‘MAD’ TIDINGS

Wouldn’t it be fascinating if the next “Mike and the Mad Dog” reunion was held in a courtroom? “Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd….Good afternoon, Your Honor! How are you today?” Doggie would croon. The possibility of this happening hit us when Mike (Sports Pope) Francesa, speaking publicly about his alleged new “Mike’s On” app, said that since December, he had been talking to Entercom (it owns WFAN) boss David Field about trying to acquire, among other things, the “Mike and the Mad Dog” name for use on his app. Sources said Francesa’s quest to acquire the name goes back much further than last December.

“He talked to CBS, when it owned FAN, about getting the name to use for his own ventures,” a WFAN mole said. “They blew him off.” The source said it was “highly unlikely” Francesa consulted with Chris (Mad Dog) Russo before he began negotiating to acquire the “Mike and the Mad Dog” name. Francesa has since stated he also talked to Field about acquiring the “Mike and the Mad Dog” archives.

Considering Francesa revealed Entercom is one of his partners (his agent, CAA Sports, is the other) in his new app, it would seem either Francesa is on a fast track to acquiring the “Mike and the Mad Dog” name or already has glommed it.

Fast forward to last Monday when Russo appeared on the SI Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina, who asked Russo: “How the hell did you let that (Francesa acquiring the name) happen?” Russo indicated he was given no advance notice by Francesa as to what was going on. When Traina suggested Dog should get a lawyer, Russo quickly said he “did” get a lawyer but back tracked even faster. “I didn’t, I didn’t get a lawyer involved,” he said.

Russo said “it probably can be worked out” but also said “I’m not that naïve” to realize what’s really going on here. And that is (my words not his) he is being ripped off by Francesa. So, what is Russo going to do about it? Through a SiriusXM spokesman he declined to comment. Sandy Montag, Russo’s agent, also declined to comment.

Silence is golden, especially when you are formulating a strategy. That’s what Dog and his team is likely doing. Is it surprising Francesa would try to use Russo’s “Mad Dog” moniker for profit without consulting with him? Of course not. After all, the pontiff didn’t give “CMB (Chris Carlin, Maggie Gray, Bart Scott)” a “heads-up” before he stabbed them in the back, did he?

I’m not a legal scholar, but since Russo was one-half of the “Mike and the Mad Dog” team, someone else should not be able to use his brand name for their economic benefit without getting permission. Or paying him to use it. Or cutting Russo in for a piece of the app action.

And while he tried low-keying it on this subject with Traina, we don’t see Russo rolling over like a dog for Francesa when it comes to this name game.

‘SHOW’ STOPPER

Judging by the callers, and the reactions on Twitter, Francesa’s cult of sycophants and stooges has not abandoned him.

This is a testament to His Holiness and his ability to regurgitate old gimmicks. Take this new app (or is it really crap?) Francesa is preaching about. It brought us back to 2012, when Francesa claimed he was going to unveil technology that would “revolutionize” sports radio.

And so, the Pope “blessed” us all with WFAN’s “Audio Roadshow” app (“The official app of the Mike Francesa Show”). Remember that? If you do you have a great memory. “Roadshow” wrecked quickly, just another failed app on a highway littered with them.

Now, Francesa talks about the wonders of his alleged new “Mike’s On” app as if it is some kind of souped-up Moon Unit, more rocket ship than app.

Will Francesa allow those imaginary people who started a “campaign,” telling him he “better not go back to WFAN” to fly in his space app?

Stay tuned.

LESS IS MORE FOR ‘CMB’

Make no mistake, Entercom suits Field, Mark Chernoff, and Chris Oliviero, who is closing in on winning the High Priest of Double Talk Award, shafted “CMB.” They didn’t have the onions to stick by them when Francesa gave the suits an easy way out by crawling back to WFAN after his phony retirement.

Yet, that said, Field, Chernoff and Oliviero, aka The Legion of Doubt, have turned “CMB” into sympathetic figures. Callers to their new 1-3 p.m. are reaching out and showing love. More importantly, the two hour window has forced “CMB” to yakk short-and-punchy.

They know that there isn’t much time to talk so they are getting in and out faster. There is little repetition of points. The shorter commentary has more impact. It’s starting to work.

While there has been much hype over ESPN hiring Jason Witten to replace Jon Gruden on “Monday Night Football,” the sleeper, and more interesting, move was made by CBS Sports bringing in former Cardinals coach Bruce Arians to team with Greg Gumbel and Trent Green.

No doubt CBS Sports boss Sean McManus and his team will let Arians, a character who has loose lips and a Kangol lid, be Arians. The coach is the perfect complement to Green, who is mostly an X’s and O’s guy. And Gumbel, the flow-master, will have no trouble getting these mouths to play off each other.

We’re not saying Arians could ever replace Tony Romo. That wouldn’t work politically, no matter how good Arians is. But this new trio could be something special. Those quirky dinner-with-athletes segments Michelle Yu has been doing on SNY, have been turned into a half-hour show — “Athletic Appetites” — which will premiere Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Larry Johnson, John Franco, Sue Bird, and Bart Scott will be featured cooking, chewing and chatting with Yu… With networks making moves on hiring football talent, Fox is going to need a splash, and buzz, for its new Thursday night package. Why not move Michael Strahan from the studio to the booth?... For all his twitter action, Mets SNY booth comedy, and even some double entendres, Keith Hernandez is getting close to Bob Uecker territory. Is Mex bucking for his own sitcom?... Even with the ratings bump Francesa may get, he’s still in a dog (ouch!) fight with ESPN98.7’s Michael Kay.