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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New Music Releases and Upcoming Albums in 2025
Graphic by Chris Panicker New albums are getting announced and released constantly. It's tough to stay on top of it all. So that's where we come in. Pitchfork is tracking notable new music releases with our guide to upcoming albums. In the coming months, there will be big new releases from Lorde, Turnstile, Haim, Wet Leg, Alex G, Lil Wayne, Barbra Streisand, Wolf Alice, Little Simz, Purelink, Lucrecia Dalt, Hunx and His Punx, Pulp, Matmos, Indigo De Souza, Burna Boy, Clipse, Addison Rae, Leon Vynehall, Hotline TNT, Saint Etienne, Laufey, Maxo, Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band, and plenty more artists. This guide features streaming and digital release dates and will be updated regularly. As always, see some of our favorite albums and songs in the Best New Music section. Plus, catch up every Saturday with 10 of our best reviewed albums of the week. Sign up for the 10 to Hear newsletter here. Addison Rae: Addison [Columbia] Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe: Lateral [Verve] Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe: Luminal [Verve] Christian Lee Hutson: Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe) [Anti-] Hayden Pedigo: I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away [Mexican Summer] Kassie Krut: Kassie Krut (Expanded EP) [Fire Talk] Lifeguard: Ripped and Torn [Matador] Lil Wayne: Tha Carter VI [Young Money/Republic] Little Simz: Lotus [AWAL] Marianne Faithfull: Burning Moonlight EP [Decca] Marina: Princess of Power [Queenie] McKinley Dixon: Magic, Alive! [City Slang] Nadah El Shazly: Laini Tani [One Little Independent] Pulp: More [Rough Trade] Purelink: Faith [Peak Oil] Salem 66: Salt [Don Giovanni] Soccer Mommy: Evergreen (Stripped) EP [Loma Vista] Turnstile: Never Enough [Roadrunner] V/A: Anthems: A Celebration of Broken Social Scene's You Forgot It in People [Arts & Crafts] Wavves: Spun [Ghost Ramp] Dummy: Bubbelibrium DLC [Dummy] Buscabulla: Se Amaba Así [Domino] The Cure: Mixes of a Lost World [Fiction/Capitol] King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: Phantom Island [(P)Doom] Leikeli47: Lei Keli ft. 47 / For Promotional Use Only [Acrylic/Hardcover] Lyra Pramuk: Hymnal [7K!/ Maiya Blaney: A Room With a Door That Closes [Lex] Metallica: Load (Remastered Deluxe Box Set) [Blackened] Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts: Talkin to the Trees [Reprise] Slick Rick: Victory [7Wallace] Bambii: Infinity Club II [Because Music] Haim: I Quit [Columbia] Hotline TNT: Raspberry Moon [Third Man] James McMurtry: The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy [New West] Matmos: Metallic Life Review [Thrill Jockey] Maxo: Mars Is Electric [Smileforme] Nathan Salsburg: Ipsa Corpora [No Quarter] S.G. Goodman: Planting by the Signs [Slough Water] U.S. Girls: Scratch It [4AD] Yaya Bey: Do It Afraid [Drink Sum Wtr] Barbra Streisand: The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume 2 [Columbia] Bruce Springsteen: Tracks II: The Lost Albums [Columbia] Frankie Cosmos: Different Talking [Sub Pop] HLLLYH: Uruburu [Team Shi] Isabella Lovestory: Vanity [Giant Music] Lorde: Virgin [Republic] Matthew Herbert & Momoko Gill: Clay [Strut] Nick León: A Tropical Entropy [TraTraTrax] R&D: I'll Send You a Sign [Ruination] Kesha: . [Kesha] Burna Boy: No Sign of Weakness [Spaceship/Bad Habit/Atlantic] Clipse: Let God Sort Em Out [Roc Nation Distribution] Gina Birch: Trouble [Third Man] The Swell Season, Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová: Forward [Plateau] Wet Leg: Moisturizer [Domino] Alex G: Headlights [RCA] Disiniblud, Rachika Nayar & Nina Keith: Disiniblud [Smugglers Way] DJ Haram: Beside Myself [Hyperdub] Forth Wanderers: The Longer This Goes On [Sub Pop] Indigo De Souza: Precipice [Loma Vista] Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band: New Threats From the Soul [Sophomore Lounge] Stars of the Lid: Music for Nitrous Oxide (30 Year Anniversary Remastered) [Artificial Pinearch Manufacturing] The Armed: The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed [Sargent House] Sofia Kourtesis: Volver EP [Ninja Tune] The Black Keys: No Rain, No Flowers [Easy Eye Sound/Warner] No Joy: Bugland [Hand Drawn Dracula] Pile: Sunshine and Balance Beams [Sooper] Hunx and His Punx: Walk Out on This World [Get Better] Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: Gush [Nettwerk] Laufey: A Matter of Time [Vingolf] Nourished by Time: The Passionate Ones [XL] Superchunk: Songs in the Key of Yikes [Merge] Jehnny Beth: You Heartbreaker, You [Fiction] The Hives: The Hives Forever Forever the Hives [Play It Again Sam] Wolf Alice: The Clearing [RCA] El Michels Affair: 24 Hr Sports [Big Crown] La Dispute: No One Was Driving the Car [Epitaph] Lucrecia Dalt: A Danger to Ourselves [Rvng Intl.] Saint Etienne: International [Heavenly] Cafuné: Bite Reality [Aurelians Club] Kieran Hebden & William Tyler: 41 Longfield Street Late '80s [Temporary Residence Ltd.] Leon Vynehall: In Daytona Yellow [Ooze Inc] Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"He is the ultimate underdog" - Lil Wayne saw it early when he praised Stephen Curry back in 2008
Back in late 2008, long before Stephen Curry was a household name in the basketball world, rapper Lil Wayne noticed something special. In an ESPN column, the hip-hop star — who's a huge basketball fan — gave high praise to the then-Davidson College point guard, capturing the essence of Curry's rise well before the hype exploded. Winning Lil Wayne's respect At the time, rapper Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., better known as Lil Wayne, was writing a column for ESPN about American sports. He made two things clear: he was a serious college basketball fan, and during the 2008-09 NCAA season, one player caught his full attention — Stephen Curry. Advertisement At the time, Curry was a junior at Davidson, quietly changing what an undersized point guard could do on the court. Lil Wayne even paused his writing to give a rare, heartfelt shoutout, stating, "Steph Curry, you are amazing." What stood out most was a gritty performance against the West Virginia Mountaineers. "West Virginia was posting him up every chance they got, but he (Curry) still fought his way through it," recalled the founder of Young Money Entertainment Furthermore, Lil Wayne mentioned a game where the 6'2" player was doubled every minute on the floor — as if he were the then top NFL receiver Terrell Owens — yet even without their key player prominent on the stat sheet, Davidson still won by 30. Advertisement "It just shows you what kind of man Steph is because even though he didn't score a point his expression never changed. He never got frustrated. That just shows you who he is," wrote Wayne. Curry's rise Wayne's excitement likely came from a simple fact: like many others back then, Curry just hadn't been on his radar. Coming out of Charlotte Christian High School, Dell Curry's son was mostly overlooked. Why? His slim build made ACC programs think he'd get pushed around, so they passed on him. But instead of letting doubt hold him back, Steph took on the challenge and proved everyone wrong — something Wayne clearly admired. Advertisement "Now he is the ultimate underdog running circles around everybody, and I love him so much for that," he wrote. Along with the praise, the hip-hop legend also offered some honest advice. "I think he needs to stay another year to work on his body, but he's going to be fine in the NBA because he actually has a shot, and that's really all you need," explained Carter Jr. Looking back, Curry — now widely regarded as the best shooter the game has ever seen — didn't take that advice. Just a few months later, he declared for the NBA Draft and was selected seventh overall by the Golden State Warriors. Advertisement On the big stage, the Ohio native turned out to be much more than just "fine." Despite some tough early years, "Chef Curry" became one of the most iconic and successful players in league history. His four NBA titles, two MVPs, multiple All-Star nods, and two scoring titles speak for themselves — but even more telling is how he managed to dominate the game without the physical tools that others usually rely on. Related: "He look like the dad of the YMCA player" - Lil Wayne admits he doesn't like Nikola Jokic
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Drake says OVO Fest is returning this summer
