Kirby Lee | USA TODAY Sports

Half of WFAN’s Mount Rushmore is on the 2022 Radio Hall of Fame ballot.

Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo and Suzyn Waldman are among the 24 nominees for induction this year. A panel of “600 industry members” will vote, according to a release, with the top six vote-getters getting in. A nominating panel will then select an additional two nominees to make it an eight-person class.

Let’s be straight here: There is no reason to have a radio hall of fame if it doesn’t include Russo and Waldman. The former helped launch the greatest sports radio show of all time; the latter is a pioneer in the industry and has been with one of the nation’s biggest stations from the start. It is only fitting they enter the hall alongside WFAN’s other two titans, Mike Francesa and the late Don Imus. Get it done, distinguished panel of 600 industry members.

Voting starts June 22 and runs through July 8. The results are revealed on July 25. The Nov. 1 induction ceremony is in Chicago. You can see all the nominees here.

There has to be a fear of a WFAN logjam, we suppose. Some voters may be hesitant to have two New York sports folks make it in at the expense of, say, the longtime morning zoo host in Sioux Falls. But this is where we need people to be hard markers and make the obvious call. Plus this 24-person nominees list feels a bit questionable.

(Editor’s note: We initially cast aspersions on Steven Van Zandt’s status as a nominee. But we learned his radio resume is far more impressive that it appeared to be based on available information at the time of publishing. So we retract our snarkiness and acknowledge Little Steven belongs as well.)

Let’s close this out with one of the greatest “Saturday Night Live” sketches of all time:  Joey Mac and the Z-105 Morning Mix. Peak Jimmy Fallon. Ben Affleck was great too. They probably couldn’t get away with some of this stuff today.

James Kratch can be reached at [email protected]

 

 

James Kratch is the managing editor of ESNY. He previously worked as a Rutgers and Giants (and Mike Francesa) beat reporter for NJ Advance Media.