Bob Young

The Republic | azcentral.com

Well, if you weren't listening to the "Doug and Wolf Show" on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM this morning, you missed a highly entertaining segment.

And very nearly a brawl, judging from the audio.

Co-hosts Doug Franz and Ron Wolfley were discussing the Oakland Raiders when the conversation turned to the team's brand and whether it resonates with younger fans.

Wolfley's position is that the Raider brand remains one of the more valuable in sports, and that a few tweets from under-30 fans is not evidence that it has diminished.

Franz argued that Wolfley was missing his point that the Raiders don't resonate with a younger fan base that doesn't know the team's past.

The turning point came when Franz took this cheap shot:

"Obviously the conversation is over your head and I apologize to you,. I didn't mean to expose that. By the way 42 tweets now. . ."

Keep in mind that Wolfley is no thick-headed ex-jock. He's a smart, well-read guy, who is closer to an egghead.

It escalated from there.

Wolfley responded, "By the way, nothing is over my head that you say. Nothing."

As they continued to debate the brand. The exchange unfolded like this:

Franz: "As Aaron Rodgers would say, 'relax.'"

Wolf: "You know what Doug, shut up."

Franz: "No, don't ever tell me to shut up."

Wolf: "Shut up!"

Franz: "You're not man enough to tell me to shut up! That's a joke!"

Wolf: "You want to go? Seriously! You don't ever say that to me! BULLCRAP!"

Franz: "Why would you tell a man to shut up?"

Wolf. "Seriously you got a problem? You got a problem?"

Franz: "I do have a problem when somebody says 'shut up' to me. That's a joke. It's unprofessional and it's immature. You can disagree with me all you want, but to tell another man to shut up is idiotic."

Wolf: "Speaking of idiots . . .

Franz: "If you'll feel better by punching me, go ahead (long pause). Next we're going to talk about Vontaze Burfict since we both have the right to look at the way he handles himself right now. . ."

Scott Sutherland, vice president and market manager, called us to talk about what happened next.

"Everything is OK," he said. "In fact, we called them into my office immediately after the show and they had already made up and were mortified and embarrassed. It was certainly out of character for anyone who has listened to the show.

"Nonetheless, it was inappropriate and unprofessional. We want this to be a place where fathers and sons can listen when they drive to work, as I do with my son, and it wasn't reflective of what we want to be as a company."

Listeners might have wondered, as some have on social media, whether there is a simmering, underlying issue between the Franz and Wolfley.

"No," Sutherland said. "Early on, they used to bug each other. The first year or so. If anything, what we've been saying is quit agreeing so much. They really get along. I think this was a case where, you're locked in a room together for four hours, you're bugging me and you said something I took personally. And it just got heated. But they came back and did the whole show.

"I don't expect them to address it . . .it was just unprofessional and they realize it."

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