No need to call the College of Sports Cardinals because the Sports Pope has not gone anywhere.
Mike Francesa returned to his eponymous podcast this week after a two-week absence that led to wild speculation, including some online users wondering about his health.
However, the longtime WFAN personality revealed he had simply been away due to a planned knee procedure that took longer to recover from than originally anticipated.
“I’d like to say hello and clear up a couple of things that have been rampant everywhere,” Francesa said at the opening of the podcast. “All you crazies on the internet who came up with every possible reason, including my death, as to why I have been away during this time — it was planned.”
Francesa, 72, went on to say that he was only in the hospital overnight and was home the next day.
The sports talk personality marveled at the wild rumors that emerged during his absence, that everyone from his kids to people in the media business were showing him.
It ranged from disputes with BetRivers, his show’s sponsor, to illness to even death.
“Guys were sending me things about me having died,” Francesa said with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘Hey, I had a good run. I had a nice life.’”
New York City. ” class=”wp-image-39226379″ srcset=”https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?quality=75&strip=all 2580w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=200,300&quality=75&strip=all 200w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=768,1152&quality=75&strip=all 768w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=683,1024&quality=75&strip=all 683w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=1024,1536&quality=75&strip=all 1024w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=1366,2048&quality=75&strip=all 1366w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=400,600&quality=75&strip=all 400w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=393,589&quality=75&strip=all 393w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=331,496&quality=75&strip=all 331w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=429,644&quality=75&strip=all 429w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=327,491&quality=75&strip=all 327w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=188,282&quality=75&strip=all 188w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=137,206&quality=75&strip=all 137w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=47,70&quality=75&strip=all 47w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=27,40&quality=75&strip=all 27w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=36,54&quality=75&strip=all 36w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=133,200&quality=75&strip=all 133w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=231,346&quality=75&strip=all 231w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=322,483&quality=75&strip=all 322w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=300,450&quality=75&strip=all 300w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=294,441&quality=75&strip=all 294w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=40,60&quality=75&strip=all 40w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=53,80&quality=75&strip=all 53w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=1200,1800&quality=75&strip=all 1200w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=39,58&quality=75&strip=all 39w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=104,156&quality=75&strip=all 104w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=33,50&quality=75&strip=all 33w, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/GettyImages-1487379717.jpg?resize=150,225&quality=75&strip=all 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 394px) 100vw, 394px”/>2023 in New York City. Getty Images
What surprised Francesa about all of it was the fact that it never leaked out what was actually going on.
He said that before the surgery, he told a number of people, from his staff on the show to BetRivers to friends and family.
“Here’s the amazing thing: Everybody at Special Surgery knew I was there,” Francesa said. “Everybody at BetRivers knew I was doing this. My whole crew, who came in to have a steak dinner with me the night before I went in the hospital on Long Island, all knew about it.
“My whole family knew about it. A million of my friends knew about it. And not one person leaked a thing about it. Not one anywhere. They let all the craziness go on and just sent me all the crazy things.”
