Mike and the Mad Dog

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Mike and the Mad Dog
Genre Sports talk
Running time 5 hours, 30 minutes
Starring Mike Francesa and
Chris Russo
Country of origin USA
Home Station WFAN (1989-)
Original run September 5, 1989 – Present

Mike and the Mad Dog is an afternoon drive sports radio program on WFAN AM 660 in New York. The hosts of the radio program are Mike Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo. The show debuted at 3 p.m. on September 5, 1989. Currently it is simulcast on the YES Network and WROW in Albany, New York.

Contents

[edit] History

Before Francesa and Russo were paired, Russo was an overnight/weekend and fill-in host. He caught the attention of Don Imus by his young vibrant personality so that Imus brought Russo on-board the Imus in the Morning show as the Sports Reporter. The attention Russo received on Imus was enormous. Francesa was a midday and weekend host at WFAN, who was known to be knowledgeable but somewhat dry. Francesa got the attention of Don Imus when he made an on-the-air bet with Francesa that Seton Hall University's basketball team would not make the Final Four in the 1989 NCAA tournament. Imus promised Francesa a new Porsche if Seton Hall made the 1989 Final Four. In fact, Seton Hall did make the Final Four. Though Imus found a way around the bet, the dialogue between the two is considered a to be among the classic moments in the history of Imus in the Morning.[1][2]

In August 1989, WFAN was looking for hosts to replace the controversial Pete Franklin in the afternoon drive time period between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Mark Mason, then the program director, floated the idea of teaming Francesa with Russo.[3] At first the station management thought the idea was crazy because they were no-names at that time. However, because of Francesa and Russo's popularity on the weekends and on Imus in the Morning individually, the station management decided to pair the two together.[1]

While Francesa's brand of sports commentating was considered hard-hitting and serious, Russo's was lighter, unconventional, and more entertaining. The show was dubbed Mike and the Mad Dog and debuted on September 5, 1989. The show quickly gained popularity and has been a staple of the New York sports scene ever since.

George Vecsey of The New York Times once described Russo's voice as "a bizarre mixture of Jerry Lewis, Archie Bunker and Daffy Duck."[4] His voice is also described as "Donald Duck on steroids."[5]

Originally it was broadcast weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Because of its popularity, WFAN extended its broadcast time from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.[6] Currently not only is it extended from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., but also has been simulcast on the YES Network since March 19, 2002.[7] Since 2004, WROW in Albany, New York also simulcasts the show, beginning at 2 p.m. Weeknights the YES Network airs a one hour Best of Mike and the Mad Dog program.

[edit] Show format and discussions

The show starts with its theme song and then with Russo's intro: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnnnnnnnnnnnd good afternoon, everybody! How are you today?"[8]

The show involves Francesa and Russo talking and arguing with each other or with callers about sports, or rarely, about non-sports. They are also known for their hard-hitting questions in interviews with their guests. Francesa is the more cerebral of the pair and Russo will defer to him in most arguments. Russo is known to make bold statements when hosting the show solo but will back down when Francesa is cohosting. One of the show's marketing pitches states: "Some shows report sports scores. We settle them."

An occasional segment is the boys replaying John Sterling's (Yankees radio broadcaster) home run calls and "The Yankees win ... thhhhhhhhhe Yankees win!" finishing call from the previous night's Yankees game. They also do this to the Mets' radio commentators, in both cases usually either to praise a good call or mock an over-the-top call.

Other segments have included Francesa trying to guess local ratings of sports events, trying to find romantic dates for some of their producers and 20/20 reporters, and the "Mike and the Marquis" Super Bowl contest, where callers try to win Super Bowl tickets by answering Super Bowl trivia questions posed to them by Russo, dressed in full 18th century European regalia complete with powdered wig, as "The Marquis."

The pair often leave their Astoria studios to do remote broadcasts from the Super Bowl, pre-season football camps, US Open Tennis Championship (typically Russo hosts this show solo because Francesa is not a tennis fan), the Yankees and Mets' spring training sites, and playoff games for various New York teams. They also have recently broadcasted live from Piscataway, New Jersey for the college football game between Louisville and Rutgers.

