Episode 10 (Season Finale) - November 16
 
After thousands of applicants were narrowed down to a deserving dozen and nine weeks of wicked eliminations, it's all come down to this. The "Hah-vad" Crimson take on the Kent State Golden Flashes in the final round of ESPN's Dream Job! Will Grant Thompson keep up his steady increase to stardom...or will "Wendy's Wild Card" David Holmes treat Grant like the Boston Red Sox treated the New York Yankees in the ALCS?

Well, let's find out. We'll start with a challenge called "Pardon The Interruption". Every afternoon, Washington sports writers Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon debate the sports stories of the day. Since Tony isn't here like LAST season, Grant and David with have to debate for themselves. They'll have one minute to argue about each of four different topics, ranging from Barry Bonds to Kafelnikov. Then they'll have to do the "Big Finish", one minute to do five quickie subjects. They'll be judged on persuasiveness, clarity of argument and knowledge of various subjects.

First topic: David asks Grant about Eli Manning starting the next game for the New York Giants. Grant says the coach was under pressure to start Eli and turn things around, though David argues back that a team should NOT start a rookie QB when they're so close to the Playoffs. Next, Grant asks if the Cleveland Cavaliers are legitimate contenders for the NBA Title. David, sounding "like such a 'homer'", says they are...but give stats to back it up. Grant agrees, saying the fourth-quarter comebacks in their four-game win streak helps considerably. How about Barry Bonds winning his seventh National League MVP award? Grant says he may have deserved the title...but it should ONLY be valid IF it's proven he didn't use steroids...but David says, "I haven't seen a steroid for the cornea yet", stating his eye-hand coordination is top notch. And tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov starting a pro poker career? David said the overflow of the "World Series of Poker" has made poker MUCH bigger than tennis when it comes to face time...and they both shamelessly plug EOE.

As for the Big Finish: Grant says Brian Urlacher's injury won't hurt the Bears' playoff chances...since you can't hurt what's not THERE; David says the ABA needs Dennis Rodman like it needs a 10-point line; Grant says Maria Sharapova is the best thing for poker since the Williams sister; David doesn't want to dsicuss New York's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics; and they BOTH agree the BCS will NEVER die in place of a playoff system (sad, really).

The judges then talk about who's better and worse. "Around the Horn"'s and "Cold Pizza"'s Woody Paige says it was entertaining, informative and fun...and a SLIGHT edge to David. "Cold Pizza"'s Kit Hoover thinks Tony and Michael have a run for their money...and she CAN'T decide who was better since they were BOTH great. "NBA Shootaround"'s Steven A. Smith thought David was "exceptional"...but Grant made a few mistakes. And ESPN's Veep of Talent "Big" Al Jaffe thought they had great chemistry...and wonders if they can forget about SportsCenter and fill in the 3pm slot with the "Grant & David Show".

Debating is over...it's time to test sports knowledge. It's time for "The Rundown". Think Jeopardy! without the annoying Ken Jennings factor...or the clear-cut rules. Here's how it works: six categories, three questions each. Each one gets to choose three categories and try to answer the first question. Get it right, get a point and get to answer the next one. Get it wrong, the opponet gets a chance to answer. If NEITHER gets it, they move on. The categories are: Screen Pass, Call Me..., Masters of My Domain, Diaper Dandies, Old School and Pay the Bills.

Grant starts with Screen Pass, questions about sports-related movies. Grant knows "Victory" was set in World War II, neither knows the "Slapshot" team were the Charlestown Chiefs NOR that the team the "Hoosiers" beat was South Bend Central. 1-0 Grant. David chooses Call Me..., where host Stuart Scott gives a nickname and the players must name the sports-person. David knows "He Hate Me" is Rod Smart, Grant CANNOT get that "Crazylegs" is Elroy Hirsch but he DOES get Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd. 2-1 Grant. Grant picks Old School, where they must name sportsmens' alma mater. Grant SWEEPS it by knowing Ben Roethlisberger is from Miami of Ohio, Charles Barkley graduated from Aubirn and Barry Bonds from San Diego State. 5-1 Grant.

