Leila Rahimi is named as Dan Bernstein's replacement as The Score's midday co-host
Longtime Chicago TV and radio host Leila Rahimi was named co-host of the midday show on WSCR-AM 670 on Monday.
Rahimi will join Marshall Harris as hosts of 'Rahimi and Harris,' which airs weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. She replaces Dan Bernstein, who was fired last month after a social media spat.
Bears reporter Mark Grote also will appear on the show twice a week.
'We're committed to having top-tier hosts who are respected by local teams and can connect with our listeners through thoughtful and engaging opinions,' Mitch Rosen, Audacy Chicago's vice president of sports programming, said in a release. 'Leila is one of the hardest-working teammates at The Score and her knowledge of Chicago sports has made her a beloved voice among the city's fans.'
Rahimi has been with The Score as a contributor since 2017 and as a co-host since 2020. She previously co-hosted the midday show with Bernstein in 2021 and 2022. Recently she co-hosted the midday show on Wednesdays and has helped fill in with Harris since Bernstein's departure.
The station said she is the first female full-time, prime-time sports radio host in Chicago.
Rahimi, a Texas native, was a sports anchor at NBC-5 from 2021-24 and also spent five years at NBC Sports Chicago, where she led baseball pregame and postgame shows and reported on other major events. She also has worked in Philadelphia, Houston and San Diego and for MLB Network.
'We have changed. The Score listener has not, and that's really who this is about today,' Rahimi said on the air Monday morning. 'It's about those who listen to The Score no matter what. We appreciate you. We thank you.
'And to me, that's been the consistent. It's that I know they're there. And I want to say thanks to everybody who has been there the whole time because that is what makes us go.'
'I didn't have a Plan B.' How Leila Rahimi became one of Chicago's favorite sportscasters.
Harris joined Bernstein in September after a shake-up at the station in which Laurence Holmes moved to afternoons with Matt Spiegel.
The 'Bernstein and Harris' show didn't make it a year after Bernstein's fight with an X user that started over Bernstein posting a photo of a northern pike. The argument, which centered on whether Bernstein killed the fish or released it, escalated until Bernstein threatened to publicly reveal the user's address and phone number and added, 'Want your kids involved?'
Bernstein had been at the station for 30 years and had more than one public misstep in that time.
Rahimi joins a short list of female sports radio hosts in Chicago, with Peggy Kusinski, Dionne Miller and Courtney Cronin (national ESPN Radio) all hosting part time on WMVP-AM 1000.
'The support The Score listeners have shown over the years has meant the world to me,' Rahimi said in a statement. 'And I'm looking forward to spending more time with them every day from 10 to 2 o'clock.'
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