Frank The Tank | Frank Walks
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00:00All right, well, you know, earlier, one of my first big walks was with Mike Francesco.
00:07And for years, Mike Francesco was teamed with Mad Dog Chris Russo.
00:12And now, I'm going to walk with the Mad Dog.
00:15You know, he's had his own station on Sirius XM for 16 years now.
00:23And he's now taking the high heat on MLB Network and First Take on ESPN.
00:29He's the king of all media.
00:31He's still going strong.
00:32And now, today, I get a chance to walk with him.
00:35And of course, the walk is charged up by Body Armor.
00:41You know, I grew up listening to Mike and the Mad Dog, and it's a big pleasure.
00:54I mean, I remember, probably, I didn't, it wasn't like from the start of it, but almost
00:59the start of it, I remember the Giants Super Bowl run in 1990.
01:031990, second year.
01:05That's kind of like when I started, like, listening regularly.
01:07Now, that was our second year when the Giants beat San Francisco, and then they beat Buffalo
01:11in the Super Bowl.
01:12I had a 49-13 Buffalo in that Super Bowl game.
01:16I was so transfixed by the Bills beating the Raiders, 52-3 in the AFC title game.
01:23And I was up, Mike and I were out of all those games.
01:25Matter of fact, we were at the San Francisco game when the Giants kicked a field goal to
01:29win with Haas-Stetler, flew all night from San Francisco to Tampa, and got ready for
01:35the Super Bowl there against the Bills the following week.
01:37I mean, I was a sophomore in high school.
01:40Oh, you were a sophomore in high school.
01:42Wow.
01:43At that time.
01:44So I started, that's when I started regularly listening, and of course, 18 years beyond
01:48that.
01:49Long time with Mike.
01:50Long time.
01:5119 years.
01:52I still keep up with him.
01:53I still talk to him all the time.
01:55I sometimes miss not having him around because, you know, we could talk sports together.
02:00And you know, he is the best sports guy you'll ever meet in your life.
02:04Knowledge is superb.
02:05He's very bright.
02:06And you know, that was a good combination.
02:08Took a little while for it to germinate, and it took a little while for the chemistry.
02:14But I have never met anyone who can do all the sports.
02:17I don't know.
02:18You know, I can find a baseball guy.
02:19I can find a football guy, Frank.
02:21I can find a basketball guy.
02:22But you're not going to find a guy who knows.
02:25I mean, maybe not the tennis.
02:26I live with that.
02:27But you're not going to find a guy who knows all the sports on that par as Mike does.
02:30Or the hockey.
02:31Or the hockey.
02:32That's a good one.
02:33Or the hockey.
02:34But in the 90s, you had like the crack committee.
02:37Oh, we did.
02:38The Yankees.
02:39Yes, we did.
02:40Bob Usler.
02:41You remember Bob Usler?
02:42Yep.
02:43And those were some great radio moments.
02:44And the one thing I think we missed by the time you were on satellite radio is that three
02:49out of five year stretch for the Giants.
02:51Yeah, you know what?
02:52That's a good point.
02:53And I miss that too because I spent all those years and I did the famous, you know, Marlins
02:57when they got beat at the plate when they, you know, JT Snow got thrown out and I screamed
03:02and yelled about, jeez, can we beat the Marlins once?
03:04But Christ's sake, can I win it one time?
03:07One time.
03:08You know the famous line?
03:09Yep.
03:10I shouldn't say famous line.
03:11But the line that, you know, I did with Mike that day.
03:12And you're right.
03:13They finally win in 10, I'm gone.
03:14They win again in 12, I'm gone.
03:16And they win again in 14, I'm gone.
03:17So I had three titles in the, as you said, in that six year period there.
03:22And they didn't get a chance to rub it in with Mike.
03:24That always bothered me.
03:25That's going to be a regret, Frank.
03:26That's going to be a regret.
03:27That would have been great radio.
03:28Yes, it would have been.
03:29After you had that Yankee run in the 90s that you had to live with, that Mike would have
03:34had to live with you just being just.
03:36I agree.
03:37And he would have been okay with the first one.
03:39He would have gotten crazy with the second one and the third one.
