Dream Job

Did You Know?

• Over 10,000 people attended the nationwide talent search for Season 1.
• Mike Hall, the Season 1 winner, correctly answered five questions on his SportsCenter trivia quiz, each worth $5,000, raising his salary from $70,000 to $95,000.
• Season 3 originally planned for Dana Barros to be a contestant, but he dropped out; Nick Anderson briefly replaced him before Dennis Scott took the spot.
• In the Season 1 finale, Tony Kornheiser said of cutting Zachariah Selwyn, 'I probably just made a mistake.'

Season 1

In September 2003, producers conducted a nationwide talent search for aspiring ESPN anchors, drawing over 10,000 participants across the United States. From this pool, the field was reduced to ten contestants for the televised finals beginning in winter 2004. The original plan called for eleven contestants: ten from the search and one from a contest sponsored by Wendy's, with a twelfth selected as an alternate. The final twelve contestants on the premiere ranged in age from 21 to 40.

They included Maggie Haskins, a Brown University student from Chicago who began as the alternate but was later allowed to compete from the first episode; Michael Quigley, an auto parts salesman from Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, known for his over-the-top anchoring style; Aaron Levine, a Stanford senior; Mike Hall, a University of Missouri senior; Casey Stern, an executive recruiter from Bellmore, New York; Zachariah Selwyn, an actor and musician from Los Angeles; Nick Stevens, a Brooklyn comedian; Chris Williams, a Boston attorney; Chet Anekwe, a Nigerian-born computer programmer from Jersey City; Alvin Williams, a retail manager from Montgomery, Alabama, who won the Wendy's contest; Kelly Milligan, a Dallas attorney; and Lori Rubinson, from New York City, later a host at WFAN.

The judging panel comprised Tony Kornheiser, Kit Hoover, LaVar Arrington, and Al Jaffe. The judges provided criticism after tasks and voted to eliminate contestants.

Season 3

All five judges from Season 2 returned: Woody Page, Kit Hoover, Stephen A. Smith, and Al Jaffe. Voting remained unchanged, with each judge and the American viewing public each casting one vote to cut a contestant; in a tie, America's vote served as the tiebreaker. The six contestants were former NBA stars competing to become ESPN's next NBA analyst: Dennis Scott, Dee Brown, Matt Bullard, Darryl Dawkins, J.R. Reid, and Gerald Wilkins. Dana Barros was originally slated but dropped out before the first episode; Nick Anderson replaced him but soon exited, and Dennis Scott took his place.

Promotional ads for episode two initially stated Nick Anderson would be Barros's replacement, but those ads were withdrawn when Anderson was replaced by Dennis Scott. In episode two, Gerald Wilkins was eliminated first. The following week, Darryl Dawkins was cut when America's vote broke a tie after he received his second cut vote, though Dennis Scott also had two cut votes. Week four saw J.R. Reid eliminated, and Dennis Scott was cut in week five.

The final showdown between Matt Bullard and Dee Brown ended with Bullard receiving three cut votes, making Dee Brown the winner of Season 3.