Dream Job (Season 2)
Encyclopedia
The second season of Dream Job
, the ESPN
American reality television show that searches for new on-air talent for the network, began on Tuesday, September 14, 2004. Like the show's first season, this edition was also looking for a new anchor for SportsCenter
. A talent search for the show had begun in late June, 2004. ESPN anchor Stuart Scott
returned to host the new season.
and LaVar Arrington
, who had begun play for the Washington Redskins
in the 2004-2005 NFL season. Kornheiser and Arrington were replaced by Cold Pizza
contributor and Around the Horn
panelist Woody Paige
, and ESPN NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith
. Cold Pizza co-host Kit Hoover
and ESPN Vice-President of Talent, Al Jaffe
, returned for the second season.
Unlike the judging panel, the voting for season two did not change. The viewing public still had one vote (which was given to the contestant who had received the highest number of votes from online voting and text messaging) to cut a contestant with. In the first two episodes, the judges were given one vote apiece to vote for a contestant to be cut, with two given to them for the third episode only, making episodes 4-10 also one-cut-apiece shows.
; Brian Startare, a 33-year-old health care management worker from Glassboro, New Jersey
; Anish Shroff, a 22-year-old radio anchor who has recently graduated from Syracuse University
; Grant Thompson, a 28-year-old writer and actor from Los Angeles
; Joe Voyticky, a 37-year-old attorney from Brooklyn, New York; and K.C. James, a 44-year-old account executive from Los Angeles. James had won the Wendy's Wild Card Contest to gain entry onto the show.
The next group of six was introduced in episode two, and, for the first time, featured a second Wendy's Wild Card winner. Episode two's competitors were Jason Ashworth, a 23-year-old assistant tour manager from New Freedom, Pennsylvania
; Winston Bell, a 35-year-old banker from Cleveland
; Jason Horowitz, a 21-year-old student at Syracuse University who originally hails from West Bloomfield, Michigan; Stephanie Rich, a 35-year-old travel coordinator from Arlington, Texas
; Whitney Scott, a 24-year-old sports information assistant from Lockwood, Missouri
; and David Holmes, the second Wendy's Wild Card winner, a 22-year-old student at Kent State University
from Uniontown, Ohio
.
After the first three contestants read their highlights, an intermission took place, in which a new game called "Get Off the Fence" was introduced. In this game, the contestants were split into three pairs. Each contestant was given a current sports issue which was to be debated by both contestants. Each pair was given two issues apiece. Hawrylko was said to be the best debater by all the judges, while Startare was called the worst. Smith even said he could see Startare sweat during the debate.
When "My SportsCenter" resumed, Voyticky read his highlights. He criticised for being boring and lacking energy. Hawrylko went next, and while she was praised for her debating, she was criticized for trying to tell too many jokes during her highlight readings. Startare was last to go, and Paige called him "brutal." All six were criticized for using too many cliché
s.
With 3 votes, Voyticky was the first contestant cut from the show in its second season.
This show's "My SportsCenter" was reading a list of "Top 5 Plays", while video of those plays was shown. Horowitz was up first and was presented with a list of top 5 catches, which included a fish being caught at the Bassmaster Classic
. All four judges (including Smith) praised Horowitz for writing and speaking clearly. Scott was next with a list of top 5 shots, including a great shot in a table tennis
tournament. She was called "solid," but Paige told her to "keep improving." Holmes then took his turn, having the top 5 blocks for his segment, with the top block being an incredible knockaway by Detroit Pistons
star Tayshaun Prince
on Indiana Pacers
guard Reggie Miller
in game one of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. Holmes got half praise, half criticism, and was relieved when Smith let him off the hook for an average performance.
The in-between game was "Fact or Fiction", a regular segment on the real SportsCenter, in which an anchor throws out a topic with an opinion attached to it, and two analysts debate (or even agree) on what they think. The contestants were split into three pairs like the previous week, and were given two topics each, ranging from "Oscar de la Hoya
should retire" to "The U.S. will win the Ryder Cup
in 2006." Rich was unanimously called the worst debater, while Horowitz just barely won the title of best debater.
Unfortunately for Rich, she was up next in "My SportsCenter", where her list was the top 5 dives. Even worse, the judges (except for Paige) didn't let up, as Hoover called her "slow." Ashworth was next to take the stage, and his list was a list of top 5 saves. He was praised for his energy, but the judges he needed to back up his highlights with facts. Bell was the final contestant to take his turn on the evening with a list of top 5 hits. His enthusiasm was noticed by all, but Smith told him to smile more.