03:42And remember, I had my Derek Jeter and Buster Posey.
03:46Because Posey had a lot of the same ingredients that Jeter did, intangibles, respond in a
03:50big game, played a very important position, Jeter at short, Posey behind the plate.
03:55But I didn't get a chance to enjoy that.
03:56I missed that.
03:57That's a good one.
03:58And now Buster Posey, he just got named.
03:59Yeah, I know.
04:00Which is risky, Frank, because when you bring in a legend to be the guy who's going to run
04:05the baseball or go out there and coach your team or manage your team, if it doesn't work
04:09out, what are you going to do?
04:10You can't fire him.
04:11It makes it difficult.
04:12Look at Willis Reed with the Knicks.
04:14You know, they brought him back after he won the championships and it turned out to be
04:17a disaster.
04:18So that can be dicey.
04:19How about college basketball and the absolute dumpster fire that Patrick Ewing was in Georgetown.
04:25There's a perfect example.
04:26Where he...
04:27Good job.
04:28They couldn't fire him.
04:29Yeah, that's...
04:30They couldn't fire him and they're going winless.
04:33That's an excellent point.
04:34I didn't even think of that one.
04:35They had a two-year stretch in the Big East where they won one game.
04:38And they're sitting there, Patrick Ewing, and basically, eventually, I think they just
04:42had like, you know, Patrick, is this not working?
04:44And he...
04:45That's a good one.
04:46Mullin at St. John's isn't a home run higher either.
04:49So you can look at it that way.
04:51But Ewing is a perfect example.
04:52When you bring back a legend to either run or coach or manage, if it's another sport,
04:58you're a bar star in Green Bay.
05:00That didn't work out so well.
05:02So if you do that, you are in big trouble.
05:05And that's a little bit what the Giants did.
05:07So we shall see.
05:08I mean, he's going to be good high up in the front office.
05:11So it depends...
05:12He's going to run a team, though, Frank.
05:14He's going to make all...
05:15You know, Melvin, everything else.
05:16Melvin's okay.
05:17But he's not going to get fired.
05:19But I would think Posey's going to be...
05:21You know, he'll hire a general manager.
05:23But I mean, Posey's...
05:24You're going to run it by Posey if you're going to run the Giants.
05:27But you know, Giants have been bad.
05:29Zaidi, nobody can complain that he got fired.
05:33You know, the Giants are sitting there watching the Dodgers win every year, which is a no-no
05:36in San Francisco.
05:38Nobody can...
05:39They can't get anybody to take their money.
05:40A great player.
05:41You know, whether it's Judge or Yamamoto or Otani, you know, and they got the Dodgers
05:46there.
05:47But I'll tell you right now about the Dodgers.
05:48How about them winning here?
05:49You know?
05:50They are...
05:51That 2020, it's going to go...
05:53Everyone knows that was a Fugazi season.
05:56It just is never going to be...
05:58It's not quite the same.
05:59Yeah.
06:00All the games in neutral sites.
06:02Yeah, it was a strange year.
06:03Now it counts because they did play.
06:05They can't take it away from them.
06:08But it's not the same.
06:09It's 60 games.
06:10They have to win in a regular...
06:11Oh, I agree.
06:12And have a parade.
06:13And, you know, have all the things that go along with that.
06:15But you are a great sports fan.
06:16And baseball is your strength?
06:18Baseball is my strength, yes.
06:20You like the football too or not?
06:22Yeah, I am.
06:23I'm a football guy, but not as...
06:25Baseball is my true passion.
06:26I...
06:27My first, like, became in baseball, heavily involved 40 years ago.
06:31Oh, so you're...
06:32I mean, do you bet the football on Sunday afternoons?
06:34A little bit.
06:35OK.
06:36You watch all the games?
06:37Yeah.
06:38You got the games on the satellite?
06:39Yes.
06:40YouTube, whatever it is?
06:41I'm a Dolphins fan.
06:42Oh, I watch Dolphins.
06:43And they are...
06:44They are...
06:45Frank, baseball, what happened in 1958?
06:461958?
06:47Well, the Yankees beat the Braves, and that was the first year the Giants played in San
06:52Francisco.
