My biggest gripe with Mike Francesa is that he's a bully. He belittles those he considers beneath him, and that's most of us. I don't like bullies. Never have. On Friday's show, Francesa spent many minutes trying to discredit me. Fine. We've been firing at each other for years.

This time, though, Francesa claimed that he didn't say what I wrote about him -- or what he said I wrote -- in regard to his comments about Chase Utley's health, before Game 1 of the Series. He said tapes of his show will prove him correct. He issued me a $25,000 challenge.

Challenge accepted, under one condition: He must accept one of several let's-go-to-the-tape challenges I've issued to him, specifically the one I issued nine years ago.

Days after the 9/11 attacks, Francesa, global affairs expert (it's a gift), launched two bigoted, backwoods and facts-depraving commentaries blaming both Israel and American Jews for America's peril at the hands of terrorists.

Francesa also said the Jews he knows are disloyal Americans in that they would go to war to defend Israel but not the United States.

In the wake of an attack on the U.S. by Islamic lunatics, Francesa even called upon American Jews to prove their virtue as Americans, to choose between Israel, which he called "a failed experiment," and the U.S.

As a third-generation American Jew, whose great-uncle was a WWI doughboy, and whose father was a WWII Naval Lt., then commander of the Staten Island chapter of the Jewish War Veterans, I was, shall we say, displeased by Francesa's determination that the time had come for me to swear allegiance to the United States.

On Sept. 23, 2001, the above appeared in this column. In WFAN's response, on behalf of Francesa, station boss Mark Chernoff denied that Francesa said any of that -- despite thousands, including WFAN staff, having heard what I'd heard. My challenge to produce those tapes was ignored.

If I wrote such malicious lies, why wasn't I sued? Why not a word of protest from Francesa and/or WFAN to me or to the publisher of The Post?

So if Francesa wants to put up 25 grand on Friday's Utley thing, donate the winnings to charity, or whatever -- and use tape to settle it -- cool, but let's first take care of that longer-standing listen-to-the-tapes challenge.

And let's double the risk to $50,000. Unlike Mike, I can't afford to lose such wagers, but let's go. He wants to challenge me based on tape-supported facts? Play the tapes on the air? I'm all in.

One last thing: I've never made Francesa's weight an issue in this column. That's too cheap of a cheap shot, too easy. Besides, I could stand to lose 20 pounds myself.

But Friday he called me "lazy." For him to call anyone lazy, well, when we're done settling these challenges, let's bet another 10 grand on a race -- here to the refrigerator.