Pardon the Interruption
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Pardon the Interruption (also known as PTI), is a sports TV show on ESPN filmed in Washington, DC, and airing on ESPN or, on occasion, ESPN2, with a daily replay on ESPNEWS, ESPN2 (when there are no other sporting events to show), and the XM and Sirius satellite radio services on the ESPNEWS channel. The current official name of the show is Pardon the Interruption presented by Red Stripe. It stars syndicated newspaper columnists and longtime friends Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon of The Washington Post. Tony Reali or the disembodied voice of the producer over the loudspeaker may serve as moderator for parts of the show. PTI is a debate show with a similar format to CNN's former political show, Crossfire. The show is known for its humorous and often loud tone, as well as the "rundown" graphic listing the topics yet to be discussed down the right-hand side of the screen. The show's popularity has led to its format being imitated on other shows, including several on ESPN itself.
PTI debuted on October 22, 2001 [link]. It airs daily at 5:30 PM Eastern Time (if not pre-empted by live events such as golf), and is repeated at 6:30 PM Eastern Time on ESPNEWS and frequently at 7:00 PM Eastern Time on ESPN2. The show celebrated its 1000th episode on May 31, 2006. In 2006, both Kornheiser and Wilbon signed a five-year contract to stay on the show through 2011.
Contents
The Set
The show is also known for its set, featuring a "wall" full of cut-out heads of athletes and celebrities, bobblehead dolls of the show's hosts and Reali, Etch-A-Sketch art of Kornheiser and Wilbon, and several other toys and tchotchkes they have received. For different American holidays, the set will also be decorated with other props to match the theme of the day. For example, on Halloween, carved Jack-o-Lanterns of the host's heads are also present. The color of the rundown graphic is also changed to mesh with the holiday theme.Segments
The show is divided into several segments. Segments included in the vast majority of shows are:
- The Introduction, in which Kornheiser and Wilbon welcome viewers. Wilbon usually opens the show with the line, "Pardon the Interruption...but I'm Mike Wilbon." Wilbon will then put a question to Tony concerning one of the day's sports or pop culture issues. Tony often responds with a slightly inappropriate joke, such as one week in 2006 when he spent an entire week mocking the pronunciation of the planet Uranus. They can be heard continuing to banter about trivialities as the show's opening music and titles play. This banter usually consists of jokes about the topical subjects or one host playfully insulting the other. Guest hosts will use a similar script to introduce themselves.
- Headlines, the show opener where Kornheiser and Wilbon usually debate over five or six issues. Up to two minutes are allotted per topic.
- Five Good Minutes, where Kornheiser and Wilbon interview a sports figure (or often an analyst) for about five minutes. If there is no guest to be interviewed, either "Headlines" continues, or they'll move onto one of the segments below. "Five Good Minutes" may also be held to the slot where one of the segments below would usually take place. During Mondays in the football season, ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski, a former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback (a.k.a. "Jaws" and "the Polish Rifle"), is usually the guest, to offer analysis of the previous day's games and a prediction for the Monday Night Football game that night. On June 8, 2005, Drew Rosenhaus, agent of such NFL stars as Terrell Owens and Willis McGahee, appeared as a guest during this segment. Kornheiser and Wilbon were so engaged in the interview that it actually ran eleven minutes and the following segment (Role Play) was canceled. The interview itself is actually recorded prior to the taping of the show and then trimmed down for broadcast. On rare occasions, there are two "Five Good Minutes" segments with two different guests; there are also shows where two related guests appear during one segment, such as Joe Buck and Tim McCarver of Fox MLB broadcasts.
- Between Five Good Minutes and Happy Happy Time there is usually a different segment, including:
- * Mail Time (featured frequently), where they read and respond to viewer e-mail from a sarcastic, talking mailbox, which says "Mail this" and "More mail?" When Wilbon is doing a remote for his part of the broadcast, Kornheiser complains about having to remove and read all the e-mails himself, although during the most recent Mail Time segment Reali read the e-mails opposite Kornheiser. It remains to be seen whether this will become a regular occurrence. Kornheiser often insults the emailers with Wilbon coming to their defense. AOL has its name on the screen shot for Mail Time, with a 10- to 15-second short leading up to the segment. Previous sponsors MSN and the United States Postal Service have been featured in this guise.
