The Score officially began life without Dan Bernstein on Monday.
Leila Rahimi resumed filling in for Bernstein, whom the station announced Friday was fired after an ugly online exchange, alongside regular co-host Marshall Harris. Bernstein’s former show was renamed “Score Middays,” a placeholder used similarly for the afternoon show after former host Danny Parkins left the station to join FS1. Bernstein was off the air last week and removed from the board of directors of charity Camp One Step.
Rahimi, who co-hosted middays full-time with Bernstein for 15 months in 2021-22, and Harris, who co-hosted with Bernstein for six months after Laurence Holmes moved to afternoons, opened the show by addressing the situation:
Rahimi: This is a hard time for all of us. As Matt Speigel mentioned [Friday], we can’t talk about the events of the past two weeks, but I know many of you listen just for Dan Bernstein. And when something in Chicago sports happened, he was the person you wanted to hear from first. Not only is that respected, it’s understood and acknowledged. I feel that, I know you feel that way, Marshall. We may not be from here, but we understand the influence and the institution that Dan was for so many listeners at the score.
Harris: The thing that sticks with me now is that I appreciate the time that I spent with him. The man was part of The Score for 30 years. I was with him for six months … but I learned so much from the man.
Rahimi: I want everybody to know we are not trying to change your opinion, we are not trying to take away your opinion. I’ve heard from more people than I care to over the weekend, someone within the Illinois code of law, some not. I understand that that brings a lot of emotion, it does for us, as well. I think it would be insensitive to not acknowledge it.
But Dan, whether or not people want to admit, was one of the most influential hosts in the country. Dan’s words just didn’t carry weight, I feel like they could move forces. And I know that that’s a big reason why a lot of people listen to us, it’s a big reason why a lot of people listen to The Score. You’re exactly right, working with him made me better at my job. It helped show me how to do this job, because for five years before that, I was primarily hosting at NBC Sports Chicago. … He also helped me with a major chapter, as you all know if you listened, in my life, so that always meant a lot to me, and that doesn’t change.
Harris: When people would ask me about Dan and what it was like to work with him, he’s sharp, he’s insightful, he’s witty, and he’s a little bit crazy, and he knows it. The self-depreciation was something I would always celebrate about really anyone in my personal life, and he was capable of that. Now, the nutty would be nutty, and I’d just kinda roll with it. And I learned what that kind of balance could be like. You can be really, really serious at times, or you could also just have fun. I’m here to have fun, and ultimately over six months with Dan, we had a lot of fun together.
Rahimi: We know that we are supposed to be an escape for people. We wanna be an escape for people. Sometimes we wanna escape our own lives and have fun here with you. But just like everything else, this is also real life, too. There are ebbs, there are flows, you go through seasons, not every time is ideal, and we’re human, too. Whether or not you wanna say it, it’s a massive, massive change, for all of us and for the fabric of sports media in Chicago. So that is something that we will acknowledge. We respect it, we respect you. And I wanna lead with that because I think that that is not only the right thing to do, but sometimes it’s good to have a reminder.
We’re not trying to change anybody’s opinion, we’re not trying to take it away, but we also have our own. As far as I think I’m concerned is, if you’ve listened to this show long enough, you know that we had a blast working together, and that is genuine. You can’t turn off and on something like that. And what made it great was, not only was he there with us … but the most important thing was that you were there, the listener. We all come and go, but what has made The Score such a dominant name for 30 years is you. And you may not always like us, and we may not have every segment for everybody, but the most important part is that you don’t change. … The one thing that remains are the fans.
Harris: The fans and the non-fans. I know for Dan, specifically, he had plenty of fans and plenty of people who used to tell him how much they didn’t like listening to his show, but yet if you’re telling him what are you going off, probably the fact that you’re still listening to his show. The hate-listen is valuable, not gonna lie. … It was a fun show and successful show with him, the metrics bear that out. It’s undeniable. It’s unfortunate that our time together has come to an end. I wish him nothing but the best of luck in his next venture, and I’m sure he will have another venture because a guy as talented as him is gonna have other opportunities down the road.