FanHouse was a sports website owned by AOL . Launched in September 2006, FanHouse ceased operations in 2011. During its run, the website was ranked as one of the Internet's top-10 most linked sports blogs.
48-959: Upon its 2006 launch, it became the first sports blog to pay many sports bloggers a per-post fee. In January 2009, FanHouse began hiring experienced print journalists, including Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times , Kevin Blackistone of the Dallas Morning News , and Lisa Olson of the New York Daily News . FanHouse continued to bolster its roster, hiring writers away from the Orlando Sentinel , Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Contra Costa Times , among others. FanHouse kept its stable of traditional bloggers as well, including widely published Michael David Smith and Elie Seckbach . FanHouse
96-582: A sports talk radio show on KBX. In 1990, he joined The National Sports Daily as a columnist based in Detroit and, later, New York City . The publication folded in 1991, and Mariotti became a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times later that year. He would go on to spend 17 years as a columnist at the Sun-Times . During his tenure there, he also hosted several radio shows including one in
144-449: A "Happy Trails" (acknowledging a firing, injury, retirement, or such). If the "Happy Trails" segment covers a death, which the hosts often refer to as a "Melancholy Trails," the background music goes silent as the hosts pay tribute to the person who died. Any factual errors or omissions are swiftly rectified before the show plunges into its final 60–90 seconds. From the start of the series until July 2005 and then again since August 2009,
192-419: A brief introduction before moving on to the first topic. During the course of this segment, Wilbon and Kornheiser will alternate topic introductions up for debate. Each topic is listed in chronological order on the right side of the screen, and a countdown timer is shown indicating how much time is allotted to discuss a particular topic, the hosts can, and usually do, briefly go over the time limit in order to make
240-542: A columnist. On September 30, 2010, Mariotti pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery count connected to an August 21 arrest in Los Angeles for alleged domestic violence involving his girlfriend. In August 2010, Mariotti was suspended from AOL's FanHouse and stopped appearing on Around the Horn or any other ESPN properties. Mariotti has since maintained his innocence, stating that he pleaded no contest only to avoid
288-401: A final point about any particular topic. Kornheiser and Wilbon interview a sports figure, writer, or analyst typically for a period of time from three to six minutes. The interview itself is actually recorded prior to the rest of the show and then trimmed down for broadcast. According to PTI' s remote producer, with some exceptions, guests are booked the day of the show as they try to obtain
336-578: A game against the Washington Wizards . When this happens, the guest will sit on Wilbon's side of the table, sitting diagonally from Kornheiser. On Thursdays during the football season, ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski , a former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback (a.k.a. "Jaws" and "the Polish Rifle" - the latter usually rendered in a Howard Cosell -like voice), frequently guested, until his departure from ESPN. Before that, Jaworski would come on
384-528: A great weekend'), knuckleheads. The half-hour broadcast concludes with Kornheiser waving a small Canadian flag while Wilbon mentions their podcast and pitches the show over to the SportsCenter studio. According to Kornheiser, he first waved the flag and said "Goodnight, Canada" after an associate director told him that the additional PTI segment on SportsCenter did not air in Canada. Kornheiser made
432-607: A message from then- President Obama commemorating the tenth anniversary of the show. On July 12, 2013, Kornheiser, Wilbon, and Reali were guests at the White House . After lunch, the trio met in the Oval Office with Obama. Obama also provided taped congratulations on the show's 20th anniversary episode on October 22, 2021. For much of its run PTI had a unique studio layout featuring a "wall" full of cut-out cardboard heads of athletes and celebrities that had been used in
480-471: A themed game segment that allows for discussion for further topics, or 5 Good Minutes , an interview with a guest. The third segment consists of Happy Time , an acknowledgment of any "errors & omissions" from earlier segments, and finally the Big Finish , a high-speed, back-and-forth rundown of more sports topics of note. For much of its history, the show aired in four shorter segments, allowing for
528-416: A viewer email including them earlier in the week. The hosts discuss a variety of topics and decide if each is fair or foul (acceptable or not). If a host believes a topic is "foul," he could threw a yellow football penalty flag and/or blow a whistle. Additionally, during the early run of PTI , a " Doctors " segment was featured occasionally, in which the hosts had to choose which head to cut off and throw in
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#1732786951126576-543: Is an American sports journalist and commentator who currently hosts the sports-related podcast Unmuted . He previously spent 17 years as a Chicago Sun-Times columnist and eight years as a regular panelist on the ESPN sports-talk program Around the Horn . Mariotti was born on June 22, 1959, in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . He grew up in suburban Pittsburgh. After high school, he attended Ohio University , where he
