David Brody“Around the WU,” a live sports talk show modeled after ESPN’s “Around the Horn,” is giving Washington University students a chance to hear fellow students sound off on a variety of sports-related topics.
The show, which airs Mondays at 10:30 p.m., ran its third episode this week on Washington University Television (WUTV).
Like its national counterpart, “Around the WU” features a four-person panel that discusses recent sports events and issues. Panelists are scored based on the quality of their responses, and the panelist with the lowest total score is periodically cut until one emerges victorious.
As host Adrian Farhi, a sophomore, put it at the beginning of this Monday’s broadcast, “Around the WU” is a show of “competitive sports banter.”
Farhi and regular panelist Adam Schanfield, also a sophomore, developed the idea for a WUTV show early in November and by Thanksgiving had aired the pilot episode.
For Monday evening’s broadcast, Farhi and Schanfield were joined by sophomores Brian Wolfe and Nick Lizanich, and junior Andrew Evenson. Previous shows have also featured sophomore Josh Wojnilower as a panelist.
“We’re all friends so it’s a casual environment, and its fun to be here,” said Evenson, describing the rapport among those involved and the mood during broadcast.
Topics of discussion on Monday ranged from the flaws of the Bowl Championship Series in NCAA college football to recent revelations of steroid use among several prominent major league baseball players, including single-season home run record holder and seven-time MVP Barry Bonds.
Interviews and other feature segments provide a change of pace for the show’s episodes; this week’s show featured an interview with sophomore Benjamin Dao from the University’s Rugby team, who reflected on their season and helped to clarify some of the less well-understood elements of the sport. The show’s staff is planning an exclusive look at the Steamers, St. Louis’ major league soccer team, for an upcoming feature. The staff has been invited by the Steamers to a future game with special behind-the-scenes access.
Farhi explained that the staff meets on Saturday nights to plan feature ideas and outline discussion topics for that week’s show. While the process of researching the statistics and facts used during the show can take several hours, Farhi said that the group has been up to the task.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s work that’s really enjoyable,” said Farhi, both of the research process and the show in general.
At the end of this week’s taping, Evenson, in his first time as a panelist, was declared the winner. He pulled a victory cigar from his jacket pocket as he accepted his accolades, earning another round of cheers from the audience.
“It’s just fun to be out here, and more importantly, we had a good time with the guys,” said Evenson.
WUTV’s filming studio is in the basement of Prince Hall. Broadcasts are open to the public and free to attend.