ESPN's Around the Horn ended today after 22 years on the air.......

[chongli]

Woody Paige having a cutesy white board message in his shot became tired years ago. And the point system seemed inconsistent and depended on if Reali agreed or not.

 

That being said, it was an enjoyable show, especially at first, and like a comfort food; but it jumped the shark yeas ago.

 

TRIVIA: What was Reali's nick name when he first started?

Edited 3 hours ago by chongli

[DapperCam]

1 hour ago, Mister Defense said:

I have watched 30 or so episodes and found it okay sometimes, overall. But mainly liked it only when the Bills or something related was a topic.

 

But I did not understand an integral aspect of the show, the points awarded, and did not have any idea who the host was, what his expertise was as far as sports.

 

I  really disliked that they never explained the points thing, what that meant, how/what the criteria were etcetera, in all of the shows I watched.  Not once. Seems like a really bad thing to do, a way to turn off viewers, especially new ones giving the show a shot for the first time. Need to be aware of the audience and attempt to make things clear for them.

 

That really diminished the show for me, not having any real understanding what was actually going on. If you don't have basic clarity, you will not be able to build or maintain your audience--and so are on borrowed time.

 

Now that it is over, can someone explain that if they know?  I assume they had a point system/criteria of some kind and that the host had extensive background in sports, other than as the host of this show-?

 

 

 

I think it was like “Whose Line is it Anyway”. The points didn’t really matter and were given out somewhat arbitrarily. It was just a device to give the show some structure and move along to some conclusion.

[Dr. Who]

13 minutes ago, chongli said:

Woody Paige having a cutesy white board message in his shot became tired years ago. And the point system seemed inconsistent and depended on if Reali agreed or not.

 

That being said, it was an enjoyable show, especially at first, and like a comfort food; but it jumped the shark yeas ago.

 

TRIVIA: What was Reali's nick name when he first started?

Stat boy; he started out as a fact checker for PTI and they would have him on at the end to correct their mistakes.

[fasteddie]

8 minutes ago, chongli said:

Woody Paige having a cutesy white board message in his shot became tired years ago. And the point system seemed inconsistent and depended on if Reali agreed or not.

 

That being said, it was an enjoyable show, especially at first, and like a comfort food; but it jumped the shark yeas ago.

 

TRIVIA: What was Reali's nick name when he first started?

Stat boy! He was on the last few minutes of PTI telling the audience who erred during the show.

I for one will miss the show. It was a heck of lot better than listening to Stephen A or the other idiots on ESPN. My wife actually watched the show so I think they forgot about the demographics there. How many other sports talk shows could bring females to the tv?

[oldmanfan]

14 minutes ago, chongli said:

Woody Paige having a cutesy white board message in his shot became tired years ago. And the point system seemed inconsistent and depended on if Reali agreed or not.

 

That being said, it was an enjoyable show, especially at first, and like a comfort food; but it jumped the shark yeas ago.

 

TRIVIA: What was Reali's nick name when he first started?

Stat boy?  I always like the show.  You just had to know the scoring was meaningless and just listen to the opinions of the different writers.

[Dr. Who]

The original host of PTI was Max Kellerman. Then there was a contract dispute, IIRC, and Tony Reali, who had been a fill-in host, became the regular host. 

 

Kellerman is obnoxious, but good at boxing commentary if you're into that sport.

[stevewin]

26 minutes ago, chongli said:

Woody Paige having a cutesy white board message in his shot became tired years ago. And the point system seemed inconsistent and depended on if Reali agreed or not.

 

That being said, it was an enjoyable show, especially at first, and like a comfort food; but it jumped the shark yeas ago.

 

TRIVIA: What was Reali's nick name when he first started?

I assume you're referring to Stat Boy

 

I remember watching PTI when he was just stat boy.  Its kind of an amazing story how they called him to fill in at ATH the day after the SB since every other 'big name' at the network was off covering the SB - and he did so well he just kept the gig.

 

Reali is known for as being extremely positive and generous on and off the air and think he is a genuinely good dude.  I give him credit for purposely turning the show from just a yelling match when Kellerman started to something a bit more structured and even thoughtful at times.

 

Not sure why some people get so bent about the scoring thing - there really wasn't any specific system - just him going by feel -  was just a device to add more entertainment (what if friends were debating sports at a bar and someone was sitting there scoring them on who was making the best points).

 

Last few days I've watched all his interviews as he made the rounds.  Even if I didn't watch it religiously lately it was to me still a fun distraction when I did (esp day after some major sports story).  It's sad to see something that was part of your life for decades go away (for no apparent good reason - was still one of the highest rated shows on the network).  I wish Reali well - he seems to have moved past acceptance phase and already is making moves to move forward with other projects/platforms.

Edited 3 hours ago by stevewin

[dcinmuncie]

Whenever I watched it and Jackie Mac was on, I feel he would always give her the win 

 

just perception 

probably not reali(ty) 

[wppete]

It was a good show many years ago until it veered away from sports and became unwatchable. Wont be missed. 
 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by wppete

[Roundybout]

I don't think I've watched ATH in years. Actually, I haven't watched much ESPN programming since Mike and Mike in the Morning ended. 

[sherpa]

Like a lot  used to watch ESPN stuff a lot, and never do anymore.

One quick story though, regarding PTI personalities.

 

After 9/11, the very first day US airspace was opened for commercial travel, I was coming home to Dulles from LA, after being stuck on the west coast since the event. It was an all nighter, and Mike Wilbon sat next to me. I was in uniform so he asked me a few things and we had a lengthy discussion about the event and the likely results. I remember specifically his comments and views, and I remember thinking that this guy has absolutely no idea how big of a deal this was and what it would cause. His view was akin to thinking that it was kind of like a plane crash. 

 

[stinky finger]

3 hours ago, Augie said:

ESPN occasionally has a game that I can only watch there. For that reason only I’m glad I have it, though I can watch a few minutes of PTI if they have good topics. I used to listen to Tony Kornheiser on the radio when my job involved a lot of driving around, and I’m a bit nostalgic for those days. 

 

This ^^^

 

I go to ESPN only for games only shown there. Otherwise, blow it up. It sucks.

[Rhyno716]

The original premise of the show was 4 newspaper journalists from different markets spread throughout the country debating sports topics. But then 2 things happened over the years. Espn flooded their networks with debate shows with their various talking heads making ath stand out less and with newspaper journalism dying off they just filled their daily panel with the same talking heads that were on every other espn debate show.

 

Like most people I only watch espn for live sports these days.

[chongli]

1 hour ago, Dr. Who said:

Stat boy; he started out as a fact checker for PTI and they would have him on at the end to correct their mistakes.

 

Winner winner!! 🏆

[eball]

It was a somewhat interesting show but can’t say I was a fan.  The selection of panelists was curious, and with no understanding of the point system it seemed random.

 

I suppose congratulations and respect are due for having lasted that long in this era.