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Around the Horn

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Bjewiki (talk | contribs) at 16:45, 11 October 2007 (Undid revision 163832255 by Crispinh1 (talk) He's part of the show, but not a host...). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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Around the Horn
File:AroundTheHornlogo.PNG
Around the Horn Logo
GenreSports talk and debate
StarringTony Reali, Jay Mariotti, Woody Paige, and other sports writers (see below)
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes1,047 (as of September 21, 2007)[1]
Production
Executive producersJames Cohen,
Erik Rydholm,
Mark Shapiro
ProducersDan Farmer,
Aaron Solomon,
Bill Wolff
Production locationUnited States Washington, D.C.
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkESPN
ReleaseNovember 4, 2002 –
present

Around the Horn (sometimes abbreviated ATH) is a daily, half-hour sports talk program on ESPN filmed in Washington, D.C. It airs at 5:00 pm ET, in a sports talk hour with Pardon the Interruption, with the hour repeated at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS. Its official title is Around the Horn presented by Nissan. It was a production of ESPN Original Entertainment. It is currently hosted by Tony Reali.

History

Around the Horn premiered on November 4, 2002, with host Max Kellerman replacing the interview show Unscripted with Chris Connelly. The show is a spin-off of ESPN's Pardon The Interuption. On February 2, 2004, PTI's "Stat Boy" and ATH fill-in host Tony Reali became the shows new host, after Kellerman left ESPN because of a contract dispute. On July 10, 2007, the show celebrated its 1000th episode. Jay Mariotti won the episode.

The set

File:Athset.jpg
Around the Horn set

The Around the Horn set, in the same Atlantic Video complex as the set for Pardon the Interruption. It features the host's desk with the point triggers and mute buttons, opposite of four screens of the panelists with their score under them and the mute sign above them. Behind the host's desk is a map of the contiguous United States of America with the mastheads of the newspapers affiliated with the show outlined in their region which include: the Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post, the Chicago Sun Times, and The Dallas Morning News. The Boston Globe was once affiliated with the show, but when its affiliation was pulled, so was its masthead on the map. It was replaced with a simple "Boston". The Cold Pizza logo was also added near New York's place on the map when Woody Paige was based in New York, and it was subsequently removed when Paige returned to Denver.

Meanwhile, each panelist usually appears either within the offices of their respecitive newspaper, in front of a screen showing the city they're located in, or in another studio.

Rounds

The current Around The Horn format consists of the following:

  • Introduction: The show usually opens with Reali saying "Welcome back to banter", "Welcome back to the show of competitive banter", or "Welcome back to the show that scores the argument." The panelists are introduced and given time for an opening statement. Most of the panelists use this time for jokes or criticism of the host or other panelists, which can lead to points or mutes. Occasionally (usually on Fridays), there are "themed" introductions, including karaoke, "big words", and movie lines. Reali often awards extra points for quotes from Goodfellas or Anchorman, and often subtracts points when any panelist makes a joke about his Italian heritage or his close relationship with his mother, or when Mariotti brings up "Michael Jeffrey Jordan" or bashes Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman. (Tim Cowlishaw often makes gratuitous Goodfellas references in a blatant attempt to get extra points, but Reali rarely obliges him.)
  • The First Word: Two current sports headlines are discussed. The panelists go into great detail and can also jump back in for rebuttals.
  • Buy or Sell: A rapid fire segment in which the panelists are asked to buy or sell (be for or against) three different concepts, also drawn from the relevant sports headlines.
  • 1st Cut: The contestant with the lowest point total is eliminated. In the case of ties, Reali often breaks them by miscellaneous things, like whose hair is better combed. If the awarding of a point causes a tie for the two lowest panelists, Reali sometimes gives the same panelist a second point to break it.
  • Out of Bounds: This round is dedicated to talking about one story which is indirectly sports-related. Serious topics, in which no points are awarded, are usually discussed here.
  • 2nd Cut: The next contestant with the lowest point total is removed, leaving just two.
  • Showdown: Mentioned above, the two remaining columnists take sides on any sports or cultural stories remaining. There are two or three questions, depending on the amount of time left. Usually, the western most panelist goes first for the first topic, with the other speaking for the second half. The panelists then alternate going first for the remaining topics. Each topic is timed between 20 and 40 seconds each depending on time remaining. Reali usually gives a panelist one point per topic, although he occasionally gives more than one point or deducts points depending on the strength or weakness of the argument.
  • Facetime: The winner of the showdown and therefore winner of that particular episode gets 15 to 40 seconds (depending on remaining time) to talk about anything he/she wishes to discuss. Most of the time these are sports related, but often their own personal life or an issue in pop culture is discussed.
  • Goodbye: Reali says how long it will be until the next episode, for example, "we're on a 23-and-a-half hour break." On Friday's, he will sign off by saying a 71 and a half hour break. It there is an extended period until the show comes back on, Reali may simply say, "You do the math!"
  • Paper Toss: Signature sign-off of the show, with Reali crumpling his notes and seemingly attempting to throw them at the camera (though he rarely comes close). As he does this, the panelists will often continue to chatter in the background as the show ends.

