Pardon the Interruption

Pardon the Interruption, also known as PTI is a television show on ESPN. It features syndicated columnists Tony Kornheiser, and Michael Wilbon, both of whom work for the Washington Post. It is a debate show with a similar format to CNN's Crossfire. Unlike Crossfire which debates current issues in politics, PTI debates current events in sports.

Segments

The show is divided into four segments. Segments included in all shows are:

• Headlines: Tony and Mike usually debate over five or six issues. Normally they are allotted up to two minutes a topic.

• Five Good Minutes: Tony and Mike interview a sports figure for five minutes.

• Happy Happy Time: Here they note a birthday, an anniversary, and a departure ("happy trails").

• Errors: Their "Stat Boy," Ken Jennings ("the Jeopardy guy").

They have varible bits during the third segment, including "Mail Time," where they read and respond to viewer e-mail, "Toss Up," where they chose between two sides on a given topic, "Good Cop, Bad Cop," a variation of "Toss Up" played in police officer costumes, "Over/Under," and "Role Play" where they argue from the perspective of a sports figure (Tony refers to this as "heads on sticks"). More recently they have added a bit called, "Food Chain," where Tony and Mike rank a set of items, usually teams, in a certain order.

PTI debuted October 22, 2001. It airs daily at 5:30 PM Eastern Time.