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Mike and Mad Dog 30 for 30 (MERGED)


JOJOTOWNSELL

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I thought it was great, if a little short

 

some highlights include

*Chris dressed up as the Marquis

*Them pushing the narrative that the Mets had to get Piazza

*They actually talked about the crazy stuff after 9/11

*Mikes old teeth and mustache

*Mike tearing up when Russos dad called

*Francessacon looks like so much 

 

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I loved M&MD. I spent working summers through HS and College listening to their show every day. They were the best. Nothing I've heard since comes close to that show. When Russo left it didn't take Mike long to fall into an endless hole of narcissism. I never really listened to Mad Dog's show on XM however. The two together just works. I got to listen to their 50 min rant yesterday and I could have listened all day. Sometimes things just work when put together, even when they may not, separately. I haven't even gotten to see this 30 for 30 yet. but excited to.

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Did anyone happen to catch this most excellent show on ESPN? For anyone who dislikes Mike Francessa, watching this with give you a little insight as to who Mike actually is. I do not like his ego and bloated opinion of himself, but the man has had a lot to deal with in his life. Father left him destitute and he had to work at 8 years old to support his family, brother committed suicide. Not many people could recover from that and go on to become the best in his or her respective field of business. And Chris Russo, one of the funniest personalities that I have ever had the pleasure to listen to, a good family man, and a really nice guy too having met him a few times. They left out the fact that Russo gained major fame after ranting when the Jets drafted Jeff Lageman, in fact I remember that rant - he almost popped a brain vessel LOL!  During the late 80's and through the 90's their opinions were gold. They used to follow the newspapers, but in the end, the newspapers followed them! Hell they were even responsible for the Mets getting Mike Piazza, I remember it like it was yesterday. Their NFL pick segment every football Friday was awesome as was their Super Bowl contest where Russo dressed up like the Marquis D'esad. Which Jet fan did not run to his or her radio every Monday at 1pm to hear what Mike & Chris thought of the previous day's Jet performance? I used to love to hear them rail on the Giants even more when they sucked. Their arguments about the Yankees were hilarious. Sports radio nowadays is garbage IMO with all stations trying to recreate what Mike and the Mad Dog were, failing miserably.

Those guys are legends already, but sadly, their amazing success is the reason they will never reunite. Nobody could afford to pay the 2 of them to sit in the same room now. In the Summer doldrums with nothing going on in sports whatsoever, this was a fun show to watch and to remember my time listening to them...

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59 minutes ago, hokiejetfan92 said:

I live in VIrignia Beach now, and sports talk radio is terrible around here I can not stand it. I miss Mike and the Mad dog. Or WFAN in general

 

You can listen online still.

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3 hours ago, HessStation said:

I loved M&MD. I spent working summers through HS and College listening to their show every day. They were the best. Nothing I've heard since comes close to that show. When Russo left it didn't take Mike long to fall into an endless hole of narcissism. I never really listened to Mad Dog's show on XM however. The two together just works. I got to listen to their 50 min rant yesterday and I could have listened all day. Sometimes things just work when put together, even when they may not, separately. I haven't even gotten to see this 30 for 30 yet. but excited to.

No desire to watch this. Would rather to listen to music either way. They were very lucky they launched before the internet took off. Had they come to prominence in say 1999, no way they compete. Were also very lucky WFAN was getting started and didn't really have na afternoon show. Simply they have always cribbed their info from newspapers and then later the internet. Once they got on TV that got totally exposed. Heck, they had the Post open and out on the desk every day. Most of us can read the paper for ourselves. Russo at least  seems to be  nice guy who at least grasps this is the toy department of life and he is very fortunate to make a living this way. 

The words "arrogant pompous douchebag" were each created for Mike Francesa. At a loss why anyone would listen to him for 10 seconds. 

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6 hours ago, ASH1962 said:

Did anyone happen to catch this most excellent show on ESPN? For anyone who dislikes Mike Francessa, watching this with give you a little insight as to who Mike actually is. I do not like his ego and bloated opinion of himself, but the man has had a lot to deal with in his life. Father left him destitute and he had to work at 8 years old to support his family, brother committed suicide. Not many people could recover from that and go on to become the best in his or her respective field of business. And Chris Russo, one of the funniest personalities that I have ever had the pleasure to listen to, a good family man, and a really nice guy too having met him a few times. They left out the fact that Russo gained major fame after ranting when the Jets drafted Jeff Lageman, in fact I remember that rant - he almost popped a brain vessel LOL!  During the late 80's and through the 90's their opinions were gold. They used to follow the newspapers, but in the end, the newspapers followed them! Hell they were even responsible for the Mets getting Mike Piazza, I remember it like it was yesterday. Their NFL pick segment every football Friday was awesome as was their Super Bowl contest where Russo dressed up like the Marquis D'esad. Which Jet fan did not run to his or her radio every Monday at 1pm to hear what Mike & Chris thought of the previous day's Jet performance? I used to love to hear them rail on the Giants even more when they sucked. Their arguments about the Yankees were hilarious. Sports radio nowadays is garbage IMO with all stations trying to recreate what Mike and the Mad Dog were, failing miserably.

