A week ago, 98.5 the Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich show spoke about the loss of their producer, Mike Lockhart, to budget cuts at Beasley media. On that show they seemed optimistic that a reunion would happen. On Monday, the show announced Lockhart would return.

Show co-host Rich Shertenlieb made the news known on the program, also noting this would be the one and only time he would broach the topic again. Shertenlieb mentioned that last week he, Fred Toucher and Jon Wallach sat down with management to plead their case for the return of Lockhart. Shertenlieb noted that management then took the notes from the meeting to their superiors at Beasley Media Group who then nixed the idea of the reunion.

“Ten minutes later I knew exactly what I had to do,” Shertenlieb said when hearing of the company’s refusal. “What followed next was four straight days of numerous meetings, hours of phone calls, dozens of emails, multiple negotiations and many a conversation that I won’t soon forget. But the bottom line is: this week, Mike Lockhart will be returning… and I will be paying his full salary. Plus the 38% markup the company charge me for administrative fees.”

“In return for the company allowing me to pay my own money to bring Mike back,” Shertenlieb continued, “I was made to sign a contract that the show was to write four articles a day for the station’s website. But that was better, much better, than some of the other things they were asking for. This is the last I’ll speak of the ways and means of this past week because quite frankly I am fried. But the bottom line is: we love Mike Lockhart. He is is a part of our team and I want him to always be a part of our team.”