Mike and the Mad Dog: Soon-to-be History
Media Gossip/Musings June 22nd. 2008, 12:00pmArguably the most successful and influential sports talk radio show in history may soon fold. Â Consider me apathetic.
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.
You mean it’s not the easiest task in the world to get along with Idiot A and Idiot B? Perish the thought. While Newsday’s Neil Best seems convinced of this eventual split, Chris Russo denied anything of the sort.
Russo, meanwhile, denied knowledge of a potential breakup, and said that his contract, including a no-compete clause, runs through October of 2009.
“That is news to me,” he said. “I have not heard that… That is fascinating information.”
Later, he added, “The only thing I can say is I am signed under contract for another year and a half. I don’t think WFAN is going to let me out of that… I wish I had leverage like that.”Â
Not too surprisingly, Mike Franscesa’s rumored contract extension was never confirmed earlier in the year, which probably explains why he responded to this story with a ‘no comment’. Francesa without comment? I’m stunned.
[Newsday]
9 Responses to “Mike and the Mad Dog: Soon-to-be History”
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June 22nd, 2008 at 12:19 PM
Fatso is clearly jealous of Russo.
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 PM
that would be a huge loss for the ‘FAN. the two of them together is much better than either one by themself. individually they would still kill the local ESPN Radio, but it wouldn’t be the same.
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:51 PM
I think this is another example of the crumbling radio industry of “yellers”. A lot of hit has to do with the rise of independent sites on the Internet… people are way more intelligent now and no longer listen to that which insults their intelligence.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Sports blogs and sports talk radio, generally, do the same thing — offer commentary and opinion on sports-related matters. Except these guys make $1.5M/year while most bloggers don’t get paid much at all.
By the way, the video in the post before this is crippling the site with a Flash error.
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:06 PM
I just liked the pic of Akeem and the Big Boss Man.
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:17 PM
listening to them last week by themselves shows that the pair is greater than the sum of the individual parts.
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:23 PM
Who gives a rat’s ass?
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
They should get Neil Cavuto to replace Francesa…they look like two piglets separated at birth.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:34 PM
tk, I just like it too.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 AM
I’d like to think that’s the case. I know I listen to more podcasts now and have stopped listening to talk radio. I like that I can choose the shows and listen at my leisure.
Then again, the Internets are just as full of self-obsessed idiots who love to hear the sound of their righteous voices.