Mike and the Mad Dog
Mike and the Mad Dog is an afternoon drive sports radio program on WFAN AM 660 in New York. The hosts of the radio program are Mike Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo. The show debuted on September 5, 1989 to replace the late Pete Franklin. Originally it was broadcasted weekdays from 2 p.m. Eastern Time to 6 p.m. Currently not only is it extended from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., but since 2004 is simulcast on the YES Network and WROW in Albany, New York, which begins simulcasting at 2 p.m. Weeknights the YES Network airs a one hour "Best of Mike and the Mad Dog" program.
The show starts with the theme song below and then with Russo's intro: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnnnnnnnnnnnd good afternoon, everybody! How are you today?"
The show involves Mike and the Mad Dog talking and arguing with each other or with callers about sports, or rarely, about non-sports. Mike and Chris are also known for their hard-hitting questions in interviews with their guests. One of the show's marketing pitches states: "Some shows report sports scores. We settle them."
Occasionally, nationally syndicated morning talk show host Don Imus called Mike and Chris "Fatso and Fruit Loops". New York Daily News sports media columnist Bob Raissman called them "FranDog".
An occasional segment is the boys replaying John Sterling's (Yankees radio broadcaster) over-the-top home run calls and "The Yankees win ... thhhhhhhhh Yankees win!" finishing call from the previous night's Yankee's game.
Other segments include Francesa trying to guess local ratings of sports events, trying to find romantic dates for their producers and 20/20 reporters, and the "Mike and the Marquis" Super Bowl contest, where callers try to win Super Bowl tickets by answering Super Bowl trivia questions posed to them by Russo, dressed in full 18th century European regalia complete with powdered wig, as "The Marquis."
The pair often leave their Astoria studios to do remote broadcasts from the Super Bowl, pre-season football camps and spring training sites.
Mike and Chris won the 2000 Marconi Award for Major Market Personality of the Year. The announcement was made on September 23 at the 2000 National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Radio Awards Dinner and Show in San Francisco, CA.
Between June 30, 2005 and July 1, 2005, Mike and Chris broadcasted live for 25 straight hours for the first time ever for various charities. It started after the completion of the New York Mets game (approximately 5 p.m.) and continued through the next day at 6:30 p.m. The show was broadcasted from the Summer Garden at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
On May 25, 2006, Mike and Chris broadcasted a Major League Baseball game at Shea Stadium between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets on radio for local charities. Chris did the play-by-play and Mike did the color analysis except that they reversed the roles during the third and seventh innings. Their broadcasting performance were evaluated later on by Ed Coleman and Howie Rose on what they did.
[edit] Theme Song
Each show starts with a theme song jingle written by JAM Creative Productions. Lyrics below:
Mike and the Mad Dog...SportsRadio 66 W F A N
They're talkin' sports, goin' at it as hard as they can,
It's Mike and the Mad Dog on the FAN
Nothing can get by 'em
Turn it on and try 'em
Mike and the Mad Dog
W-F-A-N
