August 19, 2008
by Chris Lima
River Avenue News

Former CBS Sports personality Chris "Mad Dog" Russo will be joining the likes of Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, and Bubba the Love Sponge as Sirius Radio announced his hiring.

Russo is best known for his weekday drive home radio show, Mike and the Mad Dog on CBS Radio. Russo was recently let go from the show, and after a tearful goodbye, Chris and Mike finally went their separate ways (the two were known to have had a rocky relationship, at best).

Russo, as many Yankee fans are accustomed to, is a ardent San Fransisco Giants fan, and despises both of New York's major sports teams (Baseball-Yanks, Football-Giants).

Sirius announced the signing of Russo, in a press release on their website:

NEW YORK, Aug 19, 2008 /-- SIRIUS XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) announced today that it has signed renowned sports talk personality Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, the former star of the Mike and the Mad Dog show, to a five-year contract to headline a new sports talk channel exclusively available on SIRIUS and XM.

Mad Dog's recent departure from the market-leading Mike and the Mad Dog has been national news in recent days -- a dramatic reflection of his loyal fan base, huge popularity and strong name recognition. Mad Dog is known for having helped popularize the sports talk radio format across the country and speculation on his next step has been high.

"Mad Dog's fans are passionate about their sports and passionate about where they get their sports news and commentary from -- these are the listeners that any audio entertainment company would want," said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SIRIUS XM Radio. "Having Mad Dog on SIRIUS and XM will fuel subscriber growth and create new and exciting opportunities for advertisers. Choose whatever sports analogy you want -- this is a big win."