Don’t rule out a “Mike and the Mad Dog” reunion.
Mike Francesa isn’t, as he looks ahead to life after WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM, where he’ll take his curtain call in December after 30 years commanding the attention of New York sports fans.
“The bottom line is I don’t know what I’m going to do. I haven’t really made any decisions about anything,” Francesa told The NY Post after Thursday’s Town Hall reunion at the SiriusXM studios in Manhattan. “If someone brings me something, I’ll look at anything. Nobody’s brought us anything, so if somebody brings us something, who knows what the future will bring?”
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo remains under contract with MLB Network and SiriusXM, where he has hosted his own afternoon show since leaving WFAN and his 19-year partnership with Francesa in 2008. If “Mike and the Mad Dog” does resurrect in some form, both recognize it will have to fall under Russo’s terms — and whatever Francesa’s new contract situation may be.
For an hour, at least, Francesa and Russo channeled their old chemistry in a Q&A special that aired Thursday night on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio, ahead of ESPN’s “Mike and the Mad Dog” 30-for-30 premiering next week. Nine years apart, each said, did little to damage their on-air rapport.
“I miss the connection,” Russo said. “You don’t have that connection sometimes when you’re on Sirius, so you miss that Yankee connection, that specific thing that you can break down.”
“It’s like riding a bike,” Francesa added. “We worked together so long that it’s just second nature. … We could sit down today and do a show for five hours."
The Town Hall, which aired Thursday night on Mad Dog Sports Radio on SiriusXM, touched on a number of subjects, including the upcoming ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on the duo, which will air July 13, and their infamous feuds. But no bad blood remains between the godfathers of sports talk radio, and they say they just recently have begun to understand the full range of their legacy.
Newsday reports Francesa, who isn’t at liberty to speak about any future contracts yet, said he hasn’t decided anything about his future despite talking to a number of people. He agreed that any reunion with Russo likely would not be on a daily basis but said he has “no qualms” about working with him again.
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