On this week’s edition, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo is the guest host, joining Andrew Marchand. Marchand and Russo go into full detail about Pat McAfee, Aaron Rodgers and Norby Williamson. They also dissect ESPN’s reaction to McAfee calling Williamson, one of the top executives at the company, a “rat.” Marchand and Russo look at the … Read more
Toughen up, Pat. That’s Chris Russo’s message to Pat McAfee as he deals with the fallout from the Aaron Rodgers-Jimmy Kimmel controversy that ignited on his show last week. McAfee has since ripped an ESPN executive and has lashed out at critics, lending credence to the reports that the outspoken media host is thin-skinned. The … Read more
Florida State’s football team is causing yet another debate, and two sports media personalities on ESPN are on opposite sides of the aisle. After Florida State won the ACC with an undefeated season but missed out on the College Football Playoff — which itself has stirred controversy — the Seminoles were thrashed, 63-3, by Georgia … Read more
Stephen A. Smith better hurry back from vacation. On Wednesday’s episode of “First Take,” Chris Russo filled in for Smith as host of the popular ESPN show and jokingly threatened to make it a permanent move. “There was a baseball player named Wally Pipp. Back in 1925 he had a headache and took himself out … Read more
Shaquille O’Neal is marking his territory with the Mad Dog. Earlier this week on ESPN’s “First Take,” Chris Russo declared that O’Neal is only the fifth-best center in NBA history, and now the four-time NBA champion has responded to the assertion. On O’Neal’s “Big Podcast,” co-host Adam Lefkoe played the clip of Russo blasting Shaq … Read more
This was in the late 1970s, on my first beat — covering the New York Cosmos, at the time the most famous team in the world for its collection of world-famous, store-bought, mismatched and often discordant soccer stars. We were in Dallas to play the Tornado, best known as the team that starred Kyle Rote … Read more
Commercial Content 21+ Looking for a new expert sports betting tout to follow and help you make money? New York radio legend Chris “Mad Dog” Russo is not your guy. “I threw things. I was so upset,” Russo recalled on Wednesday’s “First Take,” shouting about how the Texans-Jaguars game went under 48.5 total points. Russo … Read more
Gus Johnson was just too over the top for Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s liking. That was what the famed sports talk radio host told his audience Tuesday on his “Mad Dog Unleashed” SiriusXM program. Russo apparently took issue with the fact that Johnson, the Fox Sports play-by-play man, had overhyped the rivalry matchup between Michigan … Read more
Chris Russo seems to think Travis Kelce’s priorities were in the wrong place. During his weekly appearance on “First Take” on Wednesday, “Mad Dog” closed out the show with plenty of things he was perturbed with — including celebrating Thanksgiving — and listed Kelce’s recent trip to Argentina to see Taylor Swift perform an Eras … Read more
NBA commissioner Adam Silver disputed the notion that the NBA has a heavy hand in broadcast partner personnel decisions. When ESPN layoffs this past summer included top analyst Jeff Van Gundy, rumors flew that the NBA league office did not enjoy his commentary and perhaps had input in the axing. Silver appeared on JJ Redick’s … Read more
Has Chris Russo gone from “Mad Dog” to “Mad Fraud”? The sports talk radio host is taking more high heat for backing out of yet another on-air promise. Russo will apparently not follow through on a promise to walk a Manhattan block in a Diamondbacks-branded bikini. The idea was the brainchild of shock jock Howard … Read more
Don La Greca was not a fan of Chris Russo’s retirement shenanigans. Russo, who said he’d retire “on the spot” if the Diamondbacks won Games 6 and 7 of the National League Championship Series, has not done so despite Arizona doing just that and reaching the World Series. The longtime sports talk radio host only … Read more
Something interesting happened Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET when “Mad Dog Unleashed” came on the air at SiriusXM: the Mad Dog was missing. Chris Russo wasn’t present for the beginning of his titular radio show as part of the fallout from his promise to retire if the Diamondbacks won the National League pennant. Arizona took … Read more
Dave Portnoy is not letting the Mad Dog off the hook. On his SiriusXM radio show earlier this week, Chris Russo vowed to retire if the Diamondbacks erased a 3-2 deficit in the best-of-seven NLCS by winning two games on the road in Philadelphia. The Diamondbacks did just that, but Russo is walking back the … Read more
The Mad Dog is refusing to be neutered by the Diamondbacks. Chris “Mad Dog” Russo said he will not leave sports media after he promised to retire “on the spot” if the Diamondbacks won two straight games in Philadelphia to wrestle the NLCS away from the favored Phillies. Arizona proceeded to quiet the Phillies’ bats … Read more
Fans might hear Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s last bark Tuesday if the Arizona Diamondbacks reach the 2023 World Series. The former WFAN star said Monday, before the Diamondbacks won Game 6 of the NLCS on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies to stave off elimination, that if Arizona won the series by taking the final … Read more
The budding Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce relationship has excited many people across the country, but Chris “Mad Dog” Russo is not one of them. The SiriusXM host returned to ESPN on Wednesday for his weekly appearance on “First Take,” and with a video of Swift taking in Sunday’s Chiefs game with Kelce’s mom, Donna, playing in … Read more
Nothing can get by ’em, turn it on and try ’em! Chris Russo hosted his old partner Mike Francesa on SiriusXM on Thursday for a “Mike and the Mad Dog” reunion, and bemoaned the noise around the Jets, speaking derisively about cornerback D.J. Reed comparing their defense to the ’85 Bears. “It’s hard to like … Read more
The football regular season hasn’t started yet, but Chris Russo already has a bone to pick with NFL Sunday Ticket. The league’s package, which allows viewers to watch all the NFL’s out-of-market games from Fox and CBS, will now be distributed on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels this season after a 29-year run on … Read more
Chris Russo could yell all night long about Lionel Richie canceling his recent show at Madison Square Garden. Richie cited weather issues as the reason he couldn’t make the show at the world’s most famous arena on Saturday night, as thousands of fans wondered if that could actually be what happened. Russo, speaking on his … Read more