Score hopes to keep Murph, Holmes, Hampton on bench

Although their days are numbered as midday hosts, Mike Murphy, Laurence Holmes and Dan Hampton are all being asked to remain on at WSCR 670-AM.

"Nothing's really determined," said Score Program Director Mitch Rosen. "I'll know more next week. (But) all three are valuable employees of the radio station. Murph's a Day-Oner. We value his expertise and treat him with the utmost respect. We hope to figure something out, the next role for Murph, some time next week."

Holmes will continue, "hopefully in a hosting opportunity," Rosen added, while Hampton "has been a huge part of this station, and he'll continue more in a Bears-slash-NFL role."

The Score announced Wednesday that Dan McNeil would be joining the station June 15 and will be handed the 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. shift. He'll then overlap a half-hour with Dan Bernstein and Terry Boers, who will continue on until 6. Mike Mulligan and Brian Hanley will do mornings, 5 to 9.

While acknowledging that Arbitron's new People Meter has made middays more important than ever, Rosen said radio ratings did not drive the move.

"It's bringing Mac back in the fold. That was the best spot for us," he said. "It's a bigger audience than ever in middays, and when a guy like Mac becomes available you're looking to add him to the team, and what's the best shift? We all determined internally here that middays would be the best for 'The Danny Mac Show.'"

Sources suggest Matt Spiegel, a former Score staffer and WXRT 93.1-FM producer who has also done a syndicated morning shift for Sporting News Radio, is in the running to be McNeil's co-host. Rosen declined to comment.