Jay Mariotti Jay Mariotti ( ; born June 22 , 1959 ) is a former sports columnist for the " Chicago Sun - Times " and former panelist on the ESPN show " Around the Horn " . He and Woody Paige remain the two best contestants in the history of the game show . Life and career . Mariotti was born in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania and attended Ohio University . He has appeared as a panelist on " Around the Horn " and has guest hosted " Pardon the Interruption " . Prior to his work with ESPN , he co - hosted a daily sports talk radio program on One on One Sports / Sporting News Radio . Mariotti is a long time sports columnist , starting with " The Detroit News " in the early 1980s . He moved to " The Denver Post " in the late 1980s , where he met Woody Paige , a fellow regular panelist on " Around the Horn . " Mariotti and Paige were said to have been in a long - running feud during their time together in Denver , which eventually resulted in Mariotti leaving the " Post " for the paper ' s then rival , the " Rocky Mountain News " ; the rivalry was something that was mentioned at times in the early episodes of " Around the Horn " . Both have stated that the feud is over and the rivalry between them is now a friendly one . Mariotti left Denver and joined the " Chicago Sun - Times " in 1991 , staying with the paper until 2008 . Mariotti made his writing debut for AOL Sports ( now FanHouse ) on January 5 , 2009 where he shared his views about sports and sports personalities . In 2010 , he left Chicago and relocated to Los Angeles , where he ' s currently based . Sun - Times resignation . On August 26 , 2008 , Mariotti announced that he was resigning from the " Chicago Sun - Times " after writing for them for 17 years . He stated his choice was heavily weighted on the fact that while covering the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing that he saw more writers for websites covering the Games and a smaller presence of newspapers , giving him the opinion that writing for a website was " what the future holds . " Mariotti ' s criticism of the newspaper industry and his resignation from the newspaper prompted a public rebuttal from fellow " Sun - Times " employee and movie critic Roger Ebert , who defended the newspaper business and criticized Mariotti ' s penchant for writing sensationalist columns during his time there . Arrest . On August 21 , 2010 , Mariotti was arrested in Los Angeles and booked on suspicion of a felony after a domestic altercation with his girlfriend . AOL suspended Mariotti on August 26 . On September 13 , Los Angeles city prosecutors charged Mariotti with seven misdemeanors in connection with the domestic disturbance . Mariotti ' s attorney called the allegations " inaccurate and sensationalized . " She went on to say , " We are confident that the facts will show the complainant was extremely intoxicated that night and abusive toward Mr . Mariotti . " On September 30 , Marriotti pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery count and has been sentenced to 3 years probation and community service . ESPN has chosen not to use Mariotti on air since his arrest and indicated it had no plans to do so . On February 10 , 2013 , Jay Mariotti announced that he was returning to ESPN to work on " a freelance storytelling ” assignment . On May 11 , 2011 , Mariotti pleaded not guilty to three felonies — stalking , domestic violence and assault — after he confronted his ex - girlfriend the same day a court ordered him to stay away from her , according to prosecutors . He was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of disobeying a court order . In addition to confronting his ex - girlfriend at a restaurant Sept . 30 — the day he pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor domestic violence — prosecutors said he argued with his former girlfriend again outside of a Venice restaurant April 15 . He allegedly pulled a chunk of her hair - extensions out , grabbed her cellphone , shouted at her , and ordered that she get plastic surgery because she was not satisfactory to his demands as a high profile sports writer and general celebrity , prosecutors said . On September 13 , 2011 , Mariotti pleaded no contest to stalking and assaulting his ex - girlfriend . With the plea deal , Mariotti must undergo a year of counseling and 90 days of community service . He was sentenced to five years probation , but is eligible to have that time reduced beginning in 2014 .