A union of longtime friends and former colleagues turned competitors in Dallas sports radio is happening on a classic rock station. With Jeff “Skin” Wade off on Friday, the ’Old Grey Wolf’ Mike Rhyner will fill in on Ben & Skin on 97.1 The Eagle.
Rhyner and Ben & Skin were teammates years ago before going head to head for a few years in afternoons while Rhyner was part of The Hardline on The Ticket and Ben & Skin were on 105.3 The Fan. Rhyner left The Ticket in January of 2020 but re-emerged at The Athletic later that year hosting a podcast for the site called Square One. It only lasted ten episodes.
Ben Rogers announced Thursday night that Rhyner would join him and co-hosts Kevin Turner and Krystyna Ray. Rogers’s tweet described Rhyner as “DFW radio royalty” and promised he would be in for the entire show.
When Ben & Skin announced they were leaving 105.3 The Fan in 2020, they said that it was because they did not want to feel obligated to talk about sports if there was nothing going on that interested them. Still, sports has followed them to the Eagle. The station became the Mavericks’ new radio flagship before this NBA season. Owner Mark Cuban has also remained a regular guest. Bringing Rhyner on, even for a day, is likely to bring even more sports fans to the classic rock station.
The “Godfather of The Ticket” just stabbed the P1s in the back. It’s bad enough that Rhyner pops up on a competing radio station, but to do so in the same time slot as your former co-host? Congrats, Rhyner. Your credibility is dead to the P1 going forward. I hope it was worth selling out your integrity.