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Barstool’s ‘Rico Bosco’ not joining WFAN’s parent company after all

That was quick.

Barstool Sports personality “Rico Bosco” is staying at Barstool and will not be joining Audacy, the parent company of WFAN. The abrupt about-face was revealed Thursday on Barstool’s “Pick ‘Em” podcast, eight days after Bosco initially left the company. And six days since Bosco began efforting to stay at Barstool after what he said was “self-reflection,” according on the timeline presented by Barstool head Dave Portnoy.

Bosco was going to sign a multi-year contract to do content for BetQL, Audacy’s sports betting vertical, according to comments by him, Portnoy and Dan “Big Cat” Katz on the podcast. He was set to do a daily three-hour show with current BetQL personalities Erin Hawksworth and Joe Ostrowski. But that will no longer be happening.

Worth noting: Hawksworth and Ostrowski currently do “BetQL Daily” with WIP of Philadelphia’s evening host Joe Giglio. So this failed pairing could be a tell Giglio will be in the mix to become WIP’s midday host with Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie headed to mornings.

Bosco, Katz and Portnoy were all adamant the entire saga was not a staged bit. And all indications are Bosco did indeed intend to leave Barstool for Audacy. The move was discussed by Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti during WFAN’s morning show. And Portnoy said BetQL’s Trysta Krick, who previously worked at Barstool, was upset about the planned move given past conflicts with Bosco.

This is likely the best resolution for all involved. Bosco is a popular, albeit polarizing, figure in the Barstool universe. And his persona likely would have been an odd fit in a more traditional sports media setting. But man, it would have been fun had Bosco taken a WFAN fill-in shift and rolled calls.

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James Kratch can be reached at [email protected]

James Kratch is the managing editor of ESNY. He previously worked as a Rutgers and Giants (and Mike Francesa) beat reporter for NJ Advance Media.