Around the Horn is pretty much proof the sportswriters have no business passing themselves off as experts. Usually, this show's panelists are unbearable to watch. Most of the time they know almost nothing about the subject they're taking a stand on and come off as arrogant fools. The general sense of arrogance is the biggest turnoff. These guys love to hear themselves talk, and they don't care about giving any actual insights to the topics they talk about. The exceptions, as someone mentioned, are JA Adande, Michael Smith, and Tim Cowlishaw. The show is interesting to watch when they're on.If you want an entertaining sports talk show, wait the half hour until this is over and watch PTI. Wilbon and Kornheiser are smart, funny, and never try to pass themselves off as geniuses. Don't bother with this crap.3/10, because the show is occasionally good when the aforementioned writers are on.

this show is very fun to watch. the humor that all of the sports writers bring is very funny, not to mention the good-humored rivalry. and you catch up on the latest sports news and hear the good, bad and ugly of every sports situation. you have the loud mouths, the smart asses and the "serious" sports junkie. so there is a personality available to every kind of fan. most topics are so up-to-date that local sports pages haven't even been printed yet. sports fans of all ages can watch and enjoy this show without feeling overwhelmed by all of the sports jargon. not to mention they cover all sports (granted most of the time they talk about whatever sport is in season, but that is just a given). bottom line-nothing and no one is off limits for this show.

Around the Horn gathers four sports columnists from around the country, all from differing backgrounds and beliefs, and has them pontificate on ten different topics current to the sports world.What sets the show apart is that points are doled out based on who makes the better argument. It brings competition to the standard opinion debate talk show, and does it with a very humorous attitude and approach.The interaction amongst the four sports reporters is what gives this show it's undeniable charm. The distinct beliefs held by the writers causes natural, emotional conflicts to erupt and when the competitive aspect is included, a truly unique viewing experience is created.... Also, it has Woody Paige. Paige is the MAN.

Around the Horn is an entertaining show for us sports buffs out there. It's interesting to hear the topics discussed and the opinions presented. If you can stand to sit through all the talk about the Lakers, the Yankees, and the Red Sox then they actually do talk about other teams around the country.The problems that I have with this show are that nobody ever has to answer for their mistakes. They talk about 10-15 topics a day, and the panelists are usually incorrect about at least half of them, but they are never forced to respond to their mistakes. One of the panelists will get in somebody's face, tell them how dumb they are, and then once the game is actually played, that person is totally wrong. This is kind of a problem with ESPN as a whole. Hyping an event is more important than what actually happens. Anybody else ever noticed that ESPN's pre-game football show, NFL Countdown is 2 hours long, and the highlight show, NFL Primetime, is only an hour.When ATH first started, they asked the panelists trivia questions from their area as part of the show. They didn't know the answer about 75% of the time, so they stopped doing it. These people come off as experts, but then we find out that they're simply journalism school graduates who got a job in the major market that paid them the highest salary. As examples, I cite the two most often seen panelists, Woody Paige and Jay Mariotti. Woody Paige is just a flat out idiot. He has no business being on TV. I can only hope, and assume, that he is better writer because on TV he comes off a stupid, arrogant jerk and the shows are so much better without him. The point I'm trying to make is that he used to not know there was a world outside of Denver (he once suggested the Yankees should go after Jay Payton to play center field), but now he has moved to New York because its more prestigious and more lucrative.Jay Mariotti is the resident Chicago panelist. I, being from Chicago, liked him initially because he seemed to be a very typical Chicago sports fan. I then find out he is from Pittsburgh, and just happens to live in Chicago because that's who pays him. During the recent Olympics, Bill Plaschke was gone, and Mariotti and Paige were in Greece. The show was the best its ever been. JA Adande, Tim Cowlishaw, and Michael Smith are the three best and most knowledgeable panelists on the show, and they are rarely on because they don't make for particularly good TV by doing or saying something stupid.If you're looking for entertainment, tune in when Mariotti and Paige are on.If you're looking for insightful sports knowledge from smart people, steer clear of those two and wait for the three I mentioned earlier, along with Bob Ryan, and Jackie MacMullan.