The vote was unanimous to cut Rich.
The "My SportsCenter" game for this evening was co-anchoring, although it was individuals being cut, not duos. The twist here was at the end of their segment, after a couple of highlight readings and a news story, the pairs would interview a player from a Major League Baseball
team. Hawrylko and Horowitz were the first pair to go, and their interviewee was New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield
. Horowitz' interview skills were praised, while Hawrylko was said to have needed more work. As a team, Paige said they were good, but needed to display more chemistry. Ashworth and Startare were next to go, and they conducted their interview with Chicago Cubs
pitcher Kent Mercker
. Startare got praise for much-needed improvement from episode one. Ashworth was criticized for not asking questions that pertained to the current situation, and for asking questions that were too long. Wendy's Wild Card winners Holmes and James were next, and their interviewee was Justin Morneau
of the Minnesota Twins
. Their lack of chemistry and their interviewing skills were both criticized. Said Paige, "Guys, call your mamas, and tell them to keep the front porch light on. If you don't get better than that, you'll be home soon," a message for both of them, drawing a "Wowza!" from Hoover. Holmes was said to be the better of the two. Following Holmes and James was the debut of a new segment featuring real SportsCenter anchors giving advice to the remaining contestants, titled "U.S. Air Force Wingman." The person giving the advice-the first Dream Job winner, Mike Hall
. Hall told them "less is more." "Not every play needs a joke, not every highlight needs style, but every highlight does need information," he said. After the commercial break following Hall's "SportsCenter 101", it was time for Shroff and Scott to show what they could do. Their interviewee was Los Angeles Dodgers
pitcher Jose Lima
. A problem arose at the start of the interview, when Scott asked Lima, "Can you hear me?" (He could.) Jaffe said some of the teamwork seemed forced, that it was mediocre. Paige said the interview was embarrassing for both of them because of how it started, and that Shroff wasn't as good as he was in week one. Smith said Scott was better than she was in week two, and agreed with Paige that Shroff had slipped from the first week. The last pair was Thompson and Bell, whose interviewee was Houston Astros
catcher Brad Ausmus
. Their chemistry was praised, and Bell was praised for telling the viewers at home who they would be interviewing him before the "show" started, something that no other contestant did that night.
The decision to cut James was unanimous. Hawrylko's elimination kept both Wendy's Wild Card Winners from being cut on the same night, as America's decision to cut her broke the tie between her and Holmes.
America's vote had broken the tie. Just two men were left: David Holmes and Grant Thompson.
. The segment dealt with topics such as Barry Bonds
winning his seventh National League
Most Valuable Player
award, and New York City's bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics
. Thompson and Holmes went back-and-forth with banter that pushed sarcastic boundaries most of the time. Both were praised by the judges for entertaining them, and Jaffe remarked about the 3 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time
) slot being a "big hole", and that they should start a new show called The Grant and David Show featuring the two. Scott said it was the most he'd ever been entertained on the program in its two seasons of existence.
The next game was a trivia game called "The Rundown." The game consisted of six categories, each containing three questions, all of which increased in difficulty in each category. All questions in the game were worth one point apiece. One player was told to pick a category, and only he could answer the first question as soon as it was given. If he got it right, then he got first chance to answer the next question. If he got it wrong, then the second player would be given the opportunity to correctly answer the question, and if he got it right, then the right to exclusively answer each question first would switch to him. If they both got it wrong, then the contestant who gave the last correct answer would be given first chance to answer the next question or told to pick a new category. Thompson soundly defeated Holmes in this game by a score of 10-3.
Then came the season's final "My SportsCenter" segment. Thompson and Holmes would be paired up with real SportsCenter anchors and perform tasks exactly like the sports news show's anchors perform daily. Both pairs would read highlights and stories, while each contestant would have extra pressure placed on them to see how they performed under difficult circumstances, such as the TelePrompter
failing while they were reading a story, or doing a highlight while having a producer read tell them what they were seeing through their IFB. Thompson and Holmes were also told just minutes before their segment that they would be interviewing the New England Patriots
' Willie McGinest
. Holmes was paired up with Steve Levy
, while Thompson was paired up with Dream Job season one winner Mike Hall. Both pairs were praised for having good chemistry, while Holmes garnered the most praise for being almost flawless, but Thompson stumbled badly during his segment, and, as the voting would show, gave away the title.
David Holmes won season 2 of Dream Job.
