And he was always just staying busy, making new content.

Yeah, you know, you have to.

That's not just me speaking as a person who is high energy and loves sports, loves talking about it.

You can start with the NBA.

You can go to the NFL with me.

You can go to baseball with me.

You can go – I did a – I started my new show, and my first episode was – about swimming.

I'm

Yeah.

Which is very, very funny.

I would call Ernie Johnson the consummate point guard, right? And host.

You're dishing out.

But it's a Bob Cousy point guard.

Uh, it's not a, what we know now to be the point guard of 2026, a Steph Curry point guard who could pull from anywhere, a Trae Young point guard, a...

You know, it's a different type of point guard.

So on your next, I guess, adventure in sports, what was the spark? Um, what was kinda that, that big moment to embark on just your, your next podcast venture or your next sports venture?

Go ahead

...

I've always, uh, you know, uh, free agents, you know, I always knew Around the Horn was gonna end, and I was like, "I just hosted a successful TV show.

I'm gonna get a great opportunity to work in TV some more, and that's gonna be wonderful." I, uh, you know, I would, I would say that at some point, you know? But at some point that was partially true, or maybe it wasn't true anymore.

And the industry had changed even more than that.

So I, I could recognize, uh, the TV jobs were, were drying up in some ways.

I could recognize my own personal, um, uh, desire to, to want to be in a place where I could be a little bit more, um, inventive and creative, and that doesn't mean go host a pregame show or something like that, 'cause that's what hosts can do very well, and there's some great pregame shows and...

Right.

Are we talking about Michael Phelps, uh-

It's precisely that, Dan.

And why would I...

I mean, I don't cover swimming.

I don't swim.

I know how to not drown, is, is the line I said to Rowdy.

You know? But the genesis of this, of the show came to me in that this video came up in my feed, and I started crying.

Oh.

What do you have?

Yes, Dan.

Positivity, uh, is what I have, Dan.

Feels like there's not enough positivity in this control room right now.

You don't even respect Labor Day, all right? So, what we're bringing in here is a bounce house, Dan.

(turkey sounds) Nobody believes you.

What have I done for my career? What am I do...

What are you doing in that area? Perhaps every year was a stretch, okay? But the last time I did it, Tony is right.

if you had stayed within the safety of those confines.

So as much work as I'd done on myself, I was still harboring feelings of, "What is it that I do? What is my skill?" Right? Because I have been, and called myself, a sportscaster my whole life.

I dreamt of being a sportscaster my whole life, and now I am a sportscaster.

I've got this dream job and I host a show and I, I...

And I work with journalists.

I would not call myself a journalist.

When I do my job, I'm trying to get up to their code of journalism and, and, and they're not committing daily acts of journalism on our show when they're debating sports, but it still is a show about journalists and that's a wonderful thing.

... bounces off of me."

Talk to me or explain to me what the love is, and what she was telling you, or how it is you were different in the experiencing of whatever it is that you're thinking of when you're saying, "Her and I handled X very differently."

Yes, yeah.

So, so through the navigation of, of having children, and, and, and through it all, you know, the IVF was different for both of us.

I wanted to talk about it.

She kept that one, uh, very close to her, and I couldn't even read how she was feeling through all.

We have the natural childbirth, uh, the first time, and, and then we commit again to IVF.

And what I'm talking about is, is losing a child in, in stillbirth, in, in, in delivery when we were carrying Enzo and Amadeo, and losing Amadeo in the room, you know.

Well, I'm wondering if you've had any of these thoughts, first of all, because-

"... on the outside, but I'm dealing with things inside." And that, I think, exactly plays to what Juju was talking about here.

Very nice of you to say.

I, I think there's an expression we use.

It's like, you never know what's going on for someone else.

You never know what's going on, uh, behind the scenes for someone else.

And my view of that is, you can know because that person can verbalize what that is.

So, that was my thought process.

Do you think of Mentos as a foreign candy? Uh-

Yeah, what about, yeah, or feuding, or, or media members threatening players.

But just to go back to my appreciation of, of, of humanity.

I believe knowing who you are is 95%.

That self, self fullness, right? And that's what I wanna say to you, Nick, right now.

You, you have a knowledge of who you are as a person, and I think that's wonderful.

That's it.

This is...

That was beautiful and heartful.

I can't sit here and say the Panthers are definitely gonna be back in the Stanley Cup Final.

That's the charm of this team, though.

Again, you guys are living it, you're breathing it.

I'm watching it from afar.

I'm seeing a team that I don't know if they're the best team on the ice.

I don't know it until I see it with my eyes.

And now, I'm gonna say some stuff about Greg Cody here that I wouldn't say to his face because he should be crowing the way that Greg's going to crow.

They were so good.

(laughs)

... what you imagine in your head.

That we've just awakened and we found something happened? "I don't know, I'm reading in the newspaper today, we won a championship." It's not that.

There's people there.

We were gonna not have a show because of a national holiday on Thursday after winning the championship.

I'm, I'm aware of what you're doing here.

What we have is a championship.

We have it...

Mm.

All right? We're gonna go in order here and I need everyone...

Thank you, dramatic sting (instrumental music plays)... to name an actor who played a character in this film.

You cannot name the person that was just named by the person before you.

Dan, you're gonna start us off.

The movie is Oceans 11.

First round for a point, name an actor who starred in Oceans 11.

24 hours early, 24 hours early.

All right.

What I loved about the coffee shop's sign...

Dan, let me just say this.

Over here on, what is this, Biscayne Boulevard? They have something I really appreciate.

