Tiki Barber vs. Mike Francesa on WFAN
No. 6) TIKI BARBER
For his first three seasons, Tiki Barber was a useful third-down back with a cute name and a knack for catching the ball out of the backfield.
Then in 2000, he ran for 1,006 yards, beginning a reinvention that turned him into the Giants? all-time leading rusher and one of its best-ever all-around offensive players.
Barber totaled more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his last three years, and on the way out saved the job of Tom Coughlin ? whom he had criticized before and would criticize again ? with a tour de force against the Redskins in the final game of the 2006 regular season.
Credit: David L. Pokress
Well, you have to give Tiki Barber credit for this: The guy isn't boring.
Often when celebrities in the news are making the media rounds, the interviews tend to start sounding the same after a while.
Not so Mr. Barber! The tones of his last three major interivews - with SI, HBO and WFAN - have been radically different.
His session with Mike Francesa early Wednesday afternoon was an all-timer, starting with a contentious exchange about whether Barber's media career was or was not a failure.
But by the end civility reigned, and the two parted amicably.
Adding to the weirdness was the presence of Tiki's agent, Mark Lepselter, on the line, interjecting early and often.
Francesa said he agreed to let Lepselter listen in, even though he correctly warned that the tactic might make Barber look bad. Listen the audio embedded below.
If it won't load for you, listen to the audio here.
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