With Chris “Mad Dog” Russo becoming a staple on First Take each Wednesday, the show, led by Stephen A. Smith, wanted to reunite Russo with his WFAN partner of 19 years, Mike Francesa, for a special episode earlier this year.
The date for Mike and the Mad Dog on First Take was set for Feb. 1.
There ended up being one big problem. A couple of hours before the show was set to begin, Tom Brady announced his second retirement from the NFL from a beach via an Instagram video.