Today, The Mike and the Mad Dog show primarily concentrates on Baseball and Football.[9] In an interview with New York Daily News[10], Francesa said,

"As far as changes in the city, baseball has now become year-round. We cover baseball every single day of the year...just look at the back pages in November, December, they have screaming baseball headlines. Baseball has become so dominant in what we do."

Basketball and Golf to a much lesser extent do receive mention, usually because the show has a strong relationship with Jim Nantz, an acclaimed golf and college basketball broadcaster, plus a few noted college coaches and NBA broadcasters. It is well noted that Russo is a big fan of tennis; and tennis does get some play on their show, much to Francesa's chagrin. International classics such as the Tour de France get little to no mention except when there is a scheduled interview or major story; Soccer's FIFA World Cup receives little attention except following USA games (Freddy Adu and a few other soccer celebrities have done interviews on the show). Boxing has not been talked about in several years, as both hosts consider the sport not to be what it once was. However, ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas was interviewed by Chris Russo in 2006, while Atlas was promoting a book.

Occasionally, nationally syndicated morning talk show host Don Imus called Francesa and Russo "Fatso and Fruit Loops." WFAN host Steve Somers called them "Mike and the Angry Puppy." New York Daily News sports media columnist Bob Raissman called them "FranDog".[3] New York Post sports media columnist Phil Mushnick called Francesa "Know It All" and Russo "The Village Idiot."[11] According to New York Magazine, Francesa made $1.4 million and Russo made $1.3 million in 2005.[12]

[edit] Incidents and controversies

While the Mike and the Mad Dog Show is a success, the duo has had their share of problems. Things did not go well at first. Neither of them was happy about the arrangement and each felt that he deserved his own show. Arguments between the two have spilled onto the air and there were backstage debates about such matters as whose name would come first and which of them would get the power seat - the one facing the control room. Each had an entourage of advisers and friends who pushed him to ask for more.[3] Sometimes Don Imus needled them on his program or walked by them in the hall and said, "You are so much better than [the other guy]." However, Imus did play peacemaker during several of the more public fights.[1]

[edit] 1991 NCAA Tournament

in 1991, while Francesa 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. Francesa would eventually leave CBS Sports and concentrate on his radio career full time.

[edit] Hockey

On the flip side, the duo have always defended each other in the face of adversity. In May 1992, Russo went to a New York Rangers game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.[13] 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 has watched regular-season NHL games that even some hockey writers would not. Also, long-time NHL television analysts John Davidson and Pierre McGuire have both been semi-regular guests on the show, and Ed Olczyk has made several appearances since joining NBC. 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 said that he had sold them on watching more.

[edit] Doggie going solo: ____ and the Mad Dog

In the summer of 1992, while his partner was on vacation at the Breakers, in Palm Beach, Florida, Russo jokingly started the show by saying, "Welcome to - and the Mad Dog," leaving silence where the "Mike" should have been. It was silly and innocent, but Francesa was furious, calling several station bigwigs and demanding an apology.[5] On another occasion, Francesa returned from a vacation a day early, hoping to rejoin Russo on the air; Russo, savoring the solo airtime, accused Francesa of trying to horn in on his time. There was a great deal of shouting, and during a closed-door cool-down meeting with WFAN executives they nearly started throwing punches.[3]

[edit] ONE TIME!!!!

The Monday after Russo's San Francisco Giants were eliminated from the 2003 postseason by the Florida Marlins he went into his most famous tirade.[14] He screamed that he was sick of the Giants always losing in the postseason and if they would just win (as he screamed very loudly) "ONE TIME!!" he would give up everything he owned, including his (at the time) 3 children.

[edit] Enter Sandman

When New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera enters the game, his entrance song is Enter Sandman by Metallica. Billy Wagner, Rivera's New York Mets counterpart, also uses Enter Sandman as his entrance music. When Wagner entered his first game as a Met against the Washington Nationals at Shea Stadium on April 3, 2006 using Enter Sandman as his entrance music, Francesa, an avid Yankee fan, expressed his anger and discontent, and demanded that Wagner change the song. His argument was that the song belonged to Rivera and Yankee Stadium, and that Wagner was "stealing" the song and should be forbidden from using it and needed to get some originality. Wagner was the one who first used the song earlier in his career.[15] However, Rivera was not bothered by it.[16]

After seeing plenty of backlash, Francesa and Russo would try to downplay it as a "tongue in cheek" thing which was never serious. However, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post blasted the two for "making complete fools of themselves" and for trying to "rewrite unforgettable history to have their audience think that they were just kidding around."[17]

[edit] Joining the Evil Empire?

Finally, after over 40 years of disappointment with the San Francisco Giants, and the lackluster quality of teams in both the American League and National League, Russo started the August 10, 2006 show with a monologue proclaiming his newfound love for the New York Yankees. Right before the 5-p.m. flash update, Russo called for Yankee gear, which he displayed on the YES broadcast. Later in the show, staff member Marc Malusis gave Russo a Yankee hat that he wore for the rest of the show. Fans have had a mixed reaction of Russo's supposed conversion.

On August 16, 2006, Francesa returned to the airwaves coming back from his vacation. Because Arbitron ratings are not conducted during this part of the summer, Russo and Francesa switch weeks doing a solo program while the other is on vacation, except for an annual show at the Jersey Shore. Francesa returned to the airwaves (minus Russo) only to discover this story of Russo and his "epiphany." Francesa noted that this is not the first time that Russo, during the dog days of summer in their 15-plus years of broadcasting together has claimed to see the light and become a Yankee fan. Francesa warned callers that Russo sometimes likes to stir up situations and that this could be another one of his acts. Russo has suggested that his kids will likely end up being Yankee fans, because he does not expect them to stay up late to watch Giants games on television as he often does.

On August 25, 2006, Francesa and Russo were on air together for the first time in two and a half weeks. Within the first fifteen minutes of the program, Francesa settled this once and for all by asking Russo to say (in front of a large crowd at the Jersey Shore) that Mickey Mantle was a better player than Willie Mays. Unable to do it, Russo shouted "I am not a Yankee fan!" on air, with a loud cheer from the crowd.

[edit] Controversy stir-up

Russo has been accused by many for saying controversial things just to elicit responses and get people to call the radio show and debate. At the end of one of these he often will say something like "we killed that last 40 minutes" or whatever time period he wanted to get through.

For example, during the first week of August 2006, Russo called for the firing of Peter Greenberg, a well known and regarded baseball agent of Jose Reyes. Peter Greenberg also represents other well known athletes in baseball, such as Bobby Abreu, Angels pitcher Kelvim Escobar, White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia, and Minnesota Twin's pitcher and 2004 Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana. Russo's basis for his call of firing Greenberg was what he thought was an atrocious deal reached between Mets shortstop Jose Reyes and the Mets organization. Russo felt that Reyes was being vastly undervalued and underpaid as a player through his arbitration and free-agent years.

[edit] Cory Lidle

See also: October 11, 2006 New York City plane crash

On October 9, 2006, after the sudden exit of the New York Yankees from the divisional series, Francesa and Russo took many grievances with so called Yankee dissenters, feeling most strongly about alleged comments made by Yankee starter Cory Lidle. Lidle was lambasted on air about comments that were seemingly directed towards Joe Torre. Lidle called into the station, and a 13-minute heated discussion ensued where Francesa and Russo challenged Lidle's credibility over these unofficial statements made to the media.[18]

Tragically on October 11, 2006, Lidle and his flight instructor crashed a small plane into a 50-story condominium tower on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Francesa and Russo quickly went on the defensive, as they were emotionally disturbed and upset by the tragic loss of Lidle, who they had scolded on air two days prior. They also refused to take any phone calls for the first couple of days after the crash, which led many to speculate that they were afraid of what their callers would say. In fact, many of the other hosts during their shows received quite a number of phone calls lambasting Francesa and Russo.

After the crash, Francesa said,

"If I knew he had two days to live, I would've told him to enjoy himself...But you can't do interviews that way. No one in the world thinks that way...And then to think my last words to him were that I don't think about him very much. You just weigh it very differently now."[18]

Here is another quote from Francesa:

"You're not going to make me feel guilty. There have been times when we've been rude, I'd be crazy not to admit that. ... But this was an interview we never thought twice about."[19]

Russo said to New York Daily News media columnist Bob Raissman,

"Do I wish right this second I had a better relationship with Cory Lidle? Yeah, I absolutely do, (but) you got to do what you got to do. I don't know what to tell you. You can make the argument that I look like a heel....I've been ripping him for five or six months. Does that make me a bad guy? I'll let others evaluate that."[20]

[edit] Notable moments

[edit] Marconi Award

Francesa and Russo won the 2000 Marconi Award for Major Market Personality of the Year.[21] The announcement was made on September 23 at the 2000 National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Radio Awards Dinner and Show in San Francisco, CA. They were the first sports-talk hosts ever to win the award.

