Just days after Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo told me he missed the discourse he had with his former partner of 19-years Mike Francesa, the dynamic duo reunited for a segment on Dog’s SiriusXM radio show.
The hour-long conversation wasn’t exactly a throwback to classic Mike and the Mad Dog shows of decades ago, as the two featured little debate and disagreement. It was instead a rapid-fire Q&A between Mike and the Mad Dog with Russo dishing out the questions on a wide-ranging array of topics.
Francesa opened the conversation after just having the worst day of his life, a two-and-a-half-hour surgery to repair an impacted wisdom tooth.
They discussed the COVID vaccine, which Francesa said he already received both shots, and Russo adding that he’s scheduled to get his first soon. The Last Dance, Fernando Tatis Jr., the NCAA Tournament, ovah/undahs, Jordan vs LeBron, Zach Wilson, the Super Bowl and plenty more would follow.
Russo asked Francesa how he would’ve fared hosting during the pandemic and the Sports Pope believes he would have ticked off his audience with too much political talk. Francesa added that he hated working Februarys during his solo tenure without Russo, and the last year would have featured an extended version of that. Although he was relegated to a greatly reduced evening timeslot, Francesa did do four-months of shows for WFAN during the pandemic, spending little time on politics.
After the reunion, Russo joined Spence Checketts on ESPN 700 in Salt Lake City. The longtime Utah radio host is the son of former Knicks president Dave Checketts and grew up in the same town that Russo resides, New Canaan, CT.
Checketts quickly asked about his conversation with Francesa and Russo acknowledged he viewed it as an interview more than the two-way sports talk listeners are used to. The audience can hear Russo’s opinions everyday throughout the year, whereas Francesa has been mostly quiet in recent months, so he felt it was important to give his former partner the time and spotlight to talk.
Geared up from the interview, Russo even acknowledged to Checketts he would be interested in doing some part-time work with his former partner, or at least listening to the offer if legalities aligned. Today, Mike and the Mad Dog appear to be in a great place, both sounding as if they miss the other. Tomorrow? Who knows?
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
Meh. Mike and Dog were cool back in the day but now they are past their prime and Mike hops on Russo’s Sirius show several time already. Clearly Mike is bored but has no takers because he wants too much money.
Loved it wanna see them back doing a reunion