Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo

Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo (born October 18, 1959 in Syosset, New York) is an American sports radio personality. He is best known as the co-host of the widely popular Mike and the Mad Dog sports radio show, which is broadcast on WFAN in New York City and simulcast on the YES Network.

Background

Russo grew up in Syosset, New York. He went to Darrow School in New Lebanon, New York, and Rollins College near Orlando, Florida. He also spent one spring at the Cranleigh School south of London, England (Russo's mother is English) and one semester at Sydney University in Australia studying Australian history and literature.

Russo has wanted to be a broadcaster since he was a child. Prior to joining WFAN, Russo worked for WKIS in Orlando, Florida and WMCA in New York City. During his career at WKIS, when it became clear that the people of central Florida were having trouble understanding his accent, the station sent him to see a speech therapist twice a week. He got the "Mad Dog" nickname from New York Daily News Sports TV and Radio critic Bob Raissman.

Russo is known for his quick manner of speaking, the unmellifluousness of his voice, and his trademark greeting of "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnnnnnnnnnnnd good afternoon everybody! How are you todaaaay?" at the start of the Mike and the Mad Dog show. George Vecsey of The New York Times described his voice as "a bizarre mixture of Jerry Lewis, Archie Bunker and Daffy Duck." Russo's voice is also described as "Donald Duck on steroids."

Russo is an avid San Francisco Giants, tennis and beach-going fan and has done his shows from the US Open and the Jersey Shore on many occasions. However, he has made no secret of his dislike for NASCAR, despite his previous on-air work in Orlando.

Rise to Stardom

Main article: Mike and the Mad Dog

Russo's rise in popularity happened rapidly. Russo joined WFAN in late 1988 as an Overnight/ Weekend and fill-in host. He caught the attention of WFAN Morning Show Host, Don Imus. Imus brought Russo on-board the Imus in the Morning show as the Sports Reporter. The attention Russo received on Imus was enormous. Imus also later helped promote Russo's nickname. By early 1989, the Imus gig lead to Russo getting his own regular weekend show on Saturday Mornings. When Pete Franklin's drive time Show from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. was not renewed by WFAN station management, WFAN paired up Russo with Mike Francesa, who at the time was a co-host on the mid-morning show. The show was dubbed the Mike and the Mad Dog show and was launched on September 5, 1989 at 3 p.m.

The combination paired up Francesa's hard-hitting style with Russo's unorthodox and humorous style and proved to be a huge success. Francesa and Russo's show quickly became the signature show for WFAN, as well as among the most influential sports talk shows in the country.

Tirades

Throughout his tenure on Mike and the Mad Dog in New York, Russo has not been afraid to go against the tide of popular opinion of local New York and national sports. Most notably, Russo is a huge San Francisco Giants fan and has been a harsh critic and has frequently made fun of the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. He claims not to have favorite teams in the other sports, only favorite people. Still, the YES Network has televised the Mike and the Mad Dog radio program between 1 and 6:30, Monday through Friday, since it launched in 2002.

In 1989, when Sports Illustrated named Greg LeMond the Sportsman of the Year, Russo ripped the selection angering many Cycling fans in the New York area.

In 1989, he angered Yankee fans by saying Will Clark of the SF Giants was a better ballplayer than NY Yankee Don Mattingly claiming Clark was more feared by pitchers.

In 1992, he flew into a major tirade about New York Rangers head coach Roger Neilson's laid-back coaching style. He shouted that Neilson should "kick over a garbage can."

In 2003, after his beloved San Francisco Giants lost to the eventual-World Series champion Florida Marlins in the NLDS 3 games to 1, Russo went on perhaps his most famous tirade where, among other things, he states that he would give up his 3 (at the time) children to see the Giants win a World Series.

In 2006, he flew into a tirade about Bryant Gumbel's Winter Olympic remarks. Gumbel has yet to respond.

On March 4, 2006, Russo criticized his parent company for hiring David Lee Roth. He ripped Roth for not being able to do a talk show. He was also critical of his parent company suing Howard Stern because it was keeping Stern's name in the newspapers.

In June 2006, Russo ranted about media coverage of 16-year-old Michelle Wie as she attempted to qualify for the US Open, which he felt was overblown since she had never won anything and was on the cover of the New York Times.