We have this in Brooklyn.

You buy a coffee, you buy a coffee for your next friend who can't maybe spend the money to buy that coffee next time.

And I saw that, and I see you have a, even a statue, a beautiful statue here for-

We're saying a thousand Jesus.

Yeah.

I had been in the Yankees clubhouse for three years interviewing World Series teams.

I had hosted longer, you know, call-in shows for three hours.

I had worked with Marty Glickman for three years.

So, I had some chops.

My, my friends and partners in college were, were doing pro jobs calling games.

So, I was hopeful that that could be a career for me.

Yeah.

when all I've ever seen you to be politically on air is kindness and decency.

Yeah, I, I don't know where, I mean (laughs), I don't know where it really started.

I'm not that person, but I mean, I know what I am, so, and that's fine.

Um, I don't feel like I have to respond to anybody.

I don't mind responding.

I still, in my head, am scoring those arguments.

You write an article about the show that is even viewing it in a critical e- eye? Prove why your opinion is right.

And-

Yeah.

If you're gonna tell me 10 or 15 drew an eyebrow up, I'll be like, "Yeah." I mean, we were doing some complex topics from time to time.

I don't mute people in FaceTime, so maybe there's two or three there that didn't have the back and forth you would want.

Maybe there's one or two I would take back if you asked me.

Those aren't my regrets, not at all.

So, the reality of the show being the most eclectic, and it's not a nice, negative word for me, diverse show in the history of the television medium.

We got people 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, all on a level playing field.

... maybe athletes?

... maybe athletes?

Yeah, I'm speak- I'm speaking very frankly here.

I, I, I would throw out the kitchen sink.

I, I know what I can do on TV, and it's not just a mute button and a scoring system.

I do- you know, so I know I could host different shows for this network, and I know they could want different shows.

That's, I understand that part of it.

I went through nine months where I did some education on myself and on the industry.

(laughs)

I thought it was amazing, and I know that's a, that's a haymaker of a joke from Mike there

thereI have to give the CBS team all the credit in the world.

They nailed that.

That was pitch perfect the whole way Jim Anson didn't talk for three minutes.

I'm gonna, I'm gonna put the stopwatch on it but Nance and Emelman did not talk for three minutes while the cameras followed and, uh, Rory the whole way.

And this is a, a moment in sports.

I'm not the biggest golf fan in the world.

You held his hand with guilt, remorse, uh, compassion.

You weren't being paid. There wasn't negotiations.

Well, no, I'm sure I was being paid. I was definitely being paid a day rate, and I think I was sure as happy. And I knew I wanted to stay on PTI. Um, but Eric Sli- Rydom said, the best advice I heard at that moment was, was keep your head down and just focus on horn. So I think I took a couple weeks off PTI and I just did horn for a while, and I learned how to kind of, um, host the show in the way the show was written and constructed at that moment. But my next year or two, while I was, you know, working to try to get a long-term contract, and it took probably a year, I would say, respectfully for everybody, um, I was, I was slowly trying to evolve what the, the role of the host was. 'Cause I didn't wanna host a show that I was judge, jury, and executioner in maybe the way it was initially, you know... I, I think the host was supposed to have the final opinion, and I didn't wanna really do that. So I wanted to kind of put the panelists in position to prove why their opinions are right. And, uh, and then have some fun with the, with the play of the show. And then, of course, we, we, we, we evolved in any number of ways over 22 years, uh, with, with both our crew of people and, I mean, I know you're talking to me right now, but we have to talk about, you know, Woody Paige and Bob Ryan and Bill Plaschke, and Kevin Blackistone and Tim Kalishaw, who did so much of the heavy lifting. Jay Adande all those years, and do all the heavy lifting every day. And of course, what we've become, which I'm most proud of. You know? I'm most proud of the heart this show had, but that we introduced-... to the entire community, um, in some ways. Mina Kimes, who, who I, uh, met many times, saying, (bell chimes) "I, I, there's a place for you on TV." And, and w- we got to a place where she was comfortable.

Oh.

And I'm 100% happy with this. And again, I wanted to show people, you know, that how... We're riding waves here. We're all every day in, in the TV, in the jobs you have, at home, that aren't in this industry and just in life. You're riding waves, you're surfing. You're gonna get knocked over by waves and you, and, and you get up, of course. And, uh, I'm gonna be on TV today, and I'll be smiling and, and you'll know I'm... I feel happy and I also feel sad. But I mean, I think of Israel as somebody. We opened each other up in a lot of ways as, as the humans that we became and the adults and the men that we became, because we were on TV at very young ages, you know. And, you know, Israel, you sent me an email once 10 years ago, and it changed your life, but it changed my life too, and you need to know that, you know. Um, and it changed how I thought about how I want to be publicly out in the world, you know, because there was yet another reminder how what we do... I don't need reminders, but, but I got one there. We have, we have a chance to be public in showing people how to treat other people, how to feel, how to emote. Who watches ESPN Around the Horn? What's our slogan? To meet y- meet people anywhere, but who watch? Young people watch. What is a safe space for young people to emote? Sports. You're not a... And maybe some m- young men or young women didn't feel like they're allowed to show emotion in their younger lives. "Oh, you can't... Don't cry, don't scream." I cried about the Yankees until I was, uh, 20 probably, if I was being honest, you know. Um, it's a safe space to show emotion. And then now you can apply that safe space that sports gives you. Well, let's, let's, let's extend it now. You can show emotion and you show your full self in more, more real ways. And that became, you know, something that I wanted to do, you know, and it's just-