the termination of the popular Somers—one of those unhappy listeners being comedian Jerry Seinfeld, a native of Long Island—led to WFAN management giving Somers the evening shift, which (despite frequent pre-emptions for live games) he continued to hold until his retirement in 2021, when he was replaced by Keith McPherson. In middays, Salzberg and Somers were replaced by Suzyn Waldman and Jody McDonald. Waldman had been with WFAN since its infancy, as she was the first update anchor, and had served as the station's Yankees beat reporter and the Knicks' studio host. McDonald, one of the original WFAN personalities (and son of former Mets general manager Joe McDonald), was the weekend overnight host before leaving for sister station WIP in Philadelphia, nearer to his southern New Jersey home. Both Waldman and McDonald had their fans and detractors at WFAN. Waldman would leave WFAN in late 2001, joining the Yankees television broadcast team the following year. She would be replaced by Sid Rosenberg who, despite his shock jock reputation, had a vast knowledge of sports. Many felt there was great chemistry between McDonald and Rosenberg. However, the ratings still weren't what WFAN expected and in 2004 McDonald was let go. He later joined WEPN, Sirius Satellite Radio, and WPEN radio in Philadelphia before returning in 2012. Overnight host Joe Benigno moved to daytime to replace McDonald and work with Sid Rosensberg. In 2014, Waldman returned to become the first woman color commentator for the station's Yankees broadcasts. Rosenberg was forced to resign from WFAN on September 12, 2005, after being given an ultimatum by station management for not showing up to host the New York Giants' pregame show the day before. Benigno hosted the weekday midday show solo for over a year, until January 2, 2007, when part-time overnight host Evan Roberts became Benigno's new midday co-host. The pairing continued to consistently out-rate rival station WEPN, which broadcasts network and local programming opposite it. Benigno retired in November 2020 and was replaced by former morning host Craig Carton. WFAN was the sole flagship of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship carried over Westwood One, but beginning in 2006, competitor WEPN took over a majority of the coverage. That included early round games as well as conference tournament finals to which Dial Global had the rights. WFAN aired some of the conference tournament games, but would not usually air the early round tournament