Mike and the Mad Dog

Johnny Vander Meer remains the only pitcher in MLB history to throw two straight no-hitters in consecutive starts. As John Means attempts to tie that feat in Queens on Tuesday, we resurface an old interview with Mike, Chris, and Vander Meer from 1996.

Then-Mets general manager Omar Minaya appeared on "Mike and the Mad Dog" on Jan. 25, 2006, just as the back pages were accusing him of showing preference toward signing Latino players. “I understand when you’re the first Hispanic general manager, there are going to be people that are going to look at everything that you do and try to analyze it or try to say, ‘He’s doing this because of that,'” Minaya said. “The fact is growing up in New York City, I never think about race. “The New York Mets, what we’re trying to do as an organization is put the best team on the field.”

Boomer Esiason and Dan Reeves were among the parade of big-name guests to wish the "Mike and the Mad Dog" show a happy 10th anniversary in November 1999. At the time, Reeves was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, who were struggling a year after reaching their first Super Bowl, and Esiason was the color commentator for “Monday Night Football.”

 Derek Jeter’s best season came in 2006, when he batted .343 with 14 homers, 97 RBIs and 118 runs. But he only finished second in American League MVP voting, being edge out by Minnesota’s Justin Morneau.Mike and the Mad Dog thought Jeter should have won, and on Nov. 21, 2006, the day the results were announced, they wanted answers. What was even more perplexing for Chris “Mad Dog” Russo is how one voter put Jeter sixth on his ballot. Mike and the Mad Dog tracked down that writer, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, and put him on the spot. “To me, you take Jeter out, are the Yankees as good a team? No. Are they a playoff team? Probably still a playoff team when you look at that lineup,” Cowley said. “So I mean, I base it a lot on that, and I talk to people. You grab some guys from around the American League and tell them: ‘Which guy do you think is the MVP? Which guy do you fear the most in that lineup?’ And I heard more people say they fear A-Rod and Cano more than they fear Jeter.” “They’re not watching Yankee games,” Russo fired back. Earlier in the show, the guys talked to Ed Price of the Newark Star-Ledger about why he voted Morneau first and Jeter second. “Everybody has their own definition of MVP,” Price said. “That’s kind of the beauty of it is that it’s open to interpretation.”

In this "Mike and the Mad Dog" clip, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo tries to call a horse race. There are only a couple of problems: Chris doesn’t have binoculars, and he’s not sure where the finish line is.

On June 11, 2007, Yankees great Bill “Moose” Skowron appeared as a guest on "Mike and the Mad Dog." He reflected on his career, including playing for the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers team that beat the Yankees in the World Series -- it wasn't the cherished memory you might expect. The six-time All-Star also told tales of his time as a Yankee.

On Jan. 25, 2006, then-Mets manager Willie Randolph appeared on "Mike and the Mad Dog" to discuss the previous season and the one that was on the horizon. Randolph talked about Aaron Heilman, Kazuo Matsui, Xavier Nady, showdowns with the Phillies and more. The Mets, of course, went on to win the NL East in 2006 and came within one game of reaching the World Series.

The day after “The Great One” ended his legendary playing career with an emotional Madison Square Garden goodbye, Wayne Gretzky was a guest on "Mike and the Mad Dog." In the April 19, 1999, interview, Gretzky, who spent the final three seasons of his 21-year career with the Blueshirts said: “I’m going to miss all of it. Going to the rink for practice. I’m going to miss the games. I’m going to miss the fans. I’m going to miss sitting around on the road talking to the writers about hockey. … But most of all, I’m going to miss my teammates.”

Eli Manning is calling it a career. In this installment of the "Best of Mike and the Mad Dog," we share an interview with Manning from Aug. 5, 2008. It was from when the guys stopped by Giants training camp. Of course, Big Blue's stunning upset of the previously unbeaten Patriots in Super Bowl XLII sixth months earlier was still a hot topic of discussion. 

In this “Mike and the Mad Dog” clip from Aug. 5, 2008, Mike Francesa and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, interview then-Giants coach Tom Coughlin during his first training camp after winning Super Bowl XLII. As it turned out, this was the last show Mike and Chris did together before their split was announced.