David's next choice is Masters of My Domain, about the Masters golf tournament. David knows Jack Nichlaus has the most Masters wins and that the "Amen Corner" is the 11th, 12th and 13th holes...but it's Grant who knows that Nicklaus and Nick Faldo are the only ones to win back-to-back "green jackets". 6-3 Grant. Grant picks Pay the Bills, questions about guys named Bill (they should've called it 'Kill Bill' or the such). He knows Bill Walsh after 3 Super Bowl wins to coach at Stanford University, that Bill Walton was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers AND that Ray Knight scored on the hit that went through Bill Buckner's legs (for @#$'s sake, they WON THE SERIES! LET IT DIE, already!). 9-3 Grant. David's left with Diaper Dandies, outstanding rookies. He doesn't know the AL Rookie of the Year...but GRANT knows it's Ray Crosby. They don't know what rookie has the most receptions in the NFL this season (Michael Playton) nor who was the last NBA Rookie of the Year to go to college (Mike Miller). Final score: Grant has 10, David has 3. So Grant has the most sports knowledge of the two while David's a SLIGHTLY better debater.

OK, time for the coup de gracie of tasks! This week's "My SportsCenter" task is called "'REAL' SportsCenter". For a long ten minutes, each player will co-anchor a mock edition of "SportsCenter" with a REAL SportsCenter anchor. Everything they've worked on over the past ten weeks will be tested. They'll have highlights, they'll have a surprise interview with the New England Patriots' Willie McGinest, they'll have problems with the teleprompter, they'll have an extra play on the shot-sheet of a highlight, they'll have producer Jack yapping in their ears via the IFB earpiece through a surprise highlight...it is specifically made to run through ALL attributes that an ESPN anchor should expect during a typical "SportsCenter" broadcast. Tonight, they'll be judged on knowledge, creativity and spontineity. They wrote stories and lead-ins (with the help from their partner) on their laptop computers...which the winner gets to KEEP at the end of of the show!

The first one up is David Holmes, who will do the show with Steve Levy (an NHL specialist...which means he has a LOT of time on his hands). Steve tells David to keep the perspiration to a minimum, keep things slow despite the hecticness and don't be TOO serious ("This is ESPN, not CNN."). David Holmes' final "My SportsCenter" begins in 3...2...1!

"Welcome to SportsCenter. ONE of us is a paid ESPN employee." That's how David leads into sharing a New York Jets-Baltimore Ravens highlight reel. He takes the 2nd and 4th quarters and overtime, tossing in a "yadda-yadda-yadda" on a long interception runback and throwing in a "JACKED UP!" into Levy's 3rd quarter shot.

On the the McGinest interview. The first few questions...well, they have fairly short answers by the footballer. But David has questions to spare and McGinest's answers get longer, especially about the upcoming match-up against Kansas City. The last question is about him becoming a father and whether fatherhood is TOUGHER than football (he says it is).

As he leads into an NBA highlight...the prompter goes dark. But David doesn't miss a beat, ad-libbing a line or two going into the Phoenix Suns-Cavaliers overtime highlight. His phrase of the night: "This comeback brought to you by the letter Z"...as in Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

As Levy goes into ANOTHER NBA highlight, David is informed about an ADDITIONAL highlight by the producer. When the camera's on him...he's not looking AT it. They go right to a "buzzer-beater" by the Celtics' Paul Pierce. As Levy goes into an Arizona-USC highlight, the producer changes his OWN college football highlight to Michigan State upsetting Wisconsin and has to talk David through it. David doesn't miss a beat...and they sign off with David inviting Levy to work at his college station.

Stuart informs David that McGinest was DELIBERATELY giving short answers to see how he would react. Kit says he did a really nice job, had great teamwork, great questions, awesome with the teleprompter down...he "nailed it"! Stephen A. says he tripped up JUST a bit on the first short answer... but that's the ONLY problem according to him. Big Al says there was good interaction and chemistry, great lead-in and interview...just excellent all around! And Woody says it was first-class, professional, nearly seamless...get out the thesaurus!

That's a lot for Grant Thompson to live up to as he takes HIS turn at the task...and he has a LOT of experience by HIS side since HIS partner is none other than "Dream Job" Season 1's winner Mike Hall (who can be seen more on ESPNEWS lately). Mike says that, when HE was in GRANT's position, his stomach was churning...but he hopes Grant can keep it down, concentrate on the task at hand and do as good a job as HE did. Grant Thompson's final "My SportsCenter" begins in 3...2...1!

