Around the Horn: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:07, 26 September 2006

Revision as of 21:40, 26 September 2006

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==Rounds==

* '''Introduction''': UsuallyuUsually opens with TonyReali saying "Welcome to the show of competitive banter." The panelists are introduced and given a first word. Most of the panelists use this time for jokes or criticism of the host or other panelists. Some also take mutes for their comments during this part. Occasionally (usually on Fridays), there are "themed" introductions, including [[karaoke]], "big words", and movie lines. Current host Reali often awards extra points for quotes from ''[[Goodfellas]]'' or ''[[Napoleon Dynamite]]'', and often subtracts points when any panelist makes a joke about his [[Italian people|Italian]] heritage or his close relationship with his mother. ([[Tim Cowlishaw]] often makes gratuitous ''Goodfellas'' references in a blatant attempt to get extra points, but Reali rarely obliges him.)

* '''The First Word''': Two relevant sports headlines of the day are discussed.

* '''Buy or Sell''': The columnists are asked to buy or sell (be for or against) three different concepts, also drawn from the relevant sports headlines.

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* '''Out of Bounds''': The remaining columnists discuss off-the-field sports issues or [[United States|American]] [[popular culture]] (favorite [[film|movies]], ''[[American Idol]]'', best pop divas, etc.), often including quasi-sports stories or other controversial issues. This segment will sometimes be used to tackle a more serious subject than the others, such as [[gambling]] [[scandals]] or other substantial topics.

* '''2nd Cut''' The next contestant with the lowest point total is removed, leaving just two.

* '''Showdown''' Mentioned above, the two remaining columnists take sides on any sports or cultural stories remaining. The winner is determined in a best-of-three set of questions, though there have been contestants that lost up 2-0. There are two or three questions, depending on the amount of time left (some shows only have two questions total when pressed for time), or (usually) whether a tie-breaker is necessary. The third topic is sometimes - though not always - a non-sports related issue, usually dealing in some way with pop culture. In rare cases, Reali has decided to give a contestant the win after only one topic. One example is when Bill Plaschke and Woody Paige were disscussing snowboarding in the Olympics. While Paige gave a fantastic argument, Plaschke did not answer the topic and changed the subject to Sasha Cohen and her silver medal. Reali felt that the difference in argument quality between BillPlaschke and WoodyPaige was so lopsided toward WoodyPaige that heReali punished BillPlaschke by giving WoodyPaige 5 points and the win while giving BillPlaschke -3 points and hitting his Mute button several times, despite the fact that there were two more topics left.

* '''Facetime''': The winner of the showdown and therefore winner of that particular episode gets 15 to 30 seconds (depending on remaining time) to talk about anything he/she wishes to discuss. Most of the time these are sports related, but often their own personal life or an issue in pop culture is discussed. For example in a May 2006 episode Michael Smith made a tribute to his newborn baby girl.

* '''Paper Toss''': Signature sign off of the show with Reali throwing paper at the camera. Sometimes Reali will toss something else, such as a [[Nerf]] football on [[August 15]], [[2006]].