Don La Greca was not a fan of Chris Russo’s retirement shenanigans.
Russo, who said he’d retire “on the spot” if the Diamondbacks won Games 6 and 7 of the National League Championship Series, has not done so despite Arizona doing just that and reaching the World Series.
The longtime sports talk radio host only missed the start of Wednesday’s “Mad Dog Unleashed” on SiriusXM after making his usual weekly appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” before hosting his daily “High Heat” show on MLB Network.
La Greca, a co-host of “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN radio, made it known he was not a fan of what Russo did, especially when a caller prompted him to respect the ex-WFAN host.
“I can’t lose respect for somebody? I know the guy —personally. I lost some respect for him,” La Greca said in response to the caller. “He’s my colleague, he’s my contemporary — I don’t kneel and beg — he’s a human being, I don’t have to bow down and kneel to anybody, David. Get lost, go scratch. Give me a break. They opened the door, we kicked it down. That was then, this is now – enough already. I won’t sit there and bow down to anybody. I like him, but I lost some respect for him.
“Let me ask you this, why would this deity, this god that we’ve got to pray to have to do a stupid little college gimmick to get attention? Why? He’s Chris Russo, he’s god. He floats on air. Why would he have to do something stupid like guarantee he’s gonna retire and then rescind it immediately like a weakling? Why would he have to do that if he’s Christ? Why?”
Russo, who called the retirement quip a “throwaway line” while talking with Howard Stern on Wednesday, does not seem like he’ll actually retire but he did agree to a punishment idea from Stern, which includes him wearing a bikini in Manhattan.
Russo said he’d wear a sign along with this that reads: “I am a liar and a dope.”
The former “Mike and the Mad Dog” host has even been called out by Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy, who said Russo should honor is word and call it quits.
But Russo on his afternoon SiriusXM show defiantly showed up and did not give up his day job.
“I have returned! I have returned! How are you, Steve [Torre]? I’m here! I didn’t go anywhere! Retire, my ass! I’m here to do a talk show, and by the way, after 12 minutes of you, thank God I’m here to do a talk show!”
