Ex-WIP, WFAN host Craig Carton vows return to radio, wants to go to prison in Pennsylvania

Craig Carton thinks a little jail time will ultimately help him be a better radio host.

Carton, the former WFAN personality and one-time WIP weekend host, appeared on ESPN’s The Michael Kay Show in New York on Monday and already seemed to be plotting his comeback to the airwaves.

“I think I’d be number one tomorrow,” Carton said. “Going to prison, acknowledging what I’ve done wrong, taking full ownership of it. ... And being real about that, I think will have great credibility, especially with a male-dominated audience in New York.”

On Friday, Carton was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for bilking investors out of millions of dollars with a fake-ticket Ponzi scheme. In a court filing Monday, Carton asked to serve his time in the minimum-security wing of the federal penitentiary near Lewisburg, Pa., which would support his “rehabilitative needs as well as permit a situation where his family, including his four children, might be able to visit him."

Carton was confronted by Kay over all the nasty things the shock jock has said on the airwaves over the years, including mocking the wife of current New Jersey state senator and former acting governor Richard Codey in 2005 while he was co-host of NJ 101.5’s The Jersey Guys. Codey’s wife suffered from severe postpartum depression, which Carton mocked on air, calling her “crazy.”

“There are certain people I’ve attacked without any regard for them personally and I would take back that,” Carton said, claiming his own prosecution made him more sensitive to the feelings of other people. “If you don’t change you’re not human.”

Carton said he wanted to tell his story post-sentencing on WFAN, but they didn’t want him to return to the station’s airwaves.

“He actually wanted to come on our show and I didn’t want that because I sit here with a new partner now and I don’t necessarily know that that would have been the right thing to do,” said Boomer Esiason, a former New York Jets quarterback who was Carton’s co-host for nearly 10 years. “At the end of the day, I didn’t feel like it was the right thing for him to come in here... Not that I don’t love Craig or that I hope that he gets some back some day, I do. I really do. And I think he will be back. He’s just talented not to be back.”

Carton did take a bit of pleasure in the fact that, since his arrest 19 months ago, ratings for Esiason and Gregg Giannotti, Carton’s replacement, have been slightly down.

“I took great pride in being number one,” Carton said. “I’m not rooting for their demise, but am I glad that it’s apparent that my ability and talent level brought a different level of ratings? Sure. I’d be lying if I said something different.”

You can listen to the full hour-long interview — in which Carton talks about his addiction to blackjack, how his Ponzi scheme began, and betting tens of thousands of dollars in the early mornings prior to his former show — on ESPN’s website.

Charles Barkley is many things — a former Sixers great, an NBA Hall of Famer, a current Turner Sports basketball analyst. But it was his role as a pitchman for Capital One that got him in a bit of trouble in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Barkley, who was in Minneapolis for Monday’s NCAA men’s basketball championship game, made a guest appearance at the Katy Perry-headlined Capital One JamFest concert Sunday, and looked surprised when his criticism of the Timberwolves drew boos from the thousands of basketball fans in attendance.

"I want to thank Minneapolis, Minnesota. You guys have a great, great city. I want to thank you all for a great weekend. I haven't been here for a long time because the Timberwolves suck!" Barkley said.

Auburn was still on Barkley’s mind following Virginia’s 85-77 overtime win over Texas Tech last night, but it had nothing to do with his alma mater’s men’s basketball team. Following the title game, Barkley had a message for Samantha Cerio, a senior gymnast at Auburn who dislocated both of her knees during her routine at an NCAA gymnastics regional meet in Baton Rouge over the weekend.

“There’s a young lady at Auburn University, who broke her leg in a gymnastic contest the other day,” Barkley said during postgame coverage Monday night on CBS. "I want to give her my love and say, ‘War Eagle.’ Samantha Cerio, I hope I am pronouncing your name right, young lady. I saw your devastating leg injury. You graduate from Auburn. We love you. We’re proud of you, War Eagle.”

• Over the weekend, former Phillies great Mike Schmidt continued his trend of being unable to pronounce the names of players. On Sunday, it was third baseman Maikel Franco, whom Schmidt referred to as “Michael” four times over just 30 seconds during NBC Sports Philadelphia’s broadcast.

• Colby Cohen, a former Radnor High School grad who worked as a Flyers analyst for NBC Sports Philadelphia this season, will serve a ice-level analyst during ESPN’s Frozen Four coverage, which begins on Thursday.

• The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel has a highly accurate tweet about the NCAA men’s basketball championship game.