Dream Job (Season 3)
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The third season of Dream Job, ESPN's reality television talent search program, debuted on February 20, 2005. In a big twist from the show's first and second seasons, both of which found new anchors for ESPN's flagship news show, SportsCenter, this version was a celebrity version, as six former NBA players were going after a one-year on-air contract to become ESPN's next NBA analyst. The show was originally supposed to be looking for a commoner to become ESPN's next play-by-play announcer during its third season. In fact, while auditioning possible contestants for Season 2, ESPN was also said to be auditioning possible contestants for Season 3. Stuart Scott returned as host.
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[edit] Judges
All four judges from Season 2 returned: The Denver Post columnist, Cold Pizza contributor, and Around the Horn panelist Woody Paige; former Cold Pizza co-host Kit Hoover (who actually made her final appearance on Cold Pizza during this Dream Job season); The Philadelphia Inquirer writer and ESPN NBA analyst who was judging possible colleagues, Stephen A. Smith; and ESPN executive vice-president of talent, Al Jaffe. Voting stayed the same. Each judge and the American viewing public was given one vote each to cut a contestant with. In the event of a tie between contestants, America's vote would be the tie-breaker.
[edit] Contestants
Since the show was looking for a new NBA analyst, 6 former NBA stars were vying to become ESPN's next NBA analyst. Dana Barros, originally one of the six, was missing from the show during its first episode, apparently dropping out at the last minute. He was replaced by the Orlando Magic's first-ever draft pick, Nick Anderson, but Anderson soon exited, and was replaced by Dennis Scott. The other five are Dee Brown, who is most famous for winning the 1991 slam dunk contest with a no-look dunk while playing for the Boston Celtics (he also played for the Toronto Raptors and the Magic before retiring); Matt Bullard, who won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1994; Darryl Dawkins, who, in 1975, became the first high school player ever to be drafted directly into the league; J.R. Reid, who averaged double figures in scoring during his first three years in the NBA; and Gerald Wilkins, one of the most popular New York Knicks ever.
[edit] Summary
Due to Barros' absence, there were only five contestants for the season premiere. This meant that at the end of the episode, no one would be cut, basically making season three's official premiere episode a meaningless, irrelevant practice round (ESPN touted it as a "special preview" episode). Promotional ads for the show leading up to episode two said Nick Anderson would be Barros' replacement, but those ads quickly disappeared, as Anderson was then replaced by Dennis Scott. Episode two aired, and the cuts began. Wilkins was the first contestant to go. The following week, Dawkins was gone, the victim of America's vote being used as a tiebreaker when he got his second cut vote of the night, though Scott also had two cut votes. Week four saw Reid saying goodbye, with Scott finally getting the boot in week five. That left Bullard and Brown in the last showdown for the Dream Job of ESPN NBA analyst. Bullard's mistakes got the best of him, and Dee Brown was the winner of the third season of the show, as Bullard got three votes to be cut.
