Around the Horn: The Final Win Totals

Yesterday was the final episode of Around the Horn on ESPN, which began on November 4, 2002. Originally hosted by Max Kellerman, and then from February 2, 2004 onward by Tony Reali, it started out as sports' answer to The McLaughlin Group, and became something more insightful and more beloved.

The show ran for a little over 21 years, with over 5,000 episodes. Of those, 4,953 were hosted by Reali. As was pointed out, that was more shows than were hosted by Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Springer or David Letteerman -- and Reali is only 46 years old.

Here are the final win totals:

1. Woody Paige, 688 (Tony symbolically bumped him up to 700)

2. Tim Cowlishaw, 551

3. Bill Plaschke, 428

4. Kevin Blackistone, 386 (1st among nonwhite panelists)

5. J.A. Adande, 339

6. Jay Mariotti, 329

7. Jackie MacMullan, 259 (1st among women)

8. Israel Gutierrez, 228

9. Bob Ryan, 224

10. Frank Isola, 192

11. Bomani Jones, 160

12. Pablo S. Torre, 138.75

13. Michael Smith, 137

14. Clinton Yates, 135

15. Sarah Spain, 127

16. Mina Kimes, 89

17. Ramona Shelburne, 61

18. Courtney Cronin, 52

19. Harry Lyles Jr., 48

20. Jorge Sedano, 47.5

21. David Dennis Jr., 44

22. Emily Kaplan, 43

23. Kate Fagan, 42

24. Justin Tinsley, 41

25. Michael Holley, 34

26. Kevin Clark, 29

27. Jemele Hill, 23

28. Monica McNutt, 22

29. Elle Duncan, 19

30. Bill Barnwell, 19

31. Jim Armstrong, 18

32. Marcel Louis-Jacques, 17

33. Joon Lee, 10 out of 49

34. T.J. Simers, 10 out of 65

35. Gene Wojiechowski, 9

36. Jen Lada, 7

37. Charlie Pierce, 5 out of 13

38. Josh Elliott, 5 out of 23

39. Jon "Stugotz" Weiner, 4 out of 16

40. LZ Granderson, 4 out of 19

41. David Jacoby, 3 out of 5

42. Domonique Foxworth, 3 out of 8

43. Lindsey Thiry, 3 out of 11

44. Kimberley A. Martin, 2 out of 4

45. Adam Schefter, 2 out of 5

46. Tony Reali, 2 out of 7 before he was host

47. Martenzie Johnson, 2 out of 12

48. Christine Williamson, 1 out of 1

49. Malika Andrews, 1 out of 1

50. Bruce Arthur, 1 out of 1

51. Lil Wayne, 1 out of 1

52. Mark Cuban, 1 out of 1

53. Dianna Russini, 1 out of 4

54. Richard Justice, 1 out of 5

55. Bob Glauber, lost his only appearance

56. Andy Katz, lost his only appearance

57. Mark Kiszla, 0-for-2

58. Jean Jacques Taylor, 0-for-4

59. Ron Borges, 0-for-4

60. Dan Shanoff, 0-for-5

61. John Powers, 0-for-5

Most appearances: Paige, 2,965, to Cowlishaw's 2,114, Plaschke's 1,758 and Blackistone's 1,608. MacMullan's 891 was the most by a woman.

Best winning percentage, with at least 50 appearances: Kevin Clark, 31.5 percent, to Michael Smith's 30.3. Elle Duncan led women with 30.2.

Most points per show was won by a woman: Emily Kaplan, 23.7, to Jackie Mac's 23.0.

All of the current panelists, and several former panelists, were brought back to do one last "Face Time" on the final show, or, at least, during the final week. With a cloud still over him, Mariotti was not one of them. 

November 4, 2002: "Around the Horn" Premieres On ESPN

November 4, 2002: Around the Horn premieres on ESPN, sort of a McLaughlin Group for sports. Max Kellerman hosts until January 30, 2004. Tony Reali has been the host and moderator since February 2, 2004.

