Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo Asks Howard for Help After Vowing to Retire on Air

Plenty of sports experts predicted the Philadelphia Phillies would beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series and advance to the World Series, but broadcasting legend Chris “Mad Dog” Russo took it a step further.

“If [the Diamondbacks] win this series … I will retire on the spot,” the SiriusXM host said Monday afternoon on his show.

So, when the Diamondbacks did pull off the big upset Tuesday night, they didn’t just end the Phillies season, they potentially ended Mad Dog’s radio career. Finding himself in quite the predicament, Mad Dog called into the Stern Show on Wednesday morning and asked Howard for help.

“I must have you get me out of this pickle,” Russo announced. “I am in an incredible pickle, and I need Mister Stern to go out there and figure this out so I can [make] amends.”

Howard had several ideas for Mad Dog to choose from. One involved “pulling a Tom Brady” and making his retirement more of a short-term thing. “You’re going to go off radio, then you’re going to un-retire [and] say you changed your mind and came back,” he suggested.

The other idea was for Mad Dog to publicly humiliate himself and to do such a good job of it that everyone would forget his promise to retire. Howard suggested he walk around the streets of Manhattan wearing a Diamondbacks bikini and a sandwich sign reading “I’m a liar and dope.”

“That would make people forget about it,” Mad Dog agreed before mulling the idea over. “Nobody has conquered the world of radio like you,” he continued. “If you think this is the only way I can sort of get back my good name, I will have to do it. That’s the bottom line.”

Howard thought Mad Dog was making a smart move, though he still couldn’t understand why the broadcaster had promised to retire in the first place. “What were you thinking?” he asked. “That was crazy.”

“It was a throwaway line,” Russo insisted. “Nobody in America thought Arizona would ever win.”