Days after Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, two ESPN employees who happen to share the same first name, officially announced that their radio show Mike & Mike would be ending this year, a new report from Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated suggests that there might be more to the Mike situation than meets the eye. Deitsch’s sources spoke of a relationship between the Mikes that has soured, to the point where the two only talk to each other during the show.
The Mikes’ listeners (and big Mike’s son, Jake) might have been disappointed by news of the show ending, but the report suggested that division of the Mikes is so severe that the program may go off the air before its scheduled end in December:
Multiple ESPN staffers, including current and former employees who have had roles with the show, told SI.com last week that the once-warm relationship between partners Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic has turned icy over the last year, prompting a number of ESPNers to predict that the show will conclude long before this December’s contractual end. The sources said Greenberg and Golic are not talking to each other off the set—and hardly at all before the show or during commercial breaks.
Through an ESPN spokesperson, both Greenberg and Golic declined comment.
“It’s really a poisonous atmosphere right now,” said one longtime ESPNer who has worked on the show. “Most of us don’t see the show lasting through its contractual end [which is believed to be the end of December]. But I give both these guys immense credit because when the light comes on, you would not know what’s going on. They are pros on air.”
“They are marvelous actors on set,” said another ESPN on-air staffer, who speaks to both Greenberg and Golic. “But they barely even make eye contact with each other these days.”
An end to Mike & Mike might be the best course of action for all Mikes involved.