Colin Russo did what any radio pro would do when his name came up in a viral moment: he turned it into a bit.
Russo is the son of radio legend Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, and co-hosts in afternoon drive on ESPN West Palm after having graduated the University of Wisconsin earlier this year.
Earlier this week, the Mad Dog made waves when he went on the “Dan Patrick Show” and confidently asserted that his son is a better radio host than Bronny James — who made his Lakers debut alongside his father LeBron on Tuesday — is a basketball player.
When his radio show opened on Friday, Colin had some fun with the situation.
“So, we’re gonna have to address the elephant in the room,” he said, as covered by Awful Announcing. “Because apparently, egos are taking shots here before the weekend ends. That’s where I stand. The Bronny James of sports radio. Or not. Everybody’s got their own opinion on that. Apparently we’re already judging legacies. A little early. For those who don’t know, I don’t love leaning into this always but we’re gonna have to do it. My father, Christopher Russo, went on the ‘Dan Patrick Show’ and was baited like a child into giving an answer about the idea that Bronny is getting opportunities because of who LeBron is.
“Dan Patrick asked him complete bait. ‘Well, what if your son was given a huge opportunity with SiriusXM or ESPN TV. Would that be considered under the same umbrella?’ And the way he responded. He said ‘I’m not gonna say it’. And for some reason, Dan Patrick saying ‘You’re not going to get in trouble, your wife isn’t home…’ For some reason that worked. He says Colin Russo is better at radio than Bronny James is at basketball.
“Listen, you can have your own opinion on Bronny and his ability as a player and whether you think he is worthy of being in that Lakers spot or getting drafted. Whatever you may say. Bronny James is in the NBA. This is a crazy… It’s not like I said this. It’s not like I was the one who had these opinions. But now, all of the sudden, I am looped into this. Where everything I have ever said about Bronny. And it hasn’t been positive, let’s put it that way. I feel like now I’m looped in with this.”
Later in the program, Colin had on Craig Karmazin, the founder of Good Karma, which operates ESPN Radio affiliates across the country.
Karmazin said that he disagreed with the Mad Dog on the Bronny vs. Colin Russo comparison.
While acknowledging that Colin Russo has a nice start to his career working in drive-time in a top 50 market, his rationale was that there was global competition for Bronny’s spot in the NBA.