Around the Horn with Tony Reali

The term "around the horn" used to mean a double play in baseball started by the third baseman, who then threw to second base; from there the throw would go to first. The term still applies, but ESPN's "Around the Horn" has given the phrase a new set of legs. The half-hour "Around the Horn", which airs at five o'clock Eastern Standard Time, features a host who gives and subtracts points from a group of four sportswriters that hail from around the country. "Around the Horn" debuted in 2002, with Max Kellerman as the host, but today it is Tony Reali that runs things.

Anthony "Tony" Joseph Reali is not yet thirty, but the host of the quasi-game show "Around the Horn" has been around the block. The New Jersey native graduated high school from Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey. He went on to Fordham University in New York, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications as well as History. Before he procured his status as a television host on "Around the Horn", Tony Reali was a sportscaster for station WFUV at Fordham. He announced football and men's hoops from 1997-2000, and also hosted a sports call-in program. The kingpin of "Around the Horn", Tony Reali joined ESPN in 2000 as a researcher/writer for the quiz show "Two Minute Drill".

In 2001, even before "Around the Horn" was launched, Tony Reali became a fixture at the end of "Pardon the Interruption". He gained the moniker of "Stat Boy", because he would come on at the end of the program and correct any mistakes made by hosts Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser. Tony Reali's popularity grew; when "Around the Horn" went on the air, he would show up as a member of the panel. When the show's original host was replaced, it was Tony Reali who took over.