Opinion: WSCR is a Good Sports Talk Listen

It's gotten better over the years.

radio station on the airPhoto byJacob HodgsononUnsplash

During the week I listen to sports talk radio. A lot of it. Mostly WSCR, the Score out of Chicago. I’ve listened off and on for years, but I believe their lineup is now the best it’s been in the almost twenty years I’ve listened to it. Here's a quick look at their lineup.

Mornings with Mulley and Haugh

Mike Mulligan reminds of a family’s semi-curmudgeon uncle. Mully has been around the Chicago sports scene seemingly forever and that fact helps give the Score’s morning show depth.

In 2018 David Haugh was brought in to replace Brian Hanley. Initially, I didn’t care for the change, but over a period of time, I’ve warmed to the idea. For what it’s worth, I probably disagree with more of Haugh’s takes than just about any other Score personality. Not that that means Haugh is bad, he’s not. He meshes well with Mulley to put on an excellent morning show.

The Bernstein and Holmes Show

Dan Bernstein is probably the most talented on-air personality on the Score. While Dan is talented, he can also easily be the most irritating. Having said that, Dan is much better now that he has been teamed with Leila Rahimi and later Laurence Holmes.

When he was teamed with Terry Boers, he tended to run amuck with nobody to rein him in. One incident in particular illustrates the point.

One of the countless zombies who played QB for the Bears was going to hit free agency. His name was Josh McCown. The discussion was about if the Bears should resign McCown or let him go, and how much would he sign for.

Bernstein’s take was McCown was a bum and would sign for next to nothing. The caller thought McCown had much more value on the open market. A disagreement is fine. What made the conversation memorable was the way Bernstein insulted and belittled the caller. Dan has a tendency to punch down and it actually diminishes him.

The caller in this case hurt is cause by mispronouncing the name, “McCown,” which is the kiss of death on a call to Dan.

I suspect that Terry Boers knew better but didn’t have the energy or will to intervene. And it hurt the show.

Here’s where Leila and Laurence come in

Dan is much better with Leila and Laurence than he waw with Terry. Either Dan reins himself in a bit, or Leila and Lawrence balance him more than Terry Boers did. Regardless, Dan and the show are now better.

Laurence Holmes has been on the Score for years. I heard him in years gone by on his evening show, and frankly wasn’t that impressed. However, he is excellent on the Bernstein and Holmes Show. Laurence has a very balanced approach to the broadcast and has the ability to push back against Dan Bernstein. They make each other better.

The Parkins and Spiegel Show

The pairing of Parkins and Spiegel was reunited in 2021 after being broken up in 2018. In 2018 Spiegs was replaced by the unpredictable Dan McNeil. I thought it was a mistake at the time. I almost never listened to the show at that point.

At first, I wasn’t impressed by Dannu Parkins, but he has grown on me. At first, I was turned off about all the talk about gambling. I’m not a gambler so that type of chatter wasn’t all that interesting to me. The teaming of Danny with Dan McNeil made the situation worse.

Bringing back Matt Spiegel to pair with Parkins is another situation where both guys make each other better. Spiegel is heavily into baseball, which I love. He will be back to doing his Hit and Run show next Sunday morning. I look forward to it.

Actually, Matt Spiegel is probably my favorite Score personality. I like a delivery that can be enthusiastic, but not bombastic. Matt does a good job of that.

And one more shout out…

One guy that is on my radar more now than he used to be is Mark Grote. His Bears updates were informative and entertaining. Grote is informative, has a good sense of humor, and doesn’t take himself too seriously. It’s nice combination.

How do you feel about the Score on-air personalities? Who’s your favorite? Least favorite?