Mike and the Mad Dog

As the 2006 NBA season was tipping off, then-Commissioner David Stern appeared as a guest on "Mike and the Mad Dog."

In the interview, Stern, who died last week after suffering a brain hemorrhage, discussed the league's push to improve player behavior both on and off the court, the game's young superstars at the time, the Nets moving to Brooklyn and more. 

On June 3, 2003, the Yankees held a news conference announcing that Derek Jeter was being named team captain.

Neither Mike Francesa nor Chris “Mad Dog” Russo believed it was that big of a deal.

“I guess it’s noteworthy because it’s the Yankee captain, but … to me, he’s been the captain since he got here,” Francesa said.

“The Yankees gotta take a chill pill,” Mad Dog said. “Nobody cares.

“It doesn’t mean anything who’s the silly captain on the Yankees,” he continued. “It means nothing whatsoever.”

The Yankees then called in to dispute the assertion that they were calling it a “major” news conference, and Russo started to back down from his criticism of the team.

Later in the show, Russo flipped his lid after seeing all the pomp and circumstance on TV.

There's nothing better than a passionate caller. In this classic segment from "Mike and the Mad Dog" from 2002, a caller, Jerome, gets all worked up about the Yankees' Jason Giambi, who was slumping at the time.

In this “Mike and the Mad Dog” clip from March 23, 2005, Mike Francesa discusses some of his memories of Mickey Mantle, which leads to a discussion about Whitey Ford as well.

As John Minko and two of his buddies turned 50 years old, they went on a Yankees road trip to relive their youth. Mike Francesa and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo were bewildered by some of the details.

Tim McCarver joined "Mike and the Mad Dog" before Game 4 of the 2006 World Series between the Cardinals and Tigers, reminiscing about the classic 1968 World Series between those same teams.

He also discussed playing against the Yankees in the 1964 World Series, including the awe he felt catching when Mickey Mantle was at the plate. And he talked about the 2006 World Series and the Kenny Rogers pine tar controversy.

After pitcher Chien-Ming Wang sprained his right foot running the bases on June 15, 2008, in the Yankees’ 13-0 win over the then-National League Houston Astros, Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner called for the NL to “join the 21st century” and have designated hitters.

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo wanted no part of that, which led to this discussion on the “Mike and the Mad Dog” show on June 18.

Before WFAN was housed in Manhattan's Hudson Square, it called Astoria, Queens, home. There were good memories there, and there were not-so-good memories. This classic "Mike and the Mad Dog" clip from Oct. 25, 2006, was recorded on a day when the newsroom was flooded, which was just one of the problems.

Joe Girardi's name has been coming up a lot as some MLB teams look for a new manager, including the Mets.

Here is an interview Girardi did with "Mike and the Mad Dog" in October 2006, a year before he was hired to manage the Yankees and shortly after he was fired as the Marlins’ skipper (despite being the 2006 Manager of the Year). He was part of the TV broadcast team for the 2006 World Series and discussed the series with Mike Francesa and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, including his take on Tony LaRussa not getting Kenny Rogers ejected for pine tar, as well as his future managerial prospects.

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo is a vocal, lifelong San Francisco Giants fan. So imagine his pain in 2003 when the Giants, still looking for their first world title since leaving New York in 1957, were eliminated from the postseason for the second time by the Marlins, a team that had only been in existence for 10 years at the time.

In this classic clip from Oct. 6, 2003, Russo rants to Mike Francesa about the Marlins’ NLDS win over San Francisco.

“Why waste my time?” Mad Dog says. “Every single freakin’ year I get myself juiced up for this stupid team, and at 43 years of age and three kids, enough already! Let them go hurt somebody else!”

Of course, the Giants have won three world championships since 2010, so all is well with Dog now on that front.