After deciding not to renew Damon Amendolara’s contract, SiriusXM is filling the void on Mad Dog Sports Radio’s morning show with program director Steve Torre.
Torre joins longtime Mad Dog Sports Radio morning host Mike Babchick to launch Babs & The Boss beginning Sept. 8. In addition to co-hosting the morning show, it appears as though Torre will continue to serve as the channel’s program director.
Last week, Amendolara announced he was exiting the morning show with Babchick after three years. The departure came after SiriusXM informed him they would not be renewing his contract.
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“There are changes coming to Mad Dog Sports Radio,” Amendolara announced. “Unfortunately, I will not be part of the channel after those changes.”
Babchik, however, will be part of those changes, remaining the constant through several iterations of Mad Dog Sports Radio’s morning show. In 2023, SiriusXM surprisingly moved on from Babchik’s co-host Evan Cohen after more than a decade, replacing him with Amendolara. Three years later, Amendolara is out as the channel looks to retool the morning show around Babchik again.
While Chris “Mad Dog” Russo does not make any personnel decisions on the channel that bears his name, he was tasked with making the grand announcement of who would be replacing Amendolara Monday evening. And credit Russo for noting it was surprising to see Torre stepping into the morning role at this stage of his career.
Torre has been with Mad Dog Sports Radio since it launched in 2008, holding various on-air responsibilities throughout his tenure. Russo, however, pressed Torre on whether he would be able to loosen up enough to be a morning host alongside Babchik’s antics. Dog also questioned whether Torre was interested in the daily early wake-up call required to host a morning show. Torre admitted there was some initial hesitancy, but ultimately decided this was an opportunity he didn’t want to pass up.
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For fans of Amendolara and listeners of The D.A. Show, replacing him with the channel’s program director will look like an obvious cost-cutting move. But for the loyal fans and listeners of Babchik and Mad Dog Sports Radio’s morning show, Torre is a familiar voice and personality. The dynamic of the show will certainly be different with Torre replacing Amendolara, but as a longtime Mad Dog Sports Radio personality, he also represents a semblance of stability amid the change.
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