- * Toss Up (featured frequently), where they choose between two sides on a given topic. The choices are announced by the producer over the loudspeaker. Kornheiser, who refers to the segment as "Tony Time", claims to have a perfect record in this game, often finishing with the words, "That's it! I win!" and Wilbon disagreeing. Wilbon did claim victory in Toss Up on the March 28, 2006, episode of the show, however, and has also "won" on episodes where Kornheiser is replaced by a guest host.
- * Good Cop, Bad Cop (featured occasionally), a variation of "Toss Up" played in police officer costumes with one "Good Cop" who takes the side of the person, team, or item that is being discussed and the other one being the "Bad Cop." This is also referred to as "The Village People talk sports." While Tony gets into the spirit of the game, wearing a police officer-style hat, complete with faux-police badge, suspenders, a plastic revolver which shoots soap bubbles, and dark aviator-style sunglasses, Wilbon usually only wears a hat (often a beret). Kornheiser often gives "advice" to the viewers, such as "Keep your nose out of the funny stuff, kids!"
- * Over/Under (featured frequently), where they argue whether a certain sports figure will go over or under a certain number (40 home runs, 60 wins, etc.). Topics are announced by Reali. They will also argue very off-beat statistics, such as the duration of Britney Spears' marriage. Wilbon is often chided by Kornheiser and Reali here for choosing "push," as the name of the game stipulates that he must select either over or under. In an effort to prevent this, a decimal figure is sometimes used (2.5 touchdowns, 30.5 points etc.). At the conclusion of this segment, Kornheiser says, "That's it! Over/Under is over!"
- * Role Play (featured frequently), loosely referred to as "Heads on Sticks," where they argue from the perspective of a sports figure while holding a picture of him or her in front of their faces. Ostensibly, each host does not know who he will be playing before the segment begins. The Heads on Sticks usually find themselves becoming part of the set's background in subsequent episodes. The name of the segment's connection with sexual role play is not ignored, as (since 2006) a suggestive musical cue leads the segment, and Kornheiser ends the segment by asking Wilbon, "Was it good for you?"
- * Food Chain (featured rarely, and almost always during playoffs or tournaments), where Kornheiser and Wilbon rank a set of teams or players (both current and historical) in order based on a given criteria (such as "Most Marketable Athlete," "Best NBA point guard," or "Biggest Disappointment of the Year"). Usually Wilbon and Kornheiser will have variations in their lists, which leads the main discussion points. Wilbon does his list first, often referring to his Chain as, "A man's board!", then Kornheiser revises it, concluding with, "That's it! That's the list!"
- * Psychic Hotline (featured rarely), where Kornheiser and Wilbon field pre-recorded phone calls, making predictions for an upcoming sports event/tournament. Kornheiser wears a turban, in the style of Carnac the Magnificent and when he makes predictions he places his hand on a Plasma lamp.
- * Odds Makers (featured frequently), where Reali gives Kornheiser and Wilbon a possible outcome of a future sports event and they each state the percent chance that they think that will happen. A selection of "50%" is seen unfavorably, much like the "Push" option in "Over/Under". Tony Reali often refers to a selection of 0% as "squadoosh," with repeat 0%'s as "double-" or "triple-" squadoosh. At the end, Reali places a checkmark next to the "winner," and Kornheiser frequently ends the segment with the statement "Oddsmakers is 100% over!"
- **On February 16, 2006, Michael Wilbon became the first of the two regular hosts to give a selection of "0%" for all five given topics -- the fabled quintuple squadoosh.
- **Dan Le Batard, subbing for Wilbon for a few shows, annoyed Reali to no end by constantly just selecting one percentage point above or below Kornheiser's selection for every topic.
- * Sometimes, particularly when there are guest hosts with less rapport than Wilbon and Kornheiser, this segment is simply more headline-style discussion.
- Happy Happy Time, where they send someone a "Happy Birthday," a "Happy Anniversary" (generally an "on this date," not a marriage anniversary), and a "Happy Trails" (a departure of some sort, such as a firing, an injury, a retirement, or a death, in which case it's a "melancholy Happy Trails"). In the segment preceding Happy Time, and before the commercial break, Kornheiser will allude to the people that will be "celebrated," usually adding the phrase, "Sounds like the hot tub at Wilbon's!", and asks Wilbon who he's going to kick out of it. Recently, Kornheiser has opened this segment with an enthusiastic declaration of "Birthday Time!" while clapping his hands.
- Errors/Corrections, in which, if time allows, Reali (called "Stat Boy" at this point) corrects any factual errors that Kornheiser and Wilbon may have made. When Dan Le Batard is hosting, he refers to Reali as "Stat Face." Also, when Jay Mariotti is hosting, he calls Reali "Stat Man." Kornheiser or Wilbon will sometimes jokingly "fire" Reali (if he disagrees with one of them) or claim they don't need him anymore (if there are no errors) during this segment, causing Tony to apologetically state, "Sorry ladies, no beefcake today!" to the female viewers.
- *Since Reali started hosting Around the Horn, he usually appears in a dishevelled version of his ATH suit, dispensing with the tie, untucking his shirt, and opening the top buttons, giving the impression he'd just hustled from one set to the other.
- TV Picks, in which Wilbon and Kornheiser give their recommendations for television viewing for the night.
- *Wilbon usually chooses a sporting event. However, it isn't uncommon for him to give a pick of Alias, Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal or The Sopranos, either via first-run or TiVo playback. Often, Wilbon will simply recommend leaving the house and having fun, especially on Friday nights. He often mentions taking in a local sporting event or festivities of a city, if he happens to be on location.
- *Kornheiser, on the other hand, will often opt for specials on the E! Network, such as an E! True Hollywood Story. He is also a huge fan of both American Idol and 24, both on FOX, giving his synopsis on the night's events and, in the case of Idol, a recap of the previous night and his predictions for the show. He rarely states that he will watch a sporting event, saying that they are on past his bedtime.
- Additional Topic, Kornheiser and Wilbon discuss one additional topic, or augment earlier discussion on the same topic, for approximately one minute. This segment may also be used to address a breaking story.
- The Big Finish, where for the final 60 seconds of the show, they make a few comments on stories they missed, usually ending with Wilbon picking a winner in a sporting event later that night. The segment (and show) ends with Kornheiser saying, "We're out of time, we'll try to do better the next time," and Wilbon calling the viewers "knuckleheads" while Kornheiser waves the show logo (on a stick) in front of his face and whispers "PTI" - just before the female voiceover whispers it.
- A Goodnight concludes the half-hour broadcast of the show where Kornheiser bids farewell to foreign viewers. The segment during SportsCenter is not shown in Canada, where the program airs on TSN, so when Wilbon makes the toss to Bristol, Connecticut, where ESPN's studios are located, Kornheiser usually says, "Goodnight, Canada," or "Goodnight, Hosers," waving a Canadian flag as he says so. For a time, Tony flipped to the other side of the continent, waving a Mexican flag and closing with, "Buenas noches, Mexico!" before the toss. He also adds a humorous tag after the "Goodnight". Tony also says "Goodnight" to other people and places, from time to time. For example, he once said a "Goodnight" to Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she became a topic on the show. He also sent a "Goodnight" to Chuck Norris on his birthday, with a "Stay strong" and thumbs-up salute similar to what Norris' character would do at the end of episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger. Dan LeBatard, when guest hosting in Kornheiser's place on July 10, 2006, waved a Cuban flag and said "Goodnight, Cuba" in apparent parody of Tony's "Goodnight, Canada." On July 14, 2006, Dan Le Betard, subbing for Kornheiser, after flubbing the show's title, ended with, "Stay classy, Finland!" while waving an English flag.
When the show debuted, Mail Time, Role Play, and Toss Up were the only regular "middle segments," with the others being added along the way. There was also a short-lived game in which two prominent athletes, often teammates, would be joined at the head in a cardboard cutout, and Kornheiser and Wilbon were forced to choose which head to "cut off". There was also another game, used only once, were Kornheiser and Wilbon looked back in time and made predictions about what would have happened had a certain event not or did take place (i.e., the infamous Chris Webber timeout). Wilbon criticized both the time machine itself and the layout of the game.
Occasionally the show will stray from its basic format, such as on August 9, 2005, when baseball commissioner Bud Selig was the guest at the very top of the show for an extended interview. A similar situation occurred two days later on August 11 with Terrell Owens and his agent Drew Rosenhaus. Another similar occurrence happened December 22, 2005, following the news that coach Tony Dungy's son, James, had committed suicide. This change seems to only occur on rare occasions.
PTI on SportsCenter
On July 25, 2005, the format of the show was altered to merge the final part of the show with the beginning of the 6:00 PM ET SportsCenter. The show runs from 5:30-6:00, ending with Kornheiser and Wilbon making TV show recommendations for the night. After the opening segment of SportsCenter (normally 7-9 minutes), they return to debate an additional sports-related topic, then end with The Big Finish. The Big Finish topics are actually listed in the run-down, which was not the case before the format change. For the re-airs on ESPNEWS and ESPN2, the show moves straight to the post-SportsCenter topic after the third commercial break, skipping the happy time and TV picks. According to ESPN research [link], PTI has been drawing higher ratings than the 6:00 PM SportsCenter, and the format change is an attempt to increase SportsCenter's audience by tying it with a more popular program.Running Gags
The longevity and popularity of the show has led to numerous running jokes between Wilbon and Kornheiser that longtime viewers will recognize. Some of these are:Current Gags
- The Bald Brotherhood: Whenever a "friend" of the PTI program, who happens to be bald, is mentioned or makes an appearance during "Five Good Minutes", Kornheiser will make reference to that fact and call him a member of "The Bald Brotherhood". Wilbon finds Kornheiser's obsession with hair weird, and he will either make no comment about another person's hairstyle or, when asked about what a person should do with their hair when it is receding, will decree that they should "take a razor to that, big boy!" Conversely, when a guest with an inordinate amount of hair (e.g., a mullet) appears, Kornheiser will often express jealousy, sometimes exclaiming, "Look at that hair!"
- Dap: A term made popular on the show. Dap is understood to be credit, or props, after deserving respect for a performance. As in, "Give my boy some dap!" Dap can also be given for correctly predicting something.
- The Hot Tub at Wilbon's: When listing three personalities that will be discussed in the Happy Time or The Big Finish segments, Kornheiser will usually follow up by stating "now that sounds like the hot tub at Wilbon's!" or "which one are you kicking out of your hot tub, Wilbon?"
- "Your boy": When discussing a personality that either of the hosts may or may not dislike, they will be addressed as the host's "boy,..." For example, Kornheiser may address Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to Wilbon as "Your boy Cuban" or "Your boy Cubes." Other Kornheiser "boys" include basketball coach Larry Brown (a fellow native of Long Beach, New York, who was once Kornheiser's summer camp counselor) and former New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza. Wilbon "boys" include Chicago sports legends Mike Ditka, Gale Sayers,Ernie Banks, Michael Jordan, current Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, former West Virginia University basketball player Kevin Pittsnogle, and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and Chicago native Donovan McNabb (who is frequently referred to on the show as "Donovan F. McNabb", even though his middle initial is J.). Chicago native Isiah Thomas, a Hall of Fame player with the Detroit Pistons, was once one of Wilbon's "boys," but he has fallen from this category during his unsuccessful tenure as general manager of the New York Knicks, including his treatment of Kornheiser's "boy" Brown. Occasionally, one host or the other may refer to "your girl," including Wilbon's appreciation of University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, and Kornheiser's apparent dating interest in elderly women such as Justice Ginsberg.