06:53That's exactly right.
06:54They beat the Braves, and they were down three games to one, and they beat the Braves.
06:57Let's not forget that either.
06:58They won the last two games in Milwaukee.
06:59Yeah.
07:00So you're into that.
07:01And the Dolphins, boy, oh, boy, were you old enough to appreciate?
07:05You probably weren't.
07:0672, 73 when it went back to that?
07:07I was born in 75.
07:08Oh, wow.
07:10You never got a chance to see that.
07:11All right.
07:12How about the 85 Super Bowl against Walsh and the Niners?
07:14Do you remember that one?
07:15Very young, but I remember it, yes.
07:16You do?
07:17Okay.
07:18I loved the Niners to win that game.
07:19I actually remember...
07:20I actually remember when they lost to the Redskins.
07:24That was in eight...
07:25A couple years earlier than that.
07:26Yes.
07:27And they lost...
07:28That was the strike year.
07:29I especially remember...
07:3040 chip, John Riggins going down the left sideline.
07:33Yes.
07:34I especially remember, and it's like one of my all-time favorite memories.
07:37Dolphins haven't given me many great memories.
07:39Right.
07:40A.J.
07:41Dewey in the mud.
07:42Oh, that was a famous game against the Jets.
07:44Michael's all upset because I think Shuler kept the field wet because the Jets were a
07:48team that had speed, and they couldn't get any traction.
07:51I was very young, and the Dolphins released him about a year and a half later.
07:56He was a good player.
07:57I cried when A.J.
07:58Dewey got released.
07:59Why did they release him?
08:00He's my favorite player.
08:01That was the year...
08:02That was the week before they lost to Washington.
08:04That was the same year.
08:05The Jets were good that year in a short season because there was the strike.
08:09Yep.
08:10They only played like nine games, so they had the scabs.
08:14I was a disaster, but football survives.
08:17It's amazing.
08:18Baseball does not survive strikes and lockouts and losing World Series, and football does.
08:23You ever notice that?
08:24Football can have all sorts of strikes.
08:26They can have all sorts of labor unrest, but when the games come back, you don't care.
08:31Baseball doesn't survive that nearly as well as the football does.
08:34Except for preseason action, they haven't lost any games in...
08:39Not in a long time, no.
08:41Almost 40 years now.
08:42They had the 87, and they had the 82.
08:45They had the two there, but you're right.
08:48They almost got in trouble there a few years ago, and they finally reached a deal late,
08:52but overall, you're 100% correct.
08:53Yeah, they had the preseason lockout.
08:54They had the preseason thing, and Jeff Saturday and Dominic Foxworth made the deal with Bob
08:59Kraft, and they got the season started.
09:01You like the NBA 2, Frank, or not?
09:03Yeah, not as much.
09:04I'm actually more of a hockey guy than basketball.
09:06Oh, really?
09:07Devils, right?
09:08Devils.
09:09Wow.
09:10How about that?
09:11Yes.
09:12Why the Devils?
09:13I live in Jersey.
09:14That makes sense.
09:15Because you didn't have the Devils until 83, right?
09:16Yep.
09:17When they started?
09:1882.
09:1982.
09:20October 82.
09:21All right.
09:22So you were old enough.
09:23You're perfect.
09:24Young kid, Devils, hockey.
09:25You're into it.
09:26I got it.
09:27They had that playoff run in 1988.
09:28The first time they ever made a playoffs.
09:29Oh, great.
09:30John McClain scored the goal in Chicago.
09:31John McClain scored the goal in Chicago.
09:32They made it to the Eastern Conference Finals out of nowhere.
09:36That's when Don Kowalski got with the Go Eat a Donut with Jim Schoenfeld, and that was
09:41funny.
09:42And a few years later, they had that unbelievable series with the Rangers.
09:46They did.
09:47And remember, in 88, I just came to New York in 88, and I worked at WMCA.
09:51I did weekend sports talk, and I did updates during the week.
09:55And remember, the MCA carried the Devils games.
10:00So I would go out to the Devils games all the time, postseason, because my station was
10:05the home base.
10:06So I remember that McClain goal.
