Jets roll out green carpet for Francesa

When the Jets invited WFAN to do a show from their practice facility, the station wasn't sure that Mike Francesa's program was included. The team said it was.

Still, Francesa was skeptical, given the tense relationship between the Jets and the host last season. "I said, 'I don't believe it,' " he said Tuesday.

So he figured he would call the Jets' bluff by demanding interviews with owner Woody Johnson, general manager Mike Tannenbaum, coach Rex Ryan, quarterback Mark Sanchez and cornerback Darrelle Revis.

The Jets answered that Johnson is not opposed to appearing if his schedule permits; they promised the other four. "I was very surprised, exceptionally surprised," Francesa said.

The result: Francesa will visit Aug. 11 after that day's Mets game, perhaps a step toward normalizing relations with the team.

"I'm not sure; I'll take it at face value right now," Francesa said. "I'll go out there with an open mind and a clean slate."

The Jets have insisted all along they have no feud with Francesa despite his sharp, relentless criticism of the organization and its coach. To which Francesa said in January, "Baloney."

He also said this then: "Jets fans feel I'm anti-Jet, and I'm sure the Jets feel I'm anti-Jet. But the Jets are clearly anti-me."

Francesa based that on the Jets' decision to limit players to ESPN 1050, their programming partner, during the playoffs after the 2009 season. They loosened the policy last season, but Francesa still did not request interviews, saying he did not want to be told whom to have and when.

While next Thursday's show could be a step toward at least reopening a dialogue between the market's most prominent sports talk voice and its most vociferous team, Francesa does not anticipate a "warm and fuzzy" embrace in Florham Park.

"I don't expect them to be out in the parking lot throwing ticker tape," he said. "I don't expect them to be lined up with pompons . . . I've been hard on all of them.''