Headlined by sports talk star Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo, new all-sports talk channel airs live nationwide 24 hours a day on SIRIUS channel 123 and XM channel 144
On-air personalities include Gary Williams, Bruce Murray, Bill Pidto, Andy Gresh and Larry Krueger
"The Dog House" invites sports fans to be nightly co-hosts
NEW YORK, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) announced today that Mad Dog Radio, the all new, all-sports talk channel headlined by Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, has launched nationwide exclusively on SIRIUS channel 123 and XM channel 144. Mad Dog Radio features 24 hours of live sports talk daily Monday through Friday, plus live weekend programming, hosted by sports talk personalities from around the country.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080819/NYTU044LOGO )
A sports talk icon known to fans nationwide, Russo debuted as host of the channel's anchor program, Mad Dog Unleashed, in September. The exclusive show originates live from SIRIUS' New York studios every weekday afternoon from 2:00pm to 7:00pm ET and features Russo's take on the biggest sports stories from around the country, plus listener calls and hard-hitting interviews.
Filling out the Mad Dog Radio roster are sports talk veterans Gary Williams, Bruce Murray, Bill Pidto, Andy Gresh, Larry Krueger and other engaging personalities who will discuss all the latest news from the world of sports, debate the issues of the day, and conduct interesting and enlightening interviews with some of the biggest names in sports.
Mad Dog Radio programming also airs live online on SIRIUS Internet Radio and XM Radio Online.
Mad Dog Radio Weekday Schedule: (All times ET)
Monday - Friday
- 6 am - 10 am: The First Word with Gary Williams
- 10 am - 2 pm: The 'B' Team with Bruce Murray and Bill Pidto
- 2 pm - 7 pm: Mad Dog Unleashed with Chris Russo
- 7 pm - 8 pm: The Doghouse
- 8 pm - 1 am: The Gresh Show with Andy Gresh
- 1 am - 6 am: Overtime with Larry Krueger
"I can't think of a better place to work than SIRIUS XM and I can't think of a better place to be if you're a sports talk radio host than Mad Dog Radio," said Russo. "You have the freedom to do exactly what you want with your show -- no restrictions. You can talk about any sport and any team in any state. From coast to coast and north to south, we have brought in some of the best talk talent in America and we're rarin' to go. If you care about sports and you want to listen to quality sports talk, wherever you might be in this country, then Mad Dog Radio is the place to be."
"With Chris' abundant talents both on and off the mic and SIRIUS XM's creative freedom, we've built a new and innovative platform that, like Mad Dog, is hard-hitting, entertaining and unlike anything else on radio," said Scott Greenstein, SIRIUS XM's President and Chief Content Officer. "Since coming to satellite radio, Chris has thrived. So, too, will the personalities who have followed him to the Mad Dog Radio channel, who recognized this as an exciting opportunity and have come from all over the country. They are engaging, opinionated and inspired to provide our listeners with the best all-sports talk radio station in the country, where fans everywhere will find live, compelling sports talk on their SIRIUS and XM radio 24 hours a day."
The morning drive show, The First Word (6:00 - 10:00 am ET), is hosted by Gary Williams. Before joining Mad Dog Radio, Williams hosted the morning drive show on WFNZ Radio in Charlotte. He is also the play-by-play voice for preseason games on the Carolina Panthers Television Network and from 2005-06 was the host of the pre-game, halftime and post-game shows on the Charlotte Bobcats Television Network. He has been the play-by-play broadcaster for Big East basketball games on ESPN and has called college basketball and college football games on C-Set TV. From 2002-03 he hosted the college basketball show Gameday on ESPN Radio alongside Jay Bilas. Williams hosts the show from SIRIUS XM's New York City studios.
Occupying the mid-day weekday time slot (10:00am - 2:00pm ET) is The 'B' Team, hosted by Bruce Murray and Bill Pidto. Murray has been a SIRIUS host since 2006, hosting the SIRIUS NFL Radio talk show The Red Zone alongside NFL greats Marty Schottenheimer, Randy Cross, Carl Banks and Gil Brandt. Prior to joining SIRIUS XM, Bruce filled a variety of roles at Sporting News Radio, including headlining the Murray In The Morning show and co-hosting The Troy Aikman Football Show alongside the Hall of Famer and former Cowboys star. Murray also worked at ESPN Radio and Washington D.C.'s all-sports radio station, WTEM, and was part of the launch of WFAN in New York.
Pidto comes to SIRIUS XM after a 15 year on-air career at ESPN where he anchored several shows including SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, NFL PrimeTime and others. Prior to ESPN he worked as a sports anchor and reporter at New England Cable News in Boston, MA, and as a sportscaster at the NBC-TV affiliate in Syracuse, NY and the CBS-TV affiliates in Harrisburg, PA and Binghampton, NY.
From 2:00 to 7:00 pm ET each weekday, Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo hosts his live show, Mad Dog Unleashed.
Immediately following Mad Dog Unleashed is The Dog House, airing live (7:00 - 8:00 pm ET) and hosted by a rotation of hosts that will include Mad Dog Radio update anchors Bill Lekas, Andrew Bogusch and others. The best four or five callers from each day's edition of Mad Dog Unleashed will be invited to co-host on The Dog House where, with the host moderating, they'll get a second chance to present their opinions to a nationwide audience.
Weeknights (8:00pm - 1:00am ET), Andy Gresh hosts The Gresh Show. The larger-than-life Gresh, 34, was an all-state high school football player and two-year starter on the offensive line at the University of Rhode Island. Prior to joining Mad Dog Radio, Gresh hosted the morning sports talk show on 'The Score' WSKO-AM in Providence, the nighttime show on SIRIUS NFL Radio and hosted weekends on ESPN Radio. Gresh is also a pre- and post-game analyst on the New England Patriots Radio Network and the color commentator for CAA Football on Comcast SportsNet.
Larry Krueger hosts the daily overnight show, Overtime, (1:00 - 6:00am ET). Before coming to Mad Dog Radio, Krueger worked at KNBR Radio in San Francisco, where he hosted a daily sports talk show and hosted the pre- and post-game shows for Giants and 49ers broadcasts. He has also hosted shows on the Sports Byline USA Radio Network, KGO Radio in San Francisco and KHTK Radio in Sacramento. Before starting his career in radio, Krueger worked for the Sacramento Gold Miners of the CFL as a defensive quality control assistant and then as a player personnel assistant for the Arizona Cardinals. Krueger lives in the Bay Area and will host the show each night from the west coast.
Krueger will also host a weekly program, The Weekend Playbook, Saturdays (10:00 am - 1:00 pm ET) on Mad Dog Radio.
Daily show hosts are joined on air twice an hour by update anchors Steve Torre, John Anthony and John Cloghessy, who will report on the latest breaking sports news of the day. The voice of Mad Dog Radio, introducing hosts and voicing channel promos, is RenaMarie Villano.
Chris Russo played a monumental role in popularizing the sports talk radio format across the country. Known to sports fans everywhere for his feisty, unflinchingly candid approach to talking sports and unrestrained, rapid-fire delivery that earned him the nickname "Mad Dog," he co-hosted for nearly 20 years on New York radio the hugely popular Mike and the Mad Dog radio show.
Visit www.sirius.com/maddogradio for more info on Mad Dog Radio plus sound and video clips from Mad Dog Unleashed.
About SIRIUS XM Radio
SIRIUS XM Radio is America's satellite radio company delivering commercial-free music channels, premier sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather, to more than 18.9 million subscribers.
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Contacts for SIRIUS XM Radio:
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SIRIUS
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afitzpatrick@siriusradio.com
