Tony Reali Prepares for the Draft, Reads Deadspin and Wants to Be Scott Van Pelt - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Tony Reali was a 23-year-old writer and researcher at ESPN in 2001 when Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser decided to give him the on-air role of Stat Boy at the end of every episode of their new show, Pardon the Interruption. Two and a half years later, he replaced Max Kellerman as host of Around the Horn.

Reali now has the job of provoking and correcting older sports writers down pat, which will help this weekend as the moderator of a panel of sports writers during the second day of ESPN's coverage of the NFL draft.

In a phone interview with Reali Monday, I talked to him about the draft, blogs, mixed martial arts and criticisms of Around the Horn.

What is your role during the draft?
On Day 2 while Trey Wingo is hosting from New York I'll be moderating a panel with Michael Smith and Jeffri Chadiha of ESPN.com, Charean Williams of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram and, Steve Wyche of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

So will it be like the NFL draft version of Around the Horn?
We'll let the reporters be the reporters that they are, we'll talk about teams' needs and bigger topics, I'm just going to be controlling the flow of conversation and calling them out when they're not making sense.

Were you OK with being known as Stat Boy?
I'm kind of a bookish nerd. I had 20 years of my life without a date and spent all my time looking at all the football encyclopedias. So I liked being the one who corrects Kornheiser and Wilbon and knows too much.

You hold the distinction of being one of the few ESPN employees who has mentioned Deadspin on the air. Did anyone at ESPN have a problem with that?
I didn't even realize I was doing it, I just said something at the end of Around the Horn and someone said, 'You just mentioned Deadspin on the air!'

I really enjoy blogs. I don't think it's anybody's birthright to be the voice of sport. If a person is in the locker room and has 30 years of experience, that's great, that's one source. It was a breath of fresh air when blogs came on the scene. Gilbert Arenas's blog is a must read. I read Deadspin every day, FanHouse, I read The Big Lead every day, Sports by Brooks every day. Greg Oden's blog is a must read, especially this year when he's hurt. It's access into his mind that you're not even getting if you're a sports columnist in the locker room.

If you read Deadspin you must be aware that it hasn't always been kind to Around the Horn.
Absolutely.

Do you think any of the criticisms of Around the Horn are valid?
PTI was well received critically right form the start. I wasn't working for Around the Horn when it started, but I would say the reviews for that show were not as pleasant. People don't review shows that are a few years old, but I hear from people who say the show is more watchable now. That's no slight against anybody, but I much prefer it now. If you remember the old introduction, "these four things I know are true," I always hated that. Why would anyone care what the moderator of the show thinks? It should be about the opinions of the sports writers. I don't mind the criticism. Somebody once wrote that Around the Horn is the worst show since My Mother the Car. That's funny.

You're one of the younger on-air people at ESPN. Is there any particular broadcaster whose career path you'd like to follow?
Scott Van Pelt is one of the best guys to watch. He has an authoritative voice but also is able to kind of get his personality in there. Scott Van Pelt is somebody that I really think is talented and I really think he has a bright future.

But I never really thought of myself as an on-air person until I started doing Around the Horn. I wanted to be a writer and producer.

And then when Max Kellerman left you got the Around the Horn job?
I was friends with Max, I helped him move into his apartment in DC and we played Punch-Out together, and then when he left, I had filled in for him and they put me on. I was 25 at the time. I didn't sign a contract for more than a year and a half, and I never thought of myself as an on-air person until that contract.

Do you watch Kellerman's work on HBO? Are you a big boxing guy?
I'm not a big boxing guy. I'm much more into mixed martial arts. I think that's where we're headed. Between alphabet soup, and the heavyweight division not being sorted out, boxing is hard to follow, but I think Max on boxing is as good as it gets. Boxing is his strength and he knows more about boxing than anybody I know and he has a passion. I enjoy watching him on HBO.

Do you think mixed martial arts will ever be on ESPN?
I'm really interested to see how MMA does this year on network TV. My gut tells me we have to get MMA. If somebody asked you 10 years ago would ESPN put poker on you'd have said no. There's a resistance right now from an older generation, not just at ESPN but my grandfather was a huge boxing fan, I don't know if he'd be taking to MMA.

I know how Tony and Michael feel, which is that it's too brutal to put on television. We've talked about putting Rampage Jackson on PTI and what happens in the end is they can't get past the brutality of it. I don't know that it's really more brutal than boxing, there are long-term injuries in boxing. I think it's compelling. When you watch it you can see what the appeal is, and I think it will be a ratings success on network TV.