For nineteen years Mike and the Mad Dog kicked the bejesus out of other sports talk radio shows, becoming the most popular show in the market amongst men aged 25 to 54. Its stars, Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, demonstrated a new angle to the term “opposites attract,” attracting listeners with their contrasting personalities and the resulting arguments. While Russo brought oomph and spirit, Francesa laid down the facts.

All this ended though when Russo quit the show yesterday, leaving 659,000 listeners with an aural void in their lives. The station which aired Mike and the Mad Dog, WFAN, must be wishing that they could’ve kept Russo and gotten rid of Francesa , since he’s got about as much personality as a sea sponge. Mike and the Mad Dog without Russo is like The Clash without Joe Strummer or Robin without Batman, i.e. not nearly as scintillating. WFAN had the good sense to drop the show.
 

Now when are these 659,000 guys gonna get the good sense to move on from talk radio?