Mad Dog Radio With Chris Russo on Sirius XM

Granite Sox

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Dog has been open about trying to get callers from other parts of the country besides the tri-state. It was nice, then, to hear Peter MacGowan, Giants owner, call in randomly around 5:30 today... "Peter from San Francisco... hullo, Pete... whaddya got for us, buddy?"... "Well, first of all, it's Peter, not Pete, and second of all I just wanted to wish you well as you start your job, as mine will be ending in about 10 days."

You could tell Dog was momentarily flummoxed, then got into a nice 10-minute call spanning MacGowan's era as both Giant fan and owner. MacGowan emphasized Giants' success (3rd most victories in baseball -- behind MFYs and Braves -- from 1993 to 2004 or something like that), but Dog went at him a little bit by asking about steroids and special treatment of Bonds. As has been mentioned here before, it was refreshing to see Dog ask some questions that most other radio hosts would avoid just because they might tweak the guest.

All in all, a very nice spontaneous interview with a "friend", but it was helpful that MacGowan was calling from a different part of the country.

Also heard a guy ask him what he thought Nebraska's football chances were... Dog admitted he didn't know a lot about the 'Huskers, thought Pelini was a good choice as coach, then asked his producer/assistant to get him the Nebraska schedule and proceeded to break it down (W's and L's) for the caller. That's a good job there, Chris (as he might say) of makin' an effort.

I like Dog.
 

InsideTheParker

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Not unexpectedly, the Dog is excoriating the Yankees for leaving out all reference to Clemens and Torre in last night's ceremony. As for Clemens and steroid use, he raged, there was a steroids user pitching and another one at first base!

Mostly he was offended, as was I, by the elimination of Torre from the festivities. Says they could have played a video of Torre making a few remarks about the Stadium.

p.s., he is saying that the Yankees are using the stadium closing to distract folks away from their awful record this year.
 
Not unexpectedly, the Dog is excoriating the Yankees for leaving out all reference to Clemens and Torre in last night's ceremony. As for Clemens and steroid use, he raged, there was a steroids user pitching and another one at first base!

Mostly he was offended, as was I, by the elimination of Torre from the festivities. Says they could have played a video of Torre making a few remarks about the Stadium.

p.s., he is saying that the Yankees are using the stadium closing to distract folks away from their awful record this year.

according to fans that were there that called WFAN after the game, they did show videos of torre & mattingly, in dodger blue no less, saying a few words to the fans. as for clemens...
 

nycdoc999

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Not unexpectedly, the Dog is excoriating the Yankees for leaving out all reference to Clemens and Torre in last night's ceremony. As for Clemens and steroid use, he raged, there was a steroids user pitching and another one at first base!

Mostly he was offended, as was I, by the elimination of Torre from the festivities. Says they could have played a video of Torre making a few remarks about the Stadium.

p.s., he is saying that the Yankees are using the stadium closing to distract folks away from their awful record this year.

I have to agree with Mad Dog on those points - it is disingenuous to have everyone chant Andy Pettitte's name and cheer Giambi and make no mention of Clemens - even though his tenure in pinstripes wasn't a long one, he was a part of some historic (good and bad) moments....


The Torre thing is mind-boggling, and shows how petty the Yankee ownership is - Torre and Mattingly should have been videotaped and announced.


And yeah - the Yankees had a crappy year - all they've got is that one night with the stadium closing.....Dog should be in heaven!
 

SteveCrawford

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Mad Dog just said "Mike you're on the Fan what's up buddy?" he quickly corrected himself and said bad job by him on screwing that up. Dog is great overall as just signed up on line for free trial as can't take Francesca solo anymore
 

bsj

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Did he do anything for Yankee Elimination Day? I'm sorry I don't get him anymore.
He starts at 2. I need to get a new XM trial.

EDIT- Yes I am absolutely cheating the system...but fuck that...I pay for Sirius...I can listen to Sirius online. But they are too stupid to stream Russo. But XM does.
 

bsj

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he leads off talking about the TWINS???
He's working his ass off to stay national.



Finally at 2:14 he talks about the Yankees.

"The wicked witch is dead"

Russo said he is trying to get Brian Cashman and he's refusing to come on the air today ;)
 

Clears Cleaver

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Aug 1, 2001
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he is playing "Play Ball" right now talking up the Sox-Angels series. Said he will be playing the song all week
 

bsj

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Mad Dog killing the Mets, and the fans in agreement.

You know...he's still at his best when he can hate on NY. Despite the attempts to go national.
 

