Tuesday, October 8, 2002
Updated: January 30, 12:41 PM ET
Around the Horn
ESPN Press Release
Max Kellerman hosts ESPN's Around the Horn, a 30-minute program which debuted November 4 and airs at 5 p.m. ET Monday-Friday featuring passionate opinions on the day's hot-button issues.
Kellerman, ESPN2 Friday Night Fights studio analyst, must call on the knowledge gained from watching that sport's referees in his role as moderator of this fast-paced, no-holds-barred production. He must break up verbal exchanges among noted sports columnists from around the country.
THE SCORING
Kellerman serves as ringside judge from his Washington, D.C. studio where he rates and scores the strength of each journalist's comments. Each point he gives or deducts has a direct correlation to how much time they have for closing comments.
THE COMBATANTS
Each afternoon, Around the Horn selects four columnists from five newspapers in various time zones and geographic regions to join Kellerman from their respective newsrooms. The papers and primary participants, chosen on the basis of news from their parts of the country that day, are:
Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News
Jay Mariotti, Chicago Sun-Times
Woody Paige, Denver Post
Bob Ryan, Boston Globe
T.J. Simers, Los Angeles Times
THE PRODUCTION
Similar television programs involve panelists via satellite, and the subsequent slight time lapse is noticeable in the hesitancy of Q&A's between the studio and remote sites. Around the Horn eliminates that hesitancy by featuring high-tech fiber optic connections in the newsrooms to ensure every discussion and argument will be delivered in real time.
Around the Horn is an ESPN Original Entertainment production and will lead into Pardon the Interruption with Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, and the evening edition of SportsCenter to create a daily block of lively sports news, highlights and opinion.