10:08I remember when I hired Doug Carpenter to be the head coach.
10:11You know, I don't know if you remember when that was.
10:12It was probably about a year or so later, and I was crawling through the mud where that
10:17big field is, because I had a bus, so I was a mess, didn't have a car.
10:21But I was into the Devils then because of the fact that their station carried their
10:26games.
10:27And to me, you go to a hockey game, you really understand the sport, because it is the sport
10:33where TV doesn't help it.
10:35It hurts it.
10:36That's an excellent point.
10:37Hockey is, out of all the sports, hockey needs the baseball too, because baseball, you can
10:43do other things.
10:44It's a hot summer day.
10:45But football, you'd rather watch it on TV.
10:47I mean, you don't need to be at the stadium.
10:50First off, it's all day.
10:51Secondly, you don't get the replays, you don't keep up with the other games.
10:55The stadium experience for football, to me, is a complete waste of time.
10:58I much prefer to be home watching all the games than being in a stadium watching only
11:03one.
11:04Yeah, I've been hearing that you've taken a new ritual on Sundays, where now you have
11:08a gummy and you get to relax and put your legs.
11:11If the wife's away, if the missus is away, yes, I will definitely mellow out a little
11:16bit and I will do the gummies.
11:18That gummy thing has become a little goofy, that gummies.
11:22Yes, I can do that if I wish, and I have many a time, and I can concentrate and mellow
11:27out and watch.
11:28Those I don't have any responsibility.
11:29I don't have to drive.
11:30Everyone has to do it.
11:31Yeah.
11:32If I have kids I got to take care of or I have to go shopping or do anything like that
11:36for the household errands, I won't go near it.
11:39But if I'm in a scenario on a Saturday night, six o'clock, and I got Alabama, Georgia, and
11:43my wife's away or doesn't need me, from that standpoint, I will do gummies and bet the
11:48game.
11:49I promise you that.
11:50I should take it more because of how intense I get watching these games.
11:54It does tone you down if you're wrapped up in that.
11:57It makes you a little paranoid, but it does tone you down.
11:58I'll admit.
11:59I went to the Dolphins Monday night game.
12:03The one they had early in the year against Tennessee with nobody that day.
12:05It was a disaster.
12:06Yeah, I probably needed it because of stuff.
12:08That was a rough game to watch.
12:09Oh, my God.
12:10Do you like the head coach or not?
12:12I am losing faith in him more and more every day.
12:15Oh, really?
12:16Wow, Frank.
12:17He's a good offensive corner.
12:18You don't like him, huh?
12:20No, I don't.
12:21He does too much of the cute stuff.
12:22It's the fact that the team has been called for dozens of illegal shift penalties.
12:30I blame more this on the general manager.
12:33He actually was asked about the offensive line, and he chuckled, said that you're worried
12:39about the offensive line.
12:41He should have fixed that a long time ago.
12:42Yeah.
12:43That's what he should have fixed.
12:44Of course, you have a quarterback who's always banged up, which is another problem.
12:47You have a quarterback who's got a concussion history.
12:50You don't sign a backup, and you have an offensive line.
12:52That's pretty bad.
12:54Why are you a Dolphins fan, anyway?
12:56They were good.
12:57Very good.
12:58Dallas was good.
12:59Pittsburgh was good.
13:00Why the Dolphins?
13:01AJ Dewey with that game in the mud.
13:02Oh, really?
13:03That game did it, huh?
13:04How about that?
13:05The next year, Dan Marino comes along.
13:07That's going to do it, too.
13:08Yeah, you had a good stretch there.
13:09You had Woodley in the Super Bowl, who was not great in the game, and then the following
13:14year, they let Woodley start, and then, what, Marino about week seven, week eight, right?
13:18Something like that?
13:19Yeah, he got like mid, like early.
13:20He like October.
13:21Oh, is that early?
13:22Yeah.
13:23Okay, I remember.
13:2483.
13:25Remember it well.
13:26Marino, of course, as you know, the draft pick, he should have been a lot higher than
13:28he went.
13:29He go like 23, 24 to the Dolphins?
13:30You do?
13:31What number was it?
13:32It was in the 20s.