Drake performs during Lil Baby's Birthday Party at State Farm Arena on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2022, in Atlanta. OVO Fest will be back this summer, according to Drake. The Toronto superstar made the announcement during a surprise guest appearance at British rapper Central Cee's concert on May 24. Central Cee was performing at History—a live music venue in the Beaches neighbourhood, part-owned by Drake—and the Toronto rapper was sitting in a VIP section on one of the balconies when he surprised the crowd. In videos posted to social media, Drake can be seen with a mic in hand before he starts performing his song 'Nokia.' After the performance, he spoke to the crowd for several minutes. 'Thank you for having me, you know I love you all and I'll see you this summer, by the way,' Drake can be heard saying on video. 'I haven't had a chance to say this yet, but OVO Fest is back this year, so we'll need [Central Cee] there for that.' Typically held in August to coincide with Toronto's Caribbean Carnival and featuring a star-studded lineup usually filled with surprise guests, Drake hasn't held OVO Fest since 2022. That edition saw rappers Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj hit the stage, as well as a number of Canadian artists including Kardinal Offishall, Shawn Desman, and Nelly Furtado. No other details about this summer's OVO Fest have been released.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rob49 Has the Whole World Saying ‘WTHelly'
Rob49 has something big to tell me: He's just realized that Bart Simpson said 'What the Halle Berry?' on an old episode of The Simpsons. On two occasions, the 'WTHelly' rapper interrupts our Zoom conversation to excitedly mention the revelation, asking someone offscreen to go to the Amazon Prime app to find the exact episode. 'That made my day bigger than the song going big,' he raves. Given the magnitude of his success with 'WTHelly,' the Simpsons clip must have really made his day. Since he dropped the song in March, you've probably seen an influx of people jokingly following up 'what the hell?' with 'what the helly?,' the lead query of his high-octane song-of-the-summer contender. With millions of streams on Spotify and Youtube, it's the kind of viral hit that everyone in the family can enjoy, provided they're all old enough to say the word 'hell.' More from Rolling Stone Leafs vs. Panthers Livestream: How to Watch Game 7 of the NHL Playoff Series Online Free 'What Happened to Justin Bieber?' How to Watch the New TMZ Documentary Online Free Justin Bieber Denies Rumors of Sean Combs Abuse in Rare Statement Rob says the song almost didn't make his recently-released album Let Me Fly, but his mother insisted it would be a hit; she was right. Now, Justin Bieber, Latto, Big Sean, and G Herbo are all tabbed for four upcoming 'WTHelly' remixes. They're just the latest artists to co-sign him, joining New Orleans great Lil Wayne, who featured on Rob's 'Wassam Baby' last year, and early advocate Birdman, who Rob says asked him to be on every album he ever does. Rob ended up releasing 'WTHelly' as the lead single from his album, which he says shows him taking more creative control of his music than ever. Rob debuted with 2020's Vulture and broke out with 2022's Welcome to Vulture Island, which marked him as an aggressive, blunt rapper with an ear for uptempo production. Songs like 'Homebody' and his short, graphic appearance on Travis Scott's 2023 hit 'Topia Twins' show that he has no problem telling the ladies everything on his mind. But he also makes mood music for the people who come from gruff environments like his native Fourth and Ninth Wards of New Orleans. When he raps 'I done took two pills, I'm bussin'/I'm clutchin', middle of the jungle' over the surging production of 'Pack Flipper,' he's a reminder for the people who've been there, and a tour guide for those who would never go physically. Throughout his catalog, Rob raps with an untamable presence that feels like a speeding Porsche set to skid off the road at any second. Listeners can take the ride through Rob's rhymes, and he knows the kind of velocitized beats to augment the experience. Rob admits his prior projects have often followed trends, but he's grown more confident in his own musicality as his career has developed. His new process resulted in a project where fans get the Rob49 they know and love on 'WTHelly,' like 'Preach' (with YTB Fatt) and 'On Sight,' but he also digs deeper than ever on introspective tracks like 'Hear Me Momma' and 'Where I'm From,' where he raps, 'I ain't never think I'd be rich, livin' how my life is.' When I ask him what kept him motivated during the dark times, he says, 'Just knowing you can be the one to change everything.' In five years, Rob's life has been totally upended. Things are moving fast — on this day, they're moving a bit too fast when he prematurely cuts our interview before I'm done asking questions. 