Around the Horn was different. And Mina Kimes is a perfect example of what ATH can do for someone in this business.
The long-running sports game show, which ended this past Friday, stood out from the rest because it had industry giants as regular panelists and carved out space for new voices to get their start in sports television.
It was a platform that Tony Reali, in particular, used to its fullest potential. As the longtime host, Reali prioritized opening doors, giving people the reps, and making room for diverse perspectives at a network that badly needed them. That’s where he was at his best.
Kimes’ story is familiar by now: She came to ESPN from Bloomberg with little background in sports media, let alone TV. But ATH helped her figure it out. Fast-forward to today, and Mina Kimes is one of the network’s most recognizable and bankable faces.
It’s thanks in large part to Around the Horn.
“I did a lot of things before I switched over to working in television full-time,” Kimes told Jake Kring-Schreifels of Front Office Sports. “I did podcasting. I did a lot of sports radio. But in terms of teaching you how to prepare and calibrate your opinions, how to listen on television, which is really difficult and really important, and how to be succinct, because there’s essentially a time limit, Around the Horn is probably the single most helpful thing I did [for my television career].”
What she’s accomplished since debuting on ATH in 2017 is nothing short of remarkable. She deserves plenty of credit for her own volition. Kimes is not only a fantastic writer, but she’s carved out a real lane for herself as one of the best football analysts ESPN has to offer. But ATH played a role in that story, too.
Without Around the Horn, Mina Kimes probably still finds success. But even she has acknowledged how valuable those 305 appearances have been in laying the groundwork. The reps on ATH helped her grow into a key voice on NFL Live, a Sports Emmy Award-winning show that now runs through her as much as anyone.
And the track record backs it up: 89 wins, a 29.2 percent win rate, and nearly 60 percent of her episodes ending in a showdown appearance. Not to mention Brendon Kleen of Awful Announcing naming her the No. 8 ATH panelist of all time. Sure, it’s a subjective list, but a well-earned spot nonetheless.
That’s the legacy of Around the Horn. It lets the big names cook. But it also builds the next wave. And it does it in a way that feels intentional. That’s rare.