13:3327.
13:34Oh, it was 27.
13:35Oh, my God.
13:36Even more than I thought.
13:37So, and five quarterbacks were taken before him.
13:38Well, yeah, you know, Ken O'Brien included.
13:39Ken O'Brien, Tony Eason, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, and John Elway.
13:45Couple of them were good, but.
13:46We'll give you Kelly, and we'll give you Elway.
13:48Kelly went to the USFL.
13:49We'll give you Elway.
13:50That's fair.
13:51The other ones, Todd was terrible with Kansas City.
13:53O'Brien had his moments, but not great with the Jets.
13:56And Tony Eason.
13:58And Eason, you know, he played for the Patriots a little bit out of Illinois, but not a great
14:02player.
14:03Boy, you were a good sports fan, Frank.
14:04You're on top of this.
14:05Now, tell me about these walks.
14:07You do every day, no matter what, you do these walks.
14:10Yes.
14:11Weather, weather, hell.
14:12Who cares?
14:13You're going to still walk.
14:14Yep.
14:15I mean, there might be times where it's so bad, I might go to a mall and do an indoor
14:19walk.
14:20Oh, you might do an indoor walk.
14:21OK.
14:22Yeah.
14:23Like, if it's like really bitter and really bad.
14:24Well, or raining.
14:25Yep.
14:26What's the worst conditions to walk in, snow, rain, or cold?
14:32I think the worst conditions to walk in, personally.
14:35Or hot.
14:36Or unbelievably hot.
14:37I've done that, too.
14:38I did a walk in Arizona and Vegas this summer, and.
14:42Oh, that, oh my gosh.
14:43Oh.
14:44And 118 degrees.
14:45It feels like you're walking inside an air fryer.
14:48That would be, I know there's no humidity, but it's a dry heat, but 118 is 118.
14:52118 is 118.
14:53100%.
14:54So, OK.
14:55Rain, cold, or snow?
14:56Let's do those three.
14:57I think the worst of the three are when it's 39 degrees and rainy.
15:05That's worse than snow.
15:07Right in between.
15:08Right in between.
15:09Yeah, when it's almost cold enough to snow, but it's rainy, and you get kind of that slushy
15:13Yeah, that's a good one.
15:14Mixed on the ground.
15:16Those are the worst conditions to walk in.
15:17And how about the wind?
15:18Running against wind.
15:19That's a pain.
15:20Walking against wind.
15:21Yeah.
15:22That's difficult, too, right?
15:23I did a walk when I had a sinus infection on a windy day.
15:27That's tricky.
15:28And you do it 365 days a year?
15:30Yeah.
15:31You ever do two in one day?
15:32Sometimes.
15:33Sometimes.
15:34So, you're really that, where do you live, Frank?
15:35Belleville, New Jersey.
15:36Oh, you're from Jersey, so you live in Belleville.
15:38So you'll go all over the place to do these walks?
15:40Yes.
15:41Wherever you have an idea with a guest, you'll go out there and you'll do the walk with them?
15:44Yep.
15:45That's pretty damn good.
15:46My goodness.
15:47So, you have a budget to do that?
15:48Who does it?
15:49Does Barstoo pay for it?
15:50Who pays for it?
15:51Barstoo does.
15:52They do?
15:53Barstoo does.
15:54And of course, we've got our Dencar sponsors, like Body Armor.
15:55That's important.
15:56It all starts with the sale, Frank.
15:57I mean.
15:58It all starts with the sale.
15:59My father used to tell me.
16:00And Body Armor is a great company.
16:02They're very hydrating.
16:04They keep you hydrated, especially when you have the hot days.
16:06You really need to be hydrated.
16:07Does everybody agree to do it?
16:08Yeah.
16:09If you have a guest idea, does everybody say, yeah, no problem.
16:11Come out here.
16:12I'll do it with you?
16:13Or do you have some no's?
16:14Or do you have a couple of people you really would like to do it with and haven't been
16:15able to get yet?
16:16Oh, yeah.
16:17Of course.
16:18We have people that I would like to do it with yet.
16:19I haven't done it yet.
16:20And we're just hoping to grow and grow.