"Alongside the ORIGINAL 'dream weaver', Mike Hall, I'm Grant Thompson." They shared a Pittsburgh Steelers-Cleveland Browns highlight, starting from the fight beforehand. Again, Grant has the 2nd and 4th quarters. Not too many phrases, but decent stats.

On to McGinest who, like with David, answers the first few questions rather briefly. Unlike David, however, Grant gets a bit more flustered. Grant asks a FEW interesting questions...but he sort of stumbles through them...and always seems to respond to answers with "Right."... like he isn't listening.

Then came the crash of the teleprompter during his NBA lead-in. To put it simply, he PANICS and scrambles for his notes, being rather noticable on camera. He tries to brush it off during the Miami Heat-San Antonio Spurs highlight and Mike helps him with that. The highlight isn't too bad, and he adds after a block, "Call him a donkey because he just got pinned."

The producer tells Grant about the new highlight he has to do, a buzzer-beater by the Philly 76ers Allan Iverson against the Indiana Pacers. At first, it looks like Grant can't HEAR the producer...but he gets the highlight down just fine. And, while Mike does his Georgia-Auburn rivalry game, Grant gets the word that he'll have to do a Nebraska-Oklahoma highlight with the producer talking him through. Just when you think things couldn't get worse...they do. He more-or-less REPEATS what the producer says...which isn't BAD but it's not phenominal. The two young guns sign-off lamely...

...and Grant is TOLD about it. Stephen A. wasn't impressed. No stats, thrown off for the prompter, stumbling questions...it was GOOD, but not what he was accustomed to seeing. Big Al agrees. Grant was flustered, had too many "rights" during the interview...again, good but not VERY good. Woody saw Grant's wandering eyes and knew he wouldn't pull out of it...and REALLY didn't like a "kill it, baby" talk. Kit beats a dead horse about Grant's problems...but she ALSO says he had good writing and finished strong.

OK, it's time for the Final Cut. Unlike last season where America alone chose their anchor, all five judges (Woody, Kit, Stephen A., Al and America) will get a vote. Whoever gets three votes will be the last one cut...and the last one remaining gets the contract, the laptop and the SUV! (For the record, I voted to cut Grant. David was nearly FLAWLESS...and Grant was not so much.)

America...

cuts...

Grant Thompson.

Woody Paige thought that Grant was lousy TONIGHT...but he looks at all TEN weeks of Dream Job and decides who did the worse job overall. In that case, he cuts...David Holmes.

Kit Hoover thinks both of them are talented, but David was rock solid tonight. She cuts...Grant Thompson. One more...and this competition is over.

Stephen A. Smith says that this was "Game 7", regardless what Woody says. David hit it out of the park to overcome the juggernaut... and Grant dropped the ball. He...cuts...Grant Thompson.

DAVID HOLMES IS THE NEW ESPN ANCHOR!!!

For the record, Big Al Jaffe thought BOTH did great jobs...but HE would've cut Grant as well.

EPILOGUE - PLAY FOR PAY

There's only one thing left to do. David has the contract, the Mazda and the laptop...but he needs a salary. So, just like Mike Hall did, he will PLAY for his salary.

His base salary starts at $65,000. He'll be asked sports trivia questions for $5000 a year apiece. If he BLOWS a question, the salary is knocked DOWN 5 Gs, though it will not go below $65,000. He can stop before any question is asked. Judging by how "well" he did in "The Rundown", I suspect this will be a PATHETIC run.

At least Grant knows that the new coach of the Miami Dolphins is Jim Bates...and that Pete Sampras never won the French Open...but he slips by not knowing Jamal Lewis was the leading rusher in the NFL last season. That means that, thanks to his lack of trivia knowledge, David will be making $25,000 LESS than Mike Hall. That's reasonable, isn't it?

So, with a one-year contract in one pocket, $70,000 in the other, keys to a Mazda 6 5-door in his hand and an Intel(TM) Centrino-run laptop under his arm, it's time for David to to tail Stuart Scott up I-95 to the ESPN Campus in beautiful(?) Bristol, Connecticut to start his one-year stint as a SportsCenter anchor. David, just one word of advice: stick by Mike Hall as much as possible. No one better to show you the ropes than one who's been ON them. Oh, and try to avoid the "hazing" ritual; I hear it's vicious!

Until after NFL season for "Dream Job 3"...hugs and hand-pounds!