- Wilbon on the road: Wilbon frequently does remotes from cities where he's covering an event, particularly during the NBA Playoffs. Kornheiser doesn't like this, saying he hates to travel. Wilbon will occasionally remind Kornheiser that they are journalists, and have to actually cover sports. Kornheiser hates to take all the letters during the Mail Time segment when Wilbon is on the road. When Kornheiser, in April 2006, finally had to do a remote, Wilbon announced that he was glad to take all the letters out of the box. Kornheiser and Wilbon will both be on the road for Monday Night Football games starting in the 2006 NFL season to accommodate Kornheiser being a commentator for the program.
- "Gots to go!": One of Kornheiser's favorite expressions, which he uses for a situation which is completely unacceptable or untenable.
- Strugg-a-ling: During a 2003 Sunday Night Football game on ESPN, Joe Namath was interviewed by Suzy Kolber in a sideline interview. Namath, obviously inebriated, told Suzy that he could not care less that the team was "strugg-a-ling" and that he "just wanted to kiss [her]". Namath's near incoherent pronouciation of "struggling" is used frequently by Wilbon and Kornheiser. (Reali also uses it frequently on Around the Horn.)
- The Yanks and the Sawks!: Michael Wilbon has a dislike for the, in his opinion, overhyped rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, and, particularly, how every story about the two teams is overblown, while the same story in the context of another team won't make national headlines. Wilbon will say this whenever a show topic involving the rivalry will come up, using a faux-Boston accent when saying "Sox" to make it sound like "Sawks."
- *The apparent (though not definite) origin of this phrase seems to have been in a show dating from October 2003, just days after the end of the 2003 World Series. As the Yankees had made it to the series (losing to the Florida Marlins) and had played the Sox in the ALCS, the headline topic on the show concerned the off-season "arms race" (to use Wilbon's term) between the two teams, specifically the attempts by the Sox to trade for Alex Rodriguez (who ultimately ended up with the Yankees). Wilbon was infuriated that the show had to talk about baseball with the World Series just barely over, and continued to harass Kornheiser about his love of the "Yanks-Sawks" rivalry throughout the rest of that day's show. It's unclear whether this episode was the origin of the phrase's use by Wilbon, but it seems likely that Wilbon's hatred of the rivalry stems largely from the events of this episode.
- *With the Chicago White Sox World Series championship in 2005, Wilbon now acerbically asks if Kornheiser is referring to the White Sox, instead of the Red Sawx.
- "Do the Mavericks have enough defense to win in the playoffs?": During the 2002-2003 NBA season the Dallas Mavericks had an explosive high-powered offense that was coupled with a porous, terrible defense. It was debated ad nauseum whether this "outscore the other team" philosophy would be successful in the playoffs to the point where the question "Do the Mavericks have enough defense to win in the playoffs?" is now referenced when any debate begins becoming monotonous.
- Tony's Loves: Kornheiser often makes self-deprecating references to his alleged "old age", saying, for instance, that when he was younger he used to "run with" Engelbert Humperdinck. The most famous manifestation of this is his affection (or professed affection anyway) for such famous older women as Rue McClanahan and Bea Arthur (from The Golden Girls TV series), Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and the Fragile French Judge (Marie-Reine LeGougne), among others. Wilbon has dubbed him an "expert" in this field, as he likes to start out the "Happy" segments of the show with a birthday of an older woman.
- Tony's Punishment: A popular saying of Tony's (until fairly recently) was that he and/or Wilbon would, upon hearing news of a player, coach, or fan(s) acting out of hand, proclaim that the team/league/police in question should "prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law!" Wilbon occasionally uses this phrase, but generally recommends a "good old-fashioned beatdown!" for the offender. For a while, this was one of the show's most widely used catch phrases, but since early 2005 has been used only sparingly, if at all, by the two.
