Tony Reali
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Anthony Joseph Paul (Tony) Reali (born July 4, 1978 in Staten Island, New York) is the current host of Around the Horn on ESPN. He is also the "stat boy" on Pardon the Interruption. He is often referred to as the Ultimate Sports Guru for his keen intellect and mastery of all sports statistics. He is a Marlboro, New Jersey native and graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Communications and History from Fordham University.
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[edit] Pre-ESPN career
Reali was a sportscaster for WFUV at Fordham from 1997-2000 as the voice of football and men's basketball. He also hosted New York City's longest-running sports call-in program and was a beat reporter covering the Yankees, Mets, Giants, and Jets. In May 2000, he wrote for WPIX-TV of New York.
[edit] Career at ESPN
Reali joined ESPN in 2000 as researcher/writer for ESPN's quiz show 2 Minute Drill. He later joined Pardon the Interruption in October 2001 as "Stat Boy", where his role was to correct and fact-check hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon at the end of every episode. Reali became so popular that he started appearing daily on Tony Kornheiser's radio show for a daily segment called "Preview the Interruption", in which he discussed what was going to happen on PTI later that afternoon.
In February 2004, Reali replaced Max Kellerman as the host of Around the Horn, the show that precedes PTI in the ESPN weekday schedule (he was guest host on Around the Horn six times and was a panelist six other times before becoming host). As host of Around The Horn, Reali awards points based upon the quality of the guests' comments and will deduct points or mute the guest when a nonsensical comment is provided, all at his own discretion.
[edit] Trivia
- Often uses Italian slang (such as "squadosh")[citation needed]
- At the end of every episode of Around The Horn, he throws a ball of all the day's papers at the camera, and hit the camera for the first time on February 17, 2007.
- Has a cat named "Sir Roosevelt" that Reali claims has the ability to levitate.
- Is a distant relative of "The Model" Rick Martel , a former WWE wrestler.
- Often wears socks in the bathtub.
