Hour 2: Frank Isola

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
This is what everyone is talking about.
Everything is on the table. This is what champions come to take. This is what everyone came to see.

**Frank Isola** (0:12)
And the slam!

**SPEAKER_1** (0:14)
No do-overs, no second chances, no more Mr. Night Sky.
This is winner take all. And it's all happening now on the home of the NBA finals. Don't miss it, June 3rd on ABC and the Espn app.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:31)
This is The Michael Kay Show podcast.

**Michael Kay** (0:34)
I gotta get more Kay.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:35)
Listen live weekdays at 1 on the Espn New York app and your smart speaker.

**Michael Kay** (0:41)
I love talking to this guy. We've been friends forever since he was a young intern, summer intern at the New York Post.
And now he's an accomplished superstar. Frank Isola has his own morning NBA show on SiriusXM with Brian Scalabrini and he joins us now. Hi, Frank, how you doing?

**Frank Isola** (1:03)
Michael, how are you? I invoked your name. I did a podcast with Brian Curtis on the Ringer.

**Michael Kay** (1:09)
Okay.

**Frank Isola** (1:10)
And they were asking about my start and I talked about working at the Post and you were at the time a college graduate and you were working as a clerk. I was a summer intern. So I was, you know, I would do a lot of your stuff. I loved working for a newspaper. Listen, now they pay a lot more in radio and TV.
But I like working for a newspaper. Were you the same? Did you feel the same way? I mean, I know you weren't in it as long as I was, but did you enjoy it?

**Michael Kay** (1:34)
I loved working for a newspaper. I love the competitive aspect of it as well. You know, in this part of the business, obviously ratings become part of the competition. But yeah, you know, to pick up the, you know, when I'm working for the Post to pick up the news to see if they had a story.
I love that aspect of it, I really did. But they don't, as you know, they don't pay a lot of money in newspapers anymore.

**Frank Isola** (1:55)
No, and I really feel like everyone is missing out when newspapers aren't as big as they used to be. Because it feels like there's more information out there than ever before. But a lot of it is misinformation. I kind of miss the old newspaper wars. And you were great because back then, I remember, you know, picking up the paper and you would have a story about Madden Lee in his back, or you'd have something that George Steinbrenner was saying. Like, I don't know, like pre-internet, pre-Twitter, like seeing those stories on the back page, it has such an impact, you know?

**Michael Kay** (2:26)
I agree. I remember walking to like the newsstand where I lived. And, you know, you turn over the news really slowly. What did Bill Madden have and stuff like that. But it was really exciting. But those newspaper wars don't exist anymore. So I'm asking you now.
I know you love basketball. You covered the Knicks for a long time, good and bad times. And you love soccer. So what are you more excited about? The NBA Finals or the World Cup?

**Frank Isola** (2:52)
I'm glad they don't overlap that much. The amazing thing is that there's a game seven.

**Michael Kay** (2:58)
Right.

**Frank Isola** (2:59)
Which would be June. That would be June 19th. That would be the same day when the US plays their second game, which is kind of crazy because it's going to be a three o'clock Eastern time game and that game is noon out on the west coast. I'm not sure if they're playing that game in Seattle or LA. I'm pretty sure it's Seattle. So that could be a heck of a day when we have the US playing.
Yeah. And then there's a game on the 13th. Is that game? I'm pretty sure that's game five where you have Morocco, Brazil here at the at MetLife and it's going to be nuts, Mike. There's going to be a lot of the stuff is going to overlap. So it's going to be the same thing happened in 94 when you had both the Rangers and the Knicks made the finals in the World Cup this year as well.

**Michael Kay** (3:46)
So do you have tickets to any World Cup games?

**Frank Isola** (3:50)
I got right now. I got tickets to the round of 16, which would be in Philly. And then the next day I have the ticket for MetLife. I think getting to Philadelphia might be easier than getting to MetLife. There's going to be some issues.