I must admit I was surprised and a bit saddened to hear of the official ending of the "Mike and the Mad Dog" radio show on WFAN. Although there had been numerous reports of the popular talk show's split in recent months, I figured it was just a contract negotiations ploy.

When word broke their 19-year run was over on Thursday, I said sports talk in New York will probably never be the same.

Most times, I disagreed with them. I looked at Chris "Mad Dog" Russo as a blithering idiot who hated pretty much all New York teams and Mike Francesca as the know-it-all blowhard -- and judging from readers' responses in the New York papers, a lot of other people felt the same way.

But -- on most days -- I found myself -- like millions of others -- tuning in to WFAN (if I were driving) or YES (if were at home) to see what they had to say next.

Francesca will fly solo now on WFAN and reports say Russo is heading to Sirius Satellite Radio, so their careers will certainly most certainly continue.

But New York sports talk will certainly be less entertaining.