Mike & the Mad Dog may be on the outs

June 23, 2008 by Benjamin Kabak 51 Comments

Newsday’s Neil Best had something of a shocker over the weekend: It’s looking very likely that Mike & the Mad Dog will go off the air in September. Apparently, Chris Russo and Mike Francesca, who hardly every do the show together anymore, don’t like each other much. As the Big Lead asks, is anyone surprised that two morons on the radio can’t get along? Meanwhile, we’ll just have to wonder what the YES Network and RAB regular Jamal will do with their afternoons once September rolls around.

vinny-b

positive news.

to tell the truth, able to deal with Russo by himself. Forget, the other one.
- Rich
  
  For me it’s the opposite. Francesa by himself is listenable, except when he wants to pillage and plunder the Yankees’ farm system.
whozat

I wonder if we could start some kind of movement to get YES to show yankee minor league games in that afternoon slot sometimes? Obviously it costs more to produce such a thing, but I enough fans have become interested in the prospects that it could have decent viewership.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=594331910 Jamal G.

As much as I love entertaining myself with their idiocy, I will gladly sacrifice my entertainment if it means the masses are being influenced by a couple less gigantic morons.
E-ROC

‘Ol well.
TurnTwo

i’ve never understood how, in the biggest media market in the world, that we dont have a better option for afternoon radio sports talk than these two numbnuts.

good riddance to bad rubbish. its time for some new blood to reach out to the next generation of passionate and intelligent sports fans in NY.
- Casper
  
  I’ve only lived in a couple other cities, but in my experience M&MD are actually better than the options elsewhere. (Not an endorsement of M&MD… I guess it’s more an indictment of sports-talk radio in general.)
  - mike
    
    agreed – the rest of the country is basically pathetic in its local coverage ranging from homer-ism to stupidity/hating the Yankees, or you get Mike and Mike kinda gibberish all day
Yankees 4ever

How about michael Kay on Yes?
- Ralph
  
  No, we want someone that’s LESS of an idiot than these two…
http://www.myspace.com/lincolnsworld Link

I never listened to them when I lived in NY and don’t miss them living in VA. Adios.
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

YES and WFAN could fill at least part of M&MD’s time slot with the RAB Hour. If they pay us each like, one-fourth of what they’re paying those two idiots, I’m sure we could make it work.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Joseph P.
  
  Second.
- Joey
  
  you mean intelligent Yankees commentary on radio? Wow, thought that was along the lines of big foot and the lochness monster…
Adam

all part of michael kay’s plan to take over the universe…
- TurnTwo
  
  take that back. seriously. thats just not a world i can live in.
  - jsbrendog
    
    as long as its not john sterling. if i ever have to hear his strupid hr calls on tv no less ill immediately drop dead
Anthony

Is it weird that part of me is a little sad? I mean I can’t stand them…but still.

Strange feelings this Monday morning…
Scott

Can all of you understand how much our lives will change without the Mike and the angry puppy to get us riled up on our afternoons in the car…We take these two for granted, I for one, would miss the ahhhhhhhh at 1:00pm every day…..
Rich

Please be true.
Scott

Also how much do we all look forward to hearing Mad Dog try to defend himself after another Yankee Playoff Run…or when super bowl time rolls around who doesn’t enjoy the Marquee asking questions….
- TurnTwo
  
  i cant stand the Marquis.
  - Scott
    
    Love the Marquis….must listen too radio during Super Bowl Season
http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.

hopefully it’s true. not that i really care, as i havent listened to them in years, but removing them would automatically raise the sports IQ of everyone in the NYC area.
steve (different one)

just remember: nature abhors a vacuum.

these guys have a pretty big following. that means there are many people out there who WANT this type of show.

if M&MD are gone, it will quickly be replaced with something just as stupid.
- Scott
  
  let’s pray that it’s not the Met loving show from 10-1 on the WFAN with Joe Benningo and Evan Robberts…
  - dave
    
    am i the only one who enjoys Joe and Evan?
    
    while they’re met fans, i find them to be pretty fair and very listenable
- mustang
  
  Agree and for as much as I don’t like them now at one point they weren’t that bad I think they just lost touch and got caught up in too much radio garbage.
A.D.

This could open the door for Joe Morgan having a 5 hour radio show on sports, now that would be can’t miss radio
SWS

Mike and the Maddog are a lot more entertaining than most of the sports radio crap I have to listen to down in Florida. They get good guests and talk about a wide range of sports. Come down here and listen to three fishing shows in a row, and you’ll appreciate what you have in New York. First Imus gone, now M&M. The FAN is going downhill.
LiveFromNewYork

I hate MMD and good bye.

I have to say that I was home sick a few weeks ago and turned on YES and fell on the couch without bringing the remote with em. I was too sick to get off the couch and find the remote and as I watched the YES shows go by in a blur, Michael Kay was on everything. I don’t like him that much (though much preferred over Sterling) but he’s absolutely on everything, the voice of everything and this show and that show. I thought I was hallucinating because I was so sick but I think it’s pretty true.

I have to wonder how many hours a week he works. Now he’s doing those bank commercials (which are sorta funny).
tommiesmithjohncarlos

This is huge.

