Chris Russo is nothing if not a rugged traditionalist.
In his weekly “What are you mad about?” segment on ESPN’s “First Take” on Wednesday, Russo barked about the musical performances from Ice Cube before Game 2 and Fat Joe before Game 3 of the World Series.
He admitted that he didn’t actually see Ice Cube and it didn’t seem as though he caught the Fat Joe performance either — and while he would probably not have loved the content, he was mainly aggravated that they pushed back the games’ first pitches and caused him to stay up later to catch the finishes.
“Last night, I put the ball game on … Listen, I don’t mind music. They could put Jackson Browne in L.A. playing ‘Running on Empty’ or Bruce [Springsteen] at Yankee Stadium playing ‘Rosalita’ before the game but GIVE ME THE BASEBALL GAME FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!” Russo began.
“The game started at 8:18! I don’t want to have anybody … Stop with the Super Bowl! That’s at halftime. Stop with the NBA! That’s at halftime. It’s a baseball game. Let me sit there and watch the ball game! It starts at 8:18! It’s supposed to start at 8:08, but it’s 8:18. I need to go to bed and [get up early to] work with these clowns! That is ridiculous!”
Just give him the game without all the bells and whistles, he demanded.
“Come on, I don’t want rock and roll. I don’t want rap. I want nothing!” Russo continued.
“I want (Joe) DiMaggio, (Mickey) Mantle, (Babe) Ruth and (Loui) Gehrig! It’s all I want! Give me a baseball game! The music is nonsense. Same thing in L.A.!”
Host Molly Qerim told Russo that he was “completely wrong” and that “baseball needs entertainment!’
Stephen A. Smith, meanwhile, said that Ice Cube was “great” but that Fat Joe “didn’t fit” at Yankee Stadium.
“I need him with the Knicks,” Smith said.