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As a kid in Hollis, Queens, Stephen A. Smith grew up listening to Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Mike Francesa on the New York City sports radio station WFAN.
Now ESPN’s biggest star wants to arrange an on-air reunion between the two sports radio legends on his national morning TV show, “First Take.”
During an appearance Wednesday with Howard Stern on SiriusXM, Smith told listeners he’s trying to book the duo for a joint appearance in the near future.
Almost a year ago, Smith convinced the legendary “Mad Dog” to join him for weekly appearances on his “Embrace Debate” show.
Russo has been a great addition, battling across the debate desk with Smith and other ESPN talents. But during his time on WFAN, Francesa was one of ESPN’s loudest critics.
“My respect for both of them is profound,” Smith told Stern, according to the New York Post. “They are pioneers in this business. And when I brought Mad Dog on my show ‘First Take,’ the bosses didn’t think they could get him. I picked up the phone, and in like two seconds, he was like, ‘I’m in. I’m there for you.’ I love the guy. This guy and Mike Francesa started sports talk radio. They made sports talk radio what it is.”
It’s not clear if ESPN will pay Francesa for an appearance. But so far, the Worldwide Leader in Sports has been getting a bargain with Russo.
Last June, Stern asked his fellow SiriusXM radio host how much he earned for his guest spots on “First Take.”
Russo replied he was getting $10,000 per appearance on a 40-week contract. If the Mad Dog can help reel in Francesa, he’ll probably get a raise.
Russo and Francesa ruled New York radio for nearly 20 years, from 1989 to 2008. Smith can relate to breakups.
Front Office Sports broke the story that Smith was splitting with “First Take” partner Max Kellerman in 2021. Since then, Smith has employed a rotating series of guest debaters, including Russo, Marcus Spears, and Dan Orlovsky.
On his own show Thursday, Russo pegged the reunion date on “First Take” for February 1.
“It sounds like the big guy will return, and we’ll have the three of us in there. I can tell you this, no other people, the three of us, for two hours. Think about that. You talk about me being a fraud, Mike hated ESPN for 100 years!”