- "You Play to Win the Game": During the 2002 NFL season, then-New York Jets head coach Herman Edwards made this statement during a press conference. This has become a favorite phrase between both Kornheiser and Wilbon.
- The Hate-able Dan Le Batard: Miami Herald columnist Dan Le Batard had a rather cold reception from fans following his first PTI guest appearance in 2004, who deluged ESPN with anti-Le Batard e-mails. Le Batard is a regular guest on the show when Kornheiser or Wilbon are away, and is always referred to as the "Hateable Dan Le Batard". As of late, the show's crew has habitually booed Le Batard during his introduction.
- He Who Shall Not Be Named: Tony's nickname for Chicago Sun-Times journalist, Around the Horn panelist, and occasional PTI guest host Jay Mariotti, on account of his feud with Kornheiser (see Mariotti's article for info).
- Marat Safin's Girlfriend: One Monday in 2004, Kornheiser got hold of video of the girlfriend of Russian tennis player Marat Safin cheering him on at a match, and continually played the video for the rest of that week, professing to have a crush on her. He even went as far as to originate the idea to send Safin himself to the Moon (simply as a joke, of course), to which Reali replied that Tony was "absolutely ridiculous."
- Uranus!: Kornheiser has of late been very fond using Uranus jokes (as in the "Your anus" pun) on the show, particularly during the show's opening (Wilbon, understandably, finds these jokes highly immature). On March 26, 2006, the anniversary of the planet's 1781 discovery by astronomer William Herschel, Kornheiser celebrated the planet Uranus's 225th "birthday" during the "Happy Time" segment. On July 12, 2006, Dan Le Batard, on a day when Kornhesier was absent, referenced Kornheiser (as he often does with Wilbon) by making a "Uranus joke" during the opening in response to Wilbon's statement about the Discovery shuttle crew losing a spatula.
- The Penguin Dance: Tony has invented a so-called "penguin dance" which he started using on the show in April 2006. He claims that it is "sweeping the nation", but Wilbon finds it annoying. On May 12, 2006, Bob Ryan filled in for Tony and performed the penguin dance in his absence.[link] On June 8, 2006, when PTI showed footage of penguins playing soccer, Tony stated that he wants to see them do the penguin dance after they score, and Wilbon was sick of the clip after just one showing.
- Knuckleheads: Wilbon's affectionate term for the PTI audience. Usually used as a send off at the end of an episode.
- The PTI Sign: A sign of the PTI logo on a stick held up by Tony at the end of the show. In an imitation of the show's closing animation, he waves the sign in front of his face and whispers, "PTI."
- Anthony Joseph Reali: Reali moderates the Over/Under and Odds Makers segments. Rather than introduce him as "Stat Boy," Kornheiser (or Wilbon when Kornheiser is absent or the guest host when both are absent) usually refers to Reali's actual name but starting with the April 10, 2006, episode Kornheiser used Reali's first, middle, and last name. That would soon become a regular occurrence that becomes humorous when Reali is given other middle names. Here's the full rundown (with Kornheiser providing all the names below unless otherwise noted):
- *4/10/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph Reali!"
- *4/12/2006 (Over/Under) "Anthony Joseph Paul Reali!" (his full name)
- *4/27/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph Reali!"
- *4/28/2006 (Over/Under) "Anthony Joseph Francis Condoleezza Reali!"
- *5/4/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph La Toya Jackson Reali!"
- *5/11/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph Brenda Vaccaro Reali!"
- *5/18/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph Anfernee Hardaway Reali!" (Dan Le Batard; he and Jason Whitlock subbed)
- *5/26/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph Maria Sharapova Reali!" (Wilbon; Bob Ryan subbed for Tony)
- *6/08/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph Shiloh Nouvel Reali!"