624-426: Is eligible. Over the years, the list has vastly expanded from five to numerous candidates being named during the segment. Among games no longer regularly played: Odds Makers , which is featured weekly and involves the hosts giving their prediction in the form of a percentage about the likeliness of a future event occurring. Reali gives the topics and keeps track of responses on a chalkboard , to which he refers at
672-399: Is now featured only occasionally. The hosts argue over whether a certain sports figure or team will go over or under a certain number (e.g. 40 home runs , 60 wins). Reali also announces the topics for this segment, holding cards up with the statistic, as well. In order to help prevent a "push" (a Wilbon trademark), a decimal figure is sometimes used (e.g. 2.5 touchdowns). " Report Card ", saw
720-460: Is occasionally renamed "Good Elf, Bad Elf" for the holiday. " Food Chain ," where the hosts rank a top five list of teams, returned in December 2008 after a long absence. Kornheiser and Wilbon usually have variations in their lists, with Wilbon posting his as each team is introduced. Wilbon refers to his as "A real man's board!," but when Kornheiser switches to his, he claims, "That's it! That's
768-472: Is referred to as "Heads on Sticks" because the hosts alternate speaking as a sports figure with the person's picture on a stick in front of their faces. After a picture is used, it is usually stuck somewhere in the background of the set until it is replaced. The crude connotation of this title has been highlighted as a suggestive musical cue leads the segment. " Over/Under ", is a segment that alternated weeks with Odds Makers when they were first introduced, but
816-476: The Magic Johnson / Isiah Thomas controversy, forcing the cancellation of the segment Report Card. On very rare occasions during the show's four-segment format, two separate games were played in lieu of an interview segment. PTI uses a variety of different game-themed segments to talk about other sports news and make predictions. Many games have been played over the years, but as of 2021, four remain in
864-562: The Post are often cited (including by Wilbon himself) as both the antecedent and inspiration for PTI . The founding production team behind PTI includes Mark Shapiro , Erik Rydholm, Todd Mason, James Cohen, and Joseph Maar. The original deal was for two years with an option for a third. Originally, the show also aired Sunday evening, but this stint was short-lived. Originally recorded at Atlantic Video's facilities in Washington,
912-400: The "Role Play" segment, bobblehead dolls of the show's hosts and Reali, Etch-A-Sketch art of Kornheiser and Wilbon, multiple penguins and several other toys and trinkets they have received, such as Kornheiser's beloved "Leg Lamp" from A Christmas Story , Stewie Griffin , and Elmo . For different American holidays, the set would be decorated with other props to match the theme of
960-769: The Atlantic Video Washington complex to facilities in the ABC News Washington bureau, where high definition sets were built for both shows. On January 20, 2020, the current set for PTI debuted. This was the first major upgrade to the PTI set in nearly a decade. PTI is divided into three segments. The first involves the hosts discussing and debating sports news Headlines (generally, three topics are covered, each receiving 2–4 minutes, in earlier days, more topics were covered with less time assigned to each). The second segment will either consist of
1008-598: The Internet's top-10 most linked sports blogs, as measured by aggregator BallHype , from at least April 2007 to July 2010, just four weeks before BallHype was shut down and the list was no longer updated. At the 2008 EPPY Awards , FanHouse won for Best Sports Blog, and was named as a finalist for the award in 2009. This article about a sports website is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Jay Mariotti Jay Mariotti ( / ˌ m ær i ˈ ɒ t i / MARR -ee- OT -ee ; born June 22, 1959)
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#17327869511261056-709: The Interruption . During his time in Chicago, Mariotti was occasionally the subject of controversy for his often highly critical language. One notable case occurred in 2006 when Chicago White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillén , directed a "profanity-laced tirade" toward Mariotti after he had been critical of Guillén's management of relief pitcher , Sean Tracey . In August 2008, Mariotti left the Chicago Sun-Times , citing his belief that newspapers would soon become obsolete with news coverage primarily coming from websites. In January 2009, he joined AOL 's FanHouse website as
1104-541: The costs of a trial. Some charges against him were expunged in 2013. In March 2015, he was hired as the sports director for The San Francisco Examiner . In that position, he wrote 4 to 5 columns per week for the paper. Mariotti left the Examiner after a year in March 2016. In December 2016, Mariotti started a podcast called Unmuted with his former Around the Horn panelist, Woody Paige . Mariotti continues to host
1152-512: The day's sports or pop culture issues (which he answers sarcastically). The two will then continue a conversation while the opening title card is shown. The theme song (as well as the commercial outro music) thematically references the song " Cut Your Hair " by Pavement . On rare occasions when more serious news will lead the discussion, such as the death of Junior Seau , the hosts will omit their typical intro banter. Kornheiser then says "Welcome to 'PTI', boys and girls." Kornheiser then gives
