The Healing Process

If you get a chance, you have to check out Simmons podcast with Chris "Mad Dog" Russo. People can say what they want about Simmons, but he always gives me exactly what I need.


The intro to the final Mike and the Mad Dog show, the day after the announcement came that Chris Russo was leaving, in which Mike gives his thoughts:




I haven't really known how to handle the news that the greatest sports radio team in history was splitting up. Weeks e-mailed me last week to ask about it, and at that point I told him I could not really articulate my feelings. "It fucking sucks" I said "and I won't write anything about it until I can say more than that." Well, Simmons' podcast really helped me sort my feelings out and come to terms with this situation. I know I wasn't the only person shaken up by this split, and this podcast can help you too.

Many people, and Simmons in this podcast, compared the split of Mike and the Mad Dog to a divorce. I didn't like that comparison at first (maybe because I had heard it used for Brett Favre 5000 times), but my own emotions during the podcast made me realize what an accurate comparison it is. Simmons waited until about halfway through the podcast to ask Russo if he and Mike were still going to be friends and have a good relationship. Up until he asked, I kept thinking "ask about he and Mike. How are they? I just want to know if the two of them are going to be able to get along." Why do I care? Why do I have such concern for the relationship between these two men? Maybe I blame myself.

Here is Chris calling in on August 15th to say goodbye and clear the air (the final show):





There will never be another show like this. Francesa and Russo both have great sports knowledge and both have unique personalities and senses of humor that complement each other well. I think that I would find Francesa, although funny in an understated way, boring on his own and I think that Russo is a little too over the top for me without Mike to balance him out. On top of that, the chemistry that these two were able to develop over 19 years is something that I don't ever expect to be replicated.



Here is a video from the same final show of Tony Russo (Chris' father) calling in to talk to Mike. I got choked up when Tony asked if he could still call:







I've been extremely upset since hearing about the split of these two, but the Simmons podcast really helped me to feel better about this whole situation. The final show left me feeling despair. The podcast is filled with hope, and even makes me look forward to watching what happens with these two great personalities. In a way, I guess you would say that I felt like I had lost two close friends when the last show took place. But, I didn't lose anybody. These two are still out there, and I can still listen to them.

Hell, I might even order Sirius so I can listen to Mad Dog Radio .


And, for the last time (and about the 15th time this year) I think we need to watch this video: