imus: ..I'd say get your fat ass out of here.. McCord: ..what are you.. Imus: ..what are you, nuts?.. McCord: ..with that attitude?.. Imus: ..and what do you think would happen to the ratings?.. Imus & Chorus: ..nothing.. Bernie: ..they'd go up.. Imus: ..nothing. They'd probably go up.. Bernie: ..they'd be selling baseball cards in Long Beach.. Imus: ..idiots who are going to listen to sports talk radio are going to listen to it. They don't, they they want to hear themselves. McCord: ..absolutely.. Imus: ..They're not interested in what what what these two morons have to say. Bernie: ..you're an intermediary.. McCord: ..come on.. Imus: ..They they they begin to think they're you know they they being to think they're me, like they have some kind of impact on anything. It's idiotic.. Bernie: ..it's outrageous.. Imus: ..Who's the easiest person in the world to work with? Chorus [shouted]: ..You are, the Iman!.. Bernie [voice]: ..you the man.. Imus: ..I am.. McCord [voice]: ..Francesa sucks! Get out!.. Bernie [voice]: ..break your other knee.. Imus: ..you know what I spend half of my time doing?.. McCord: ..what.. Imus: ..meeting with these stupid clients, is that right Bernie?.. Bernie: ..yes absolutely.. Imus: ..day in day out, half of my time they parade them in there, to be able to come down with them and I sit there and talk to them and bunch of crummy examples they have.. Bernie: ..want some chips?.. Imus: ..and all this junk they want me to sell.. Bernie: ..here talk to my wife on it here you go.. Imus: ..it's unbelievable.. McCord: ..yup.. Imus: ..it's all I spend half my time doing.. McCord: ..absolutely, every day, every day.. Lou [client voice]: ..check this out Iman, look what we got here for you.. McCord[?]: ..you know I think I could sell that for you.. Imus: ..well well when my last contract was up I was offered three million dollars more that I got to stay here.. McCord[?]: ..um hmm.. Imus: ..what about loyalty? what are these people, nuts?.. McCord: ..principle, baby.. Imus: ..it's four minutes before the hour.. [hour's break] Imus: ..but first here's Mike Francesa, who we were talking about a couple minutes ago, good morning, Mr. Francesa.. Francesa: ..Good morning, Don. How are you?.. Imus: ..what has happened to you?.. Francesa: ..what now what, what are you, now Bernard just woke me up, what exactly are you talking about?.. Imus: ..well, ah, s, ah the rumor, the the word around the station.. Francesa: ..the rumor?.. Imus: ..let me, let me, let me just finish.. Francesa: ..okay.. Imus: ..the word around the station is about how impossible.. Francesa: ..right.. Imus: ..you are to work with here at the station, and I said that can't be.. Francesa: ..right.. Imus: ..because ah because Francesa's one of my best friends and he's the sweetest, and Charles will concur.. McCord: ..absolutely.. Imus: ..the sweetest nicest person.. McCord: ..yep.. Imus: ..most giving person in and and he was one of the first people on the phone buying an Imus acre, I mean this can't be the guy.. Francesa: ..well wait a second, Bernard told me what you basically said was that I was a, to the company, a disloyal jerk.. Imus: ..yes, absolutely.. Francesa: ..and you are the most perfect perfect employee.. Imus: ..I am.. Francesa: ..citizen of the world. How do you sleep at night? Here is the guy, folks, who is the phoniest phoniest bastard who ever walked down.. Imus: ..what are you talking about?.. Francesa: ..here's the guy folks that if an engineer walked by his office and spilled something he'd be on the phone to Mike Lin, he'd have his bags packed and be out of the building in ten minutes.. Imus: ..that is absolutely not true.. Francesa: ..who quit a hundred and fifty times.. Imus: ..that is absolutely.. Francesa: ..oh my god.. Imus: ..how can you say this.. Francesa: ..I've never seen, Chernoff comes out of your office beat up like Rodney King every morning.. -- Ron Hardin rhh@research.att.com On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.