By Jeff Moss
DetroitSportsRag@GMail.com
March 1, 2016

The DetroitSportsRag.com has been advised by a source that CBS Radio is considering replacing New York legend Mike Francesa on WFAN with 97.1-FM host Mike Valenti when the Sports Pope leaves the sports talk station in 2017.

Valenti’s contract with CBS ends this month and negotiations have been ongoing for months with no resolution as of this writing. It would appear Valenti is only deciding between internal options with his current employer.

A few months ago I was told by a person knowledgable about the negotiations that Valenti was offered a gig at SportsRadio94WIP in Philadelphia (also a CBS property).

That opportunity would have included a large increase in pay (Philly is a much larger market than Detroit) but the drawback was Valenti would have had to ease into the new market working non-primetime shifts until eventually taking over the afternoon drive program.

I was told at the time that Valenti had no interest in moving to Philadelphia and it wasn’t a feasible alternative.

But could the lure of replacing the godfather of sports talk radio in the largest market in America lure Valenti out of Detroit? Actually, the better question might be the following:

Can Valenti convince his wife Melissa (a Michigan native) to uproot and move to NYC (as I am told that is one major obstacle in Valenti leaving this market)?

I have also been advised that Valenti has basically hit the pay-scale ceiling in Detroit as Motown has fallen to the 12th largest radio market in the US and CBS Radio cannot justify paying him substantially more than his last contract due to current market size.

Of course, this sort of career move would be extremely risky for more reasons than just pissing off a potentially homesick spouse.

First, Valenti would be replacing an icon of the genre and you can ask both Rick Rizzs and Bob Rathbun what it was like following Ernie Harwell in the Detroit Tigers booth. Or David Lee Roth when he replaced Howard Stern at K-Rock in New York.

Second, Valenti would not have his Michigan State/Michigan schtick to fall back on in Manhattan as nobody would give two shits about his Wolverine trolling in the Big Apple. (And yes, I am aware that a lot of Long Island Jewish kids attended U of M, but that’s not going to exactly move the needle.)

The list of Detroit media personalities who have taken their talents to New York and successfully pulled off the trick is not long, either.  People like Bill Bonds, Bernie Smilovitz and Eli Zaret attempted to parlay Detroit success into a New York triumph and they each slunk back to Motown.

Would Valenti be any different? I would make no prediction on the matter as I thought Valenti’s act wouldn’t last long in THIS market; he has proven me wrong over the last decade plus. I just know that in showbusiness, you usually want to be the person who follows the dude who replaced the legend. Not the sacrificial lamb.

The other issue is that while Valenti’s ratings in Detroit are excellent, they aren’t really much better than the other programs at WXYT-FM. Is Valenti a creation of the format that Tom Bigby concocted years ago or is he a singular talent?

Considering that Bill McAllister, Scott Anderson and Doug Karsch are all putting up People Meter numbers similar to Valenti’s and nobody is knocking at their doors to replace radio royalty, you would have to wonder.

From what I have been told about the WFAN negotiations, it would appear Valenti has some of the same concerns. He has asked for an exorbitant amount of money to leave 97.1 for NYC. An amount that CBS is not going to fork over. I’ve been told the difference between the parties is in the millions.

Yes, millions.

Also, Francesa isn’t going anywhere for another 21 months, meaning Valenti would have to take on a market familiarity role like the one he turned down in Philly.

But Valenti has filled in a couple of times over the last few months on WFAN, which didn’t go unnoticed in Detroit. Was that some sort of audition?

You also have to question the timeliness of the “leak” and the fact that it is appearing on this website. It is hilarious that while I am a pariah to the folks in the Detroit media business, this information is being disseminated here. You might want to ask yourself why.

Although, I can’t say it wouldn’t be a feather in my cap if Valenti replaced Francesa. I once turned him down for a gig at this website because he writes like Sarah Palin speaks.

Whom will Valenti rely on for his sports takes since I am not moving with him to Gotham City and I really couldn’t care less about the Yankees, Mets, Rangers and Knicks?

I have to admit, it would be fun to see Valenti’s interactions with Sour Shoes, though. He can ask his current partner, Terry Foster, how that usually works out.