'I'm damn near busy as hell right now y'all,' he says in his bellowing New Orleans twang. 'I'm not even going to lie.' How are you feeling about the feedback you've gotten for 'WTHelly'? Does it feel like it's hitting differently than your previous hits?Yeah, yeah, it is hitting definitely different than everything. It never was this crazy. This is the cleanest song I ever made that was a hit, honestly. The cleanest dirty song. It's crazy, right? It's almost like the dirtiest song, but it's clean because 'WTHellly' is not a curse word. It wasn't intentional at all. I just realized it a week ago. I heard you say that the title came from something you and your friends say. Do you remember the first time somebody said it and how y'all reacted?I remember I was like, 'Brother, stop fucking saying that shit around me. Brother, say, 'What the fuck?'' And they kept saying, 'What the helly? What the helly?' Until one day I made a mistake and said it. And then that shit was stuck in my head. I was on tour and they was in the studio, I'm like, 'Man, I'm about to make the 'WTHelly' song.' Do you have a favorite meme or reaction of somebody playing the song?The choir and the old ladies. That's my favorite. [They say] 'What the hell? What the hell? What the hell?' — that's what they were saying on that. 'What the Halle Berry?' In church?Yeah, for sure. They're going straight to where they was talking about. They didn't say 'helly-lujah.' They should have said that. They should have went that way with it, but they just went the straight doggish way. You posted a screenshot with four 'WTHelly' remixes. How did they come together? All of them reached out to me. Every single one. The only one I reached out to was [G Herbo]. And I reached out to Herb because we did it months before. We did it five months before it came out. So the other three artists just sent you a file like, 'This is a version of your song with my verse on it. Here you go?'Exactly. I actually called Justin Bieber and was like, 'Man, you should get on the remix.' And he's like, 'I thought you was going to say that.' And while we were still on the phone, he's like, 'Check your messages. I just sent you the remix.' He had already recorded it, waiting on Had already did that shit. Probably did it before because I called him right then and there. You and G-Herbo have a collaboration on the project called 'Swerve.' When did y'all first meet?On Nardo Wick's tour. When I met him, I'm like, 'Man, I listen to you all day, brother.' I had showed him my Apple Music to show him like, 'Man, your shit been downloaded. I really do this.' He showed me I been downloaded on his phone. [Then] I had seen an interview of him saying, 'My favorite songs right now is two.' He's like, 'Rob49 actually got both of the songs.' Do y'all share music with each other?Hell yeah. We always be on that. That's really the nigga I look at and take what I like from what they do. That's my nigga. I been with him a lot. Do you know your plan to roll out the remixes?I don't feel like you don't need no rollout, man. I think we just go. First I'm going to go with the Justin Bieber first, then I'm going to go with the Latto and Herb one together. Then I might drop one more. I don't know. Might drop the Big Sean one. I saw that you opened a venue called the Nest Lounge in New Orleans. What made you want to open a lounge?I always just wanted, when people come to New Orleans, them to have somewhere to go. And that's how I came up with it. For real. It's not a lot of choices. [We] really don't have nothing. Really? I thought New Orleans was a big party But not for people like us. Lil Baby not bouta' go walk on Bourbon. You feel me? Everybody came down [to the lounge]…. That's my shit. 100 percent my shit. Ain't no partners. These niggas be doing partners and all that. How important is it for you to give back to the community in New Orleans?I don't know. I really don't think of it like that. It's just like, I know I'm in love with my hometown. Everybody in love with their hometown. I know a lot of niggas leave, but I be trying my hardest to stay there even though it's not the best thing for