16:21It started with J.J. Watt.
16:22He was the first.
16:23J.J. Watt.
16:24Wow.
16:25And we went to Houston to do it?
16:27Where was he?
16:28New York City.
16:29Oh, he was in New York.
16:30Yeah, J.J.
16:31How about that?
16:32Early morning walk.
16:33Early morning walk.
16:34And he was going to CBS studio.
16:35That's a hell of a job, getting him.
16:36That's a great.
16:37He's a Hall of Famer.
16:38Just to give J.J. credit, he reached out to us to congratulate Frank.
16:39Oh, really?
16:40Even better.
16:41Let's cross here, Frank, before you get killed.
16:42And we dealt with him personally.
16:43It wasn't his people.
16:44It was just J.J.
16:45No kidding.
16:46You had to deal with 50 agents, which drives you crazy.
16:47How about that?
16:48So he was good.
16:49Which one guy?
16:50They always ask me this.
16:51So I'll ask you for a change.
16:52What's the one interview, Chris, you wish you could do?
16:53I wish I could do it.
16:54All right.
16:55I'll say DiMaggio.
16:56Who's the one walk you really want and you haven't had one with yet?
16:57Well.
16:58Celebrity.
16:59Is it all sports or is it celebrities, too?
17:00Some celebrities, too.
17:01Got to be somebody that you're thinking about.
17:02Who is it?
17:03Probably, top of my head, would be Dan Marino.
17:04Well, Dolphins.
17:05You get Marino to do it.
17:06He does all the food stuff.
17:07You know, he does the, what is it called?
17:08Nutrition.
17:09Nutrition.
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19:19I did one with Bobby Valentine recently.
19:22Very good.
19:23He's very engaging.
19:24Yes, he is.
19:25One of the great high school athletes in the history of Connecticut.
19:27Did you know that?
19:28Yep.
19:29And his baseball career is basically ruined by that injury.
19:33By that chain link fence in Anaheim.
19:35Yeah, sure was.
19:36If you remember, Valentine in high school once scored a touchdown.
19:41I think it's for a weight.
19:43Every way you can score it.
19:45Threw a touchdown pass, caught a touchdown pass, ran for a touchdown, ran a punt return
19:50back, ran a kick return back, and had an INT return.
19:53He is the...
19:54I know he would...
19:55Did you also know?
19:56I know Valentine pretty well.
19:57Did you also know that he was the guy that was going to replace OJ when OJ went in the
20:03NFL?
20:04McVay wanted him, and instead he was the number one pick.
20:07He was the number one pick with the Dodgers, and he went to Ogden, Utah, where his manager
20:12was Tommy Lasorda.
20:13Tommy Lasorda.
20:14I knew about Tommy Lasorda.
20:15So, I mean, Valentine's a good one, and he's very, very engaging.
20:18That's why he always wore number two, his manager.
20:21Is that the reason?
20:22I didn't even know that.
20:23All right, that's good.
20:24He's a big Connecticut guy.
20:25He ran for the mayor of Stanford and everything else.
20:28I remember that.
20:29He is so into Connecticut, and he's been so loyal to the state.
20:32Anyway, that's a good one.
20:33I like that.
20:34You notice the shirt I'm wearing is actually a Mets jersey?
20:35Willie Mays.
20:36Willie Mays Mets jersey.
20:37And I was so glad when the Mets retired his number.
20:40Yeah, I didn't like that myself, because to me, Willie's a giant.
20:44I know it's a New York thing, but he played one year, two years at the Mets.
20:49I thought that was a little rough, because he's a giant.
20:52He's not a Mets.
20:53Yeah, I know that.
20:54But what happened was, the old owner, Joan Payton, Joan Payton.
20:57I know.
20:58She promised him one day.
20:59Joan Payton.
21:00And it was like, when she died, it was almost like that promise got forgotten.
21:03I know.
21:04That's what they say.
21:05To me, this retirement of numbers has gotten a ring of honors.
21:08Oh, Yankees are ridiculous.
21:09They've gone way over the top.
21:10The Yankees are...
21:11Jorge Posada?
21:12Come on!
21:13It's ridiculous.
