Mike and the Mad Dog

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo saw Billy Joel in concert, which led to a discussion about his music, which of his songs are Mike's and the Chris' favorites and ticket pricing in this Jan. 27, 2006, clip.

Mike and the Mad Dog interview Yankees great Don Mattingly on June 9, 2008.

Mike and the Mad Dog interview Yankees great Don Mattingly on June 9, 2008.

On June 2, 2008, former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent stopped by the Mike and the Mad Dog show to promote his book “We Would Have Played for Nothing.”

Of course, steroids in baseball was a hot topic then. Vincent said he believed baseball’s union heads were partly to blame for the problem because they fought against a ban on performance-enhancing drugs.

But Vincent said he, too, was somewhat at fault.

“I wish we’d known more when steroids came along,” he said. “I thought it was a football problem.

“We were wrong. We didn’t realize that there are thousands of different compounds called steroids. It’s not like cocaine. There’s just so many different drugs pitchers can take and hitters.”

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo asked Vincent how he came to choose the 11 baseball stars from the 1950s and ’60s to interview for his book.

Vincent also spoke about interviewing Larry Doby, the American League’s first black player, and Ralph Houk, a war hero, player and longtime manager.

Vincent also talked about his time working for future President George Bush in the Texas oil fields and how he wishes he could have remained commissioner for more than three years.

After Chris “Mad Dog” Russo got married, Mike Francesa, John Minko and others offered a critique of the wedding.

The food didn’t draw rave reviews.

“I tell you, Dog, if a pizza man had stumbled in there, he’d never have to work again,” Francesa joked.

Mike and the Mad Dog chat with the Jets head coach in this Jan. 15, 2003, clip.

Mike and the Mad Dog chat with the Jets head coach in this Jan. 15, 2003, clip.

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo was rather jubilant a day after the Yankees were eliminated by the Angels in the 2005 American League Division Series. Mike Francesa was not. 

This classic clip from Mike & the Mad Dog includes a “missive from General George.”

Then-Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens appeared on Mike and the Mad Dog’s show on June 16, 2003, just days after winning his 300th career game.

“I had some emotions out there on the mound, and I think just the fact that it had come and we had gotten it there at home and just huge the ovations and everything, it was just tremendous,” Clemens said.

Before there was a new Yankee Stadium, there was this classic argument between Mike and the Mad Dog about whether there should be a new Yankee Stadium.

Chris “Mad Dog” Russo believed a new venue wasn’t needed because the Yankees were still packing the house and making money hand over fist.

Mike Francesa, a longtime Yankees fan, disagreed.

“I personally felt that they need a new stadium because I think it is cramped, I think underneath it is cramped, they don’t have any of the modern amenities that Camden Yards has, they don’t have any of the modern amenities that any of these wonderful new ballparks have that I think are very fan friendly,” Francesa said.

At one point, the argument became a debate about how long it takes to use the restroom at Yankee Stadium.