https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports-med ... itch-rosenQuote:
In mid-August 2024, The Score’s midday show was “Bernstein & Holmes,” and the afternoon show was “Parkins & Spiegel.”
Only 7½ months later, “Rahimi & Harris” is the midday show and “Spiegel & Holmes” the afternoon show.
Cue Talking Heads’ David Byrne: “Well, how did [we] get here?”
As is often the case, timing played a big role.
The first domino to fall was Danny Parkins leaving for Fox Sports’ new morning show on FS1. As Matt Spiegel worked with a rotation of guest hosts, The Score began pursuing a deal with former producer and host Jason Goff, who had hit it big with his own podcast at The Ringer/Spotify.
Parkins’ last day was Aug. 16. Three weeks later, Dan Bernstein drew the ire of Barstool Sports – and countless others – for his reaction to being called “Bernstein” by Eddie of Barstool Chicago. “You can call me Dan, or you can call me Bernsy, but you don’t know me like that,” he said on the air.
Though it happened Sept. 5, it didn’t go viral until the 10th, when Barstool founder Dave Portnoy posted on X, “Stoolies have never had a more important war than to ruin this guy’s life (professionally speaking, of course).” Laurence Holmes didn’t rejoin the show for the rest of the week.
In fact, Holmes never hosted with Bernstein again. On the Sept. 16 episode of his “House of L” podcast – which he has been allowed to continue independently – Holmes said he had been away because of oral surgery. Yet, he continued dropping podcasts. Marshall Harris, who had left CBS 2 in the summer, filled in.
Meanwhile, The Score’s parent, Audacy, was negotiating with Goff. The company wanted him to give up his podcast, “The Full Go,” as part of the deal. That was a dealbreaker, and on Sept. 20, Goff announced he would not be replacing Parkins.
On Sept. 23, The Score announced Holmes would replace Parkins and Harris would join Bernstein. Problem solved.
Almost six months went by in veritable bliss. But on March 14, Bernstein caught a northern pike at Northerly Island that he just had to share on social media. “This was a helluva fight,” he posted on X with a picture of the rather bloody fish.
Later, an X user accused Bernstein of killing the fish, to which Bernstein responded that it was “released successfully.” After the user called Bernstein a liar, Bernstein went off, threatening to dox the user and involve his kids. Bernstein was off the air the following week, and the station fired him March 21. Leila Rahimi, who had “parted ways” with NBC 5 in October, filled in.
On Monday, the station announced Rahimi would replace Bernstein permanently. Once again, problem solved.
Hours later, afternoon show executive producer Shane Riordan announced on X that he was no longer with The Score. The Sun-Times learned that his dismissal wasn’t related to a behavioral issue or anything he said on the air. It also had nothing to do with budgetary concerns or other on-air talent. Though it came down Monday, the decision wasn’t reached in a day.
Problem solved?
The turbulence might have stopped, but the ramifications might linger.
The Score has been on a roll in the ratings. During prime hours (6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday) in the coveted demographic of men ages 25-54, the station ranked second in the market in Nielsen’s fall 2024 ratings book (6.3 share) and first in the winter 2025 book (7.0).
And midday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) has been The Score’s highest-rated time slot in the last three quarterly books, reaching 7.7 this past winter. In February alone, the slot drew an astonishing 9.1 share. Almost all of that was with Bernstein on the show.
It’s fair to wonder how The Score will rate without him. The Rahimi and Harris pairing was a marriage of convenience. Rahimi will have to prove she can drive a show – she’s off to a fine start – and Harris will have to prove he can be interesting. Rahimi, who’s sharp as a tack, and twice-a-week contributor Mark Grote will have to help bring him along.
We’ll also see whether Riordan’s departure will affect the afternoon show. Station vice president Mitch Rosen has navigated these waters before. He brought in Parkins, who went national. He put Bernstein and Holmes together, which was a hit until it wasn’t. And Holmes and Spiegel should be a strong enough pairing to overcome the loss of a talented producer.
But the new midday show will be The Score’s biggest test since perhaps 2018, when former boss Jimmy de Castro blew up the lineup. The best thing The Score has going for it is that it’s The Score. Though it has taken a beating on social media lately, its brand is strong, and it has been for a long time.
Like Byrne said: “Same as it ever was.”
Sticking "jason-goff" in the URL with all the other names feels like a reach but then it is Jeff Agrest.
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Molly Lambert wrote:
The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.
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