Tony Reali: 0 errors, 0 omissions, but 1 Big Goodbye

Started watching ESPN in '82 or '83 and have seen every transformation that led to today's monster.

Of everyone they've brought in since, oh, 2000, Tony is my favorite personality. Knows his sports and brings a healthy dose of fun and whimsy to his baby, Around the Horn, which is the best show on ESPN.

That said, he said goodbye to PTI after 13 years. Here's a video:

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/09/tony-realiy-pti-video-tony-kornheiser-michael-wilbon

He's still moderating ATH -- with the big news being Good Morning America hired him as a social media dude.

 

PTI wasn't Reali's "baby." Erik Rydholm is the guy who came up with the concept, including the "rundown," which has been copied by virtually every talking head show in the country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/erik-rydholm-and-the-10-year-anniversary-of-pti/2011/10/24/gIQAIe9IDM_blog.html

 

You mean Around the Horn?

And I mean baby in the sense that it's his show whereas he appeared for only a minute or two on PTI.

 

ATH was a big downturn in quality for TV and also contributed greatly to the cartoonish behavior of newspaper columnists, which was new at the time but now seems to be taken for granted.

It did give us the "Sports Shouting" slip on 30 Rock, though.

 

30 Rock nailed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsnpbOA739o

 

That's funny and all, but the show they should've been teasing is PTI. All Kornheiser and Wilbon did for the first 6-7 years was try to yell over each other. They've since become ESPN's old married couple.

Around the Horn isn't a yelling show.

 

You're funny.

 

Dude....

 

Listen, I'd be the first one to say, Yep, they're just yellers.

Did either of you guys watch PTI circa '05, '06 etc etc? THAT was yelling.

 

To me, the difference is that Kornheiser and Wilbon have always seemed much more genuine in their opinions, whereas the other derivative shows - Around the Horn, First Take - do just seem to be loudmouths yelling at one another. I do agree with you on Reali though, I thought he was a clear standout on ATH and deserved his own show as opposed to babysitting the Jay Mariottis of the world.

 

Kellerman also had a gratefully short-lived shouting "pundit" show on ESPN around the same time.
What I hated about ATH was that Reali judged the value of others' arguments.
I thought that was stupid and lame beyond all the other churlishness.

 

I won't watch PTI if Kornheiser and Wilbon aren't there. I don't need Whitlock wishing me a good night here in Canada.