Hurley’s mad-dog histrionics on the sideline will drive him nuts, alienate refs and cause his players to shake their heads.

Think of Jets and Sharks decked out in buckskins or Yankee blue, ambling down our grubby streets, swapping mad-dog stares or whistling a few bars of those taunting tunes — pushing, egging, daring someone to start something.

When ignorance mixes with mad-dog hatred the results are combustible.

The mad-dog greed of corporate America, the finance industry, and the "too big to fail" banks coupled with nonsensical free-market fundamentalism to initiate a bipartisan deregulatory agenda and the slashing of social services.

Ethan’s face relaxes, his eyes soften, like he has lost his mad-dog bead of concentration.