Longtime ESPN contributor Woody Paige was brought to tears after a recent appearance on ‘Around the Horn’ went off the air but the cameras kept rolling to get his reaction.
The beloved sports talk show, which will air its final episode in late May after not being renewed by ESPN, is having a retirement tour of sorts as it winds down, with Paige being a founding father and constant face on the that airs weekdays at 5 p.m. Eastern.
Paige’s fellow ‘Around the Horn’ panelist Harry Lyles Jr. was the catalyst for the tears from the veteran Colorado-based newspaper columnist.
Lyles and Paige were the two competitors on Thursday’s ‘Final Showdown’, where they were asked in two words or less to give previews to the final words of the show to decide that episode’s winner.
Paige went first and said ‘sprinkler head’. Lyles said ‘Woody Paige’. Host Tony Reali immediately gave the win to Lyles, who paid tribute to Paige.
‘As one of the younger panelists on this show, a lot of us grew up coming home from school and watching this particular program,’ Lyles said. ‘And one of the people that we always saw was Woody Paige.
Longtime ESPN contributor Woody Paige was brought to tears after a recent appearance
Paige’s fellow ‘Around the Horn’ panelist Harry Lyles Jr. was the catalyst for on-camera tears
‘And whether you loved him or hated him, you always tuned into this show to see what that man was going to say. That also goes for those of you watching at home. I have to say, you still see Woody’s influence all over sports media today in terms of the shows that you watch, the styles that people have.’
‘And it gave me a path to know where I wanted to be in my career, being on this show was one of those things. And Woody Paige, I would not be here without your influence man. I appreciate you.’
After ESPN’s programming faded to black, the cameras were still hot. Paige had a rare speechless moment on the show, taking it what was just said before Reali wanted to give his two cents.
‘Woody, we owe our careers to you, alright, you need to hear this,’ Reali stated. ‘I want you to hear this every day for three months. This show doesn’t make episode two without you and whatever happens the next three months is going to be awesome as I fix the scoring to get you to 700 wins because that’s what I’m going to do every day.’
Paige is the show’s all-time leader in appearances (2.956), more than 800 over second-place Tim Cowlishaw. He also says 684 wins, the most all-time by a wide margin.
