[Update below] New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, fresh off of a triumphant appearance at an otherwise empty Island Beach State Park at a time when New Jersey state parks were closed due to a budget dispute, will be filling in for New York's Numbah One drivetime sports radio voice, Mike Francesa, on WFAN on Monday and Tuesday.

The news of Christie's afternoon radio appearances was tweeted by WNYC's Matt Katz, who noticed that New Jersey's governor will share the 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with Evan Roberts on Monday, July 10th and Tuesday, July 11th.

.@GovChristie with a big audition next week! Filling in for retiring sports host Mike Francesa on @WFAN660. He's a candidate to take over. pic.twitter.com/jsmIlczETC — Matt Katz (@mattkatz00) July 6, 2017

While Christie has been a fixture in the sports yak world for years, and has appeared on and guest-hosted WFAN's Boomer and Carton in the past, this is his most high-profile sports talk radio gig to date. It also will do nothing to diminish rumors that he's in line to take over for Mike Francesa when the Sports Pope retires at the end of 2017.

Francesa himself has talked up the idea of Christie replacing him when we head into a Mike Francesa-less world next year, and Tri-State area's most famous Cowboys fan also got a boost of sorts from the New York Times op-ed page last weekend. In an editorial (that hilariously took Francesa's derisive "Sports Pope" nickname at face value), The Federalist's David Marcus suggested The Fan was a not-so-secret bastion of conservative thought in liberal New York City:

WFAN does much better with 35- to 55-year-olds than it does with 18- to 35-year-olds. Older listeners mean two things: They are more conservative and have more spending power. They are also more likely parents, mostly fathers, and more likely to have jobs.

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But as they listen to the Fan during their workday, they know somebody gets it. Not just the station itself, or its hosts, but also their fellow conservative-leaning listeners and callers. That is a reason to tune in, and a reason for WFAN to continue its unlikely role as a home for right-of-center talk in New York City.

To be sure, WFAN call screeners will still have to work overtime to keep the whole show from being flooded with questions like "Hey Governor, what do you think the Mets could get for Jay Bruce before the deadline—also you got any beach read recommendations for me?" because a 15 percent approval rating is still a 15 percent approval rating.

Christie has also been given kudos, of sorts, for his sports shouting from David Roth of ViceSports, who wrote that Christie's previous WFAN appearances showed that he's "fundamentally too pompous to be very interesting, and he doesn't really know that much about the things he so righteously holds forth about. But it's no exaggeration to say that he's a natural."

As mentioned, Christie will be joined in his possible tryout by Evan Roberts. Whether WFAN officials want to eventually give Christie Francesa's full, solo time slot to scream about Fernando Salas's ballooning ERA is yet to be seen, but if they feel the governor needs a partner, the terrifically shrill Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, a former Francesa partner, has at least feigned some interest in returning to New York radio.

[Update 3:30 p.m.] A WFAN spokesperson has confirmed that Christie is in fact trying out for Francesa's afternoon slot, telling NorthJersey.com that the two days Christie sits on Francesa's throne will be "audition days." Still, Christie will have competition from five other people/pairings, including WFAN's own Joe Beningo and Evan Roberts as well as Kim Jones, and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms.