Having run this site for awhile now, I've learned quite a few things about implementing video into posts. Or at least I thought I knew a lot. Yesterday, Mike Francesa tried to explain how the Erin Andrews video made it to the Internet and here is the awesome result. Pay attention, because I think you'll learn something....

Ear marking....of course!!! How could I have been so foolish?!?! Everything will run much smoother now.

(Thanks to The Mike Francesa for the clip)

On Friday, Chris Russo spent the better part of his show throwing people under the bus, and calling out just about everyone he worked with. Not only that, but he took multiple calls about how he was terrible, and that he couldn't run a national radio show. After the dust settled, Russo seemed to backtrack a bit, but it appears the damage has been done. Here's some of the audio from Fang's Bites via The Chris Russo....

This obviously brings up a few questions, but the main one being....Is Chris Russo the problem or is it the staff, as he says. It also brings up the fact that national sports shows rarely work, and ones on satellite radio, especially so. Both Russo and Francesa have struggled since they broke up, and it might be time to call this "national" experiment a wash.

I'm was getting about as sick of this feud as you all were, but yesterday it took an awesome turn. Mike Francesa decided to go on a twenty plus minute rant about his former partner and goings on in the media and somehow Neil Best of Newsday transcribed the whole ordeal. Here is a small piece of the explosion....

"Frankly, I have taken a beating here for a month. And I said I never was going to say a word, not one, until the whole cycle was complete, and now the cycle is complete, because the promotional tour is over and Dog has begun his show, and the best to him. No ill feeling. I hope he does well. But as I said, not one time did anybody ask me my opinion of the breakup, just his. My opinion of the show or what happened or anything else, and frankly, I took the worst of it, which is fine. But really the worst of it.

"When the thing started in the summertime it was depicted that I was leaving and that I was the guy who was an ingrate and the guy who was bailing out on FAN after all these years when things weren’t going well and going to do TV and then that didn’t turn out to be the case. No one even asked me if I was leaving. Then it didn’t turn out to be the case. And then the story was that I ran him out. So it went from me being a guy who was an ingrate because I was leaving to me being the bad guy because I ran him out, neither of which was the truth.

"I wasn’t leaving, and I didn’t run him out. Never did. Dog chose to leave, which was fine. He wanted to leave, and again, he has every right to do that. The way it was depicted was ridiculous. I sat here and watched the interviews that went on and commentary and things I read. I read that I was jealous about how much money Dog made, which was never the truth. It mentioned what my salary was and what Dog’s new salary was and how irate I was when no one knew what Dog’s salary was or had any idea.

"You learn a lesson, folks. I hope you don’t get your information from the newspapers, because the stuff that has been written during this time about me has been so wrong. It has never been even remotely accurate, I mean not even in the ballpark accurate.

And that's really just the tip of the iceberg. Francesa goes on to call out just about every media member in New York City and even said that Bob Raissman of the NY Daily News has an agenda. Now I could really care less how this whole thing ends, but if you are the one getting "hammered" in the press, and then you go and complain about it on-air, you're not ever going to get people to come over to your side.

For Francesa's sake I hope he just drops the whole thing because the more he comments on it, the more people are going to think he's just whining about Russo becoming more famous.

Mike Francesa gets quite a few things off his chest (Newsday)

Yesterday marked Chris Russo's first day on Sirius radio and most of the New York papers decided to review the inaugural performance. I know most of you probably aren't going to run out and buy a Sirius Sattelite boombox or anything but some of these reviews might sway you a bit because they're all pretty good....

Newsday: Sure, the topics were more national in scope than at his longtime perch at WFAN, and he had to talk more than ever, with fewer commercial breaks and no partner.

But the loosey, at times goofy, Russo of "Mad Dog Unleashed" was instantly recognizable to anyone who listened to "Mike and the Mad Dog" during the previous 19 years.

Mostly, Russo seemed if not "unleashed," then at least unburdened, happy to have begun his new $3-million-a-year career as a solo act after dissolving his partnership with Mike Francesa.

NY Daily News: By the second segment, Russo got the number down. "The number is 888 Mad Dog Six," he said. "What do you think I was going to call my channel, The Francesa?"

On Sirius, there will be fewer commercial breaks and updates than on WFAN. No traffic and weather reports. No Francesa. Russo will be gabbing 46 minutes each hour, five hours a day, five days a week.

"If I'm worried at all it's about the length (of the show)," Russo. "I'm worried about protecting my voice on a day-in, day-out basis."

Other than that, Russo has been preoccupied with connecting to a national audience. To hear him talk, finding the proper balance will be some kind of mystical experience.

NY Times: “I’m going to annoy you some days,” Russo told his audience, sitting at a hexagonal desk, with the USA Today sports section in front of him and bifocals perched low on his nose. “I’m going to bother you some days. You’ll say, ‘His opinions are awful’ or ‘He doesn’t love my team,’ or ‘He knows nothing about hockey.’ ”

He added: “Everything you can say, I’ve heard.”

Seems like a lot of the same, but I'm still skeptical about one person that's so NY-centric filling all of that time, and to a national audience. I'm still not going out and grabbing a satellite radio, but if you want your Russo, it seems like he has made the transition fine.

Almost immediately after the press conference that made Russo a Sirius employee, the hype machine started. Here is the first promotional video for the new "Mad Dog Sports Show" at channel 123 on your Sirius Satellite radio dial....

I honestly thought that they were just hiring the guy to add content, but the newly formed Sirius-XM is seriously re-branding the whole Sports Department around him. Sirius channel 123 and XM channel 144 will be dubbed "Mad Dog Radio" and the above mentioned "Mad Dog Sports Show" will be simulcast on both channels from 2-7pm every weekday. It will be the first program broadcast on both of the newly merged satellite companies.

I'm a bit anti-satellite radio, so I probably won't be checking out the show. If you own one be sure to email me with your thoughts after the debut on Monday, September 15th.

Random Links (Extra Mustard)

It was a foregone conclusion that Chris "Mad Dog" Russo was heading to Sirius Satellite Radio, but it it will be made official today at 10:30am at Sirius HQ on Sixth Avenue in NYC....

It appears Siriux/XM radio is ready put an end to the speculation and officially announce Chris “Mad Dog” Russo as their newest sports host.

The satellite radio provider has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning to announce the addition of a “major sports media personality.” A representative would not confirm that the press conference was called to announce Russo, but the inference is fairly obvious.

It was reported that Howard Stern spoke on his Sirius/XM morning that Russo could be brought on imminently. It is not yet clear if Russo will get his own channel, like Stern, or just host a sports show.

As it said in the section above, the form of the radio show is not yet known, but the deal is projected to be large and certainly long-term. It's a great hire for Sirius because Russo is cut of the Stern mold, and is yet another bombastic personality the radio network can add to its stable. For WFAN though, it's seemingly a sign of the difficult road ahead. Francesa isn't strong enough to carry the show on his own, and if you add to that the fact that the Mets and Esiason deals are up soon, you're looking at some tough choices for the AM station.

Sirius XM Likely To Add Mad Dog Tomorrow (NY Post)

(Photo via TSH)

This is just depressing now. Mad Dog called into the "Francesa Show" (I guess that's what it's called now) and pretty much lost it as he talked to his former co-host...

Hahahaha. The Beatles? I just love them. Whether you liked them or not though, it is definitely the end of an era for New York Sports and Sports Radio. It's a shame they couldn't keep it going.

(P.S.- I fully expect to see Mad Dog on ESPN within the year. Just preparing you now.)

And just like that, the long rumored breakup between Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and Mike Francesa has finally come to pass. Neil Best of Newsday first reported on the rift back in June and now according to Newsday, it's official....

WFAN announced Thursday that it has released Chris (Mad Dog) Russo from his contract.

This means the end of his 20-year partnership with Mike Francesa on the highly successful “Mike and the Mad Dog Show.”

Russo, whose contract was to run until the Fall of 2009, has been rumored to be headed to Sirius XM Radio. Sources said Russo has no signed agreement with the satellite company.

Russo will not make a final appearance on WFAN.

Renowned for his signature greeting - "AAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDD good afternoon everybody! How are you todaaaay?" - and his tirades, Russo joined WFAN in December 1988 as an overnight, weekend and fill-in host.

These two were the best and worst of Sports Talk Radio, but in the end, I'm sad to see them split. They were loud, obnoxious, combative, stubborn and a tad bit dumb, but I just couldn't get enough of them. I listened to them for a good three hours the day that the Mitchell Report came out and I was riveted.

The other good thing they had going for them was that they had no affiliation with ESPN Radio and still nationally known. Local Sports Radio outlets are slowly being purged across the Country, and with Daniel Snyder having already bought up every DC station, I think the last of my out-of-town Sports Radio go tos are gone.

Update: Via WFAN operations director Mark Chernoff....

"WFAN announced today it has signed a multi-year contract with Mike Francesa making him the sole host of afternoon drive (1:00-6:30PM) on the nation’s first and most listened to all-sports station. Mike began his career at WFAN in 1987 and has been heard in afternoons on the station since Sept. 5, 1989."

Chris (Mad Dog) Russo out at WFAN (Newsday)

I, like many of you, really thought that there was too much money on the table for a breakup to actually go down, but there's even more news today that Mike and the Mad Dog could be done for good. Mike Francesa went through a lengthy tale of what's going on today and here's a transcript from the original breaker of the story, Neil Best....

Dog got it in his lap on Monday. I made sure I was near a TV at 1 o’clock when he came on. I thought he handled it well. Everything he said as far as the relationship was true. You know, we’ve been together 19 years. That’s a long time. And in a very visible position for 19 years, so we’ve kind of carried on this relationship in a very public way, so that when there’s been fights they’ve been made public and when there’s been battles they’ve been made public.

Now there haven’t been many in recent years. The last bad one before this was probably about eight years ago. I think it was in 2000 we had a bad one. And I’d say in the last 19 years we’ve probably had four or five bad ones. This one was pretty bad.

He gave you the timetable. I would say we did have a meeting in May where we decided we had maybe carried it onto the air and we were not being very professional so we apologized. He apologized, I apologized, because I thought I had handled myself terribly. I apologized for that. I thought I carried it onto the air and was very unprofessional, which is something I don’t want to ever try to be.

When you do this this long, you are going to have problems. I think we’ve patched it up on the air. Have we patched it up off the air? Not really, to any real extent. I’ll give you an example: We haven’t spoken this week. So that should give you an indication. With everything that’s going on, we haven’t spoken this week. So I think that’s a pretty good indication of where we are right now.

There's even more over at Watchdog, but geesh....that's kind of depressing isn't it? It's a shame that one fight in the past eight years would cause a breakup, but if you can't do it, don't try and fake it. Hopefully something will change but it's not looking good.

Mike Francesa admits future with Chris Russo is murky (Newsday: Watchdog)

Chris "Mad Dog" Russo seems to be extremely shocked about the Newsday report that came out over the weekend. He said so when reached for comment then and he's saying so after interviewing with the paper today....

Russo never specifically denied that he or Francesa would leave, but he reiterated that both hosts currently are under contract and said he was shocked to be asked about the possible end of the show.

"This idea that somehow our program that we've had fun having done it for 19, 20 years, is on the verge of being dismantled caught me totally by surprise," Russo said.

Later, he suggested Newsday was taking "a big leap" with its report and wondered where it had come from.

"Contracts, contracts, contracts," he said. "You abide by contracts. Mine's got a long, long way to go, not to mention that quote unquote non-compete clause following it. You're never going to get rid of me here."

That's all well and good but I don't think anyone is worried about Russo leaving. When reached for a comment along the same lines, Francesa has denied to provide one and his contract length isn't widely known. I'd love to hear his side of things before we go saying that the Newsday piece was just rumor mongering.