[edit] 15th anniversary of the show

On December 15, 2004, Francesa and Russo celebrated their 15 year anniversary on the air from 2 to 7 p.m. This 15th-anniversary special was preceded by a special preshow from 1 to 2 p.m. featuring highlights of the past 15 years of Mike and the Mad Dog.[22]

[edit] Broadcast live for 25 straight hours

Between June 30, 2005 and July 1, 2005, Francesa and Russo broadcasted live for 25 straight hours for the first time ever to raise money for various charities.[23][24] It started after the completion of the New York Mets game (approximately 5 p.m.) and continued through the next day at 6:30 p.m. The show was broadcasted from the Summer Garden at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Notable guests included Tiki Barber and Mark Messier. Through WFAN's one or two radiothons per year, they have also helped raise money for World Hunger Year and the CJ Foundation For SIDS, among other charities.

[edit] Live play-by-play

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.[25] Russo did the play-by-play and Francesa did the color analysis except that they reversed the roles during the third and seventh innings. Their broadcasting performance was evaluated later on by Ed Coleman, Howie Rose, and Mets senior management. WFAN and the Mets claimed to raise over $40,000 from the event. During the game, when the two were shown on the scoreboard, they were loudly booed by the audience in Shea Stadium.[26]

Before Russo and Francesa entered the booth to be broadcasters for the day, Russo mentioned that he was unsure how to correctly score a swinging strike three or a pitch taken called strike three. Russo and Francesa aired on the radio waves, whereas Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez were the television play-by-play broadcasters. Keith Hernandez jokingly (on May 25th, day of broadcast on TV) poked fun at Russo concerning his play scoring abilities on television where Russo, on the day before had reservations about the event; in the light that he was unsure about the quality of play-by-play that Francesa and Russo would give the audience. Days beforehand, it was entirely possible that Pedro Martinez was going to pitch, but was given the extra day off. On air (Francesa's and Russo's radio program) joked and jeered about the play-by-play calls which they practiced and intended to use regardless of Martinez's eventual non-start.

Prior to this event, Francesa and Russo had broadcast several college basketball games for charities.

[edit] YES simulcast

The simulcast on YES opens with a sports report from Chris Shearn, and usually plays music to block the advertising that is sold on WFAN (YES often returns from commercial before WFAN does). When Mike and the Mad Dog are out of the studio, these outside shows are also recorded live by YES.

During WFAN's 20/20 Sports Flash reports, a selection of sports news is on the screen. Notably, the lead story onscreen (but not always in the actual report), is the Yankees or Nets game that will be airing on YES or WWOR-TV later that evening. YES then broadcasts the traffic report during rush-hour, but does not have a graphic to illustrate the report.

Since the broadcast on YES is a simulcast, there have been times when the show has been delayed or pre-empted on WFAN, usually due to New York Mets baseball. Mike and the Mad Dog have never done a show specifically for YES, so the network usually shows reruns of its original programming like Yankees Classics, Yankeeography or Centerstage in its place.

When both Francesa and Russo have the day off, YES does not broadcast the show, although other WFAN hosts, usually led by Joe Benigno, replace Mike and Chris as the hosts of the Mike and the Mad Dog show, complete with theme music. This is apparently because Francesa and Russo are paid additional salary by YES for the show, while other WFAN hosts are not. YES did simulcast with the substitute hosts in its first couple of years.

WFAN's contract with YES to simulcast Mike and the Mad Dog ends at the end of 2006. Although with the negative things that Russo said about the Yankee organization in the summer of 2006 (including a heated on-air discussion with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman), the contract will be renewed as part of the Yankees radio deal with WCBS-AM since WFAN is owned by CBS Radio.[27] It should also be noted that there have been occasions where YES has ended a simulcast in progress due to comments that may have been too critical of YES or the Yankees. The two sometimes joke about the incidents when they get started talking about YES producers on the show or poke fun at George Steinbrenner's feud with former Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer. Still, Francesa and Russo say that YES does not censor them on-air.

