With Arizona’s Cinderella snakes set to take on the Creed-loving Texas Rangers in the World Series after the Diamondbacks stunned the Phillies on Tuesday night, legendary sports talk host Chris “Mad Dog” Russo may have created his own prison after saying he’d retire if the D-backs were able to win two straight in Philly to advance to the Fall Classic.
After falling behind in the NLCS 2-0, the Diamondbacks were able to win two out of three in Arizona before returning to Philadelphia needing to sweep the final two games of the best-of-seven series to advance. Before Game 6 in Philly on Monday, Russo said he would retire if the Diamondbacks won twice to capture the NLCS.
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Gray speaks with InsideHook about his friendship with Jack Nicholson and his new book “Talking to GOATs”“To make a long story short, I’ve been wrong on Arizona from Day 1,” Russo, 64, said on his SiriusXM radio show. “I’m stunned they beat Milwaukee, I thought they’d get swept by the Dodgers, I never thought they’d even go back to Philly for a Game 6. I’ll try it one more time: I would not be stunned if they won [Monday night], I would be floored…If they win the next two days, they win the next two games and win this series in seven games, if they win, I will retire on the spot.”
Suffice it to say that Arizona heard what the former WFAN drive-time host had promised he’d do if they won.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo also called out Russo, who clarified this morning that his retirement promise only referred to radio and did not apply to his TV work, for his ice-cold take. “So I’ve already told ‘Mad Dog,’ I’ve told him a couple times. He’s gotta put his money where his mouth is,” Lovullo told reporters after Tuesday’s win. “Him and Stephen A. Smith go back and forth with all these broken promises, right? Like, I think he had his last day at the network today as far as I’m concerned. We’re accepting applications in Arizona. If you want to work with the D-backs, we’ll take you.”
Russo’s contract with SiriusXM only runs through February, so it’s entirely possible he was already planning on stepping away from the mic and spending more time in front of the camera as his career winds down. In the event that Russo does want to get back on the radio, he arranged a punishment that absolves him from self-imposed retirement during an appearance with Howard Stern on Wednesday. (“Douche was later negotiated to “Liar and Dope.”)
Texas will have home-field advantage for the World Series, which starts on Friday night at Globe Life Field. Whether Russo will be on SiriusXM to discuss the outcome of Game 1 on Saturday morning remains to be seen.
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