Around the Horn has featured countless panelists who have made their mark in the 23 years that the show has been a mainstay on ESPN. And on Tuesday, one former panelist made her return to say a bittersweet goodbye in the days leading up to Around the Horn‘s final episode.
Last week, ESPN brought back two former regulars on the show, Jemele Hill and Kate Fagan, to allow fans of Around the Horn to get a proper sendoff for some of their favorite panelists.
This trend continued on Tuesday ahead of the final episode of Around the Horn on May 23. The show’s social media account promoted that Sarah Spain, who first made her debut on the show in 2016, would be returning to Around the Horn on Tuesday in what would be her final appearance.
7 shows left! Today’s panelists all hosted the show at some point in its run.
And we would remiss not to mention the return of @SarahSpain for one final episode!!! 5pm ET🔁📯 pic.twitter.com/uShQPyDGhK
— Around the Horn (@AroundtheHorn) May 13, 2025
Spain hasn’t been gone from the show all that long, last appearing on a special Halloween-themed episode last month, since the show won’t make it to Halloween before it is canceled this year. Still, Spain seemed very eager to partake in her final episode of Around the Horn prior to Tuesday’s show, calling her castmates her “favorite TV family” in a post on X.
“Guess who’s back? Back again (this time as myself),” wrote Spain. “One last trip at Around the Horn with my favorite TV family. Tune in! 5p ET on ESPN!”
Guess who’s back? Back again. (This time as myself!)
One last trip @AroundtheHorn with my favorite TV family.
Tune in! 5p ET on ESPN! 📺👀 pic.twitter.com/a1BVbuD9rH
— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) May 13, 2025
Predictably, given it was her final episode, Spain earned her 127th career win on the show. And in her “Face Time” segment at the end of the show, Spain used the segment to recall her top-10 moments from the history of the show.
“Wow, what a surprise,” Spain jokingly said. “Which is why I created an unofficial top-10 Around the Horn moments. Number ten, Mina Kimes’ meltdown when Shohei went to the Angels. Number nine, Izzy (Gutierrez) calling Josh Rosen the next Dan Marino. Number eight, every time the show talked women’s sports when others didn’t. Number seven, every time Pablo (Torre) incorrectly picks a 16-seed over a one. Number six, every time someone complained about the score. Number five, every time (Bill) Plaschke incorrectly said ‘It’s over.’ Especially the time the Cubs won the World Series. Number four, Woody (Paige) choking on confetti after his 300th win. Number three, Tony (Reali) recreating the Goodfellas shot. Number two, Halloween shows, especially Tim (Cowlishaw), Woody, and Kevin, David’s Katt Williams, every character Izzy ever did. And number one, the Face Times everyone has done all week saying how grateful we all are for this show.”
Sarah Spain reflects on her top ten favorite Around the Horn moments in the history of the show in her final appearance on the show. pic.twitter.com/fk1u095alG
— SportsClips (@SportsClip4U) May 13, 2025
Spain has had quite a few memorable moments on the show over the course of her 435 appearances. So maybe she was being a bit too humble by leaving herself off of the list.
Either way, it is quite clear that Around the Horn is leaving behind a legacy that nobody could have ever expected when the show debuted in 2002.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.