Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo

Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo (born October 18, 1959 in Long Island, New York) is an American sports radio personality. He is best known as the co-host of the widely popular Mike and the Mad Dog sports radio show, which is broadcast on WFAN in New York City and the YES Network. Russo is currently married and has four children. He resides in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Background

A graduate of Rollins College, Russo is known for his fanaticism for the San Francisco Giants, his quick manner of speaking, the unmellifluousness of his voice, and his trademark greeting of "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnnnnnnnnnnnd good afternoon everybody! How are you todaaaay?" at the start of the Mike and the Mad Dog show. Russo got his "Mad Dog" nickname from New York Daily News Sports TV and Radio critic Bob Raissman. Prior to joining WFAN, Russo worked for WKIS in Orlando, Florida and WMCA in New York City.

Russo is an avid tennis and beach-going fan and has done his shows from the US Open and the Jersey Shore on many occasions. However, he has made no secret of his dislike for NASCAR, despite his previous on-air work in Orlando.

Rise to Stardom

Russo's rise in popularity happened rapidly. Russo joined WFAN in late 1988 as an Overnight/ Weekend and fill-in host. He caught the attention of WFAN Morning Show Host, Don Imus. Imus brought Russo on-board the Imus in the Morning show as the Sports Reporter. The attention Russo received on Imus was enormous. Imus also later helped promote Russo's nickname. By early 1989, the Imus gig lead to Russo getting his own regular weekend show on Saturday Mornings. When Pete Franklin's drive time Show from 3pm to 7pm was not renewed by WFAN station management, WFAN paired up Russo with Mike Francesa, who at the time was a co-host on the mid-morning show. The show was dubbed the Mike and the Mad Dog show and was launched on September 5, 1989 at 3pm.

Mike and the Mad Dog

The combination paired up Francesa's hard-hitting style with Russo's unorthodox and humorous style and proved to be a huge success. Francesa and Russo's show quickly became the signature show for WFAN, as well as among the most influential sports talk shows in the country.

While the Mike and the Mad Dog show was a success, the duo was not without its problems. Arguments between the two have spilled onto the air. For example, in 1991—while Francesca was still at CBS Sports hosting the 1991 NCAA Tournament — Russo was very critical of CBS's coverage. The discussion began to gain momentum and soon snowballed over a number of days. CBS was unhappy that Francesa's show was being used as a platform for criticisms of their television coverage, prompting a call from Francesa asking Russo to not discuss the topic. Russo refused and an on-the-air argument followed. While the two have admitted to numerous disagreements, they have always contended that they have been professional and not personal.

On the flip side, the duo have always defended each other in the face of adversity. In the early 1990s, Russo went to a New York Rangers game. Francesa and Russo had garnered a reputation for being ignorant and unknowledgeable when it comes to Hockey, though Russo later claimed in his first book that he watches regular-season NHL games that few others would. Also, long-time NHL television analysts John Davidson and Pierre McGuire have both been semi-regular guests on the show. When Russo arrived at the game, Rangers fans chided him and he eventually left the game. The next day, Francesa went on the air and blasted the Rangers fans for their behavior. They also allegedly had an on-air spat with long-time hockey writer and broadcaster Stan Fischler, who has since never done an interview on their show. In 2006, Jaromir Jagr jokingly made fun of their hockey knowledge, to which the duo suggested that he had sold them on watching more.

Tirades

Throughout his tenure on Mike and the Mad Dog in New York, Russo has not been afraid to go against the tide of popular opinion of local New York and national sports. Most notably, Russo is a huge San Francisco Giants fan and has been a harsh critic and has frequently made fun of the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. He claims not to have favorite teams in the other sports, only favorite people. Still, the YES Network has televised the Mike and the Mad Dog radio program between 1 and 6:30, Monday through Friday, since it launched in 2002.

In 1989, when Sports Illustrated named Greg LeMond the Sportsman of the Year, Russo ripped the selection angering many Cycling fans in the New York area.

In 1989, He angered Yankee fans by saying Will Clark of the SF Giants was a better ballplayer than NY Yankee Don Mattingly claiming Clark was more feared by pitchers.

In 1992, he flew into a major tirade about coach New York Rangers' head coach, Roger Neilson's laid-back coaching style. He shouted that Neilson should, "kick over a garbage can!"

In 2003, after his beloved San Francisco Giants lost to the eventual-World Series champion Florida Marlins in the NLDS 3 games to 1, Russo went on perhaps his most famous tirade (click link for audio) where, among other things, he states that he would give up his 3 (at the time) children to see the Giants win a World Series.