Those guys are legends already, but sadly, their amazing success is the reason they will never reunite. Nobody could afford to pay the 2 of them to sit in the same room now. In the Summer doldrums with nothing going on in sports whatsoever, this was a fun show to watch and to remember my time listening to them...

Thank you so much...

They, like NYC, will never be the same ever again, but it really was a sweet run.  It really was.....

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1 hour ago, hokiejetfan92 said:

Yeah I know but I really only would want to listen while I am driving. I unfortunately don't have a fancy bluetooth in my car either.

Download the TuneIn App on your phone and play it through an aux cable. 

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I never could stand that fat blowhard of a Giants fan. He personifies everything that I hate about sports coverage. I'm thrilled he's going off the air. Give me a John Anderson or Rich Eisen type all day long. It's just sports, just cover it professionally and stop making it out to be snarky or something to get outraged over and scream into the microphone about.

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As a CPA with clients in the Bronx, Jersey, LI etc.. those guys got me through a very difficult time in my life.

Commuting to see clients in all boroghs, not happy at the time personally or professionally,  I could rely on those 2 knuckleheads to put a smile on my face as I sat in 2 to 2.5 hours of traffic every drive home.   For that I will always and forever be grateful.   They were pure entertainment.  The 94 Rangers/Knicks summer was an unbelievable time to be in NY and they covered it beautifully.

I absolutely remember Pete Franklin getting the boot and their 1st day on the air.

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6 hours ago, Lil Woody said:

I never could stand that fat blowhard of a Giants fan. He personifies everything that I hate about sports coverage. I'm thrilled he's going off the air. Give me a John Anderson or Rich Eisen type all day long. It's just sports, just cover it professionally and stop making it out to be snarky or something to get outraged over and scream into the microphone about.

Eh. Last time I really heard Mike go off was about the automatic walks in baseball...and he was spot on.

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On 7/15/2017 at 1:29 PM, Bugg said:

No desire to watch this. Would rather to listen to music either way. They were very lucky they launched before the internet took off. Had they come to prominence in say 1999, no way they compete. Were also very lucky WFAN was getting started and didn't really have na afternoon show. Simply they have always cribbed their info from newspapers and then later the internet. Once they got on TV that got totally exposed. Heck, they had the Post open and out on the desk every day. Most of us can read the paper for ourselves. Russo at least  seems to be  nice guy who at least grasps this is the toy department of life and he is very fortunate to make a living this way. 

The words "arrogant pompous douchebag" were each created for Mike Francesa. At a loss why anyone would listen to him for 10 seconds. 

Greatest show in the 90's. Part of the fabric of my life. 

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On 7/15/2017 at 1:29 PM, Bugg said:

No desire to watch this. Would rather to listen to music either way. They were very lucky they launched before the internet took off. Had they come to prominence in say 1999, no way they compete. Were also very lucky WFAN was getting started and didn't really have na afternoon show. Simply they have always cribbed their info from newspapers and then later the internet. Once they got on TV that got totally exposed. Heck, they had the Post open and out on the desk every day. Most of us can read the paper for ourselves. Russo at least  seems to be  nice guy who at least grasps this is the toy department of life and he is very fortunate to make a living this way. 

The words "arrogant pompous douchebag" were each created for Mike Francesa. At a loss why anyone would listen to him for 10 seconds. 

The ole... they were lucky comment, anyone could do it.?      Well tens of thousands have tried and MMD were the number one billing station in America for many years.  Like them or not they were pure entertainment for millions.   No one has replicated them ... but yes, they were lucky.  SMH. 

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21 hours ago, Lil Woody said:

I never could stand that fat blowhard of a Giants fan. He personifies everything that I hate about sports coverage. I'm thrilled he's going off the air. Give me a John Anderson or Rich Eisen type all day long. It's just sports, just cover it professionally and stop making it out to be snarky or something to get outraged over and scream into the microphone about.

There was much more to the show than just Mike for the last 8 years.  The show was awesome until Mad Dog left. Not that Mad Dog was the only reason it was good. It was their relationship, they balanced things well between the two of them. It was great while I lasted. 

Seems  like some people are having a hard time differentiating what the show was and what it became last 7-8-9 years. 

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1 hour ago, HessStation said:

There was much more to the show than just Mike for the last 8 years.  The show was awesome until Mad Dog left. Not that Mad Dog was the only reason it was good. It was their relationship, they balanced things well between the two of them. It was great while I lasted. 

Seems  like some people are having a hard time differentiating what the show was and what it became last 7-8-9 years. 

