The Pope has not yet anointed anyone to fill the seat once occupied by Chris (Mad Dog) Russo, who left WFAN last August to gig at Sirius/XM satellite radio. The speculation centering on Kellerman has become wide-ranging, anywhere from he eventually will ink a deal (that's my speculation) with FAN to there now is no shot of him hooking up with Francesa.

When contacted recently, Kellerman would not comment on his radio future. When asked if Kellerman had been ruled out, Mark Chernoff, FAN operations boss, said: "No, but we're talking to various people. The Max thing got hot and heavy when he left (ESPN-1050). His agent certainly calls. We know he (Kellerman) is interested. We talk to a lot of people who are interested."

Chernoff emphasized Francesa is interested in having a partner. "I would like him to have one, too," Chernoff said. He also explained that since Russo vacated the FANCave, a sense of urgency to quickly find a replacement has been tempered by the Pope holding his own in the ratings department, especially in men 25-54, the key demographic.

"Mike would even look at me and say, 'Cherny, you're surprised (the ratings have been good).' Well, Mike, it's not like I didn't expect you to do well, but you lost your partner and we figured things might change."

The fact ratings have not sputtered raises the possibility, despite what they are all saying, that Francesa may actually want to remain a solo act. Considering the amount of air time he fills on a daily basis, that's a heavy load - even for the Pope.

So, with four months left until Francesa celebrates his first anniversary of being Dog-free, the search is still on for a new partner. And it sure sounds like someone is trying to accomplish the impossible - finding a perfect match.

"If Mike is going to put somebody in there, we don't want to get into a situation when a year from now we're saying, 'This isn't really working, we have to shift things around again,'" Chernoff said. "So we have to do our best to find the person who will fit long-term."