me. So I don't be there as much, but be trying. What's the meaning behind your album title, ?When I put it as my title, a lot of people [were] like, 'Man, you tripping with that.' But I put it because I'm like, 'Man, this is going to be the one.' This before 'WTHelly' came. I'm like, this going to be the one that be like, 'Man, give dude his shot because he coming crazy.' Let Me Fly. It's my turn. And it actually worked out in my favor. Why did you think people would say you were tripping with it?Because they didn't understand the meaning behind what I was saying. But I understand that. It's all right. What do you think is the story being told on the project? Is it just your evolution, like you said?Yeah, it's an evolution. This not everyday Rob, you heard all that. Now this is what we doing. This just popping shit. It ain't even too much storytelling. I probably got three of them on the song. But other than that, just popping it. Every song, every line, every ad lib. I heard Birdman talking on the intro and then on 'Scarface.' How did that come together?He just called me one day and was like, 'Man, Neph', do me a favor.' I'm like, 'What?' [He's like], 'Man, I want to be on every album you ever drop in your life.' I told him all right and I told him I promise, and that was three albums ago. So when I said I promised, even though I shouldn't have promised that, I just was like, 'Fuck it. I told him. So that's what it is.' He just fuck with me. He been fucking with me since before I even made it. When I ain't have nothing. Nigga flew me to L.A. and was like, 'Man, I wanna sign you.' This before I was even signed to anybody. I probably had a thousand dollars to my name. He was telling me, 'You going to be the biggest. Trust me.' So he been believing. How much does outside opinion factor into what you want to do with your music?It mattered too much, honestly. But now I'm in a state like, man, I don't give no fuck what nobody think. I know this shit hard because I said it out my mouth. I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't hard. On two of the features on your album — Meek Mill on 'Supposedly' and Herbo on 'Swerve' — you're doing verses back and forth with them. Was that on purpose, or did it just happen like that with both of the songs?It wasn't on purpose. We just really recorded it together. With Meek, I had wound up structuring that like that because he had been had the song. He played 'em for me. Do you write your bars or do you write in your head?I be punching in. I ain't writing. I ain't write in four years, five years. What made you decide to make that shift?I don't know. I just felt it was better energy with the punch. Listening to the project, your energy and your cadences are some of the most unique things about the project. How do you decide how you're going to approach a track, cadence-wise? It's a feeling that you get. You asking me that question, I kind of was like, 'Huh?' But it's like when you hear the beat, whatever vibe you get from it, whatever feeling you get from it, that's what you're going to say out your mouth. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Confessions of ESPN's worst ‘Around the Horn' participant of all time
I own the distinction of being the least successful panelist to ever appear on 'Around the Horn,' ESPN's longtime roundtable debate show. There have been 60 'Around the Horn' panelists. Of the group, 53 won an episode at least once, including my The Athletic colleague Dianna Russini, Mark Cuban and Lil Wayne. Advertisement Seven of us were winless. But no one ever appeared more times without a win than I did. For those unfamiliar with 'Around the Horn,' its format is a group discussion of the day's top sports news, featuring a host — for the last 21 years, Tony Reali — and four sports pundit panelists. Reali awards points for good arguments, and the top point-earner of each episode earns that day's win. When 'Around the Horn' completes its final show Friday, after 23 years and 4,953 episodes, my legacy of futility will be secure. Confession: My unmatched winless record is a point of enormous pride. When new panelists appear on the show for the first time, they inevitably win (a fun tradition that I still managed to botch). I feel like the 1972 Dolphins when the last unbeaten team during the NFL season finally loses. I have a few other confessions to make about my erstwhile 'Around the