- *6/14/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph Captain and Tennille Reali!"
- *6/23/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph Papa Smurf Reali!" (Wilbon; Bob Ryan subbed for Tony)
- *6/28/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph Andrea Bargnani Reali!"
- *7/11/2006 (Over/Under) "Anthony Joseph Kaká Reali-dinho!" (Wilbon; Dan Le Batard subbed for Tony)
- *7/13/2006 (Odds Makers) "Anthony Joseph Marco Materazzi Reali!" (Wilbon; Dan Le Batard subbed for Tony)
Past Gags
- The Trampoline Bear [link]: A video clip of a large brown bear stuck in a tree in a residential area is shown being shot with a tranquilizer dart and falling onto a large trampoline. The bear bounces so high off of the trampoline that it, ultimately, lands head-first on the ground below. Warren Sapp has proclaimed himself a fan of the video and requested it to be shown during an interview in 2004. Wilbon, however, dislikes the clip immensely. In 2004, it was shown on a semi-regular basis, but is now used only on special occasions.
- Wilbon's Pants: Early during the run of the show, Kornheiser would make fun of the fact Wilbon always wore shorts instead of pants, while wearing a jacket and buttoned-up polo shirt. Often, the camera would pull back to reveal the fact that Wilbon indeed was only wearing shorts.
- Man vs. Beast: In 2003, FOX aired a one-night reality special called ["Man vs. Beast"], featuring humans that are at the top of their particular athletic field being challenged to a competition against an animal. One such competition was a hot dog-eating contest between Takeru Kobayashi and a black bear, which the bear easily won. Kornheiser loved the program and even spent three segments of the show discussing and reviewing it. He remains especially enamored of a quote by Man vs. Beast color analyst Carl Lewis, who suggested during the telecast that one key to a zebra beating a human in a forthcoming sprint race was that the zebra "focus."
- Beano Cook: A long-running, though now-defunct running gag involved continual references (often with little or no context) to ESPN commentator and college football expert Beano Cook. (Example: In the December 9, 2003, show's opening, Wilbon announced that Gwyneth Paltrow was pregnant; Kornheiser responded: "Beano Cook, gettin' it done again!") However, neither Kornheiser nor Wilbon has used a "Beano" joke since early 2004.
Kornheiser and Wilbon on Other Shows
On February 8, 2006, it was announced that Tony Kornheiser would join Mike Tirico and Joe Theismann in the broadcast booth during Monday Night Football beginning in the 2006 NFL season. Kornheiser will continue to host PTI, and Mike Wilbon will join him on the road as they broadcast PTI each Monday from the site of the MNF game. Kornheiser often comments about his new gig on the show, saying that he'll be horrible for the job or that he wishes that certain people that are topics on the show would ride the bus with him to the game, as he has an admitted fear of flying. On the April 6, 2006, edition of PTI, the same day that the upcoming NFL season's schedule[link] was released, Tony gave a humorous insight into how he felt about his upcoming travel schedule, sarcastically commenting about how there weren't any East Coast games on the schedule. He also took the time to apologize to fans in Jacksonville, Florida, whose city Tony described in his column in The Washington Post as having only Waffle Houses, since there is a Monday Night game in Jacksonville on September 18, the second week of the NFL season.Michael Wilbon, occasionally, can be seen on The Sports Reporters, a show on ESPN airing Sunday mornings, where he and other sportswriters discuss the week's biggest stories. Also, as of March 19, 2006, Wilbon became an analyst on ABC's NBA Nation, the network's national basketball pregame show, alongside ESPN SportsCenter anchor Dan Patrick and former NBA players Mark Jackson and Scottie Pippen. Wilbon is also a regular guest on the show Full Court Press, a sports show hosted by George Michael focused on Washington, D.C. sports.
Guest hosts
When one of the normal hosts is sick or on vacation, they have a guest host, usually another prominent sportswriter. The months of July and August are usually full of guest hosts, as Kornheiser and Wilbon tend to take their vacations during those months.Current
- Norman Chad
- Dan Le Batard (where he is known as "The Hateable" Dan Le Batard)
- Jay Mariotti
- Bob Ryan
- Michael Smith
- Jason Whitlock
- David Aldridge
- Skip Bayless
- Josh Elliott
- Max Kellerman
- Jackie MacMullan
- Jon Saraceno
- Stephen A. Smith
- Michele Tafoya
Other versions
In 2004 Crackerjack Television started producing an Australian version of the show, which airs weekly on the Australian ESPN channel and features former Australian Rules footballer Sam Kekovic. ESPN Australia also broadcasts the American version of the show before SportsCenter.The ESPN Deportes show "Cronómetro" (Spanish for "stopwatch") is similar to PTI, in that it features personalities talking about sports subjects for a set amount of time. However, unlike the American version, there are four panelists instead of two, and segments such as Role Play are not used: Five Good Minutes is kept, as a discussion of one subject between the four analysts.
Trivia
- It has been suggested that the theme song and commercial outro music thematically reference the song "Cut Your Hair" by Pavement, but actual samples from the song are not used. This is probably meant as a joke, as both Kornheiser and Wilbon are bald.
- On the March 10, 2006, show, all of the cut-out heads that are usually present behind the hosts were replaced with cut-outs of Chuck Norris, in honor of the man's birthday.
- When the show first debuted, there was a Sunday evening episode. This did not last.
- On the March 27, 2006, show, Kornheiser, for the first time in four years, hosted the show away from the studio while Wilbon remained back at the set, as he was in Orlando, Florida, covering the NFL owners' meetings. Commonly, Wilbon is the host that leaves to cover the major sporting events while Kornheiser stays at the set. This fact is occasionally used by Wilbon to tease Kornheiser.
- Michael Wilbon provides the voice of the mailbox for "Mail Time!"
- For a time, the show was rebroadcasted on ESPN Radio at 7 PM ET. This airing was replaced by the ESPNEWS airing on satellite radio a half-hour earlier, while Game Night, previewing the upcoming night's sporting events, moved into its place. Radio stations that syndicate ESPN Radio will also air their own specific programming, eschewing the Game Night broadcast, as several stations are the broadcast partners of college and professional sports teams.
- Starting with the April 17, 2006, episode, ESPN began offering PTI as a free audio podcast. The content consists of the audio track from the basic pre-Sportscenter version of the show, minus commercials.
- The only airing of the show that airs in its entirety is the "normal" 5:30 PM airing. Most replays of the show, including those on ESPN2 and satellite radio, omit Happy Time and replace that segment with the SportsCenter topic and The Big Finish. The internet podcast usually incorporates Happy Time but has occasionally used the Big Finish to close.
- Episode 1000 aired on May 31, 2006, celebrated by a lighted banner and ticker tape, and the show's crew making party noises in the background. Reali yelled "I hate LeBatard!!" underneath the party horns.
- Wilbon has revealed on the show that: He hates such popular shows as Seinfeld, Friends, and American Idol while he loves The Sopranos, 24, and Entourage, among others; he has seen every episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; he has never heard of Napoleon Dynamite; he wants to die in the Playboy Grotto; he has never heard of "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen; and that he is a former tennis player.
References
The CBS show Listen Up was based on the life of Tony Kornheiser. In it, the main characters Tony Kleinman (Jason Alexander) and Bernie Widmer (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) are obviously analogues to Kornheiser and Wilbon, and co-host an off-beat sports show titled "Listen Up!"Kornheiser and Wilbon appeared as themselves on PTI during the film Mr. 3000, including doing a Role Play segment with Kornheiser posing as Stan Ross (Bernie Mac) at one point.
External links
- [Official Site] from ESPN.com.
- [Podcasts] from ESPN.com
- [Internet group for PTI], featuring daily write-ups of every show of 2006.
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