Reali introduces topics, then lets each panelist have about a minute on them, giving points if he likes what they say, taking off points for not liking something. If a panelist had made a prediction that came out right, they get bonus points; if a prediction bombed, they get points taken off. Reali will also hit the MUTE button, an automatic 1-point deduction, for a panelist getting out of control, or just to "direct traffic" if everybody is talking at once.

Current regular panelists include:

* Woody Paige of the Colorado Springs Gazette, formerly the Denver Post.

* Bob Ryan, ESPN NBA analyst, formerly of The Boston Globe.

* Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times.

* J.A. Adande, of ESPN and formerly of the Times

* Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News.

* Kevin Blackistone of The Washington Post, formerly of The Dallas Morning News.

* Israel Gutierrez and

* Bomani Jones, co-hosts of ESPN show Highly Questionable, both formerly of The Miami Herald.

* Pablo S. Torre, co-host with Jones of ESPN's High Noon.

* Frank Isola of The Athletic, formerly of the New York Daily News.

* Elle Duncan, co-anchor of ESPN's 6:00 PM SportsCenter broadcast.

* Mina Kimes, panelist on ESPN's NFL Live.

* Sarah Spain, co-host of ESPN Radio's Spain and Fitz.

* Jorge Sedano, ESPN NBA analyst.

* Emily Kaplan, ESPN's lead NHL reporter, formerly of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

* Joon Lee, ESPN baseball analyst, formerly of the Boston Herald.

* Monica McNutt, ESPN college basketball analyst.

* Ramona Shelbourne, co-host of ESPN Radio's TMI with Beadle & Shelburne.

* Harry Lyles Jr., ESPN college football analyst.

* David Jacoby, co-host of ESPN Radio's Jalen & Jacoby.

* Malika Andrews, host of ESPN's NBA Jump.

* ESPN NFL analysts Courtney Cronin, Dianna Russini and Kimberley A. Martin.

* And writers for ESPN's The Undefeated: Clinton Yates, Justin Tinsley, David Dennis Jr., and former NFL player Domonique Foxworth.

Notable former panelists include Jackie MacMullan, Charlie Pierce, Michael Holley and Michael Smith, all formerly of The Boston Globe; T.J. Simers, formerly of the Los Angeles Times; Richard Justice, formerly of the Houston Chronicle; Jemele Hill, formerly of the Detroit Free Press; Kate Fagan, formerly of ESPN and the Philadelphia Inquirer; Jon Weiner, a.k.a. "Stugotz," who hosts an ESPN Radio show with Dan Le Batard; and, most controversially, Jay Mariotti of Fanhouse.com, formerly of the Chicago Sun-Times, on nearly every episode until 2011, when he was fired following a domestic violence scandal.

The show does annual specials for April Fool's Day, where Reali switches with a panelist, who usually gives him a taste of his own medicine with the MUTE button; and Halloween, where the panelists, and sometimes even Reali, not only wear costumes, but answer questions in character.

As of the 20th Anniversary episode, November 4, 2022, Paige is the all-time leader in appearances, with 2,858, and in wins, with 650. Kimes holds the record for highest winning percentage, with a minimum of 200 appearances: 31.2 percent.

Woody on today's show.

Other win totals: Cowlishaw 514, Plaschke 409, Blackistone 357, Mariotti 329 (until his firing, he and Paige were neck-and-neck for the all-time lead for a few years), Adande 325, MacMullan 258, Ryan 211, Guiterrez 191, Jones 159, Isola 159, Smith 136, Spain 119, Torre 112, Yates 108, Kimes 67, Shelburne 50, Fagan 41, Sedano 29, Kaplan 26, Hill 22, Tinsley 19, Duncan 16, McNutt 12, Dennis 11, Lee 10, Lyles 10, Simers 10 (including the 1st episode), Cronin 6, Stugotz 4, Foxworth 3, Jacoby 3, Russini 1 and Andrews 1.

Stick a Fork In the Yankees, They're Done

From September 20:

Stick a fork in the Yankees. They're done. At least, for this season.

Once again, Hiroki Kuroda did not have good stuff, allowing 8 hits and 4 walks over 6 innings (although he struck out 7), and was lucky to leave losing only 3-1.