It will be hard to replace Mike and the Mad Dog; their listeners have grown to depend on Mike and Chris consistently being wrong on every issue that they cover and then bullying and cutting off everyone who tries to call them out on their idiocy. It’s not easy to find people who can be that thoroughly wrongheaded, shortsighted, thin-skinned, dumbed-down, agenda-driven, and reactionary every day and every night to anchor your crucial drive time slot.

Thankfully, I’ve found the answer: a hotbed of talented replacement-level sports and news pundits. Just put their names on a dartboard and throw. Problem solved.
- Steve
  
  So you want Keith Olbermann to replace Mike and Chris?
  - tommiesmithjohncarlos
    
    No.
    
    Keith Olbermann is a bloviating, narcissistic, pompous, lowest-common-denominator windbag of a talking head, but 90% of the time he’s right and credible and his points are relevant (albeit presented with excessive rancor and hostility).
    
    O’Reilly, Hannity, Rivera, Shepard Smith, John Gibson, Tony Snow, and the rest of Fox News (and the Post, Murdoch’s print wing) aren’t just narcissistic or pompous, they’re neocon Bush lackeys who exaggerate, conflate, mislead, distract, engage in doublespeak, and out and out lie in effort to warp the discussion into one of pure fantasy. They refuse to call the Bush administration on any of their mistakes (much less their crimes), and always attempt to make the facts of the day fit their preconceived worldview… and if a fact doesn’t fit, it’s either ignored, changed, or it’s unamerican to bring it up.
    
    Sounds like the way Mike and the Mad Dog do business.
    
    Olbermann may be nothing more than a self-obsessed fake thug, but at least you don’t have to suspend disbelief in order to take him seriously. (Just taste.)
    - tommiesmithjohncarlos
      
      And btw, nothing of the above is an indictment of conservatives or Republicans. Bush and his acolytes are neither.
      - Steve
        
        To quote the recently deceased William F Buckley
        “Bush is a Conservative, but he isn’t conservative”
        
        and to quote George Carlin (who I am still mourning)
        
        “I’m going to be doing the same thing as all of you good citizens on election day, the only difference is that when I’m finished jerking off, I’ll have a little something to show for it”
Mike N (Stamford, CT)

Be careful, you may get what you wish for. I am not the biggest fan of M&MD and they have gotten worse over the years but I have lived in 6 different media markets in this county over the past 10 years and sports talk is worse than M&MD and Kay. Sad but true.
yanke

goodbye to these two bums… the show tht should replace them on yes is the kellerman and kenny show 10-1 on espn radio
- stephen
  
  definitely agree about that, best sports talk radio show in new york, hands down.
Baseballnation

Don’t love them but as much as it kills me to say, I’d have to go with boring as a lug wood, Francesa, because Russo is that much more painful to listen to. His over the top rants are like shard glass on the ears and is complete homerism of talking Giant baseball (are you kiddin me…) any chance he gets is repulsing. At least with Francesa knows stats which is also not one of russo’s strong points. Francesa Boring to the teeth…Russo…Well, have fun in san francisco
http://www.workwithpete.com Pete

‘FAN should hire Kellerman away from ESPN.
Bo

They may be morons but they have everyone here listening daily.
- http://www.workwithpete.com Pete
  
  Seriously, though, will anyone miss the TV ratings discussions?
  
  ECHHH.
  - tommiesmithjohncarlos
    
    Chris Russo talking for more than 10 minutes about what “share” a Nuggets-Lakers playoff game pulled in has to be the stupidest and most boring thing broadcast over the New York airwaves ever.
- http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.
  
  i’m proud to say i haven’t listened in years.
Bill

Can the Boomer and the other mooron show be to far behind ,they need to cancel that show ASAP.
- tommiesmithjohncarlos
  
  The more I think about it, the more I think that the FAN needs to revamp the whole lineup or shut down entirely.
  
  There’s not a single show on the FAN that’s must-hear radio. ESPN beats them across the board (and ESPN’s shows aren’t that great either)…
Steve

I have a feeling if they break up, MadDog will do mornings and Mike will do afternoons. Just a hunch.
- tommiesmithjohncarlos
  
  Or, maybe they could bring back Imus–
  
  OOHHHH, TOO SOON?
  - http://www.workwithpete.com Pete
    
    Not after the Pacman comment.
http://www.youtube.com/bobmantzradio bob

Chris thinks I am kidding but I would like him to split from Mike Francesa. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1PQTXGd9T8

And, the point of the call is Johan Santana is struggling due to his TEAM, just like Chris does with Mike during this ‘crossroads’ time.

Writer Chris Illuminati of Philly Blurbs said this after viewing the video, “video proof that the Dog won’t bark about any particulars of the rough patch he and Mike are going through.” http://blogs.phillyburbs.com/blog_index.php/?p=31789

Neil Best, who broke the story for Newsday, said after viewing the video, “I heard that live yesterday. Weird, but amusing! Thanks. Neil”

Now appearing in Deadspin’s report on the matter: http://deadspin.com/5021276/mike-and-the-mad-dog-divorce-inevitable