ESPN
On Monday, in an effort to display his confidence in the Philadelphia Phillies advancing to the 2023 World Series, famed New York City radio host Mike ‘Mad Dog’ Russo claimed he would retire on the spot if the Arizona Diamondbacks won Game 6 and 7 in Philadelphia.
“Write it down: if they win the next two games and win this series in seven games, I will retire on the spot,” Russo said.
The fact that you’re reading this suggests you know what ultimately happened: the D’Backs won both Game 6 and 7 over the Phillies to advance to the franchise’s first World Series since winning it in 2001.
On Wednesday morning — the morning after the Phillies’ brutal 4-2 loss — Russo did appear opposite Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim for his usual — and, frankly hilarious — weekly appearance on the long-running ESPN morning show.
Wednesday afternoon, however, Russo was absent for the first segment of his radio show, playing into the retirement shtick. He did, however, return after the first break.
And… he's back after the first break. More shtick.
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) October 25, 2023
According to Russo, who was speaking on The Howard Stern Show, instead of retiring, he will wear a Diamondbacks bikini.
Russo’s retirement bet was basically the cardinal sin of sports media hot takery, as he put actual stakes on his bloviation, thus giving audiences a reason to remember it. In all likelihood, virtually all of the personalities in sports media are wrong more than they’re right, but no one cares to remember because, well, there are far more important things in life.
Mad Dog putting his job on the line, however, gave everyone a reason to recall whether or not he was actually right. Still, what Russo has going for him is the fact that no one will care about his failed NLCS prediction in about a week’s time.
The Diamondbacks — whose manager Torey Lovullo said he would “love to see him quit”– will be taking on the Texas Rangers in the 2023 World Series, which begins on Friday, October 27. Heading into Game 1 of the series, the Diamondbacks are the underdogs in the matchup.