Russo: It caught me totally by surprise" (Newsday)
Mad Dog Addresses Newsday Breakup Rumors (HHR)

Sad news out of New York today. It appears the occasionally controversial and wildly successful Mike and The Mad Dog of WFAN have likely graced the airwaves for the last time together. Via Neil Best of Newsday....

Barring a change of heart, the partnership between Mike Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo is not expected to survive to see its 19th anniversary Sept. 5, industry sources with knowledge of the situation said.

They may have already done their final show together; their next scheduled broadcast is not until July 11.

It is not clear which host would remain on WFAN, only that it would not be both of them. One factor appears to be a fraying of their personal relationship in recent months.

Reached on vacation Saturday night, Francesa flatly said, "No comment."

Russo, meanwhile, denied knowledge of a potential breakup, and said that his contract, including a no-compete clause, runs through October of 2009.

The two are absolutely out of their minds but that's kind of what makes the show special. Everytime I'm driving through or near NYC I always listen to their show until I lose the signal. I just can't change the channel for some reason. It's a shame to lose them, and WFAN would most likely feel the brunt of a change in ratings, but if they're feuding it might be time to break them up.

'Mike and the Mad Dog' radio show could be history (Newsday)

I guess you can say I've been a little obsessed with Mike and The Mad Dog lately, and this item via TSH has come just at the right time. Basically right when I was getting bored with the New York Duo.




I've never felt the urge to eat my boggers, but I sure do pick my nose. I pray I'm never on camera again because I do some stupid shit when I think no one is looking. (See: Mike Ditka)

Mad Dog clearly picking Nuggets to win the West (The Sports Hernia)

A caller mentioned to Mike and the Mad Dog that the Mets should look into trading for the Tigers' Brandon Inge. That doesn't seem like a bad idea to me, and apparently Mike agrees....

(Thanks to CD for sending this clip my way.)

I cannot thank reader Ben M. enough for sending me clip after clip from Mike and the Mad Dog's call of the Georgetown-Villanova game yesterday. This is by far the most hilarious collection of clips I have ever put together. Enjoy!

Just amazing. The trainwreck quotient before this game was probably set at a solid 8 out of 10, but they surpassed that a million times over. Good times.

My Personal Favorites:

"Another three by Wallace, that's his first" (Umm okay?)
"Villanova down by nine has the pumpkin" (I will not make fun of this one...Pumpkin is now the ball's official name)
"Always in the top of the country, Field Goals, defensive defense." (Pass)
"It's a 30, so we won't go anywhere. Thank you there my pal."
"Now this game is a 40-37 start." (I think that was in the 2nd half)
"That was offensive pass inter...offensive goal tending." (Pass)
"West Virginia to follow in the afternoon night cap." (Afternoon Night Cap?)
"Hibbert can't even believe it, he's shaking his heads." (He's like a Hydra really)
"Let's be honest this game's over. This isn't TV so we're not going to try and keep you watching." (Honesty is always the best policy)
"He's got Doc Rivers, John Thomspon Senior, and Ewing." (What?)

I heard about this yesterday (I couldn't figure out which games they were calling so I didn't post), but Mike and the Mad Dog are currently calling the Georgetown-Villanova on WFAN. I can't for the life of me figure out how to play the live audio on WFAN.com, so if someone can shed some light please do so in the comments.

Here are the highlights so far from commenter AA Intern Wannabe....

Mad Dog as another 3 pointer is attempted "uh oh, 3 pointer is....missed."

Mad Dog as the rebound goes to the guard and he brings it up the court (I assume): "he's got the pumpkin."

Mad Dog setting up Mike: "Tell us about Georgetown"
Mike thinking to himself Mad Dog is an idiot I will say what I want to: "Well, Villanova would like the score in the 50's."

With that level of quote grabbing you very well might earn a spot on the C4 News Team AAIW. The duo is also calling the WVU-UConn game, so check them out if you have a second. Should be hilarious.

Update: Okay I'm blind as hell. There's a giant blue button that says listen live....

Listen Live (WFAN.com)

(P.S.- I very well might be getting the audio highlights from these games, so stay tuned for more hilarity.)