Mike and The Mad Dog - Incidents and Controversies

Incidents and Controversies

While the Mike and the Mad Dog program has been a success, the duo has had their share of problems. Things did not go well at first. Neither of them was happy about the arrangement, and each felt that he deserved his own show. Arguments between the two have spilled onto the air and there were backstage debates about such matters as whose name would come first and which of them would get the power seat - the one facing the control room. Each had an entourage of advisers and friends who pushed him to ask for more. Sometimes Don Imus needled them on his program or walked by them in the hall and said, "You are so much better than ." However, Imus did play peacemaker during several of the more public fights.

Regarding the relationship between Francesa and Russo, Francesa said, "It was an arranged marriage and almost a quickie divorce." Russo admitted that such a proposition of breaking up between the two would have been celebrated in 1992. However, Russo said in an interview, "I think that, in the long term, the station sees us as a tandem and would not want to break the brand up... And to tell you the truth, after almost 20 years together, Mike and I are like a married couple: It would be too hard to leave him. I never thought I would hear myself say this, but it would feel very strange to be on the air without him."

However, their relationship got strained again in March 2008. It was reported that Francesa and Russo were considering ending their radio show. Russo admitted that from the end of March through the beginning of May, "Mike and I were .having a lot of issues. If you're a listener, I don't have to tell you . . . We were fighting like cats and dogs. The tolerance level of each other, Mike to me, me to Mike, was low." But Russo insisted their relationship since improved. Francesa agreed that this was among the worst of their "four or five" fights over the years.