Shame then, that the dad-of-the-year candidate in question is pulling down $3 million a year to host an afternoon sports radio show. Newsday’s Neil Best spent a full day with former WFAN / current Sirius/XM mouthpiece Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, visiting the host’s New Canaan, CT home, his Manhattan studios and even managed a little quality time with Russo’s personal trainer (who claims to prefer Mike Francesa’s show). Of Russo’s iron-pumping routines at the gym, Best writes, “his high-volume sports banter does not go over well with all of his fellow customers, some of whom have been known to request appointments at times when the Dog is out.”
Having dropped off Timmy, 13, after an academic pep talk and a review of fantasy football rosters, Russo made his daily trip to Connecticut Muffin for a small coffee with milk and two sugars. The man at the counter didn’t have to ask.
Another customer walked in and greeted him like so: “You were wrong on Ichiro!”
Russo loved it, as he does most interactions with fans. The man in the muffin shop would be the only listener who engaged him Friday, including two train rides and two short walks in Manhattan, but he said he still is recognized regularly.
Russo is not a fan of the “Internets,” as he calls it. He does text, but he does not email. It’s not that he never uses a computer, just that he prefers getting his news in ink.
Steve Torre, the program director with whom Russo oversees Sirius’ “Mad Dog Radio” channel, and Jeanne both said they often find themselves relaying emailed information to Russo from his 21st century friends and associates.It frustrates Jeanne Russo when callers criticize her husband for not having seen a certain play. “He does have four kids,” she said over the noise from a tug-of-war between Patrick and Rosie. “You have to have a life.”