I know tommorrow is the huuuuuuuuuuuuuge Bar-A party for the Francesa Show but it won’t be the same without Chris “Mad Dog” Russo welcoming the crowd with his routine of “Good Afternoon Mike, how are you?” and Mike’s reply of “Fine, Dog.” It’s not just the show’s jingle and the Russoism’s that will be missed. It’s the balance that Chris provided. Mike, with his Schwablike sports knowledge and love of baseball history can’t be left alone for 5 and a half hours of afternoon drive in the NYC and over the net. Mad Dog needs to be there with his Yankee bashing, SF Giant loving, taking the callers Tank waves off.

These two are to sports radio what Laurel and Hardy are to comedy or Carville and Madeline to politics. No offense to the ESPN radio boys or Philly’s own WIP but these guys basically invented the genre paving the way for Mike and Mike, Tirico and Van Pelt and Colin Cowherd. To think sports radio will go away is naive but to think it will be the same is simply inane. Wthout them guiding me from opening day through the February doldrums I don’t know how my sports iq will stay above average.

It is neither my time or place to dissect the fallout of their relationship or Dog’s new contract (Sirius/XM I believe his own channel, ala Stern), but since I’ve been listening to the fan since my Sony sports walkman, yes the yellow one, accidentally landed on Am while trying to listen to Loveline late night on Z100, I feel fine eulogizing the show. I’ve drifted off many nights to Schmooze, Beningo or Sommers‘ overnight shows, callers flirting with Ann Liquori, awoke to Imus and survived the afternoon bus ride home with Mike and Chris. For a young teenager in NY stuck on the bus for an hour and half to get home form high school, their insight provided the void for sports talk once I was the last one on the bus. I’ll remember Mike’s love of St. John’s, Tony Russo calling in, Mike’s illness, Dog’s marriage and birth of kids, the lazy summer afternoons of them doing solo shows on horse racing and Saratoga or tennis depending on who was in the booth. These guys are as much an American institution as Derek Jeter in the playoffs, apple pie and 4th of July fireworks.

They were not the most knowledgeable on sports but they also mixed in world affairs, movies, politics, the economy, they had the pulse on New Yorkers the way Russert had a pulse on politics. Sure they were heavy on tennis and golf and barely acknowledge the puck but they were entertaining and diverse enough which is all you ask for. They knew their audience to a T. New Yorkers like all sports radio listeners are not just guys living in Mom’s basement jockeying the register overnight at Blockbuster. Sports radio listeners are as different as Mike and Chris and they knew it. I look forward to the Francesa show if only because Mike will cover more St. John’s basketball (his and my alma mater). But also for the hope that the void I feel now will continued to be filled.

Dog I wish you all the luck in the world. For all of us, lets just be glad they paved the way for us to have this site today as much as ESPN and AOL. Let’s all go to Bar-A, raise a glass and be glad for the years they gave us, Is anybody out there? bmb