1200-430: 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 fit with the holiday theme (e.g. red, white, and blue to represent Independence Day , green for St. Patricks Day , red and green for Christmas ). On September 27, 2010, Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn began broadcasting in high definition and moved from
1248-456: The end of the segment in order to declare a winner. A selection at either extreme of 100% or 0% is well-respected, with the latter being coined by Reali as "squadoosh." Kornheiser often gets his odds to add up to a certain number or form a pattern. "Odds Makers" is also noted for its feud between Reali and guest host Dan LeBatard , who is often accused of ruining the game. Role Play , featured fairly often but less so than earlier in PTI' s run,
1296-570: The event of live sports or breaking news coverage airing on the main channel. Replays also appear on ESPN2 or ESPNEWS at various times. PTI averages a little more than one million viewers daily. Famous fans include Barack Obama , George W. Bush , Tom Hanks , Bill Murray , David Letterman , Tom Cotton , Hank Azaria , Chris Christie , Eric Stonestreet , Matthew Morrison , John Heilemann , Penny Marshall , Michael Kelly , Eva Longoria , John McCain , Tim Russert , and Maury Povich . The October 24, 2011 episode featured
1344-479: The format of the show was altered to merge the final part of the show with the beginning of the 6:00 p.m. ET SportsCenter . Segment 4 would consist of Happy Time, followed by Errors, then the hosts giving shout-outs, as well as their recommendations for television viewing for the night as the last discussion segment of the show before SportsCenter . Wilbon usually chooses a sporting event, while Kornheiser will often opt for pop-culture based programming. After
1392-467: The hosts assign letter grades to various events suggested by "Professor" Reali. Usually, Kornheiser's name is spelled "Tiny" instead of "Tony" on the Report Card board. In Good Cop, Bad Cop , both hosts dress in police hats and sometimes sunglasses. This segment is featured rarely, and unlike Toss Up, the hosts must take an opposite stand on each topic, saying it is either good or bad. This segment
1440-468: The inclusion of both a game and an interview, or occasionally, a second segment of "Headlines" replacing one of the two. A wider variety of games were played during the time Reali was present on the show, as he would frequently serve as in-studio host/moderator/judge. In the show's earliest days, it was not unusual for the last point or topic in each section to be about a non-sports-related pop-culture event, but those have been eliminated. On rare occasions,
1488-643: The late 1990s that was syndicated through the One on One Sports network and another in 2004 on Chicago's WMVP . He left the latter position after 10 months after refusing to comply with the station's request that he minimize his criticism of the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls . Starting in 2002, he became a regular panelist on the ESPN sports talk show, Around the Horn . He also made occasional appearances on another ESPN program, Pardon
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1536-423: The list!" Another early segment was called "Love Em or Leave Em" where a female voice cooing "Ooo La-La!" was played before the hosts discussed an individual (whose head was on a stick) they were either "leaving" or "loving" and keeping on their side. A third rare segment is " Fair or Foul ," it was introduced on February 28, 2007, after the hosts began repeating the words "fair or foul" for a few episodes because of
1584-551: The most relevant news of the day. Other times, 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 Major League Baseball on Fox broadcasts (Another example of this was Al Michaels and Doc Rivers , when they appeared together while covering the 2004 NBA Finals for ABC Sports ). There have also been occasions where Kornheiser or Wilbon, while on vacation or in another city to cover an event and not hosting
1632-479: The regular rotation: In addition, on the last show before Thanksgiving , the game segment is usually reserved for the hosts to reveal their choices for Turkeys of the Year , usually people during the last year that have usually done notably stupid acts un-befitting of sport (funny or unfunny). As noted by Wilbon at the beginning of the segment, there are no criteria for the selection process, meaning anyone they see fit
1680-507: The routine into a trademark sign-off and continued even after TSN added the extra segment to its early-evening edition of SportsCentre . If a scant few seconds remain Kornheiser will often offer up a “ shout-out ” during the show's final seconds, typically to friendly golf partners, a gift received from a viewer, or a plug for a restaurant or company he had recently received good service from. From July 25, 2005, through sometime in 2011,
1728-448: The rundown graphic has since been implemented on the morning editions of SportsCenter , among many imitators. The show began in 2001, and has emanated from Washington, D.C. since its debut, as both Kornheiser and Wilbon were writing for The Washington Post at the time, In addition, both men appeared frequently on ESPN's Sunday-morning discussion program The Sports Reporters . The pair's frequent arguments during their time at
