Torey Lovullo Calls Out ‘Mad Dog’ Russo After Diamondbacks Stun Phillies

The Arizona Diamondbacks ended the Philadelphia Phillies’ season Tuesday night, and perhaps the career of a legendary radio host as well.

After the Phillies took a 3-2 lead in the National League Championship Series, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo vowed to retire if the Diamondbacks pulled off a stunner and won the final two games of the best-of-seven set. And that’s exactly what Arizona did, coming out on top in back-to-back games at Citizens Bank Park to punch a ticket to the 2023 World Series.

Russo’s promise clearly made its way to the Diamondbacks themselves, as the new NL champions were chanting his name in the visitors’ locker room after their 4-2 Game 7 win. The veteran pundit also received a friendly chirp from Arizona manager Torey Lovullo.

“So I’ve already told ‘Mad Dog,’ I’ve told him a couple times. He’s gotta put his money where his mouth is,” Lovullo told reporters. “Him and Stephen A. Smith go back and forth with all these broken promises, right? Like, I think he had his last day at the network today as far as I’m concerned. We’re accepting applications in Arizona. If you want to work with the D-Backs, we’ll take you.”

The D-Backs find themselves as underdogs yet again in the Fall Classic, as the Texas Rangers are a -166 betting favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook to win the whole thing as of Wednesday morning. But at this point, naysayers like Russo would be foolish to count out Lovullo’s club.