(Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports)

There is a very strange, and unexplained narrative playing out on Washington, D.C. sports radio this month. Former Washington Post columnist Jason Reid departed the paper in early March to take a new role with ESPN. Part of Reid’s new position included a radio show on D.C. station ESPN 980, titled The Man Cave.

The Man Cave was scheduled to air on the morning of March 16, moving Mike & Mike from the early slot. But that didn’t happen. The Man Cave didn’t air, Mike & Mike did, and no comment from ESPN 980 was made.

Theories attempting to explain the show’s delay commenced, including speculation that Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder – who owns ESPN 980 – wanted the show to be cancelled due to the fact that Reid had been a harsh critic of the team during his time with the Post.

The Washington Post was unable to get comment from the Redskins, but was able to report that The Man Cave will air starting Monday. The Post was also able to drudge up this utterly bizarre anecdote involving a man impersonating ESPN president John Skipper.

From The Washington Post:

And in a bizarre and unexplained subplot, someone made prank calls to WTEM this month claiming to be the president of ESPN — one of the most powerful sports media figures in the country — and demanding the show’s cancellation, and nearly succeeded.

While the calls were a hoax, the person making them mimicked ESPN President John Skipper’s Southern drawl and knew enough about ESPN 980’s inner workings to initially convince station executives that they were from Skipper, according to three people with knowledge of the events.

The Post reported that the man claiming to be Skipper threatened “legal trouble for the station and possible financial penalties” should ESPN 980 bump Mike & Mike.

The hoax unraveled only when Redskins President Bruce Allen called Skipper to inform him that he would be looking into his concerns.

According to three people with knowledge of the conversation, a confused Skipper thanked Allen, then called his deputies at ESPN and asked them to figure out what Allen had been talking about.

ESPN declined to comment on the story  to For The Win.

The only thing that is clear is  that Mike & Mike have a very devoted, and supremely talented fan base.