Tony Reali

Tony Reali (born July 4, 1978)[1] is an American sports personality and television host of Around the Horn on ESPN. He served as the statistician on Pardon the Interruption from the show's debut in 2001 until late 2014.[2] In April 2014, it was announced he would be a contributor on social media for Good Morning America, which he began on October 8, 2014.

Tony Reali
Reali in May 2013
Born (1978-07-04) July 4, 1978
New York City, U.S.
EducationFordham University (BA)
OccupationSports talk show host
Years active1997–present
EmployerESPN
Children3

Early years

Reali was born in the New York City borough of Staten Island, and is of Italian-American descent.[3] Reali spent most of his childhood living in New Jersey, growing up in Marlboro Township. He graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey in 1996.[4] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Communications and History from Fordham University.[5] While there, he was a sportscaster for WFUV from 1997 to 2000 as the voice of football and men's basketball. He also was a beat reporter covering the Yankees, Mets, Giants, and Jets. In May 2000, he wrote for WPIX-TV of New York.

Broadcasting career

Reali joined ESPN in 2000 as a researcher and writer for 2 Minute Drill.

Pardon the Interruption

He 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 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 (such as Anthony Joseph Lisa Lipps Reali). In addition to conducting his usual fact-checks, Reali also judged Kornheiser and Wilbon when they played the games "Oddsmakers" and "Report Card" on the show and introduced the topics for segments such as "Over/Under" and "What's the Word." On September 5, 2014, Reali did his last show of Pardon the Interruption as part of moving to New York City to be a social media correspondent on Good Morning America,[6] a job he held for only a couple of months.

Around the Horn

In February 2004, Reali replaced Max Kellerman as the host of ESPN's 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 panelists' comments. Reali is known for his in-depth knowledge of sports statistics and corrections of panelists on Around the Horn. He will deduct points or mute guests when nonsensical comments are provided, awarding points when a panelist makes a convincing argument, bold prediction, or amusing pop culture reference.[7][8] During a "face time" donated to him by the winner of an episode of the show in March 2019, Reali commented on the decision of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to eliminate federal funding for the Special Olympics, arguing for the social and moral importance of maintaining support for the program.[9] The following day the White House announced that it would override the proposed cuts by DeVos to the program.[10]

Good Morning America

Reali began at ABC's Good Morning America in 2014 as its social media correspondent. From 2015 to 2018, he was the weekend sports correspondent and also worked the pop culture desk.[11][12]

Voice roles

Reali appeared as a special guest star on Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil and provided the voice for "The Dark One" in Rocked. The episode aired on September 22, 2012.

Personal life

In the early hours of October 1, 2007, Reali's apartment was destroyed by a fire,[13][14] a fact revealed by Tony Kornheiser on Pardon the Interruption on October 1 and acknowledged by Reali himself on Around the Horn the following day.[15] The fire occurred a few days after he had proposed to Samiya Edwards, an Africa policy consultant.[16][17]

Reali has been open about his struggles with anxiety, posting on social media and providing details through interviews and podcasts.[18] He is a Catholic who has stressed the importance of his faith: "It has made me who I am, and it has got me to where I am. And it's where I am going."[3] He is known for wearing ashes on his forehead on air every Ash Wednesday.[3][19]

On Father's Day 2018, Reali announced that he and his wife were expecting twin sons. Although one of the boys died unexpectedly before childbirth, the other boy was born healthy. Reali also has two daughters.[20][21][22]

References
  1. Clothier, Gary (August 22, 2010). "Ask Mr. Know-It-All". The Republican Herald. p. D4. Tony Reali entered life in Staten Island, N.Y., on July 4, 1978...
  2. Tucker, Ken (2005), Kissing Bill O'Reilly, Roasting Miss Piggy: 100 Things to Love and Hate about TV, St. Martin's Press, p. 208, ISBN 0-312-33057-X
  3. It’s our faith that makes us who we are Archived March 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, February 26, 2010; accessed October 18, 2014.
  4. Concha, Joe. "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 in 1996."
  5. Tony Reali ESPN Bio, retrieved October 15, 2007
  6. Chase, Chris (September 5, 2014). "Tony Reali's emotional goodbye to 'PTI'". USA Today. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  7. Cowlishaw, Tim, Cowlishaw chat: Analyzing football failures, archived from the original on November 2, 2007, retrieved October 15, 2007
  8. Walters, John (October 24, 2005), "My favorite Brunette", CNN, archived from the original on November 4, 2007, retrieved October 15, 2007
  9. "ESPN's Tony Reali delivers a powerful message about the importance of the Special Olympics". March 28, 2019.
  10. "Betsy DeVos' utterly botched call for Special Olympics funding cuts, explained | CNN Politics". CNN. March 28, 2019.
  11. "Video: Getting ready for March Madness". ABC News. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  12. "Tony Reali".
  13. Mathis, Sommer, Almost Eight Hours Fighting Fire on Adams Mill Rd., archived from the original on November 16, 2014, retrieved October 2, 2007
  14. Moreno, Sylvia (October 2, 2007), "Fire Chief Says Electrical Event Cause of Adams Morgan Fire", The Washington Post, retrieved October 2, 2007
  15. @tonyreali (January 10, 2022). "The tragedy of this fire in a Bronx apartment kept me up last night" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 10, 2022 – via Twitter.
  16. "Tony Reali married, salary, net worth, divorce, girlfriend, wife". bijog.com.
  17. Roberts, Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne (July 11, 2008). "Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts - Busted, TSA-Style" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  18. Wagner, Laura. "A Q&A With Tony Reali About Postpartum Depression And Anxiety In Dads". Deadspin. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  19. Reali, Tony (March 4, 2017). "Perspective - I've worn ash on my head on ESPN for 16 years. This year was different" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  20. ""Introducing... Francesca Zahra Reali!"". Instagram. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  21. "Welcome to the world Antonella Reali!". Instagram. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  22. Joseph, Andrew (June 18, 2018). "ESPN's Tony Reali delivered a powerful on-air reflection on losing his child". Retrieved June 20, 2018.
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