MoGator71

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I think he ran the "we just weren't good enough" soundbytr from Jeter about 1,836 times yesterday. I love Doggie. Being in Florida I didn't get him on FAN anymore (I'm not sitting at the pc listening to a stream all afternoon, sorry) and it's nice to have him on XM now. Not sure about everybody else but I like him a bit better with Mike (or at least somebody)...though he's infinitely better solo than Mike is by himself. Francesa by himself is pretty blah.
 

bsj

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I actually called in just now...asked a question about Lane Kiffin's firing and Al Davis refusing to pay him...then I asked a follow up question, but I heard a click and wasnt sure if I was hung up on, and it came out all fucked up because I got rattled and wasnt sure if I was still on...I wanted to ask "As an Alumnus of Syracuse, what he thought of the rumors that Kiffin may rescue my alma mater....and it came out as "you think Kiffin may actually rescue my alumnus Syracuse".

Yes. I sounded like an idiot. :lol:

And then they hung up for that very reason and I didnt even hear the answer ;)

- "Jeff from Jersey"
 

MiddletownYazMan

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Russo is pissing off his corn fed Huskers and Dallas Cowboy listeners by saying how much better baseball is than football. You know he totally misses being able to devote all of the time to talking about baseball when something like last night goes down.
 

bsj

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Yankee fan calling bitching about losing his "elimination day"... :buddy:

"If Beckett is as good as people say he is, he has to win regardless of injury...otherwise last night means ntthing"

Boo hoo you cunt, you lost your elimination day party.
 

bsj

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I think the jury is long since still out here...

Today the XM/Sirius merging of content officially took place...so now, 22 million listeners a day will be tuning in, as opposed to 10...

His show is good. Not great...needs some fine tuning...but good.
 

Granite Sox

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The show is good! I listen every afternoon driving home, so I get the end of Hour 4, beginning of Hour 5... he's usually pretty revved up by then and going over stories for the second and third time if they're major.

Works hard to expand discussion beyond baseball, pro football, and pro hoops... continues to seek out callers from places other than the Boston-DC megalopolis. The recent run by Texas, then Texas Tech has allowed him to work in a lot of college football, BCS, and Big 12 discussion, which has been pretty good overall. Still a few too many callers from NY/NJ/CT to call it a national show, but he's still as crazy passionate as ever, and has been getting some pretty good guests lately.

Every now and then when there's a big national sports story I'll stream it at work for about a half hour early in the show to see how he's handling the story, so he's got me over the 'Net as well as over air. I subscribe to both XM and Sirius, so I stream Sirius at work, and have XM in my car in the afternoon. Overall, it's worked out great.

Sports radio in Indianapolis is dreadful, so this is like manna from heaven. I used to have to try and tune in WFAN on my car radio, and could only get it in Indiana after sundown and during the winter months. Great for late regular season football and playoffs, but the signal was too spotty to really enjoy. Getting Dog on satellite has been excellent.
 

Granite Sox

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Yes, I believe so. I caught an interview around 5-5:30 that he did with Mike Westhoff (sp.?), Jets ST coach (regarded as an upper-echelon ST coach). Russo was really feeding Westhoff, getting him to break down +/-'s for each team's units. Westhoff was pretty uninhibited with his opinions, and I found it really interesting. Both teams P's suck. Cards' punter was cut by the Jets, and Westhoff hammered him. Russo: "Since Holmes is a little dangerous on returns, will Graham (Cards' P) try and use the sideline as a 12th man?"... Westhoff: "In theory, but Ben can't do it. He'd probably try and do it, then kick it 50 yards straight down the middle. He can't do it." Wow... usually don't hear a coach rip another player quite like that. Russo: "Rackers is a little shaky in big spots..." Westhoff: "Nope. I don't agree. He'll make his kicks." Russo: "What about Reed? I LIKE REED!" Westhoff: "Yeah, he's good. Solid." Russo: "How 'bout any gimmick plays?" Westhoff: "Here's where I think it gets interesting. Not many people notice it, but Rackers is GREAT at onside kicks, the type where you drive the top of the ball into the ground for a good hop. Also, he's got this shank kick that I think will be very dangerous. He sets his body up like he's going to drive it downfield, then at the last second he pulls up and hits like a Phil Mickelson wedge that pops about 30 yards downfield and the Cards run onto it. I really think that the Cards will have to try one of these types of plays to stay in the game with Pitt." Pretty good stuff.

Russo was also predictably scatter-brained with his pronunciations. He couldn't pronounce Steve Breaston's name (Breast, as in Tit, In, as in IN!) to save his life... called him Beestin about 5 times. Russo remembers that someone got a B- in Freshman algebra and that they tie their left shoe before their right, but he can't pronounce someone's name to save his life. Great analysis, then comedy malapropisms... classic Dog.
 

ifmanis5

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Interesting stuff, thanks for the update.

I wonder if Dog & Fat Boy will go out to dinner while they're in Tampa. [/never_ever_ever_going_to_happen_ideas]
 

vtred

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funniest part of yesterday...Francesa says "we'll be right back with Mike Ditka"...Ditka doesn't show...turn on Russo at same time..."let's welcome in Mike Ditka"...Francesa must've been steaming!
 

Granite Sox

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They're re-running Dog against Mike & Mike in the morning this week. Turned on this AM to hear the Ditka interview. Russo: "Did Halas and Lombardi like each other?" Ditka: "Well... it's not that they liked each other, but there was tremendous respect. Everybody respected the Old Man (Halas)... (temperature rising)... all he wanted to do was beat Lombardi... we all did... but we only did it in '63 and '65." Geez... not holdin' on to THAT for too long, eh Coach? Ditka also had a really interesting and reverent comment about all his coaches... "some of the best in the world... even my high school coach was unbelievable."

Vermeil was on this afternoon. Russo was pumping him for information on how Warner would do against Pittsburgh. Vermeil wasn't offering much. Russo asked him to predict the outcome. "Well, my heart wants the Cardinals, and I think Kurt can do it. But if I was a gambler (which I'm not), I'd have to take Pittsburgh... (then quickly) but anything can happen!" A real vulnerable moment, like a father rooting for his son and his team even though he thinks deep down they have no chance.

Russo: "Is Warner a HOF'er... there's been a lot of talk lately, and he had a real lull in the middle of his career... is he a HOF'er?" Vermeil almost cut him off: "Yes. He's got better stats than all the QB's in there. His postseason stats are better than [among others] Montana, Young, Aikman, Marino, Kelly... that lull you talked about in the middle of his career? ... Never would have happened if I hadn't retired prematurely in 2002." Russo: "Are you saying he would've been just as good?" Vermeil: "Exactly. It ended badly in St. Louis, and he wasn't in the right situation in the other place [Giants]." Russo: "Why do you say that?" V: "Supporting cast wasn't as good." R:"But what about the fumbles? He had the thumb thing...what was up with that?" V: "Kurt has small hands." R: "Whaaaa? The issue was small hands?" V: "I believe so. His hands are pretty small." R: "Smaller than average?" V: "I think so." R: "Well okay then... our thanks to Dick Vital... er... Dick Vermeil. Thanks for visiting, Dick." V: " Okay, bye." R: "All right... there you have it. Warner woulda kept his career going if Vermeil hadn't retired, and he's got small hands! I didn't know that! That's a good job by Vermeil there!"

Hey, it's not as good as when he and Francessa were together, but I still love listening to Russo. Calling Vermeil Dick Vitale was hysterical, even when he corrected himself, and pulling out the "Small Hands" gem like it was the Riddle of the Sphinx just made me laugh... the guy just loves sports so much... he always seems to produce some really weird, esoteric fact or opinion out of his guests that would be a total non-sequitur anywhere except his show. Lots of fun.
 

SteveCrawford

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thanks, missing classic Russo, listening to Mike's boring interviews all week drove me back to eei at work. Have a 10 minute commute so really no point in getting Sirius.
 

Granite Sox

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Parcells was on today. Sounded very cheerful and playful with Dog. Said he's let "bygones be bygones" with the Pats, and reminisced fondly about the players he had there. "Law, Malloy, McGinest... Bruschi... he's still playin'!... these were really good players...Terry Glenn... Bledsoe! Really good... Troy Brown!... he played like 14 years... people don't realize how good these guys are... those were really good teams we had!"

Dog's had a good week of guests. Marvin Lewis and John Harbaugh to dissect and analyze Pittsburgh... Parcells... Vermeil... Westhoff... Ditka... I know I'm missing others, but he had some really good interviews.
 

pedroia'sboys

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Parcells was on today. Sounded very cheerful and playful with Dog. Said he's let "bygones be bygones" with the Pats, and reminisced fondly about the players he had there. "Law, Malloy, McGinest... Bruschi... he's still playin'!... these were really good players...Terry Glenn... Bledsoe! Really good... Troy Brown!... he played like 14 years... people don't realize how good these guys are... those were really good teams we had!"

Dog's had a good week of guests. Marvin Lewis and John Harbaugh to dissect and analyze Pittsburgh... Parcells... Vermeil... Westhoff... Ditka... I know I'm missing others, but he had some really good interviews.
He said he was hard headed with the Pats and takes a lot of the blame. He also said him and Kraft kissed and made up.
 

ifmanis5

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Dog was on the CBS Early Show this morning killing A-Rod. Said the only difference between Alex and Bonds/Clemens is that he still has time left in his career to partially restore his good name.
Russo's really losing his hair on top, but still long on the sides so he's got a Bozo The Clown thing going on. Other than that it was good to see him on air again.
 

Plantiers Wart

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Dog was on the CBS Early Show this morning killing A-Rod. Said the only difference between Alex and Bonds/Clemens is that he still has time left in his career to partially restore his good name.
Russo's really losing his hair on top, but still long on the sides so he's got a Bozo The Clown thing going on. Other than that it was good to see him on air again.
That's from years of wearing those Nuremburg-style headphones.