Sports talk host Chris Russo has of course had plenty to say about the nepotism in the NBA regarding Bronny James’ position on the Los Angeles Lakers alongside his father, LeBron James. That’s included discussion of how involved LeBron was in Bronny getting his roster spot. But ironically, Russo has been quite involved in his own son Colin Russo’s media career as well.
Colin Russo, who cohosts the Russo and Rizzo Show on ESPN West Palm Beach alongside Michael Rizzo, the son of Cleveland sports radio legend Tony Rizzo, recently hosted one of their shows from Clover Park, the site of the New York Mets’ spring training facility ahead of one of their spring training games.
For the special show, Russo attempted to contact the Mets’ organization to see if they could have access to a player on their roster for an interview. Unfortunately, Russo and Rizzo had their request denied, with the Mets’ organization claiming that every player’s schedules were full for the rest of the day.
Colin Russo never discussed this publically. But Chris Russo, who is of course known to voice his opinion free and openly regardless of any consequences, had no troubling using his platform on his SiriusXM show Mad Dog Unleashed to blast the Mets’ organization on his son’s behalf.
“Oh go to hell, their schedules are full for the rest of the day… You are talking to me, who has been at spring training sites for 50 years,” said Russo on Friday’s edition of Mad Dog Unleashed, which was later reposted by Funhouse on X. “Don’t give me any nonsense that you can’t figure out a way to get Paul Blackburn or the backup infielder. Nobody is asking for (Pete) Alonso, (Francisco) Lindor, or (Juan) Soto.
“We get it, nobody is asking for Sean Manaea or Jeff McNeil, who is hurt. We get it. And I understand there might be a language issue. But you mean to tell me the New York Mets… And I could care less, it doesn’t affect my show.
“I sound like LeBron, but I have got to say this because it drives me crazy. To be fair, they went to do the Nationals the other day. They gave them (Mike) Rizzo, the freaking president of the team. A Hall of Famer, for crying out loud… The Nationals gave them Rizzo, fifteen minutes. I mean, god almighty. And the Mets sit here today… And this is the reason I will never root for them. I just can’t stand them. Their PR always does this nonsense.
“The Mets are the Mets. They are not the Boston Celtics. They are not the Green Bay Packers. They are the freaking Mets. Let me give you the most obscure guy I can come up with. You mean to tell me that José Butto can’t come on for five minutes? You mean to tell me Tylor Megill can’t come on? He might be in Syracuse to start the year!
“How about A.J. Minter? You can’t tell A.J. ‘Hey, do me a favor, we’ve got a radio station from West Palm Beach with two kids.’ You know, it’s baseball, they are doing me a favor by being here to celebrate the sport. They are here for two hours. You can’t do five minutes with them? And baseball wonders why ESPN said adios…”
This rant from Russo would go on for 18 minutes spread across multiple segments throughout Friday’s show. But you can clearly get the gist right away of just how upset Russo is with the Mets organization.
Mad Dog Russo went OFF on the Mets for over 18 minutes (!!!) for refusing to provide a single player or team representative for his son Colin to interview.
Colin Russo is a sports-talk host for ESPN West Palm. They were broadcasting live from the Mets’ spring training facility. pic.twitter.com/WSz1n9pRAt
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) March 18, 2025
While Russo may have a point that the Mets likely could have been more accommodating for a radio station inside the ballpark to help bring awareness to the game, it is somewhat comedic to see Russo so involved in his son’s career in media while also being so critical of LeBron’s involvement in Bronny’s career.
Maybe Russo now understands why LeBron has been defensive when it comes to negative criticisms towards Bronny from Russo’s First Take colleague, Stephen A. Smith…
Regardless, don’t expect to hear Russo cheering for the Mets this coming season like he was throughout the team’s most recent postseason run…