Tony Reali

Infobox actor television | name = Tony Reali


imagesize = 150px
birthname = Anthony Joseph Paul Reali
birth_date = birth date and age|1978|7|4
birth_place = Staten Island, New York
age =
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occupation = Sports talk show host
alias = Stat Boy
gender = Male
status =
title =
family = Wife
children =
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ethnic = Italian-American
religion = Catholic
salary =
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credits = Stat Boy on "PTI"
"Around the Horn"
URL =

Anthony Joseph Paul Reali (born July 4, 1978 in Staten Island, New York) is an American sports personality and television host, and the current host of "Around the Horn" on ESPN. He is also the ombudsman or "stat boy" on "Pardon the Interruption". [cite book |last=Tucker |first=Ken |authorlink=Ken Tucker |title=Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate about TV |publisher=St. Martin's Press |date=2005 |pages=208 |isbn=031233057X] He is a Marlboro Township, New Jersey native and graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey. [Concha, Joe. [http://www.realhoboken.com/columns/2006_columns/reali.htm "RealHoboken Celebrity Series: An Interview with ESPN’s Tony Reali"] , RealHoboken.com. Accessed October 23, 2007. "One of the aforementioned shows, Around the Horn is hosted by 28-year-old Tony Reali, a Marlboro, New Jersey native and graduate of Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft."] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Communications and History from Fordham University. [Citation |last= |first= |title=Tony Reali ESPN Bio |url=http://espn.go.com/eoe/reali_bio.html |accessdate=2007-10-15]

Pre-ESPN career

Reali was a sportscaster for WFUV at Fordham University 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.

Career at ESPN

Reali joined ESPN in 2000 as a researcher/writer for ESPN's quiz show "2 Minute Drill".Citation |last=Lev |first=Michael |title=Any ESPY gaffes will be hot ESPN topics |url=http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/sections/sports/sports/article_594817.php |accessdate=2007-10-15] 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. [Citation |last=Barron |first=David |title='PTI' hosts have 25-year history |url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4282090.html |accessdate=2007-10-15] 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 on that afternoon. After Reali became the host of Around the Horn and his popularity continued to rise, Kornheiser and Wilbon eventually started introducing him by his actual name instead of simply calling him "Stat Boy." On occasion, Kornheiser will add several ridiculous middle names when introducing him to poke fun at his long name. In addition to conducting his usual fact-checks, Reali now also judges Kornheiser and Wilbon when they play the game "Oddsmakers" on the show and introduces the topics for "Over/Under." His quick rise at ESPN is attributable to Kornheiser's taking a liking to him [Citation |last=Allison |first=Julia |title=WHCD 2007: Stars, Slippers & Sanjaya |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/2007/04/23/whcd-2007-stars-slipper_e_46569.html |accessdate=2007-10-15]

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 at his own discretion based upon the quality of the guests' comments. He will deduct points or mute the guest when a nonsensical comment is provided and award points when a panelist makes a convincing argument, bold prediction, or amusing pop culture reference. [Citation |last=Cowlishaw |first=Tim |title=Cowlishaw chat: Analyzing football failures |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/091306dnspochatwrap.2694b4a.html |accessdate=2007-10-15] [Citation |last=Walters |first=John |title=My favorite Brunette |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/john_walters/10/24/campus.blitz/ |accessdate=2007-10-15]

In the early hours of October 1, 2007, Reali's apartment was destroyed by a fire, [Citation |last=Mathis |first=Sommer |title=Almost Eight Hours Fighting Fire on Adams Mill Rd.
url=http://dcist.com/2007/10/01/fire_on_adams_m.php |accessdate=2007-10-02] [Citation |last=Moreno |first=Sylvia |title=Fire Chief Says Electrical Event Cause of Adams Morgan Fire |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/02/AR2007100201657.html?sub=AR |accessdate=2007-10-02] a fact which was acknowledged by Tony Kornheiser on Pardon the Interruption on October 1 and by Reali himself, along with the various correspondents, on Around the Horn on October 2. Jay Mariotti verified that no one had been injured.

References

External links

* [http://espn.go.com/eoe/reali_bio.html Official ESPN bio]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/AR2006082401457.html Feature article from "The Washington Post", August 27, 2006]