Later on SportsCenter that night, Holmes was given trivia questions to try to see how much money he would make in his first year as an ESPN employee. He started out at $60,000, with each correct answer being worth $5,000 apiece. He got as high as the $75,000 question, which he got wrong, bumping his first-year salary back to $70,000. Holmes was also awarded with a brand-new Mazda 6 5-door car.
(*)The asterisk is placed next to Jaffe because America's vote was read before the judges' votes were given, so when Smith said he voted to cut Thompson, Scott said, "We don't need to go on", and Thompson was immediately sent off, but not before hugging Holmes. Scott eventually turned to Jaffe, who said that if his vote had been necessary, he would also have cut Thompson.
Dream Job
Dream Job is an American reality television show from ESPN, which began on February 22, 2004. It was the network's second reality show, with two editions of Beg, Borrow & Deal having previously aired. However, this was the first reality show from a network to offer its winner an on-air place on one...
, the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
American reality television show that searches for new on-air talent for the network, began on Tuesday, September 14, 2004. Like the show's first season, this edition was also looking for a new anchor for SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
. A talent search for the show had begun in late June, 2004. ESPN anchor Stuart Scott
Stuart Scott
Stuart Scott is a sportscaster and anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter.-Early life and career:Scott attended Richard J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and went to college at the University of North Carolina. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity...
returned to host the new season.
Judges
The show's judging panel had changes. Gone were first season judges Tony KornheiserTony Kornheiser
Anthony Irwin "Tony" Kornheiser is an American sportswriter and former columnist for The Washington Post, as well as a radio and television talk show host...
and LaVar Arrington
LaVar Arrington
LaVar RaShad Arrington is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League. He was drafted second overall by the Washington Redskins in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State for coach Joe Paterno.A two-time All-American at Penn State, Arrington played...
, who had begun play for the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in the 2004-2005 NFL season. Kornheiser and Arrington were replaced by Cold Pizza
Cold Pizza
Cold Pizza was a television sports morning talk show that aired weekdays on ESPN2. The show's style was more akin to Good Morning America than SportsCenters straight news and highlights format. It included daily sports news, interviews with sports journalists, athletes, and personalities, and an...
contributor and Around the Horn
Around the Horn
Around the Horn is a daily, half-hour sports roundtable on ESPN filmed in Washington, D.C. It airs at 5:00 pm ET, as part of a sports talk hour with Pardon the Interruption. The show is currently hosted by Tony Reali.-History:Around the Horn premiered on November 4, 2002, hosted by Max Kellerman...
panelist Woody Paige
Woody Paige
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Paige, Jr. is a sports columnist for The Denver Post, author, and a regular panelist on the ESPN sports-talk program Around the Horn. He was also a co-host of Cold Pizza and its spin-off show 1st and 10 until Nov. 4, 2006, when it was announced that Paige would return to the...
, and ESPN NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith
Stephen A. Smith
-Early years:Smith was raised in the Hollis neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. He lived with his parents and four older sisters.He attended Winston-Salem State University, a historically black university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina...
. Cold Pizza co-host Kit Hoover
Kit Hoover
Catherine "Kit" Hoover is an American television personality, sportscaster and broadcast journalist, best-known for her stints on Fox News Channel and ESPN...
and ESPN Vice-President of Talent, Al Jaffe
Al Jaffe
Al Jaffe is ESPN's vice-president of talent , a position he has held since 1996...
, returned for the second season.
Unlike the judging panel, the voting for season two did not change. The viewing public still had one vote (which was given to the contestant who had received the highest number of votes from online voting and text messaging) to cut a contestant with. In the first two episodes, the judges were given one vote apiece to vote for a contestant to be cut, with two given to them for the third episode only, making episodes 4-10 also one-cut-apiece shows.
Contestants
Like the first two episodes of season one, the contestants were introduced in 2 groups of six. In episode one, the competing contestants were Valerie Hawrylko, a 31-year-old management consultant from Oakton, VirginiaOakton, Virginia
Oakton is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. The population was 29,348 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 22124.-Geography:Oakton is located at...
; Brian Startare, a 33-year-old health care management worker from Glassboro, New Jersey
Glassboro, New Jersey
Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 19,068....
; Anish Shroff, a 22-year-old radio anchor who has recently graduated from Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
; Grant Thompson, a 28-year-old writer and actor from Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
; Joe Voyticky, a 37-year-old attorney from Brooklyn, New York; and K.C. James, a 44-year-old account executive from Los Angeles. James had won the Wendy's Wild Card Contest to gain entry onto the show.