Horn' career. The roundtable's original premise was to feature top newspaper sports columnists from different regions of the country. When it launched in November 2002, I was about to start a daily column for old 'Page 2' section, and I naively vowed to find my way onto the show. There was one glaring hurdle: I had zero on-air TV experience. When original host Max Kellerman (who left after a few years, making way for Reali) emailed me, a year or so into the show's run, to say that the production team had read and enjoyed my column, he also relayed the most loaded question I had ever received: 'Are you any good on TV?' My honest answer would have been, 'No, but I have always imagined I would be!' I didn't lie — I would say I more elided that truth in favor of an entirely honest enthusiasm to participate, hoping they wouldn't ask that question again. After a few fits and starts, I was scheduled to appear on June 14, 2003. During the lead-up to my first appearance, I tried to simulate on-air TV work to make up for the lack of actual on-air reps. I watched the show every day, transcribing all the topics and running through how I would have responded to them. I used a video camera and taped myself giving glib answers to the lens, rather than staring at notes or looking off to the side, which would instantly reveal that I was a TV noob. Advertisement When the week of the show arrived, my train ride down from NYC to D.C. for the taping triggered a thousand anxious words in a journal. And arriving at the studio the next day to tape the show was terrifying, largely manifesting as flop sweat. Having no experience doing TV means, of course, you have no experience doing TV. 'Fake it till you make it' can be terrible career advice. To this day, I wonder if the producers were in the control room going: 'Oh, god, what have we done?' This was not anything like sitting around the lunch table with my college buddies, debating sports. The content mattered, but there was the complication of creating a TV product: following guidance from producers and directors in your earpiece, not blanking on my overly rehearsed talking points, looking at the camera lens and not, say, compulsively off to the side. (Oops.) But then came the payoff: Being on the show was incredible. At least one self-congratulatory moment of 'I can't believe I pulled this off'; at least one cynical moment of 'Now I can say I have TV experience.' Tons of people emailed or called to say they'd seen me. I envisioned a future as a famous sports TV pundit. It would take nearly a year to get back on the show. If you strolled near Union Square in the spring of 2004, you might have seen a nebbishy 31-year-old fumbling with a cigarette, coughing, possibly muttering to himself. That was me. When I returned to the show in late May 2004, panelist Woody Paige made a joke on-air comparing me to 'Topo Gigio.' Admittedly, it was an impressive pull: Topo Gigio was a popular character in 1960s pop culture — a mouse puppet who appeared on the old 'Ed Sullivan Show.' And Topo Gigio had a very distinctive voice, high and reedy. So did I. ('Still do!' he trilled.) Being a lifelong 'high-talker,' it's not like I didn't know this was how I sounded. I took the gibe in stride — a little friendly hazing of the new kid. Advertisement But I also immediately committed to giving my TV voice more of an edge. And I decided the fastest path was to start smoking cigarettes. You know, rough up the windpipe a little bit, hopefully drop a half-octave or so. It was a deeply flawed idea. I looked like a poser. I felt like a moron. Who starts smoking to advance their barely existent TV punditry career? I would have been better off shouting myself hoarse. My effort lasted maybe a week. Then I abandoned my nascent Camel Light habit and resigned myself to chirping on-air. The GOAT of 'Around the Horn'? Undisputed: It's Woody Paige. From meticulous stats maintained by ESPN's Caroline Willett of the 'Around the Horn' production team, Paige made 2,965 appearances (first all-time by 850 shows), with 689 wins (first all-time by nearly 140). I have a recollection that is part true, part hazy memory, part projection I would very much like to believe is accurate: Shortly after the debut of ESPN's happy-go-lucky morning show, 'Cold Pizza,' the network was figuring out how to bring a more contentious sports debate vibe into the show. The idea was to pair Paige