Craig Carton has not been on the FAN in more than three years after being arrested and convicted of a fraud scheme. Carton had misallocated loans to repay gambling debts and spent a year in prison. He owes his debtors almost $5 million.
Craig Carton from Morning Show King to Convict
Even Roberts is the leading candidate to be Carton’s partner, according to sources. Roberts is the only internal candidate the FAN is looking at. Whenever Carton does begin his new program, it will come on the heels of Joe Beningo’s retirement as a full-time host.
The FAN’s first option was to recreate the dynamic of Carton and an ex-athlete, which Carton had with his previous partner Boomer Esiason. FAN executives looked into former New York Jet Willie Colon. However, Colon is unavailable as he is in a multi-year deal with Barstool Sports. And Colon is having a blast at Barstool, being able to feud with whomever he wants.
No Morning Show for Carton, The FAN Wants to Put Him on The Afternoon Drive
The FAN wants to put Carton in the afternoon drive slot to have a rating battle with the current sports radio king in New York, ESPN’s “The Micheal Kay Show.” Ironically the afternoon drive slot is riddled with advertisements for betting sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings. So, the FAN will have to manage this as Carton is an admitted gambling addict.
The move has been anticipated since Chris Oliviero came back to oversee the Fan in May. Carton and Oliviero have a history of working together. Oliviero used to be Carton’s producer about 20 years ago. However, FAN VP Mark Chernoff still had to sign off on this.
This all comes after HBO aired a documentary on the Carton story titled Wild Card: The Downfall of a Radio Loudmouth. I recommend watching it’s an excellent documentary and very well presented. But, let’s get back to the fallen angel of New York sports radio. The return of Carton to the airwaves is imminent. However, I can see no matter who his partner is; they will top the ratings. Simply on the premise of the enigma known as Carton.
