Chris Russo on the set of ESPN's "First Take" on...

Chris Russo on the set of ESPN's "First Take" on Feb. 1, 2023. Credit: ESPN Images/Jessie Alcheh

It was Aug. 14, 2008, and the “Mike and the Mad Dog” radio show was hours away from being officially no more on WFAN.

But the station had a concern: Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo would leave and join rival ESPN Radio. It wanted written assurance he would not.

Russo, who still was under contract to WFAN, planned to join SiriusXM, not ESPN, so he was fine with faxing a resignation letter stating that.

The problem was, he was out that evening down the Jersey Shore with his college roommate, Jeff Heiss, and had no access to a fax machine.

But he knew a place that did. It was Bar Anticipation, the Lake Como, New Jersey, spot Russo and Mike Francesa made famous for doing a show there every late August.

He called the bar, asked to use the fax machine and stayed for a couple of drinks with Heiss, marking the official end of a New York sports media era.

Russo has not been back since.

That will change Friday when he returns to host his SiriusXM show, 15 years after joining that outlet and 16 years since he last worked with Francesa at Bar A.

It has been a long, strange trip back, scheduled for 3 to 7 p.m.

While Russo has been happy with his time at SiriusXM and has expanded his reach with his "High Heat" show on MLB Network and weekly appearances on ESPN’s “First Take,” much has happened at his old station.

“First off, you had Mike by himself, then [Chris] Carlin, then back to Mike, then [Craig] Carton and now another show,” Russo told Newsday on Monday. “They have had a lot of shows in afternoon drive since I left in ’08.”

But Russo mostly stays out of the drama at the FAN. He said his relationship with Francesa is good, but that Francesa will not be appearing on Friday’s show.

“This is a Sirius event,” Russo said. “I can’t make it about WFAN.”

Francesa continued doing shows from Bar A until his final summer at the station in 2019. ESPN’s “The Michael Kay Show” has held shows there the past two summers.

Russo, 63, who grew up in Syosset, said he has no regrets about leaving back in ‘08.

“For all concerned, and that includes Mike, it was the right move at the right time,” he said. “Sirius has been good to me. They let me do my thing. I’ve signed two or three contracts since I signed that original one . . . I love Sirius.”

Friday’s Bar A show will require some adjustments compared to the old days.

For one thing, the live band cannot be heard on SiriusXM for licensing reasons, so pre-recorded interviews will be played on his show during those times.

For another, Russo knows that a live show at a Jersey Shore bar might not fully translate to a listening audience — especially a national one — so he will prioritize those there in person.

“If it doesn’t work on radio, I’m not going to worry about it,” he said, “because that show is for the folks who show up. I’m not going to say we’re going to throw away the radio aspect of it for the guy that’s in Walla Walla.

“But you’ve got to do the show for the people who show up. That’s the idea.”

Russo plans to skip “High Heat” on Friday to focus fully on the Bar A appearance.

Wednesday is his ESPN “First Take” day, a gig that over the past 1 ½ years has raised his national profile.

Russo has his own segment on his “First Take” appearances every week called “What are you mad about?” It’s a vehicle for Russo to be full-on “Mad Dog” with instant-classic rants once reserved for just the radio airwaves.

“It’s everyone’s favorite time of the week,” moderator Molly Qerim said on a recent episode to introduce the segment. “The cathartic moment when Mad Dog tells us why he’s mad.”

Russo said that his "First Take" appearance “absolutely” has been a boon to his SiriusXM show, thanks in part to host Stephen A. Smith’s promotional power.

“It’s had a huge impact,” Russo said. “It’s been a major plus for the radio.”

He called his return to Bar A “long overdue,” and plans to mark the occasion by having his entire family there.

Also planning to attend is a friend who now lives in Florida but is making the trip north because he shares a slice of Bar A history with Russo: Jeff Heiss.

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