with someone else to debate the big topics of the day in a special segment. Past the haze of two decades, I remember one of the 'Around the Horn' producers telling me — and he might have been idly gassing me up, it's all fossilized in my memory — that he either floated, or wanted to float, my name to ESPN's then-honcho of programming, Mark Shapiro, as a candidate to be Paige's partner. In my naivete, I saw the vision. This was it! Right around that time, Paige and I went to the old ESPN Zone restaurant in New York City for a meal together — obviously, no hard feelings about the 'Topo Gigio incident' — and I would like to think he was determining if we had any chemistry. On the other hand, he might have just been being nice to a younger colleague. My most vivid memory of that meal was that he was approached probably a half-dozen times by fans, and was warm and friendly to all of them, a true mensch. Advertisement This part is entirely speculative, but I like to imagine that Shapiro gave me about 1.7 seconds of consideration for the 'Cold Pizza' role before dismissing the idea. (More likely, it was a Don Draper-esque 'I don't think about you at all.') Fast-forward a few months: Shapiro went with Skip Bayless to pair with Woody, the 'Embrace Debate' era began, 'Cold Pizza' begat 'First Take,' Stephen A. Smith came on board, and I will take no responsibility for the era of sports discourse that emerged from there. My career lasted five episodes — not quite Moonlight Graham, but also not exactly Mina Kimes (304 appearances, 88 wins). After my appearance in August 2004, the panelist slots became harder to get. There were more promising on-air talents to put on air, and I finally realized that my window was shut. Mortifying side confession: For years after that, I couldn't watch the show. It was too painful a reminder of what I had and lost. I have all my episodes on VHS. (VHS!) I have thought about digitizing them, about editing some sort of humorous highlight reel of wrongness (2004 NBA Finals, to a national audience: 'Lakers over Pistons in 4!'), about showing my teenagers that, yes, your dorky dad was once on ESPN. The reality is entirely the opposite: I cannot bring myself to watch those old tapes, let alone share them with my kids or the internet. There is a lingering feeling that I wasn't good enough, a nagging validation of the original imposter syndrome. I like to tell myself that I was simply too early; a few years after my appearances, the original rotation of newspaper-based panelists made room for more ESPN-centric talent — less experienced, internet native. Over 23 years, 'Around the Horn' morphed from a lucrative, gate-kept career benefit for tenured newspaper sports columnists to what I would argue is the most impressive incubator of on-air talent in sports media history. Advertisement Alumni include Kimes of 'NFL Live,' Michael Smith and Jemele Hill of 'His And Hers' (then 'SportsCenter'), Bomani Jones of 'Highly Questionable,' Pablo Torre of 'Pardon the Interruption' (then paired with Jones on 'High Noon'), Kevin Clark of 'This Is Football,' Sarah Spain and Clinton Yates of ESPN Radio, Kate Fagan of 'E:60' and even Adam Schefter, from his pre-ESPN days at The Denver Post (five appearances, two wins). I would like to believe that I'm part of the show's unique legacy of platforming a massive range of voices. The original 'regional' model made way for a vastly more interesting variety of perspectives. Last confession: I snuck over to NYC's South Street Seaport on Tuesday to watch a taping of the show during its final week. They produce it out of D.C., but Reali hosts out of a New York studio, and I wanted to thank Reali, the soul of the show, in person. I found the closure of one last trip to the 'Around the Horn' set appealing. Despite it being 21 years since I last saw him, Reali greeted me like an old friend, and sitting in the studio watching him deftly host the show felt comfortable, not anxious. My 30-something's flop sweat was replaced with a 50-something's fond feelings. It was always my dream to be a national TV pundit. I got to do that. Instead of saying I 'only' got to do that a couple times, I finally learned to say 'at least' I got to do that a couple times. It's a memory I get to savor, and an alumni association I get to belong to as a losing contestant's parting gift. (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic)
