Woody Paige Woodrow Wilson " Woody " Paige , Jr . ( born June 27 , 1946 ) 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 November 4 , 2006 , when it was announced that Paige would return to the " Post " . Paige is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee and is a Baseball Hall of Fame voter . Schooling and early career . Paige attended the University of Tennessee and joined Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity in 1964 . After leaving UT , he began his career with the " Whitehaven Press " in 1963 , and went on to write for the " Knoxville Journal " , " The Commercial Appeal " of Memphis , and the " Rocky Mountain News " of Denver . " Denver Post " . Paige joined the " Denver Post " in 1981 . As of 2007 , he writes four columns per week . In 2001 there was a controversy over one of Paige ' s articles . He reported that an employee at Invesco , which had the naming rights to the Denver Broncos stadium , Invesco Field at Mile High , claimed that the nickname for the stadium inside the company was " The Diaphragm , " after its shape ( which slightly resembles a contraceptive device with the same name ) . The CEO of the company threatened Paige and the " Post " with legal action over the allegations , but had to retract the lawsuit when it was discovered that the story was true . After the suicide of Denver Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley in 2010 , Paige wrote a column in the " Post " where he detailed his attempt to take his own life in 2002 , and the intervention that prevented it . " Around The Horn " . As a panelist on " Around The Horn " , Paige is well known for his goofy opening jokes , including a blackboard behind him on which he writes intentionally silly comments . He had a bantering relationship and friendly rivalry with Jay Mariotti . The two have appeared in and won the most episodes of " Around The Horn " . Paige has won the most consecutive shows ( five ) as well as 404 wins as of April 6 , 2012 . For April Fool ' s Day 2009 , the show began with Paige pretending to subdue Reali with fake chloroform and taking over as host as the show , with Reali taking his place as a panelist . He proceeded to award and deduct points erratically , and at the end of the first cut announced that the panelist with the most points would be cut . The showdown ended up being with Reali and Mariotti , and Woody surprisingly awarding the win to Mariotti after the two ended with - 3 points in the showdown . However , Woody quickly muted Mariotti ' s " face time " speech and proceeded to talk to himself . On September 8 , 2009 , Paige won his 300th show , becoming the first panelist to reach 300 victories . For Halloween 2009 , Paige dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West , and won the show . After his " face time , " he slouched out of his chair ( and out of view of the camera ) while announcing that he was " melting ! " On January 9 , 2012 , Woody scored 71 points which is the most points for any panelist to date . In addition , Paige scored 15 points in the Showdown . On February 8 , 2012 , Woody became the first to reach 400 wins , the most of any panelist . His win total stands at 412 in 1836 appearances as of July 25 , 2012 . " Cold Pizza " . In July 2004 , Paige announced that he was taking a one - year leave from the " Post " to join ESPN2 ' s then - debuting " Cold Pizza " ( originally conceptualized as a daytime - TV " morning show " - style program that was only loosely grounded in sports , intended to attract female viewers alienated by " SportsCenter " ' s heavy sports - and " guy " - centered focus ) . On the show , he was featured in the " 1st and 10 " segment , where he lightheartedly debated sports writer Skip Bayless on ten sports - related topics . Paige continued to contribute to " Around the Horn " during this time , and debuted his blackboard gags while he was in New York . In his farewell appearance on " Cold Pizza " , which aired November 28 , 2006 , Paige cited declining health in his family as a reason for leaving the show , and New York City , to return to Denver .