1776-482: The show ends with the Big Finish, in which the hosts alternate quick takes on a list of roughly half a dozen final topics, usually ending with Wilbon answering which telecast of a pair posed by Kornheiser he will watch that evening, or predicting the outcome of a game to be played. The hosts then give their standard signoffs: Kornheiser: We're out of time, we'll try to do better next time. I'm Tony Kornheiser. Wilbon: And I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow (or 'Have
1824-606: The show now occupies space at ABC News ' Washington bureau. Voice actress Kat Cressida lends her voice to commercial bumpers for the series and has since its premiere. From the premiere of PTI until September 5, 2014, Tony Reali served as the show's statistician (earning him the nickname "Stat Boy") and eventually became a de facto co-host. Reali became the host of Around the Horn in 2004, but remained on PTI until 2014, when he relocated to New York City to work on Good Morning America while continuing as host of ATH . Kornheiser began exclusively hosting from his home upon
1872-601: The show on Mondays to offer analysis of the previous day's games and a prediction for the Monday Night Football game that night. On rare occasions, "Five Good Minutes" runs especially long, such as on June 8, 2005, when NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus 's interview ran 11 minutes, forcing the cancellation of the following segment (Role Play), on March 23, 2007, when USC basketball coach Tim Floyd 's interview ran 9 minutes as he talked about O. J. Mayo , and on October 22, 2009, as reporter Jackie MacMullan discussed
1920-409: 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. Kornheiser and Wilbon welcome viewers to the show with opening banter. Wilbon usually opens the show with the line, "Pardon the Interruption... but I'm Mike Wilbon ," and then put a question to Kornheiser concerning one of
1968-465: The show's original promo). Similar in format to Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert 's At the Movies , PTI is known for its playful banter between the cohosts, humorous and often loud tone, and a "rundown" graphic which lists the topics yet to be discussed on the right-hand side of the screen. The show's popularity has led to the creation of similar shows on ESPN and similar segments on other series, and
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2016-429: The show's return from its 2020 COVID-19 hiatus, though he made an in-studio appearance on December 5, 2023 but cautioned to viewers "Don't get used to it." He has since returned to the studio on sporadic occasions when Wilbon was also in studio. The show won a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Show in 2009, 2016, and 2019. PTI airs at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN, occasionally moving to ESPN2 in
2064-481: The show, although Paige is no longer a co-host. Pardon the Interruption Pardon the Interruption (abbreviated PTI ) is an American sports talk television show that airs weekdays on various ESPN TV channels. It is hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon , who discuss, and frequently argue over, the top stories of the day in "sports... and other stuff" (as Kornheiser put it in
2112-495: The show, have been the subject of "Five Good Minutes" themselves. Guests almost always appear from a separate location, usually the site of an upcoming game or their home city, appearing with the hosts via split screen. On a few occasions, the guest has appeared in studio with Kornheiser and Wilbon. This may be the case if the guest is an athlete or coach in Washington to play a game that night, such as when Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups appeared on February 6, 2009, prior to
2160-524: The trash out of two that were stuck together. The hosts dressed up as doctors for this segment, using coats and assorted accessories. In " Too Soon? ," Reali asks the hosts if it's too soon for a certain sports situation to possibly occur. In November 2010, a new game entitled "Something or Nothing?" was created. In this game, Reali asked Tony and Mike if a recent sports event was significant (Something) or insignificant (Nothing). After both hosts gave their answers, Reali, through uncertain logic, determined who
2208-404: Was correct. "Too Soon" and "Something or Nothing" were played rarely. (In lieu of "Something or Nothing," the hosts will occasionally base a headline debate on whether a story is "a big deal, little deal, or no deal at all"). Finally, a "time-machine" game was played once in 2005 and never returned. The hosts send out a "Happy Birthday," a "Happy (or in some cases, Not-So-Happy) Anniversary," and
2256-419: Was managed by executive producer Randy Kim. Previous executive producers later held leadership positions at Yahoo! (Jamie Mottram), Yardbarker (Alana Nguyen) and NBC (John Clifford Ness). In January 2011, Sporting News announced a partnership with AOL to take over editorial control of FanHouse; the site was merged into that of Sporting News , and eventually discontinued. FanHouse was ranked as one of
2304-541: Was the sports editor on the school's newspaper. After leaving Ohio University, Mariotti earned a job as a feature writer for The Detroit News . He stayed at that newspaper for 4 years before taking a job as a sports columnist for The Cincinnati Post in 1985. He later moved to Denver where he was a columnist for both the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post . While in Denver, he also hosted
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