21:14I mean, they've gone way over...
21:15All these teams.
21:16You know, they want to have a day, and everybody gets a monument, a retired number, or the
21:20ring of honor.
21:21How about Arthur Blank this year?
21:23I love Arthur.
21:24The owner of the Falcons.
21:25He gets a day, and he gets the ring of honor in Atlanta?
21:27Why don't they do it in New England, when they lost 28-3?
21:31Let Bob Kraft do it, for crying out loud.
21:33I mean, the Falcons, it's like...
21:37That was ridiculous.
21:39It was stupid.
21:40And there's a lot of those that are a little crazy.
21:41All right, how about the weight?
21:42I want to learn something about this weight.
21:44You were over 500 pounds at one point?
21:46Yes.
21:47So who got you on a walking crusade?
21:48You had a physician, a close family member?
21:51Who said, Frank, this has got to stop, you've got to do something about this?
21:53Well, the first thing that happened to me was I had MRSA, and I was in the hospital
21:58for a couple of weeks.
21:59That's a dangerous thing, that infection.
22:02And that got me from 500 pounds down to about 450.
22:06You lost 50 pounds in a couple of weeks?
22:08In a month, yeah.
22:09Wow.
22:10So that, in a lot of ways, was an advantage, because it got you thinking, all right?
22:16So then what?
22:17So I kind of drifted around 450 for a couple of years.
22:21I started walking a little bit when I was starting work at Barstool, and then COVID
22:28hit, and then I got back over 400 pounds again.
22:33I dipped down to 375, and then I got in COVID hit, and I ballooned back up to 430.
22:39Yeah, you're not doing anything, right?
22:40So I started walking again.
22:42I got down to 380, and then the last year, it's just been nonstop.
22:47That is tremendous.
22:48So do you have an ideal walking weight, or ideal weight that you want to be, or not?
22:52I go step by step.
22:53I wanted to get under 350.
22:55I did that.
22:56Are you under 350 right now?
22:58I'm at 327.
22:59Oh, you're way under.
23:02Wow.
23:04I went from a size 69 pants to size 58.
23:07I went from 6X to 3X.
23:10What is exercise is the key, diet too?
23:13Do you have a strict diet, or no?
23:15I'm a little bit better.
23:16I'm not as good as I probably should be.
23:17I mean, you drink three gallons of water a day.
23:19Do you do that?
23:20Everybody says to do that.
23:21I drink a lot of water.
23:22You do?
23:23Okay.
23:24Especially body armor.
23:25You do?
23:26Yeah, the body armor that you do, that's a good way to get it in.
23:29You know what I had recently that really intimidated me?
23:33I shouldn't tell you, but I'll tell you anyway, that really blew me away?
23:37A kidney stone.
23:40I go to the doctor about a month ago, two months ago.
23:43I go to the doctor, Dr. Negus, I said, Doc, he says, Chris, do me a favor.
23:49Go get a sonogram.
23:50All right?
23:51I go to a sonogram.
23:52I get a sonogram.
23:53They put the gel on you, and they do all the pictures.
23:55I get a sonogram.
23:57About a month ago, he calls me, two minutes before I'm doing high heat, the baseball show.
24:02He calls me, and he says, Chris, here's the deal.
24:05Everything is fine, nothing that shouldn't be in there is in there, but the one thing,
24:10you have a small kidney stone in your left kidney, and you have a small kidney stone
24:14in your right kidney.
24:15I said, really?
24:16I said, well, what am I supposed to do?
24:17He says, well, listen, they might be there forever.
24:22It's impossible to predict, but here's what I would tell you to do.
24:25Drink as many fluids as you can, and if it happens again, three Advil every four hours,
24:31and call me.
24:32Don't go to the hospital.
24:33You're wasting your time.
24:34I said, really?
24:35Because I almost went to the hospital the first time.
24:36You're wasting your time.
24:37So now, I have become a cranberry juice expert, because everybody tells me to drink the cranberry
24:42juice.
24:43So I'm drinking a ton of cranberry juice.
24:45That's supposed to beat that.
24:46That's supposed to break down the stones.
24:48Yeah.
24:49Oh, is it really?
