Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has had enough. As one of the first high-profile guest panelists to join First Take after Stephen A. Smith took it over in late 2021, Russo feels quite left out of the intensifying friendship between Smith and Shannon Sharpe.
Russo used nearly six minutes of his weekly “What Makes You Mad?” segment on First Take on Wednesday to let Smith know his feelings are hurt.
“He was your opponent for seven years. He kicked your butt, and now this all of a sudden?” Russo exclaimed.
“I didn’t do anything for you the last two years? You didn’t pick up the phone one time and say, ‘Hey Chris, you want to go to Boulder, Colorado?'”
Smith and Sharpe made an appearance together at Colorado-Nebraska this weekend for Deion Sanders’ home opener.
By this point, Russo was apoplectic (more than usual).
“He has deserted me.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQGVW3n7Ki8
To make matters worse for Russo, fellow panelist Marcus Spears interjected at that moment to let him know he was also invited to join Smith in Colorado.
Russo couldn’t handle himself.
“NBA Finals in Denver, never invited … General Hospital, that show, never invited me,” Russo said. “You never invite me anywhere!”
But to be fair, Smith retorted at the end of the segment that Russo was not invited because he previously said he was “Deioned out” on the show.
“Deion asked us to come,” Smith said. “He didn’t want you there. Because you didn’t believe.”
Hilariously, Smith also explained that Russo had secretly texted Smith afterward to let him know he was in fact betting on the Buffs.
Russo might feel left out of the Smith-Sharpe lovefest, but at least he pocketed some winnings on Colorado covering.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.