What is the value of having Dan on the air in 2021? Genuine question?

Is he even replacement level to use a metric he loves? Sure, some hate listen and some still probably think he is insightful, but I have a hard time believing this current iteration of Bernstein actually moves the needle in any meaningful way.

If the ultimate goal was to give Leila a shot, which is fine, he was the absolute worst pairing they could have chosen.

It was more “ look we have a female host on days !!” move and Mitch thinks pairing her with ( what was anyway ) the FOTS was the best way to ensure it wouldn’t be a total disaster because he can “cover” for whatever shortcomings she has .

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

His whole persona revolves around regurgitating advanced metrics like they are unassailable TRUTH and reciting neoliberal progressive identity politics orthodoxy like it is unassailable TRUTH. He is the bored and boring product of the two most tiresome and predictable dogmas in American culture. As a result, it is difficult for him to say anything interesting or surprising. If you read fangraphs and watch MSNBC, you know what he's going to say before he says it.

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Did Mitch hire Leila or was it the relatively new female general manager (or whatever her title is--I'm too lazy to look it up) who was brought in to "clean up" the station?

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And I get that rationale in theory.

But Leila won’t “grow” in this dynamic. She’s always playing defense and guarded. Anyone could hear that she wasn’t a confident personality during her tryouts. Which isn’t a dig. It’s just a fact. So let’s pair her with Dan. Great idea.

This is a massive overreaction to a very poor pairing. Is Bernstein replacement level? C'mon- there are a lot of mediocre and bad radio hosts out there. The last 6 major new hosts hired by the station were Goff, Haugh, McKnight, Parkins, DiCaro, and Rahimi. Besides Parkins, none of them move the needle. If those are the example for replacement-level host, then you have your answer.

Bernstein is on the short list of most talented sports radio hosts this city has seen. Obviously, talent alone doesn't make for a good show as we have seen his last 3 shows fall flat but Boers and Bernstein was a fantastic show for years. Get Bernstein the right partner and he'll move the needle again.

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Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

It insulates them ( if they care ) when/ if she fails and gets whacked from the “ you didn’t give her any opportunity to succeed , you left her out there on her own with no support , she was inexperienced and you just let her flounder “ crowd.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Absolutely not. He’s done. See Tall Midgets post.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Spot on. And it's why the audience is shrinking. Who wants to listen to a guy projecting Nate Silver and Rachel Maddow on a show that supposedly about Chicago sports?

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

Fuck that . If you aren't following Joe Sheehan on Twitter you ain’t black .

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

That’s fair.

But Dan is clearly operating under some sort of directive. He was obviously told to tone it down and/or not be so antagonistic. I’m not sure he can operate under those restrictions and still be compelling. That’s my point. He has the talent, clearly. Can he navigate this odd social market though? Can he please multiple masters? In my opinion, no. Let Bernstein be himself for better or worse or cut ties. Just my take as a listener who no longer listens to his time slot

You're both wrong.

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Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

I agree that if Dan has the right partner he’d move the needle. I also agree that he’s maybe the only host in the city who could move the needle solo in this city.

But....can he do so under the obvious restrictions that are being placed on him?? I don’t blame him for playing ball, cashing his checks and biding his time but as far as the listeners POV goes...this current Bernstein is garbage and heavy pass

I’ll still tune in when I’m in the car in his time slot, but I’ll switch over more frequently to 1000 than I would have in the past.

I’d be curious as to whether he’s operating under restrictions or if he’s just old & bad.

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So who would be "the right partner" for Dan?

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I've said it before...someone who gets the funny back into Dan. An easy choice for me would be the Ranger.

Does he regurgitate MSNBC and Fangraphs? Yes. But if the dude did funny radio instead of serious radio, say 75 percent of the time, he'd move meters again.

Leila is just a terrible partner for him. And they're clearly not in studio together, which was the beginning of the end for B&B. She's not going to work well with him. Really dumb pairing.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Been saying this for a while here, providing hyperlocal content seems to be the only way the station can differentiate itself.

Bears post game is hyperlocal, analysis free, meatball, and energetic..and provides the only real interesting content on the station.

Ranger is an interesting suggestion. He was really entertaining in what I assume were his auditions to be Bernstein's partner prior to Leila's hiring. But as his record with the White Sox demonstrates, he can also be nearly unlistenable as a host.

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Yeah. This insufferable prick just needs the right partner.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

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Is he under the impression that only jchs is requiring masks? It's going to be a requirement in and around Chicago schools for a very long time. This is a look at me and JCHS post. He's disgusting, always has been and always will be.

Nice fucking uba tuba counters. It'd be fucking tough to pull off elitism with those counters but he manages.

That mask is useless.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

*SIGH*

Listen to doctors and only listen to people who listen to doctors!

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

The evidence is clear. Masks work. They don't work well, or even mediocre. But they work. 2 people in a hundred get saved from the virus.

I agree. Rongey sounded great last week with Spiegel. I really enjoyed Rozner with Bernstein when Boers was out with cancer. Hell, that was better than the previous couple years with an old Terry Boers. The problem is when Bernstein has a host who won't challenge him.

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Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

Remember reading a psychological study that identified the need to feel like you care more about people than anyone else as a psychological illness, this was of course squashed quickly because it snared almost all of the Bernstein types.

Must say the I care more than you and I know more than you seems odd on sports talk radio, but that seems to be the universal marching orders for the media types these days, so we are getting some of the worst sports talk radio ever, wonder how long the station would have survived if it had started out with this current lineup and with this current approach?

All of Bernstein's partners, including Boers, just get in his way. He should be flying solo. Rongey has all of the Bernstein attitude, but about three quarters of his intelligence. Rozner is incredibly annoying. We're not that rar away! Hard pass on both.

Dan is a darling of the sponsors. For as much as we gave him shit about his whole "you [listeners] don't pay my salary, the sponsors do" shtick, there must be something to it. I think David Hochberg wanted to marry him. While he's a spent force as far as being an entertaining on-air personality, he must still be associated with enough revenue at the station that they can keep him on in a lower-pressure daypart and let him do a perfunctory show.

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It is like a sober Steve Dahl. Great in theory, mediocre in practice.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal