Around The Horn
- wadE
Have you seen the new ESPN show called "Around The Horn"?
If not, that isn't surprising since it comes on at 4 PM Central Daylight Time (btw - don't you just love
daylight savings time? I love that it's bright outside past 7:30 here...of course living as close to the
artic circle as we do, by the middle of the summer the sky has a little brightness to it at 10 PM)...
Where was I? Oh yeah... so it comes on 4 and leads into PTI...which I have to admit is the most entertaining
sports reporter shows ever. Even more so than the Sports Reports back in the day when Dick Schapp ran the show
like he was John McLaughlin and Mike Lupica was his bootlicking bitch.
The premise of Around The Horn is this: Hosted by Max Kellerman, ESPN2 Friday Night Fights studio analyst,
who plays moderator for this fast-paced, no-holds-barred production. He will be charged with breaking up verbal
exchanges among noted sports columnists from around the country as they discuss the day's hot-button issues.
Kellerman will also serve as ringside judge from his Washington, D.C. studio where he'll rate and score the
strength of each journalist's comments. Each point he gives or deducts will have a direct correlation to how
much time they have for closing comments.
What is this guy...like 12 years old?
So basically what happens is that they gather a group of 5 sports reporters (I refuse to call these people
"journalists"... come on!). These 5 tend to be the same group of guys from a pool of about 8. They throw out
a topic, each one argues one side or the other, and occasionally they'll take pot shots at each other. Kellerman
basically gives them points based on how much they agree with what he thinks (positive points for agreeing, zero
or negative points for not). After each round, the reporter with the fewest points is eliminated. At the end,
the reporter with the most points gets to have 30 seconds or so to talk about whatever they want to. Then that's
it.
The word "contrived" comes to mind. Contrived: Obviously planned or calculated; not spontaneous or natural;
labored; artificially formal.
The "journalists" are all B (or C) level writers from across the country with an occasional Bob Ryan showing
up (which isn't totally surprising since he's a big ESPN whore). Kellerman is annoying, and it's hard to
accept anyone's beliefs as the basis of the show when they are younger than all the participants...and their
strong suit is boxing!!! Kellerman gives the show zero credibility, and the majority of "journalists" are
egocentric blowhards.
If you haven't caught this show yet...don't bother.
P.S. Tomorrow is my b-day...so send me an email to wish me a happy birthday!!! :-D
What do you think? Drop us a line at webmaster@simpleprop.com and give us some
feedback. Maybe we'll even run your letters in future Gambits. 'The Daily Gambit' is updated every weekday.