The next group of six was introduced in episode two, and, for the first time, featured a second Wendy's Wild Card winner. Episode two's competitors were Jason Ashworth, a 23-year-old assistant tour manager from New Freedom, Pennsylvania
New Freedom, Pennsylvania
New Freedom is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the borough had a population of 4,464.-Geography:New Freedom is located at ....
; Winston Bell, a 35-year-old banker from Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
; Jason Horowitz, a 21-year-old student at Syracuse University who originally hails from West Bloomfield, Michigan; Stephanie Rich, a 35-year-old travel coordinator from Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
; Whitney Scott, a 24-year-old sports information assistant from Lockwood, Missouri
Lockwood, Missouri
Lockwood is a city in Dade County, Missouri, United States. The population was 989 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lockwood is located at ....
; and David Holmes, the second Wendy's Wild Card winner, a 22-year-old student at Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
from Uniontown, Ohio
Uniontown, Ohio
Uniontown is a census-designated place in Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,802 at the 2000 census. Uniontown was named #69 on CNN Money's list.Uniontown is part of the Canton–Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area....
.
Episode One
Like the first season, the first two episodes of the second season began with the main game being "My SportsCenter", and like the series premiere on February 22, 2004, each of the six contestants competing in the first episode of season two read two SportsCenter highlights, most of them being from sporting events from the past weekend. Thompson went first, and was criticized for being too "schtick" and comedic. James went next, paused twice during his highlight readings, and was criticised for the pauses. Shroff went third and made some mistakes, but was praised for being professional by all four judges.After the first three contestants read their highlights, an intermission took place, in which a new game called "Get Off the Fence" was introduced. In this game, the contestants were split into three pairs. Each contestant was given a current sports issue which was to be debated by both contestants. Each pair was given two issues apiece. Hawrylko was said to be the best debater by all the judges, while Startare was called the worst. Smith even said he could see Startare sweat during the debate.
When "My SportsCenter" resumed, Voyticky read his highlights. He criticised for being boring and lacking energy. Hawrylko went next, and while she was praised for her debating, she was criticized for trying to tell too many jokes during her highlight readings. Startare was last to go, and Paige called him "brutal." All six were criticized for using too many cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
s.
Voting
| Judge | Contestant voted on |
|---|---|
| American viewing public | Startare |
| Woody Paige | Voyticky |
| Kit Hoover | James |
| Stephen A. Smith | Voyticky |
| Al Jaffe | Voyticky |
With 3 votes, Voyticky was the first contestant cut from the show in its second season.
Episode Two
The second group of six was featured in the second episode. A second contestant was going to be cut, reducing the number of competitors to 10.This show's "My SportsCenter" was reading a list of "Top 5 Plays", while video of those plays was shown. Horowitz was up first and was presented with a list of top 5 catches, which included a fish being caught at the Bassmaster Classic
Bassmaster Classic
The Bassmaster Classic is a competition in professional bass fishing. It was first held in 1971 on Lake Mead, Nevada. Originally it was a fall event , but it switched to the summer in 1984 and then to the late winter in 2006...
. All four judges (including Smith) praised Horowitz for writing and speaking clearly. Scott was next with a list of top 5 shots, including a great shot in a table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
tournament. She was called "solid," but Paige told her to "keep improving." Holmes then took his turn, having the top 5 blocks for his segment, with the top block being an incredible knockaway by Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
star Tayshaun Prince
Tayshaun Prince
Tayshaun Durell Prince is an American basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association. Prince is a small forward, listed at and . A graduate of Dominguez High School and the University of Kentucky, Prince was drafted in the first round by the...
on Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
guard Reggie Miller
Reggie Miller
Reginald Wayne "Reggie" Miller is a retired American professional basketball player who played his entire 18-year National Basketball Association career with the Indiana Pacers...
in game one of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. Holmes got half praise, half criticism, and was relieved when Smith let him off the hook for an average performance.
The in-between game was "Fact or Fiction", a regular segment on the real SportsCenter, in which an anchor throws out a topic with an opinion attached to it, and two analysts debate (or even agree) on what they think. The contestants were split into three pairs like the previous week, and were given two topics each, ranging from "Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
should retire" to "The U.S. will win the Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
in 2006." Rich was unanimously called the worst debater, while Horowitz just barely won the title of best debater.
