Pros vs Joes

Infobox television
show_name = Pros vs. Joes


caption = Logo from the first two seasons.
format = Sports, Reality, Game Show
runtime = 60 minutes
creator = Confidential
starring = Petros Papadakis
country = USA
network = Spike TV
first_aired = March 6, 2006
last_aired = Present
num_episodes = 29
imdb_id = 0497304

"Pros vs. Joes" is an American physical reality game show. The show features male amateur contestants (the "Joes") matching themselves against 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. The first two seasons were filmed at Carson, California's Home Depot Center, which was referenced in aerial shots.

Tony DeRosa-Grund vs. Spike TV Over Show's Creation

In 2006, prior to the show's initial airing, attorney's for former Archie Comics Film & TV Founder/CEO Tony DeRosa-Grund's filed suit in NY State Supreme Court (Index Number:602080/06) against Spike and parent company Viacom, claiming that Spike had "lifted" the "Pros vs Joes" show from another reality series, created by DeRosa-Grund, that the parties had been in discussions over called "The Rookie."

Spike, was and is, part of Viacom (CBS) which had previously deficit financed DeRosa-Grund's prime time series "Sabrina the Teenaged Witch" in the amount of approximately $70,000,000 and had in turn generated over $300,000,000 in first run syndication.

The suit claimed, in part, that:

- "Pros vs. Joes" was created by DeRosa-Grund and as Spike knew, a segment contained within "The Rookie" that DeRosa-Grund presented them in 2004/2005.- Spike had in their possession since 2004 the format sheets for "the Rookie" delineating the "Pros vs Joes" component in detail.
- At the time DeRosa-Grund had been in discussion with Spike he had already owned the ProsvsJoes.com URL which he had registered through Network Solutions which at minimum was over a year before Spike even announced Pros vs.Joes.
- Senior executives at Spike, from then CEO Albie Hecht, on down had met with and/or spoke numerous times in 2004 and 2005 with DeRosa-Grund regarding Spike's acquisition of "The Rookie" (the parties could not ultimately come to terms on the acquisition). According to Spike's formal Answer to Court, they indicated they offered DeRosa-Grund time slots for the "Rookie" he found unacceptable, after which the deal fell apart. ).
- That Spike, without permission from DeRosa-Grund, decided to go ahead with the "Pros vs Joes" show after a potential deal for "The Rookie" could not be reached.

Spike ultimately settled and paid DeRosa-Grund. The terms of the settlement were subject to a non-disclosure agreement between the parties.

Pros participating in "Pros vs Joes"

eason 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 / WCW
*Jim McMahon, NFL
*Jerry Rice, NFL

Blue Team

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

Yellow Team

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

Green Team

*Morten Andersen, NFL
*Clyde Drexler, NBA
*Gary Hall Jr., Olympic 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 & Pro Wrestling

eason Two

Each of the second season episodes of "Pros vs Joes" consisted of a team of four professional athletes, distinguished by their uniform color on the show. Unlike the first season, returning teams wore different coloured uniforms upon their return. Like the previous season, the teams on the season opener and finale wore red and orange uniforms respectively.

Red Team

*José 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, pro 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., pro Boxing
*Randy Couture, UFC

eason Three

For Season Three, the format was changed to a "Last Man Standing" format, akin to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament with regionals held at the now closed Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami, Florida, RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where the finals were also held. The format now featured eight "Joes" in the opening round that tests them in a contest that will eliminate two of the Joes from contest. Those six remaining Joes were then ranked from one through six with the top seed taking on number six, number two against number five and number three against number four in a home sport of one of the pros, with the top two seeds choosing from the three pros. The winners advance to overtime, but now includes a bench where the Joes change from one uniform into another. Again the fastest among the three advanced to the finals.

As in past seasons, the pros are designated by the color of their uniforms.

Green Team (South Regional I)

*Jimmy Smith, football
*Kurt Angle, Olympic and Pro Wrestling (WWE, TNA)
*Kendall Gill, basketball

Purple Team (Northeast Regional I)

*Ricky Williams, football
*Arturo Gatti, boxing
*Charles Oakley, basketball

Light Blue Team (Central Regional I)

*Kenny Anderson, basketball
*Joe Carter, baseball
*Raghib Ismail, football

Red Team (Northeast Regional II)

*Jessie Armstead, football
*Derrick Coleman, basketball
*Marty McSorley, ice hockey

Dark Green Team (West Regional I)

*Warren Moon, football
*Nick Van Exel, basketball
*Al Leiter, baseball

Royal Blue Team (South Regional II)

*Christian Okoye, football
*Paul Coffey, ice hockey
*Dan Majerle, basketball

Yellow Team (West Regional II)

*John Randle, football
*John Franco, baseball
*Mitch Richmond, basketball

Gold Team (Central Regional II)

*Brady Anderson, baseball
*Sean Elliott, basketball
*Jeff George, football

Purple Team (Semi-Final)

*Rod Woodson, football
*Antonio Davis, basketball
*Pernell Whitaker, boxing

Maroon Team (Finals)

*Jamal Anderson, football
*Allan Houston, basketball
*Bob Sapp, MMA/ football

External links

*imdb title|id=0497304|title=Pros vs. Joes
*Tv.com show|id=56995|title=Pros vs. Joes
* [http://www.spike.com/show/25323 Official website for "Pros vs. Joes 3"]
* [http://www.myspace.com/prosvsjoes MySpace Fanpage for Pros vs Joes]