Pros vs Joes (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Pros vs Joes is an American physical reality game show. The show features three male amateur contestants (the "Joes") matching themselves against five professional athletes (the "Pros"; comprised mostly of retired male and female pro-athletes) in a series of athletic feats related to the expertise sport of the Pro they are facing. The show is hosted by Petros Papadakis, and airs on Spike TV every Thursday night at 10 et/9 ct p.m. Season Two of the franchise premiered on January 25 2007. The show is filmed on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California at the Home Depot Center, an aerial shot of which is frequently used as a commercial buffer.

Format

Season One

Each episode consists of three "match-up" rounds, followed by a five-round "overtime" period. The first match-up round consists of the Joes facing one Pro in his or her own sport. In the second match-up round, the Joes face a second Pro, again in his or her sport, but with a twist (for example, a free-throw shooting challenge where the nets rise up to 25 ft). The third match-up round pits each Joe against one of the three Pros who did not yet participate (the Joes, in random order, choose which Pro they want to face), in a sport that none of the present Pros play (examples include weightlifting and skeet shooting). In each match-up round, the Joe who beats the Pro by the best time or most points, or loses by the least time or points wins. If a Joe wins the two match-up rounds, they automatically get a bye to the overtime round and does not participate in the third match-up. Otherwise, the two Joes with the most wins advance. On the chance that each Joe wins one match-up, the Pros decide which two Joes advance.

In the overtime period, each Joe faces off each Pro in their "home sport", one by one. In each round, the Joe must defeat the Pro in a quick game (for example, striking out a baseball player, or defending against a football player), in as little time as possible. Each round lasts until the task is completed or until a "max-out" time is reached (generally one minute); in either case, the Joe has to run to and touch a "game ball" in order to stop the clock. The winner of overtime is the Joe with the shortest cumulative time over all five events, and receives US$20,000.

Finale

For the season one finale show, the format was slightly changed. Rather than three new Joes, there were three teams of two Joes, each consisting of a past winner and a friend; rather than five Pros, there were three teams of two Pros (representing baseball, basketball and football). Each of the three match-up rounds were based on the Pro team's sport. In the overtime period, rather than have each team participate in each challenge in turn, each team had to complete three two-part challenges in quick succession, with just a minute separating each event. Each challenge consisted of the first Joe of a team facing off in one challenge relating to the Pro's sport, and then the other Joe would have a different challenge in the same sport (for instance the first Joe had to steal a rebound from one Pro and his partner would have to score a basket against the other). The winner – the team with the shortest cumulative time – wins the season's grand prize.

Season Two

In season two, the format was simplified. Only four Pros are brought onto the show, none being female athletes, and each of the three match-up rounds are straightforward, with the Joes competing against one of the Pros in their home sport. If all 3 Joes win 1 event, they now compete in a sudden death challenge relating to the 3rd match-up. Overtime in season two consists of four events (one event against each of the four Pros), and Joes no longer have to run to a game ball to stop the clock. The winner of overtime also receives the Pros' jerseys, and qualifies to appear in a "championship" game.

Sports making their debut on this season included hockey, boxing, mixed martial arts, and tennis. Swimming, athletics, volleyball, and softball did not make return appearances in the second season.

Season Two also began introducing themed matchups, where the Joes had something in common. This has occurred five times so far, where the Joes were all referees, sportscasters, coaches, residents of Boston (playing against Pros from New York teams) and college mascots respectively.

Finale

The finale featured 7 of the 9 winners competing for the grand prize. Teammates were decided by an opening football catch round (i.e. 1st and 2nd to catch the ball, then 3rd and 4th, and so on), with the last player remaining being eliminated. The 3 teams then competed against 3 Pro teams, each consisting of a Pro in his home sport, and another Pro who isn't associated with it (e.g. Randy Couture in a football based round). Overtime featured the teams competing in 2 events each, but had to run to tag their partner into the contest. In this part of overtime, the clock never stops, but your time can still max out. The winning team then faces each other in the remaining 2 events under normal overtime rules. The winner receives a ticket package to the biggest sports events of the year and a 2007 Toyota Tundra. Jay McKeown a U.S. Army Vet wins the season 2 of Pros vs Joes.

Tim Pino vs. Spike TV

On May 11, 2006, a Federal Copyright Infringement Lawsuit was filed in United States District Court in New Jersey claiming Spike TV's Pros vs. Joes was created from writer Tim Pino's copyrighted "Under Pressure" reality television show idea. To this date litigation is still ongoing in the matter.

Pros participating in Pros vs Joes

Season One

Each of the first nine episodes of Pros vs Joes consisted of a team of five professional athletes, distinguished by their uniform color on the show. Each team, other than the Red Team, appeared in two episodes. A special, "all-star", six-member Orange Team was put together for the season finale.

Red Team

• Bill Goldberg, NFL/WCW/WWE
• Matt Williams, MLB
• Dennis Rodman, NBA
• Jim McMahon, NFL
• Jerry Rice, NFL

Blue Team

• Muggsy Bogues, NBA
• Jennie Finch, Softball
• Bo Jackson, NFL/MLB
• Dan O'Brien, Decathlon
• Bill Romanowski, NFL

Yellow Team

• Kevin Greene, NFL
• Alexi Lalas, MLS
• Misty May, Volleyball
• Xavier McDaniel, NBA
• Dave Stewart, MLB

Green Team

• Morten Andersen, NFL
• Clyde Drexler, NBA
• Gary Hall Jr., Swimming
• Rebecca Lobo, WNBA
• John Rocker, MLB

Purple Team

• Brandi Chastain, Soccer/WUSA
• Darren Daulton, MLB
• Justin Gatlin, Track
• Herschel Walker, NFL/USFL
• Dominique Wilkins, NBA

Orange "All-Star" Team

• Xavier McDaniel & Clyde Drexler, Basketball
• John Rocker & Darren Daulton, Baseball
• Bill Goldberg & Kevin Greene, Football

Season Two

Red Team

• Jose Canseco, MLB
• Randy Couture, UFC
• Michael Irvin, NFL
• Kevin Willis, NBA

Purple Team

• Will Clark, MLB
• Tim Hardaway, NBA
• Claude Lemieux, NHL
• Kordell Stewart, NFL

Green Team

• Vince Coleman, MLB
• Eric Dickerson, NFL
• Roy Jones Jr., Boxing
• Kevin Willis, NBA

Teal/Gold Team

• Cobi Jones, MLS
• Andre Reed, NFL
• Darryl Strawberry, MLB
• Spud Webb, NBA

Blue Team / Burgundy Team

• Rob Dibble, MLB
• Andre Rison, NFL
• Robby Ginepri, ATP Tennis
• Rik Smits, NBA

Yellow Team

• Kordell Stewart, NFL
• Will Clark, MLB
• Grant Fuhr, NHL
• Tom Chambers, NBA

Light Blue Team (The New Yorkers)

• Wade Boggs, MLB
• Mark Jackson, NBA
• John Starks, NBA
• Dave Winfield, MLB

Orange Team (Finale)

• Randall Cunningham, NFL
• Tim Hardaway, NBA
• Kevin Willis, NBA
• Bruce Smith, NFL
• Roy Jones Jr., Boxing
• Randy Couture, UFC

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