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posted by Gracie Blackburn on May 1, 2013 8:00 AM
In other words, it’s good to be “The Schwab.”
Front Row sat down with him to discuss “The Schwab” playoffs that start tonight during UNITE on ESPNU at midnight ET. The field in this bracket has been narrowed from 27 to nine college contestants who will represent their respective conferences in the semifinals of the late-night show’s sports trivia game. continue reading…
posted by Sheldon Spencer on April 8, 2013 3:56 PM
Around The Horn often provides a window into pop culture beyond its focus on sports discussion and debate.
Witness the creative way ATH celebrated 10 years on the air in 2012 with Beatles-inspired opening artwork. Host Tony Reali also once famously recreated the memorable Copacabana scene from Goodfellas.
“We love to acknowledge the shows we love,” Reali said.
Reali and the ATH crew were showing the love again on Friday, March 29 when they paid tribute to the third season debut of HBO’s popular Game Of Thrones series. As seen in the video above – which took about eight weeks from concept to completion – the show’s panelists and Reali own keys to the kingdom in what they affectionately dubbed Game Of Horns. Reali discussed the show’s latest creative effort with Front Row. continue reading…
posted by David Scott on January 29, 2013 12:15 PM
“His & Hers” with Michael Smith and Jemele Hill debuts this coming Monday.
(Joe Faraoni / ESPN Images)
Click HERE to listen or visit iTunes to download the podcast and be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Front & Center podcast. Also, make sure to check out the ESPN Radio app, available for the iPad.
They will argue. They will bicker. They will poke fun at each other.
And that will just be the first 30 seconds of ESPN Audio’s newest podcast, His & Hers with Michael Smith & Jemele Hill, which debuts next Monday, Feb. 4 on the front page ESPNRadio.com, ESPN PodCenter and on iTunes.
Smith, the host of Numbers Never* Lie, and Hill, an ESPN.com columnist and frequent contributor on various ESPN shows, are excited to have a project they can call their own.
In the Front & Center podcast above, Smith and Hill discuss, among other things: their decade-long friendship; their desire to both make news and include newsmakers as guests; and what sets their pairing apart from other sports podcasts.
posted by Hannah Worster on January 12, 2013 12:00 PM
The New England Patriots and the Houston Texans will meet for an AFC divisional playoff game Sunday, 4:30 P.M. ET at Gillette Stadium. Quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots are favored to win the game; the last time the teams met they defeated the Texans 42-14. But don’t despair, Texans fans.
In the video above, Numbers Never Lie hosts Michael Smith, Hugh Douglas and Jalen Rose explain why the Texans may have a chance to win.
ESPN’s divisional playoff coverage will feature two editions of Sunday NFL Countdown — a two-hour special Saturday, Jan. 12, at 10 a.m. ET, and the regular three-hour edition Sunday, Jan. 13, at 10 a.m.
ICYMI: Highlights from the past week on Front Row
• The latest “This Is SportsCenter” segment stars anchors Chris McKendry, Stuart Scott, the Boston College Eagle and the Temple Owl mascots. Watch the ad and see how it came about.
• Between wrapping up his College GameDay season and preparing for the Australian Open, Chris Fowler describes what’s it’s like to make such a quick transition “from sport to sport, role to role, winter to summer and North America to Down Under.”
• ESPN’s Talent Department recruits, manages, coaches and retains more than 1,000 commentators. A sampling of the hundreds of ESPN contract renewals and/or new signings of 2012 can be found here.
• You’ve seen him on Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn, but ESPN.com columnist J.A. Adande also works as an educator in USC’s journalism department. He shares more about his role as an educator in this Front & Center podcast.
Row of Four
Our favorites from across ESPN over the past week continue reading…
posted by Jennifer Cingari on December 18, 2012 4:01 PM
ESPN2′s Numbers Never Lie got a new look in September, with commentators Jalen Rose and Hugh Douglas joining host Michael Smith in fulltime roles.
Another new addition to the show was the “Answer Chamber,” a pneumatic tube that delivers the final answers to the debate through a rotating carousel built in to the desk.