Justin Louis Chamberlain threw 14 pitches in the 7th, and didn't get an out, and it was 6-1 when he was removed. This could well be the nail in his coffin, as far as the Yankees are concerned. For the season, his ERA is 4.97, and his WHIP is 1.68. Only 2 of his last 6 appearances have resulted in him not allowing any runs.

Joba, thank you for the thrills of late 2007 and for helping us win the World Series in 2009, but it’s time for you to go.

The Yankees loaded the bases with 1 out in the 9th, but only got 1 run across, and it was a weak 6-2 loss to those pesky Toronto Blue Jays.

The Yankees are now 3 1/2 games, 4 in the loss column, behind the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers, who are tied for each of the American League's Wild Card berths. There are 9 games to go. The elimination number (or "Tragic Number," if you prefer) is 7. Any combination of Yankee losses and Rays wins, or Yankee losses and Rangers wins, adding up to 7, and the Yankees do not play a Game 163 this season.

As Woody Paige of the Denver Post and ESPN's Pardon the Interruption would say, "Look at the schedule":

* The Yankees come home to play a 3-game Interleague series against the San Francisco Giants. (This includes Saturday's Mariano Rivera Day.) The Giants have won 2 of the last 3 World Series, but were never in the Playoff race this season. They are 11 games under .500. The Yankees should be able to win at least 2 out of 3.

* After a day off on Monday, the Rays come to town for the last 3 Yankee home games. It's at the point where the Yankees will have to sweep, but it's also at the point where if they get the runs, they don't get the pitching, and vice versa. I don't see any more than 2 out of 3 here.

* The Yankees close the season with 3 games in Houston against the Astros -- who, of course, are now in the American League. The Astros have lost 315 games over the last 3 seasons, and are likely to post their 3rd straight season of losing at least 106. For a team that is not an expansion team in one of its first 5 seasons, that is historical ineptitude. * So the Yankees have a shot at a sweep.

* If the Yankees do what I'm suggesting here, that's a Borg winning streak, 7 of 9. That would give them 87 wins.

* Presuming the Yankees do take 2 of 3 from the Rays, that would give the Rays at least 84 wins. They have 10 games left. So they would have to win 4 of their last 7 to get one of the Wild Card berths. They have 4 home games against the Baltimore Orioles, who are also fighting for the Wild Card. They might get only 2 out of those 4. That would give them 86. But they close with 3 in Toronto, and I don't see the Jays giving them much of a fight. Winning 2 out of 3 would give the Rays the 87 wins they need to finish ahead of a Yankee team winning 7 out of 9.

* The Rangers also have 10 games remaining, and also have 83 wins. The 1st 3 are away to the Kansas City Royals, who are also fighting for the Wild Cards. I can see the Rangers dropping 2 out of 3, giving them 84 wins. But their next 3 are home to the Astros, and that's 87 wins right there, even before they close the season with 4 at home against the Whatever They're Calling Themselves This Season Angels of Anaheim. So even though they've blown the AL West title to the Oakland Athletics for the 2nd year in a row, the Rangers are in the driver's seat for the 1st Al Wild Card.  he Rays will almost certainly get the 2nd,

* And that's before I get into discussing  the chances of the Orioles, the Royals, and the Cleveland Indians, all of whom currently have higher elimination numbers than the Yankees.

So the only thing left to play for is pride. The Yankees haven't shown enough of that this season.

Oh well. It could be worse. The Mets are now 68-84, and 18 1/2 games behind the 2nd National League Wild Card.

"Well, tonight, thank God it's them, instead of you!"

*

* I looked it up: aside from the expansion Mets, who lost 340 in their first 3 seasons, 1962-64, the record for most losses in a 3-year period is 321, by the 2001-03 Detroit Tigers.  They lost "only" 96 in 2001, but an AL record 119 in 2003 puts them at the top of this list.  Prior to those Tigers, the worst 3-year stretch for a non-expansion team was the 1952-54 Pittsburgh Pirates, with 317.