On July 31, 2006, Russo got into a heated argument with Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman on the respective merits of the players Cashman had recently acquired from the Phillies. Russo claimed that SP Cory Lidle was simply not a good pitcher and OF Bobby Abreu lacked the intangibles to lead a winning team. Cashman responded by saying that he was firmly behind his players and believed their individual performances would complement that of the entire 25-man roster.

On October 7, 2006, with the Yankees on the verge of elimination from the postseason, Russo (who as many guessed he would be excited) started the show by screaming "ITS ELIMINATION DAY", "WHERE ARE ALL THE YANKEES FANS", and (because the Yankees had just been beaten by Kenny Rogers) "KENNY ROGERS"!

Other Work

Russo's popularity on Mike and the Mad Dog soon led to his first television show - Mad Dog Live on SportsChannel America. Unfortunately, Russo's popularity did not help this show and it quickly disappeared from the air.

In addition to the Mike and the Mad Dog show, Russo also hosted the syndicated radio show In the Huddle with Boomer Esiason, which was cancelled as of September 2005. He was also a co-host of a locally produced football pregame show on WCBS-TV with John Riggins in 1998.

He also co-authored the book The Mad Dog 100 : The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time with Allen St. John, which was released on May 13, 2003 (ISBN 0-385-50898-0). His second book The Mad Dog Hall of Fame: The Ultimate Top-Ten Rankings of the Best in Sports, also co-authored with St. John, was released on May 2, 2006 (ISBN 0-385-51746-7).

Russo has been a frequent guest on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Russo-isms or Doggie-isms

Russo is also known for his often humorous mispronunciation of names and words. He can also butcher a well known phrase with the best of 'em. Here are some examples:

• "Say something funny, Mike.": Russo deliberately creates an awkward moment (often with his candor) and encourages Francesa to break the tension with a joke.

• "They were as dead as a pancake" which he has used often. Correct saying could be either "dead as a doornail" or "flat as a pancake".

• Pronounces Yesterday, YESTERDEE. Pronounce's the days of the week the same way. Mondee, Tuesdee etc.

• Misuses the word "bamboozle" (which he mistakenly pronounces "bomboozle"). The word means "to deceive or dupe," but Russo uses it to mean "to blow out or rout."

• New one said on December 2 2005. "A tall road ahead". Correct Saying could be either "A tall order" or "a long road ahead".

• Feb 16, "Blasted out of the tub". Real saying: Blasted out of the water.

• March 24 2006. On Barry Bonds: "He's as healthy as a rock".

• Known to invoke the "Loosey-Goosey" theory, meaning teams that have less pressure will perform better. Russo also likes to combine "Loosey-Goosey" with "all their ducks in a row" for a water fowl double-whammy. The Loosey-Goosey Theory is not believed to have undergone scientific analysis, but anecdotal evidence suggests it is suspect.

• "You can't have it both ways." Nothing wrong with this one but he likes to say it a lot. Especially to fans who contradict themselves.

• May 12 2006 On replacing Hideki Matsui after his injury Chris said incredulously The Yankees are gonna pull 15 million out of the Kittle? It's "Kitty"!

• In an argument over steroid use, Mad Dog and Mike argue over whether or not stats prior to steroid use should be counted. Doggie uses this line, which backfires on him: Chris: If a guy gets thrown out at third trying to stretch a double into a triple, does he still get credit for the double!?

Mike: I think he does, Dog.

• Constantly mispronounces White Sox player Scott Podsednik's (pronounced Pod-sed-nik) last name as Po-dez-nick.

• Constantly mispronounces NBA player Alonzo Mourning's first name as A-LAN-zo.

• Constantly mispronounces NFL player Michael Strahan's (pronounced STRAY-han) last name as Stra-HAN.

• During the 2006 Winter Olympics, he routinely referred to skiier Bode Miller as Bondy Miller.

• Another persistent mistake, Mad Dog pronounces Los Angeles Dodgers French-Canadian pitcher Éric Gagné's last name GAG-nay, instead of GAHN-yay.