[edit] WROW simulcast

In 2004, WROW, a radio station in Albany, New York, began simulcasting the show. The simulcast is unique in that, unlike most syndication, it is a straight pickup of what airs over WFAN's air including jingles and the occasional inadvertent advertisement. In addition, WROW airs the show starting at 2:00 PM. Whenever it is either delayed or pre-empted, the station airs a montage of interviews, known as The Best of Mike and the Mad Dog.

[edit] Theme song

Each show starts with a theme song jingle written by JAM Creative Productions. It is the only show not to use standard WFAN jingles. Lyrics below:

Mike and the Mad Dog...Sports Radio 66, W-F-A-N

They're talkin' sports, goin' at it as hard as they can,

It's Mike and the Mad Dog on the FAN

Nothing can get by 'em

Turn it on and try 'em

Mike and the Mad Dog

W-F-A-N

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ a b c Jim Reed (1999), Everything Imus: all you ever wanted to know about Don Imus, Birch Lane Press, pp. 65-66, (ISBN 1-559-72504-4).
  2. ^ Jack Craig (1990-03-30), CBS' Francesa is plainly a success basketball, football expert defies network standards for appearance, accent, The Boston Globe.
  3. ^ a b c d Nick Paumgarten (2004-08-30). The boys: what Mike and the Mad Dog talk about when they talk about sports. The New Yorker.
  4. ^ George Vecsey (1991-02-17), Mad Dog is a preppie!, The New York Times.
  5. ^ a b Jeff Pearlman (2004-02-24). Mike and the Mad Dog make nice. Newsday.
  6. ^ Richard Sandomir (1997-07-02), It's rants, raves and ratings, The New York Times.
  7. ^ James Frasch (2002-01-10). YES to simulcast Mike and the Mad Dog. NYYFans.com.
  8. ^ ademakid212. Chris' famous intro to the Mike and the Mad Dog show. youtube.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-21.
  9. ^ Michael Patrick Nelson (2004-12-09). Nothing's shocking. The Long Island Press.
  10. ^ Michael O'Keeffe (2004-11-14), Mike and the Mad Dog still rapping after all these years, New York Daily News.
  11. ^ Dovie Quint (2005-12-19). An idiot and a know-it-all worth listening to. The Yeshiva College Commentator.
  12. ^ Who makes how much - New York's salary guide 2005. New York Magazine (2005-09-26).
  13. ^ Bruce Weber (1992-06-07), A loud, angry world on the dial, The New York Times.
  14. ^ Mad Dog's tirade on SF Giants playoff elimination in 2003 (click link for audio).
  15. ^ NY Closer Controversy. Baseball & The Boogie Down Bronx (2006-04-04).
  16. ^ Ben Shpigel with Tyler Kepner (2006-04-05). For Wagner and Rivera, it's play it again, Metallica. The New York Times.
  17. ^ Phil Mushnick (2006-07-02). Mike and Dog's joke was on you...if you bought their 'Sandman' rant. New York Post.
  18. ^ a b Neil Best (2006-10-12). Francesa feels haunted by Lidle interview. Newsday.
  19. ^ John Howell (2006-10-13). Lidle's death puts focus on Mike and Mad Dog interview. Hartford Courant.
  20. ^ Bob Raissman (2006-10-12). Guilt & regret, but Dog barks on. New York Daily News.
  21. ^ 2000 Marconi Radio Award Winners. National Association of Broadcasters. Retrieved on 2006-09-26.
  22. ^ Raymond A. Edel (2004-12-10), Dolenz brings a Monkee to WCBS, The Bergen Record.
  23. ^ Press release (2005-06-24). WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog to broadcast for 24 consecutive hours. Radio Ink.
  24. ^ Press release (2005-06-30). Ruland to appear on WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog show tomorrow morning. Iona College Athletics.
  25. ^ Press release (2006-05-17). Mike and the Mad Dog to call Mets play by play on Thursday, May 25th live on WFAN. New York Mets.
  26. ^ Neil Best (2006-05-26), Mikey and Mad Dog, that wasn't a bad job, Newsday.
  27. ^ Bob Raissman (2006-12-10). Yanks, CBS close to deal. New York Daily News.

[edit] External links

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