Danny Parkins exits 670 The Score

Reports link him to joining FS1 show

After a few days of speculation, 670 The Score (Audacy-owned WSCR-AM) afternoon co-host Danny Parkins announced Tuesday afternoon he is leaving the station. 

Parkins hasn’t said where he is going next because of an embargo. But he is likely headed to New York to co-host a new FS1 talk show with Emmanuel Acho as a replacement for the soon-to-be canceled Undisputed, formerly hosted by former Chicago Tribune sports columnist Skip Bayless. 

Parkins’ final day is Wednesday but will host the 24-hour Cubs for a Cure Radiothon for cancer research from 10 a.m. Thursday until 10 a.m. Friday. 

‘‘Danny has accepted a national TV job outside of the Chicago market“, said WSCR vice president Mitch Rosen in a memo obtained by the Sun-Times.  “It’s a life-changing opportunity for him, but of course a bittersweet loss for our audience and our Score Team. I’m so proud and happy for Danny and his family.’’

Parkins built his national profile by filling in for Colin Cowherd on FS1’s The Herd for two days last month and impressed executives. In March, he attended the Barrett Sports Media Summit and became a guest on FS1, thanks to his connections with FS1 First Things First host Nick Wright. Parkins later appeared on Cowherd’s podcast a month later, leading to the fill-in job on The Herd. 

“Tomorrow is going to be my last Parkins & [Matt] Spiegel show, and I will be ending my full-time employment at The Score with the Radiothon,” Parkins said on the air Tuesday. “I am not allowed yet to say exactly where I’m going, but if anyone has been on the internet and checked out the speculation, I’m sure you can connect the dots. I should have the ability to say all the details on [Wednesday].”

Parkins arrived at 670 The Score in January 2017 from sports talk KSCP-AM Kansas City where he first teamed up with Matt Spiegel in afternoons until Dan McNeil replaced him a few months later. Hosting solo after McNeil was dropped from the station for making rude comments about then-ESPN personality Maria Taylor’s wardrobe, Speigel reunited with Parkins in February 2021. 

One of the most memorable moments in Parkins’ tenure here was the What About Chicago radiothon he held in June 2021 for Austin Harvest, a non-profit grocery project created to serve residents of the West Side Austin community, whose residents lack access to fresh groceries. The radiothon raised more than $600,000 for the project as former Chicago Bears player Sam Acho – who is Emmanuel’s brother, bought the property of a former liquor store shuttered in the George Floyd unrest and helped arrange the radiothon with his Athletes For Justice charity and Audacy. On Tuesday, Austin Harvest opened as a permanent location after three years as a seasonal pop-up. 

Parkins named the charity after a phrase many conservatives used to mock Chicago and its gun violence epidemic, especially after mass shootings happened elsewhere, such as in Las Vegas and Uvalde, Tex.: 

“People ask, ‘What about Chicago?’ in bad faith, so this is defiant,” Parkins told the Tribune three years ago. “It’s ‘What about Chicago?’ This is Chicago: It’s a Chicago radio station partnering with Chicago athletes to build a grocery store in a Chicago neighborhood that employs Chicago kids to give back to a Chicago community. That’s the Chicago that I know and am proud of.”

“One of my biggest pet peeves in the world is when people talk about Chicago who don’t care about Chicago.”

Not only Chicago radio listeners are losing a talented radio host, but a great humanitarian as well.