Francesa has always been a douchebag. He treats everyone, even people who kiss his ample ass, badly. Ask his 1st wife. Not like his brilliant insight makes up for it; he has no such insights.

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22 minutes ago, Bugg said:

Francesa has always been a douchebag. He treats everyone, even people who kiss his ample ass, badly. Ask his 1st wife. Not like his brilliant insight makes up for it; he has no such insights.

Proabably, doesn't take away from the show being awesome for 19 years. 

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That show got me through many commuting days to college and work and I always enjoyed the show. I thought they were really fun to listen to though their knowledge of basketball dropped off once the Knicks became irrelevant and their NFL was down too, though I think that had more to do with me being familiar with the Jets and them feuding with them and ESPN (The day the Jets got Favre and Mad Dog led off with tennis was pretty nuts). They would definitely create a buzz around certain moves and I do believe that helped influence decisions. I know the show went into getting Piazza but it was those two that went wild over getting him to first base and of course when the mets finally caved and Mike couldnt play first those two changed their tune about how it was the worst idea in all of sports. Mike hasnt been the same since Chris left the show and Chris on his own was never good.  Im not sure if they will get together again in the future or if it would work even if they did but it was a fun show for the long time it lasted.

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They were the original hot take/first report thing that we so despise now.  

Both came off with strong opinions and would talk down to people that disagreed, but they worked perfectly because they were so passionate about it.  It worked for the market, because it was a love/hate market.  Chances are if you were a Jets fan, you hated the Giants.  Knicks fan? Hated the Nets.  Yankees fan? Hated the Mets.  Rangers fan? Hated Islanders and Devils.  And vice versa.   

So they could appeal to pretty much all the crowds because if they were complimenting your team, obviously you cared.  If they were trashing any of the other teams, you liked it as well because a high amount of people hated the other fan bases.  So for 2/3 scenarios (loving your team, and hating your rival) you loved the show, which is why people kept tuning in over and over again.  And they had diverse approaches, with Mike being the big picture "I know more than you" approach, with Chris being the in the moment guy with a "I care more than you" approach.  Their personalities played off each other, and they would convince people of their knowledge because they chose the content. 

I used to listen to them a lot, and really valued their opinions until somewhere around 2007/2008.  Mike was a proclaimed big Yankees fan, and the Yankees promoted Phil Hughes and then later Joba Chamberlain.  Most general Yankee fans didn't know who they were in depth, but heard some rumblings.   Mike had absolutely no idea who they were. Both times had to bring in an MILB guy to fill them in, and at that moment I figured, it's pretty much all an act.  They just gravitate towards the push button issues, rather than actually be knowledgeable of the teams they follow. 

It's the same formula that ESPN has tried on TV, one calm guy that thinks he knows more than you (Wilbon, Bayless, etc) and one guy who is just passionate (Kornheiser, Stephan A. Smith) and hoping people go back and forth and root for both people at different times.  It doesn't work quite as well because if you are a Yankee fan, most likely you don't HATE say the Padres, or if you are a Jets fan, you don't despise the Cardinals in the same way, so it's easier for people to call out BS.  

Mike had connections, that was the big thing about him, because this is before the internet was big, and twitter became the instant go to place.  He knew rumors, which made it worth it to listen to him.  I always thought he was behind in terms of actual game knowledge, probably because they had to concentrate on so many levels of sports and stories.  Russo had the hysterics, he was bound to lose it at times.  I mostly always hated the callers because it was the same idiotic thing, over and over again.  Like today would be "First time, long time, I love your show Mike and Chris, would really like to know if the Jets would entertain trading for Andrew Luck, maybe we can give them a first and Bryce Petty, I'll hang up and listen" type calls that are just stupid.  

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never really listened to these guys, was always listening to howard stern back in the day.  I can relate to what a lot of you are saying. When i originally got to Tampa Bubba the Lovesponge was all the rage and unfortunately(or fortunately) he couldnt hold howards jock strap so I never tuned in.

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I thoroughly enjoyed listening to these guys from their first days on WFAN.  Listened to them almost daily until The Mad Dog left.  Wasn't as big a fan of the show after that, but still have tuned in from time to time to this very day.  Many shows have tried to create that early M&M magic, but none have successfully pulled it off.  I'd rather listen to a dying cat then Michael Kay, for the record. 

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37 minutes ago, ChuckkieB said:

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to these guys from their first days on WFAN.  Listened to them almost daily until The Mad Dog left.  Wasn't as big a fan of the show after that, but still have tuned in from time to time to this very day.  Many shows have tried to create that early M&M magic, but none have successfully pulled it off.  I'd rather listen to a dying cat then Michael Kay, for the record. 

Pretty much, this, +1 etc.

Michael Kay is an enormous phony. He's so unlistenable that I would spend a lot of car time holding my nose and just listening to old, delusional, megalomaniac Francesca, bc Kay is that bad.  And I'm a Yankee fan fwiw. 

 

 

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