The chamber was built by UK-based Dick George Creatives, which also built the automation for the Oscar-winning movie Hugo. continue reading…
posted by Hannah Worster on December 1, 2012 12:00 PM
ESPN’s Colin Cowherd has been training since August for The Disney Half Marathon which will be held on Jan. 12, 2013. In the video above, Cowherd gets a workout in at the ESPN Employees Wellness Center with his “inspiration,” John Anderson.
ICYMI: Highlights from the past week on Front Row
• In May, ESPN announced it would be expanding the X Games franchise to Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, Barcelona, Spain and Munich, Germany — joining X Games Aspen, Colo., Los Angeles, Calif. and Tignes, France — taking the premier action sports event global. Front Row has photo renderings of what the venues in each new X Games locale will look like.
• The revamped KIA NBA Countdown — ESPN and ABC’s NBA pre-game show — is off to a hot start with new personalities, various new segments and more. Coordinating producer Amina Hussein gives more details about the new-look Countdown.
•The week’s Fan Central Mailbag answered questions about ESPN’s coverage plans for the FCS playoffs, the overall depth of ESPN’s offerings and steps fans can take to see their tweets and photos on air during programs like Sunday NFL Countdown.
• U.S. Marine veteran Zach Stinson was honored as a special MNF guest during the Carolina Panthers-Philadelphia Eagles game on Monday. Stinson, who was severely injured while on patrol in Afghanistan two years ago, had met the crew two weeks earlier and left a lasting impression on the MNF team.
•Part of ESPN2’s Numbers Never Lie team, former NFL star Hugh Douglas shares his thoughts and opinions alongside host Michael Smith and fellow commentator Jalen Rose on weekday afternoons. Front Row caught up with Hugh to get his thoughts on the Twitterverse and how he uses it as a tool to interact with fans.
Row of Four
Our favorites from across ESPN over the past week continue reading…
posted by Jennifer Cingari on November 26, 2012 3:30 PM
Numbers Never* Lie co-host Hugh Douglas. (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
Editor’s note: I Follow is all about ESPN employees on Twitter: what they tweet, whom they follow and how you can interact socially with anyone and everyone.
Part of ESPN2’s Numbers Never Lie team, former NFL star Hugh Douglas shares his thoughts and opinions alongside host Michael Smith and fellow commentator Jalen Rose on weekday afternoons.
Tonight, Douglas will be watching one of his former teams, the Philadelphia Eagles, take on the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football (ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET).
Front Row caught up with Hugh to get his thoughts on the Twitterverse and how he uses it as a tool to interact with fans.
Twitter handle:@BigHugh53
Followers: 22,235
Following: 923 (as of 11/26/2012)
When did you join twitter?
I joined just about a year ago.
Who are your favorite accounts to follow?
I actually like to follow @UberFacts to see the random and weird facts. Other than that, [ESPN commentator] Trey Wingo (@wingoz) always has some interesting stats about sports and football in general. [ESPN NFL analyst] @AdamSchefter, too.
You have more than 16,000 tweets. What do you enjoy about using Twitter as a platform? continue reading…
posted by Bill Hofheimer on November 2, 2012 3:26 PM
Around the Horn celebrates its 10th anniversary today (5 p.m. ET). (ESPN)
This week marks the 10-year anniversary of ESPN’s Around the Horn, which debuted on Nov. 4, 2002.
The popular daytime sports talk and debate show will celebrate the milestone today at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Host Tony Reali — who penned this for Front Row yesterday — will be joined by an expanded group of panelists including show regulars JA Adande, Kevin Blackistone, Tim Cowlishaw, Israel Gutierrez, Bomani Jones, Jackie MacMullan, Woody Paige, Bill Plaschke, Bob Ryan and Michael Smith.
A special guest will also make an appearance.
In recognition of the anniversary, Front Row asked a few of the ATH regulars for their thoughts on the show, its success and the experience of being part of it the past decade. (Note: No points were awarded for these answers and no one was muted.)
Bob Ryan, the legendary Boston Globe sports writer, who has been part of ATH since the very first show:
“What is amusing to consider is that what we are the most successful spin-off of its kind ever. We exist because of PTI’s success. I sense that we skew a bit younger, and that one of the keys to our popularity is the idea among kids that the young guy controls his elders, even to the point of muting, as well as judging. A younger host is essential, and Tony is ideal.
