November 4, 2002: Around the Horn premieres on ESPN, sort of a McLaughlin Group for sports. Max Kellerman hosts until January 30, 2004. Tony Reali has been the host and moderator since February 2, 2004.
Reali introduces topics, then lets each panelist have about a minute on them, giving points if he likes what they say, taking off points for not liking something. If a panelist had made a prediction that came out right, they get bonus points; if a prediction bombed, they get points taken off. Reali will also hit the MUTE button, an automatic 1-point deduction, for a panelist getting out of control, or just to "direct traffic" if everybody is talking at once.
Current regular panelists include:
Current regular panelists include:
* Woody Paige of the Colorado Springs Gazette, formerly the Denver Post.
* Bob Ryan, ESPN NBA analyst, formerly of The Boston Globe.
* Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times.
* J.A. Adande, of ESPN and formerly of the Times
* Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News.
* Kevin Blackistone of The Washington Post, formerly of The Dallas Morning News.
* Israel Gutierrez and
* Bomani Jones, co-hosts of ESPN show Highly Questionable, both formerly of The Miami Herald.
* Pablo S. Torre, co-host with Jones of ESPN's High Noon.
* Frank Isola of The Athletic, formerly of the New York Daily News.
* Elle Duncan, co-anchor of ESPN's 6:00 PM SportsCenter broadcast.
* Mina Kimes, panelist on ESPN's NFL Live.
* Sarah Spain, co-host of ESPN Radio's Spain and Fitz.
* Jorge Sedano, ESPN NBA analyst.
* Emily Kaplan, ESPN's lead NHL reporter, formerly of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
* Joon Lee, ESPN baseball analyst, formerly of the Boston Herald.
* Monica McNutt, ESPN college basketball analyst.
* Ramona Shelbourne, co-host of ESPN Radio's TMI with Beadle & Shelburne.
* Harry Lyles Jr., ESPN college football analyst.
* David Jacoby, co-host of ESPN Radio's Jalen & Jacoby.
* Malika Andrews, host of ESPN's NBA Jump.
* ESPN NFL analysts Courtney Cronin, Dianna Russini and Kimberley A. Martin.
* And writers for ESPN's The Undefeated: Clinton Yates, Justin Tinsley, David Dennis Jr., and former NFL player Domonique Foxworth.
Notable former panelists include Jackie MacMullan, Charlie Pierce, Michael Holley and Michael Smith, all formerly of The Boston Globe; T.J. Simers, formerly of the Los Angeles Times; Richard Justice, formerly of the Houston Chronicle; Jemele Hill, formerly of the Detroit Free Press; Kate Fagan, formerly of ESPN and the Philadelphia Inquirer; Jon Weiner, a.k.a. "Stugotz," who hosts an ESPN Radio show with Dan Le Batard; and, most controversially, Jay Mariotti of Fanhouse.com, formerly of the Chicago Sun-Times, on nearly every episode until 2011, when he was fired following a domestic violence scandal.
The show does annual specials for April Fool's Day, where Reali switches with a panelist, who usually gives him a taste of his own medicine with the MUTE button; and Halloween, where the panelists, and sometimes even Reali, not only wear costumes, but answer questions in character.
As of the 20th Anniversary episode, November 4, 2022, Paige is the all-time leader in appearances, with 2,858, and in wins, with 650. Kimes holds the record for highest winning percentage, with a minimum of 200 appearances: 31.2 percent.
Woody on today's show.
Other win totals: Cowlishaw 514, Plaschke 409, Blackistone 357, Mariotti 329 (until his firing, he and Paige were neck-and-neck for the all-time lead for a few years), Adande 325, MacMullan 258, Ryan 211, Guiterrez 191, Jones 159, Isola 159, Smith 136, Spain 119, Torre 112, Yates 108, Kimes 67, Shelburne 50, Fagan 41, Sedano 29, Kaplan 26, Hill 22, Tinsley 19, Duncan 16, McNutt 12, Dennis 11, Lee 10, Lyles 10, Simers 10 (including the 1st episode), Cronin 6, Stugotz 4, Foxworth 3, Jacoby 3, Russini 1 and Andrews 1.