Mad Dog "Retires" From First Take After Diamondbacks Win
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo on Wednesday jokingly “retired” from ESPN’s First Take after betting his career on the Arizona Diamondbacks losing to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Before the Diamondbacks went back to Philly for Game 6 — trailing 3-2 in the NLCS — Russo gave the team no chance to come back and win the series. He claimed he’d be “floored” if the Diamondbacks won two straight games in what’s become the MLB’s toughest environment, and even went as far as saying he’d retire if the Phillies somehow didn’t win.
On Tuesday night, the Phillies did not win. Since then, Russo has been relentlessly teased online, with many users celebrating the possibility of him walking away from his hall-of-fame broadcasting career over a simple bet.
Immediately after the win, the Diamondbacks themselves even poked fun at the situation.
The 64-year-old appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday morning and was open to the idea of walking around in a bikini as an alternative punishment.
Hours later, Russo was nowhere near hearing the end of it when he was mocked by Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim on First Take. By the end of the episode, he jokingly called it quits when he undid his tie and put on a bucket hat and sunglasses in front of a tropical backdrop in the studio.
“I am out!” Russo said while tropical music was played on the air. “To hell with radio. To hell with Auntie Molly and Uncle Stevie. I am gonna say goodbye to everything. The tie comes off the shirt.”
Despite having his prediction blow up in his face, Russo still didn’t have any confidence in the Diamondbacks going against the Texas Rangers in the World Series.
“Texas in six!” Russo said. “I ain’t jumping on the Diamondbacks bandwagon now! Texas in six! Mai Tai on the beach in the Caribbean! Adios.”
Smith took the opportunity to rain on Russo’s parade and remind him how bad his prediction was.
“You can smile all you want to,” Smith said. “You were dead wrong. You don’t get to get away from that.”
Qerim joked that in retirement, Russo will have more time to be under the influence of one of his favorite snacks.
“Lots of gummies in your future,” she said.
