'Mad Dog' Unleashes on Team USA

Hot-take radio and TV, although growing tired, still take up most of the early-day content. Chris "Mad Dog" Russo is a legend in the space, especially in the New York market. Fellow bombastic sports media personality Stephen A. Smith respects Russo's tenacity, so much so that he convinced ESPN to sign the sports radio legend to participate in First Take duties. Recently, Russo took a shocking stance.

Russo, known for name-dropping players from the pre-1980s, especially in basketball, took to discredting Team USA's gold-medal victory over France. In the"What are you mad about!" segment, Russo gets to go iso-ball as Smith and the rest of the panel watch in amazement or disbelief as the sports media legend goes off the wall for any given subject.

This time, Russo vented his anger at the "hype" surrounding the 2024 Team USA roster.

"I am sick of this USA basketball on the men's making a big deal about winning a gold medal. Steph Curry putting people to sleep? ... The most significant gold medal in basketball we ever won [was] 1976... They beat Evan Fournier!"

Before discussing the current Team USA roster, one must revisit the 1972 roster, which is why Russo picked 1976 as the "most significant gold medal in the U.S. The 1972 Olympics were held in Munich, Germany. In those games, the Soviet Union played Team USA, which ended controversially, with the latter team losing to the former.

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Now, to the current roster. Russo criticized Team USA for merely beating Fournier and Nicolas Batum, or, in Russo's words, "Batone."

Also, Russo called Curry "Stephawn" as he continued dismantling Team USA for not covering the spread.

While Team USA's victory wasn't an impressive beatdown, Curry's 24-point explosion, and the otherworldly shots, warrant respect. Furthermore, Russo disrespected the French roster by mispronouncing names on national T.V. Respectfully, they don't call Russo "Mad Dog" for nothing.