Previous format

Before the show was retooled in early 2003, the format was similar, wherein the first two rounds were pretty much the same but with different titles. There was a bigger difference after that. The show ran like so:

  • The Opening Round: the two biggest headlines of the day.
  • The Lightning Round: a quick-moving round with four topics where players had to make their points quickly or risk getting muted by Max Kellerman, the former host.
  • The Bonus Round: one final topic, with the panelists trying to earn some last-second points, followed by a sports trivia question for each panelist, worth five points
  • The Medal Round: the panelists earned facetime equal to their scores converted to seconds, in reverse order of their placing. The winner received a gold medal, second place received silver, third place got bronze, and the fourth place finisher was given a foil ball. More often than not, due to time restrictions, the panelists were given less time than they earned, or at least one panelist would not be given any time at all.

Also the first year of the current format used to have average about 11 topics instead of the current 9 topics. The format used to have 2 First Word topics, 4 Buy or Sells, 2 Out of Bounds, and 3 Showdowns. The reduction took place shortly after Reali took over as host.

Points

The show is unique as it "scores the argument". The awarding of points is done at the discretion of the host. The rewarding - and deduction - of points has changed throughout the series. Originally, being muted cost a panelist five points. Later, while Kellerman was still hosting the show, the scoring was at its most strict: "good" answers were awarded two points, "great" answers were given three, and a mute subtracted three points from a panelist's score. Shortly before Kellerman left the show, the mute was reduced to its current -1. Around the time Reali took over the show, the host was allowed to give points at his own discretion, Reali may give a single point for a weak argument, or many points for a particularly strong case backed by statistical information. The host may also give multiple points for "inside information" that he deems correct. Points may also be taken away for self-promotion, such as bragging about a good column or a successful upset pick (According to Reali, "Self-promotion is the mating call of the mute button!") Also complaints about how many points that they or another panalist recieved usually results in a deduction and/or mute.

Jay Mariotti currently holds the points record before the showdown with 56 on August 31, 2007. The record previously was 52 by Bill Plaschke in 2004.

Reali also makes bets occasionally with the panelists on sporting events, with the panelist gaining or losing a large amount of points based on the outcome.

There have been some topics, most during the Out of Bounds segment, which have not been scored due to their sensitive nature. Such examples include Bob Ryan's suspension for his comments towards Jason Kidd's wife, the Duke Lacrosse Case, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen making a homosexual slur towards Jay Mariotti, Ben Roethlisberger's motorcycle accident, Michael Vick's alleged dog killings, and discussions of deaths.

Hosts

Guest hosts

Panelists

Current Regular Panelists

Semi-Regular Panelists

Former Panelists

Guest panelists

Running gags

During the show's long run, it has developed certain comedic long-running gags, much like its sister show Pardon the Interruption, that longtime viewers will recognize and casual viewers may be unable to easily comprehend. The gags revolve around the personalities of Reali and the columnists, along with their interactions. An example of this is Jay Mariotti centering some of his arguments around Chicago, where he lives.

References

  1. ^ ESPN: Around the Horn podcast listing
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