Unfortunately for Rich, she was up next in "My SportsCenter", where her list was the top 5 dives. Even worse, the judges (except for Paige) didn't let up, as Hoover called her "slow." Ashworth was next to take the stage, and his list was a list of top 5 saves. He was praised for his energy, but the judges he needed to back up his highlights with facts. Bell was the final contestant to take his turn on the evening with a list of top 5 hits. His enthusiasm was noticed by all, but Smith told him to smile more.
Voting
| Judge | Contestant voted on |
|---|---|
| American viewing public | Rich |
| Woody Paige | Rich |
| Kit Hoover | Rich |
| Stephen A. Smith | Rich |
| Al Jaffe | Rich |
The vote was unanimous to cut Rich.
Episode Three
10 became 8 on night three, as for one episode only, two contestants would be voted off instead of one.The "My SportsCenter" game for this evening was co-anchoring, although it was individuals being cut, not duos. The twist here was at the end of their segment, after a couple of highlight readings and a news story, the pairs would interview a player from a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
team. Hawrylko and Horowitz were the first pair to go, and their interviewee was New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield
Gary Sheffield
Gary Antonian Sheffield , nicknamed "Sheff", is an American retired Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for eight major league ball clubs from 1988 to 2009, primarily as an outfielder.-Biography:...
. Horowitz' interview skills were praised, while Hawrylko was said to have needed more work. As a team, Paige said they were good, but needed to display more chemistry. Ashworth and Startare were next to go, and they conducted their interview with Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
pitcher Kent Mercker
Kent Mercker
Kent Franklin Mercker is a retired Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played for nine teams over his seventeen-year career....
. Startare got praise for much-needed improvement from episode one. Ashworth was criticized for not asking questions that pertained to the current situation, and for asking questions that were too long. Wendy's Wild Card winners Holmes and James were next, and their interviewee was Justin Morneau
Justin Morneau
Justin Ernest George Morneau is a Canadian Major League Baseball first baseman for the Minnesota Twins. At 6 feet 4 inches and 225 lbs, Morneau was originally drafted as a catcher by the Twins in 1999. He converted to first base in the minor leagues and made his MLB debut in 2003...
of the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
. Their lack of chemistry and their interviewing skills were both criticized. Said Paige, "Guys, call your mamas, and tell them to keep the front porch light on. If you don't get better than that, you'll be home soon," a message for both of them, drawing a "Wowza!" from Hoover. Holmes was said to be the better of the two. Following Holmes and James was the debut of a new segment featuring real SportsCenter anchors giving advice to the remaining contestants, titled "U.S. Air Force Wingman." The person giving the advice-the first Dream Job winner, Mike Hall
Mike Hall (sportscaster)
Michael James Hall is an American sports broadcaster who currently works for the Big Ten Network. He can also be found as a sideline reporter for NFL games on Fox...
. Hall told them "less is more." "Not every play needs a joke, not every highlight needs style, but every highlight does need information," he said. After the commercial break following Hall's "SportsCenter 101", it was time for Shroff and Scott to show what they could do. Their interviewee was Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
pitcher Jose Lima
José Lima
José Desiderio Rodriguez Lima was a Dominican right-handed pitcher who spent thirteen seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers , Houston Astros , Kansas City Royals , Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets...
. A problem arose at the start of the interview, when Scott asked Lima, "Can you hear me?" (He could.) Jaffe said some of the teamwork seemed forced, that it was mediocre. Paige said the interview was embarrassing for both of them because of how it started, and that Shroff wasn't as good as he was in week one. Smith said Scott was better than she was in week two, and agreed with Paige that Shroff had slipped from the first week. The last pair was Thompson and Bell, whose interviewee was Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
catcher Brad Ausmus
Brad Ausmus
Bradley David "Brad" Ausmus is a former All Star catcher in Major League Baseball, and currently a special assistant for the San Diego Padres....
. Their chemistry was praised, and Bell was praised for telling the viewers at home who they would be interviewing him before the "show" started, something that no other contestant did that night.
Voting
| Judge | Contestant(s) voted on |
|---|---|
| American viewing public | James and Hawrylko |
| Woody Paige | James and Holmes |
| Kit Hoover | James and Hawrylko |
| Stephen A. Smith | James and Holmes |
| Al Jaffe | James and Hawrylko |
The decision to cut James was unanimous. Hawrylko's elimination kept both Wendy's Wild Card Winners from being cut on the same night, as America's decision to cut her broke the tie between her and Holmes.