“Whether it was [original host] Max [Kellerman] or now Tony, this is the hardest hosting job in the history of TV, period. You need to keep things moving with perpetual ad-libbing, all while working the levers. And they both have made it look so damn easy, when it’s anything but. I know I’d never want to do it.”
Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News, who made his debut on ATH’s second show (Nov. 5, 2002):
“The first person who contacted me about the show said it was probably going to be called ‘Zones’ or ‘Time Zones’ because they wanted a show where columnists from four time zones argued about sports. I was also told one of the ideas was that we would try to break news for the other cities — in other words, I would go on the show and tell Bob Ryan something that’s happening in Boston that he wouldn’t know. I thought ‘This is going to be a very difficult show.’”
Jackie MacMullan, ESPNBoston.com columnist — and one of ATH’s two female panelists, along with Jemele Hill — who debuted during ATH’s second week (Nov. 12, 2002): continue reading…
posted by Tony Reali on November 1, 2012 4:42 PM
Note: ESPN’s daily sports talk and debate show, Around the Horn, will mark 10 years on the air with a special Friday show (5 p.m. ET, ESPN) featuring an expanded group of panelists and other special guests. On the eve of this milestone, host Tony Reali offers his thoughts on the show’s successful run and what the opportunity has meant for him personally. (Front Row also thanks him, Chris Gavin and Mars Lewis for the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band-inspired artwork.)
Pele wore it on his back.
Phil Jackson once wore it on his head.
Pearl Jam debuted with it.
Dudley Moore thought Bo Derek was it.
Ten. X. 10.
And now, it’s our number.
2,217 shows and I can remember every single one. Or, at least the 2,000-plus I have done. I remember the day Woody (Paige) almost choked on confetti celebrating his 300th win. The day Michael Smith broke out an impromptu (Barack) Obama impression for 64 points. I remember having Lil Wayne on as a guest panelist and thinking “This guy could take all our jobs.” I remember when Kevin Blackistone dressed as Ron Washington for Halloween. I remember Jay Mariotti working 265 straight shows. 265 straight!
I remember February 1, 2004. I got the call to host the show the next day while watching the Patriots-Panthers Super Bowl. Max Kellerman was in contract talks. Could I sit in? I had been a panelist previously and hosted a couple of times but never a day after the Super Bowl. At first I said ‘no’. I was scared stiff. I couldn’t comprehend this was how ESPN hired its hosts. (Spoiler alert: It’s not.) I was 25 and my entire broadcasting career consisted of 10 seconds a day as “Stat Boy” and saying inappropriate things on radio at Fordham.
When I finally said ‘yes,’ I realized I had no clothes. I wore my only suit to work the next day — sweated through it — and put together a hosting stint that has to go down in history as the worst of all-time. But I did get through it, and I’m much better for it. I wore the same suit to work the next day, and by Wednesday I needed a new tie. It was 18 months later when I signed my first contract to host the show. continue reading…
posted by Hannah Worster on October 13, 2012 11:18 AM
Longtime ESPN college football analyst Beano Cook passed away earlier this week in Pittsburgh. Beano was 81.
Carroll H. “Beano” Cook was one of the sport’s most memorable commentators. In addition to college football programming, SportsCenter and ESPNEWS on television, Cook was a fixture as a guest on ESPN Radio and had a popular podcast on ESPN.com.
In the video above which aired this morning on College GameDay, commentators Chris Fowler and Lee Corso salute their great friend and colleague Cook.
ICYMI: Highlights from the past week on Front Row
• With the popularity of John Clayton’s now famous This is SportsCenter spot, we thought we’d shed some light on NFL Insider Adam Schefter and his home office. Schefter shares some details about the memorabilia that covers his bookshelf.
•Comedian and impressionist Frank Caliendo is joining ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown as a contributor. His first appearance is Sunday at 10 a.m. ET with Chris Berman and company at the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn.
• Front Row remembered the late Beano Cook with memorable quotes and photos.
• A Q&A with college basketball analyst Jimmy Dykes who recently signed a multi-year contract extension with ESPN.
Row of Four
Our favorites from across ESPN over the past week continue reading…
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