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Tony Reali Gets Raw and Real in Opening Up About Life After ESPN

The former ‘Around the Horn’ host describes what the past year has been like for him as he launches a new show.
Jimmy Traina|
Tony Reali hosted nearly 5,000 episodes of “Around the Horn” before the show went off the air last year.
Tony Reali hosted nearly 5,000 episodes of “Around the Horn” before the show went off the air last year. | ESPN

1. It’s been a little over a year since Around the Horn aired its final episode after nearly 23 years on ESPN. Now, the show’s host for almost all of its run, Tony Reali, is back with a new YouTube show, Get Real With Tony Reali.

Reali spoke about his new gig on this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina. He also got real and vulnerable when discussing what the past year has been like for him after ATH’s cancellation.

I asked Reali if it has been difficult to cut ties with ESPN after being there for so long, first on Pardon the Interruption and later as host of ATH.

“Yeah, those four letters will always be attached to me,” said Reali. “I was on TV for 25 years for that network. That’s, you know, of course, tell that story. I should always be part of that story. We talked about this. You could try to unpack it again. I gave some moments to this in the last year, but not as much as you would probably think.

“Things end. They're messy. Yes, would I want to have had more communication? I’m in the communication business. I’m the professional talker. The people who make decisions, I get it. It’s a hard conversation to have with somebody.

“In the end, I’m proud of the work that was. I consumed ESPN before. I will consume it again. They’ve got the games. Of course I’m going to be watching ESPN.”

So, how is it for Reali when he’s watching ESPN after being with the network for 25 years?

“It’s weird,” Reali admitted. “I mean, it was weird for me when I wasn’t on PTI anymore. I’m proud of having worked for ESPN. I love PTI. That’s my family and the week after I wasn’t on there, I’m a human, that’s a tough feeling. Everybody’s moving on without you. I was the one who moved on. but I’m just saying. It’s tough for me to turn on ESPN at 5:30 knowing the other show at 5:00 wasn’t the show I was on.”

During the podcast, Reali talked about taking his time to find new gigs instead of just jumping right back into things immediately and doing, “Around the Horn 2.0.”

“I said no to a few offers,” said Reali. “I was thankful for them, but they weren’t the right fit, but it wasn’t, it’s never as you imagine it, Jimmy. I can be honest about this. This is me being vulnerable.”

Reali then cited a skit featuring Will Ferrell and Jack Black from the 2007 Oscars in which Ferrell laments the fact that despite his prolific résumé doing comedies, he still isn’t loved by the industry.

As Reali explained it, “There’s a point where Jack Black says, ‘Well, what did you think when you were running around the track in your underpants,’ and Will Ferrell says, ‘I thought they love me.’

“Part of me thought, what did you think when you were hosting Around the Horn for 20 years, the industry would come back? I thought they'd love me and they'd be handing me jobs. That was not happening. That was not happening. There wasn't handing of jobs.”

And how was that to handle, I asked Reali.

“That was that was, of course, a real feeling, a raw feeling.”

You can listen to Reali’s full interview on SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

2. In what might be the great moment in ESPY’s history, which isn’t saying much, we learned Wednesday night that Mike Tyson has no clue whatsoever who Shohei Ohntani is.

3. Kyle Kuzma just became my favorite NBA player.

After completely ridiculous and out-of-touch comments from Odell Beckham Jr. and Carmelo Anthony about $100 million salaries not really being $100 million, Kuzma brough some sanity to the discussion.

4. In a day and age when ratings are up across the board in sports, the Home Run Derby was down from 5.5 million viewers on ESPN last year to 5.3 viewers on Netflix this year.

5. Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice had his golf swing interrupted by a heckler at the American Century Championship. The Niners legend then sprang into action.

6. Here is Argentine announcer Pablo Giralt's calling the country’s go-ahead goal against England on Wednesday.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Every single person who has ever played fantasy football can relate to this video. Props to the commish for the closing line here.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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