Could we see Chris “Mad Dog” Russo take over for Stephen A. Smith as the main host and executive producer of First Take? Russo joked that Stephen A. should watch his back.
The SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio host and channel namesake was in Smith’s seat Wednesday opposite Marcus Spears and Victoria Arlen, who was filling in for moderator Molly Qerim, when he had some fun at Stephen A’s expense at the very top of the show.
Russo claimed Smith was in danger of being Wally Pipp’d.
“There was a baseball player named Wally Pipp. Back in 1925, he had a headache,” he said. “He took himself out of the lineup. Do you know who they put in the lineup? Lou Gehrig, baby. And he played for 2,000-some odd games in a row.”
“Molly ain’t in the house,” he continued. “We have the lovely Victoria with her wonderful shirt. We have Marcus here. We know we love him. Kimberley (Martin) joins us every Wednesday. We know we have (her). And guess what? This seat is finally occupied by a guy who can do a professional television talk show. And his name ain’t Stephen A. It is Christopher Michael Russo.”
Stephen A. Smith has been very open about discussing his future in the media space. He has stated previously that he doesn’t anticipate doing First Take forever and that he would ultimately like to do something away from the sports world like potentially taking over for Jimmy Kimmel on ABC’s late-night talk show.
But apparently, Smith didn’t take kindly to Mad Dog’s assertion in jest that he was going to take over First Take. Almost instantly after watching Russo open the show, Smith took to X to let Mad Dog know he shouldn’t get too comfortable in that chair.