• Yet another common mistake, Russo pronounces New York Mets relief pitcher Aaron Heilman's last name a HAR-men, instead of HILE-men, with "hile" rhyming with "pile".

• June 6, 2006 1:32 PM: Mispronounced legendary actor Burgess Meredith's name as "Berg-us Meredith."

• June 6, 2006. 4:34 Pm. On Carolina Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette and his possible re-hiring by the NY Islanders. "The Islanders are going to offer him the whole Hook, Line and Kaboodle". The correct phrase would be either "Hook, Line and Sinker" or "Whole kit and Kaboodle."

• On Albert Pujols: He's the hands on favorite to win the MVP this year."

• Russo pronounces Nadal, Nedal.

• Constantly mispronounces remember as "renember."
• Constantly mispronounces Islander Goaltender Rick DiPietro's name as "Di Prieto".
• When the Yankees were struggling early in the 2005 season and the Yankees called up Robinson Cano and intentionally and persitantly called him "canoe" as he saw calling him up from AAA as a desperation move and therefore the Yankees were up a creek without a paddle

• When he believes that something should not happen, he constantly repeats the phrase "Can't do it."

• Rinky-dink - referring to the met fans after they booed Chase Utley He uses this phrase from time to time.

• Will often compare two players by remarking that Player A is "not a patch on the fanny" of Player B.

• Once asked former New York Islanders GM Mike Milbury, "Why are you still sitting there?" in regard to his poor track record as general manager.

• when a caller or guest say something he does not like he says: "come on" loudly and boldly!

• Has a tendency to refer to anyone named "Tim" as "Timothy," even if that person prefers to be called Tim (e.g. his repeated references to actor Tim Robbins as "Timothy Robbins."

• When a sports figure does something he doesn't like, he uses the term "bad job", repeatedly. Ie: "That's a bad job by Bonds...bad job Mike, BAD job..."

• "mess up the apple cart" Correct phrase is "upset the apple cart".

On September 22, 2006 Russo stated that Pedro Martinez "Beats to his own tune". The saying is "marches to his own beat".

• Constantly mispronounces NFL Quarterback J.P. Losman as "J.P. Lonesome."

• When Chris wants to emphasize his point he often says, "I'm mean, gee whiz."

• He often asks a question to make a point. For example, "I mean Mike, can the Yankees save some players for the other teams? Do they have to have all the best players?" Or...Mike, can the Giants ever make a big defensive play when it counts most?"

• He also love the term "in that spot." For example..."Mike, that's a good job by Jeter in that spot."

• Initially referred to Albert Pujols {Poo-Holes} as "Albert Pullhouse". In addition Mark Teixiera {Tuh-shera} as "Mark Tahara".

• When discussing Joe Torre's possible firing "They're leaving him sitting on a string" The correct saying would be "Hanging on a string".

• All too often uses the word "scenario" when describing and event or situation.

• Frequently mispronounces the word Philadelphia as "Philadelthia"

• A cup of coffee and I'm raring to fly. Raring to go is the correct saying.
• On producer Eddie Scozzare. He runs the shots. Once again the dog combines two phrases. This time he combines "runs the show" and "calls the shots."

Trivia

Russo is a big fan of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and Southside Johnny.

Russo often picks up grinders from Gates restaurant in New Canaan

Russo also has a New Canaan Estate and Mike Francesa beckons Dog to build a wing in his house for Tony his father.

Russo's name may have been inspiration for the fictional Sports-Talk host "Jerry Musso" on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.

Personal

Russo is the only child of Tony, who is from Flushing, New York, and Vera Russo, who is from England. Russo is currently married to Jeanne and they have four children. He resides in New Canaan, Connecticut. Futhermore, Russo has 2 dogs, one named Luke and the other Skip.

Books

• Russo, Christopher and St. John, Allen. The Mad Dog 100 : The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time. Doubleday, 2003. (ISBN 0-385-50898-0).
• Russo, Christopher and St. John, Allen. The Mad Dog Hall of Fame: The Ultimate Top-Ten Rankings of the Best in Sports. Doubleday, 2006. (ISBN 0-385-51746-7).

See also

• List of talk radio personalities

External links

• Chris Russo bio on WFAN
• The Unauthorized Mike and the Mad Dog Radio Show Blog