Why did the power go out at the ESPN studios during First Take on Wednesday morning? Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has a theory.
As Russo’s signature segment, “What’s Mad Dog mad about?” approached during his weekly guest-hosting spot, a power outage at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios forced the sports talk radio legend from the main studio to a hallway. And that led to a change in Russo’s script, as he opened his weekly airing of grievances by taking a jab at Stephen A. Smith’s sizable salary.
“If they didn’t pay Stephen A. $400 million, maybe they could pay their freakin’ bills, ESPN. Jimmy and the fellas,” Russo ranted while referencing ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro. “I mean, goodness gracious. How dare you squeeze me and stick me in a hallway… you took me away from my sign, all because you have to pay [Smith] $150 million guaranteed?”
Smith, for his part, smiled while watching the segment from a remote location in Oklahoma City, where he’ll be a part of ESPN’s coverage of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday night. And the First Take star certainly has plenty of reasons to smile; while he may not be making $400 million (as far as we know), his new deal with the Worldwide Leader in Sports is reportedly worth at least $100 million.
Whatever Smith is making, it’s enough for Mad Dog to joke whether ESPN can still afford its utility bills. At this point, it’s unclear whether the power at the Seaport Studios has been restored, as the final segment of First Take on Wednesday featured Russo and host Molly Qerim standing in a dark studio while holding flashlights.