24:50I'm going to start buying gallons of the damn thing.
24:51I didn't know.
24:52Break it down.
24:53Good job there, Frankie.
24:54All right.
24:55Now, obviously, you're very busy.
24:56You're doing HiHeat.
24:57You're on the MLB network.
24:58You got the first take, and of course, your radio station, Mad Dog Radio, XM.
25:06What type of charities excite you?
25:08Well, you know, I used to do the Big Brothers and Big Sisters in Orlando.
25:12So when I was in Orlando back in the early 80s, mid-80s, I joined a Big Brothers and
25:17Big Sisters organization.
25:18So one of the kids I had lives in Roanoke, Virginia, Tony Martian.
25:22I had him when he was 12, 13 years of age.
25:25So I did that for a five or six-year period.
25:27So that is one charity that I like an awful lot.
25:30The Bridgeport Rescue Mission is one charity.
25:33I'll tell you something I do that you'll like.
25:35I give donations every year to the Tony La Russa Rescue Fund.
25:41The animals.
25:42Oh, the dogs.
25:43The dogs, yes.
25:44Oh, there you go, Frankie.
25:45I give it out.
25:46He's in Oakland or somewhere in California.
25:47And they always send me birthday things, birthday cards, and I have two animals myself.
25:52I used to have three.
25:53One died.
25:54So I give a lot of money to them.
25:55You know, the charity, Tom Coughlin has got the cancer.
25:59Joe Torre has got the Safe at Home.
26:03I do a little bit for that.
26:05The World Hunger Year, you know, with Bill Ayers.
26:07You remember Bill Ayers?
26:08That was a Mike and me thing for Thanksgiving with the World Hunger Year.
26:11So I have, you know, I try to make the contributions as much as I can.
26:15Yeah, you see the Wednesday before the Thanksgiving.
26:17There you go, Frank.
26:18Yes, we sit on Wednesdays the day before and give Metal Commerce in credit because
26:22all those infinity stations would give up that day for the World Hunger Year.
26:26So, you know, you pick your spot, you do the best you can, and you try to make a contribution.
26:31And you know, it's easy to send money.
26:33The harder thing is to go out there and give up your time.
26:36So I try to give up some time, too.
26:38This week, a couple of days ago, I walked in Belleville, my hometown there, in the ALS
26:46Walk.
26:47Very good.
26:48The ALS Walk.
26:49That's an excellent one.
26:50Boy, excellent.
26:51Last year, he couldn't do it this year, but when I did it last year, Phil Cousy was there.
26:55The umpire, who's by the way, he just did the Brave series.
27:01He did Behind the Plate last night, or I should say the Brave San Diego.
27:04He did some playoff games this year.
27:06Cousy, good guy.
27:07I know Cousy fairly well.
27:08Yeah, he basically lives in my town, so.
27:09No, he lives in Belleville, New Jersey.
27:10I saw him last year at the Italian-American dinner because he's up to the Italian-American
27:16dinner.
27:17You pick your spots at the charity.
27:18You pick your spots, but again, time is as much important as making a financial commitment
27:24because time is, anybody can write a check.
27:27It's going out there and giving up time.
27:30If you do that, whatever it might be, maybe God will like me and not let those kidney
27:34stones go out there and explode on me.
27:38Thank you for joining me.
27:39This was great.
27:40I enjoyed it, Frank.
27:41Great job.
27:43I don't know.
27:44I previously lived in another apartment in Belleville.
27:49My upstairs neighbor was Ralph from Belleville, the Colts caller.
27:53Oh my God, Ralph.
27:54Yes, he's the caller all the time, but the Colts, Ralph from Belleville.
27:57Know him.
27:58He doesn't call me now on Sirius, but he did then when I was on WFAN.
28:02We had all those famous callers, and he was one of them.
28:04Ira Staten Island, you know him all.
28:07But I used to live in the same, like, he lived one unit above me.
28:10I love that.
28:12Very good.
28:13You did a great job.
28:14You keep this project up.
28:15Get that weight down on the 300.
28:16Yes, thanks.
28:17If you do that, you'll be happy.
28:18Thanks.
28:19Good job.