In 2006 he flew into a tirade about Bryant Gumbel's WInter Olympic remarks. Gumbel has yet to respond.

On March 4, 2006, Russo criticized his parent company for hiring David Lee Roth. He ripped Roth for not being able to do a talk show. He was also critical of his parent company suing Howard Stern because it was keeping Stern's name in the newspapers.

In June 2006 he went on a tirade about how overblown the coverage 16 year old Michele Wie received from JUST TRYING TO QUALIFY for the US Open, considering she has never won anything and was on the cover of the New York Times.

Russo has been accused by many for saying controversial things just to elicit responses and get people to call the radio show and debate.

Other Work

Russo's popularity on Mike and the Mad Dog soon led to his first television show - "Mad Dog Live" on SportsChannel America. Unfortunately, Russo's popularity did not help this show and it quickly disappeared from the air.

In addition to the Mike and the Mad Dog show, Russo also hosted the syndicated radio show In the Huddle with Boomer Esiason, which was cancelled as of September 2005. He was also a co-host of a locally produced football pregame show on WCBS-TV with John Riggins in 1998.

He also co-authored the book The Mad Dog 100 : The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time with Allen St. John, which was released on May 13, 2003 (ISBN 0385508980). His second book The Mad Dog Hall of Fame: The Ultimate Top-Ten Rankings of the Best in Sports, also co-authored with St. John, was released on May 2, 2006 (ISBN 0385517467).

Russo has been a frequent guest on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Russo-isms or Doggie-isms

Russo is also known for his often humorous mispronunciation of names and words. He can also butcher a well known phrase with the best of 'em. Here are some examples:

• "Say something funny, Mike.": Russo deliberately creates an awkward moment (often with his candor) and encourages Francesa to break the tension with a joke.

• "They were as dead as a pancake" which he has used often. Correct saying could be either "dead as a doornail" or "flat as a pancake".

• Pronounces Yesterday, YESTERDEE.

• New one said on December 2 2005. "A tall road ahead". Correct Saying could be either "A tall order" or "a long road ahead".

• Feb 16, "Blasted out of the tub". Real saying: Blasted out of the water.

• March 24 2006. On Barry Bonds: "He's as healthy as a rock".

• Known to invoke the "Loosey-Goosey" theory, meaning teams that have less pressure will perform better. Russo also likes to combine "Loosey-Goosey" with "all their ducks in a row" for a water fowl double-whammy. The Loosey-Goosey Theory is not believed to have undergone scientific analysis, but anecdotal evidence suggests it is suspect.

• "You can't have it both ways." Nothing wrong with this one but he likes to say it a lot. Especially to fans who contradict themselves.

• May 12 2006 On replacing Hideki Matsui after his injury Chris said incredulously The Yankees are gonna pull 15 million out of the Kittle? It's "Kitty"!

• In an argument over steroid use, Mad Dog and Mike argue over whether or not stats prior to steroid use should be counted. Doggie uses this line, which backfires on him: Chris: If a guy gets thrown out at third trying to stretch a double into a triple, does he still get credit for the double!?

Mike: I think he does, Dog.

• Constantly mispronounces White Sox player Scott Podsednik's (pronounced Pod-sed-nik) last name as Po-dez-nick.

• Another persistent mistake, Mad Dog pronounces Los Angeles Dodgers French-Canadian pitcher Éric Gagné's last name GAG-nay, instead of GAHN-yay.

• June 6, 2006 1:32 PM: Mispronounced legendary actor Burgess Meredith's name as "Berg-us Meredith."

• June 6, 2006. 4:34 Pm. On Carolina Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette and his possible re-hiring by the NY Islanders. "The Islanders are going to offer him the whole Hook, Line and Kaboodle". The correct phrase would be either "Hook, Line and Sinker" or "Whole kit and Kaboodle."

• On Albert Pujols: He's the hands on favorite to win the MVP this year."

• Russo pronounces Nadal, Nedal.

• Constantly mispronounces remember, renember.

In the Booth

On May 25, 2006, Francesa and Russo broadcasted a Major League Baseball game at Shea Stadium between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets on radio for local charities, which were raised over $40,000. Russo did the play-by-play and Francesa did the color analysis except that they reversed the roles during the third and seventh innings. During the game, when the two were shown on the scoreboard, they were loudly booed by the audience in Shea Stadium.

Trivia

Russo is a big fan of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Russo often picks up grinders from Gates restaurant in New Canaan

Chris Russo also has a New Canaan Estate and Mike Francesa beckons Dog to build a wing in his house for Tony his father.

External links

• WFAN Profile
• The Unauthorized Mike and the Mad Dog Radio Show Blog