Episodes four through eight
| Episode number | Contestant cut | Number of votes garnered |
|---|---|---|
| Episode 4 | Scott | | 4, as Shroff also got a vote |
| Episode 5 | Startare | | unanimous decision |
| Episode 6 | Bell | | unanimous decision |
| Episode 7 | Ashworth | | 3, as Horowitz and Shroff each got a vote |
| Episode 8 | Horowitz | | 3, as Thompson also got a vote, but only four were given because Paige had taken ill for the night |
Voting
| Judge | Contestant voted on |
|---|---|
| American viewing public | Shroff |
| Woody Paige | Shroff |
| Kit Hoover | Holmes |
| Stephen A. Smith | Shroff |
| Al Jaffe | Holmes |
America's vote had broken the tie. Just two men were left: David Holmes and Grant Thompson.
Episode ten
Airing on Tuesday, November 16, 2004, both Holmes and Thompson knew that no mistake would be minor, and that one small error could cost their chance at becoming the anchor. The night opened with Holmes and Thompson going head-to-head in a debate game called "Pardon the Interruption", exactly like the ESPN talk show of the same namePardon the Interruption
Pardon the Interruption is a sports television show that airs weekdays on various ESPN TV channels, TSN, ESPN America, XM, and Sirius satellite radio services, and as a downloadable podcast. It is hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, who discuss, and frequently argue over, the top stories...
. The segment dealt with topics such as Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
winning his seventh National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
award, and New York City's bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
. Thompson and Holmes went back-and-forth with banter that pushed sarcastic boundaries most of the time. Both were praised by the judges for entertaining them, and Jaffe remarked about the 3 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) slot being a "big hole", and that they should start a new show called The Grant and David Show featuring the two. Scott said it was the most he'd ever been entertained on the program in its two seasons of existence.
The next game was a trivia game called "The Rundown." The game consisted of six categories, each containing three questions, all of which increased in difficulty in each category. All questions in the game were worth one point apiece. One player was told to pick a category, and only he could answer the first question as soon as it was given. If he got it right, then he got first chance to answer the next question. If he got it wrong, then the second player would be given the opportunity to correctly answer the question, and if he got it right, then the right to exclusively answer each question first would switch to him. If they both got it wrong, then the contestant who gave the last correct answer would be given first chance to answer the next question or told to pick a new category. Thompson soundly defeated Holmes in this game by a score of 10-3.
Then came the season's final "My SportsCenter" segment. Thompson and Holmes would be paired up with real SportsCenter anchors and perform tasks exactly like the sports news show's anchors perform daily. Both pairs would read highlights and stories, while each contestant would have extra pressure placed on them to see how they performed under difficult circumstances, such as the TelePrompter
Teleprompter
An autocue is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to the practice of using cue cards...
failing while they were reading a story, or doing a highlight while having a producer read tell them what they were seeing through their IFB. Thompson and Holmes were also told just minutes before their segment that they would be interviewing the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
' Willie McGinest
Willie McGinest
William Lee "Willie" McGinest, Jr. is a retired American football linebacker in the National Football League.-Early life and career:...
. Holmes was paired up with Steve Levy
Steve Levy
Steve Levy is a journalist for ESPN.-Early life and career:Levy was a 1987 graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego. He also attended John F. Kennedy High School...
, while Thompson was paired up with Dream Job season one winner Mike Hall. Both pairs were praised for having good chemistry, while Holmes garnered the most praise for being almost flawless, but Thompson stumbled badly during his segment, and, as the voting would show, gave away the title.
Voting
| Judge | Contestant voted on |
|---|---|
| American viewing public | Thompson |
| Woody Paige | Holmes |
| Kit Hoover | Thompson |
| Stephen A. Smith | Thompson |
| Al Jaffe | Not needed* |
David Holmes won season 2 of Dream Job.
Later on SportsCenter that night, Holmes was given trivia questions to try to see how much money he would make in his first year as an ESPN employee. He started out at $60,000, with each correct answer being worth $5,000 apiece. He got as high as the $75,000 question, which he got wrong, bumping his first-year salary back to $70,000. Holmes was also awarded with a brand-new Mazda 6 5-door car.
(*)The asterisk is placed next to Jaffe because America's vote was read before the judges' votes were given, so when Smith said he voted to cut Thompson, Scott said, "We don't need to go on", and Thompson was immediately sent off, but not before hugging Holmes. Scott eventually turned to Jaffe, who said that if his vote had been necessary, he would also have cut Thompson.