To reunite for charity show

THE REUNION mongos have been clamoring for is finally coming to fruition.

During a special radio simulcast on Thursday at the start of the 3 p.m hour., Mike Francesa and Chris (Mad Dog) Russo announced that for one night only they will reunite as Mike and the Mad Dog on March 30 at Radio City Music Hall. This was the big announcement Francesa had teased earlier in the week.

All proceeds from the show will benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation. Francesa said Madison Square Garden came to them regarding a reunion show, and both WFAN and Sirius XM agreed to allow the duo that dominated New York sports talk for 19 years to reunite for the special show.

“Dog and I are gonna take over — no Rockettes — take over the famed Radio City Music Hall the entire night,” Francesa said during the simulcast, which began with he and Mad Dog engaging in their classic sports discussion that compelled New York sports fans. “The whole building is ours, courtesy of the folks at the Garden.” The show could be two-and-a-half hours long and start sometime between 7 and 8 p.m. It will feature special guests that have been on their show over the years as well as musical guests to complete a “star-studded night,” Francesa said.

Tickets will go on sale within “the next couple of weeks,” but fans can go to www. radiocity.com/gardenofdreams for presale information. The website crashed after the announcement was made. Francesa said tickets will cost $50, $75 and $150, but that there will be a few hundred more expensive tickets.

Mike and the Mad Dog will be making several appearances together before March 30 to promote the event.

The reunion created such buzz that “Mike and the Mad Dog” was a national trend on Twitter.

Francesa said that televising the event “is a possibility” but that there are no plans yet in place.

The announcement was part of a roughly 40-minute simulcast of the former partners’ current radio shows. Russo left for Sirius XM in 2008 after starting their show together in 1989. They discussed baseball, football and basketball with the type of flow they exhibited back in their heyday, almost as if they had never been apart.

While discussing Kobe Bryant’s retirement, Russo took issue with how Bryant is regarded as an icon within his sport.

“Magic, Jordan, Bird, Gretzky, Mickey Mantle … That's iconic!” Mad Dog barked. “Kobe’s not iconic!”

But Francesa and Russo are, and they will be back together in March.