Lauren Anderson
Daily Kent Stater

PHOTO COURTESY OF ESPN Dream Job Host Stuart Scott congratulates Dave Holmes, senior broadcast news major and winner of the reality show.

NEW YORK —

Sudden screams from the audience broke the dead silence in the ESPN studio, and red, blue, yellow and white confetti sprinkled down when host Stuart Scott announced Dave Holmes as the winner of Dream Job.

Scott handed him the keys to his new Mazda 6 and said Holmes could give him a ride to Bristol, Conn., where the ESPN headquarters are located.

Holmes, senior broadcast news major and TV-2 general manager, will sign a one-year contract to be an anchor on SportsCenter.

Later yesterday on SportsCenter, Holmes answered sports trivia questions to determine his salary. After missing a question about the NFL, he will make $70,000 his first year on the job.

Holmes’ family rushed down to the floor and embraced him.

“Wow! We are thrilled,” Dave’s mother Donna Holmes said. “We watched him come close last year, and then to get on the show and go all the way.”

Finalists Grant Thompson and Holmes went head-to-head on the finale of ESPN’s reality show yesterday.

The two finalists buckled up for what Scott described as a “rough ride” as they were put through three challenges.

Thompson and Holmes sat face-to-face arguing sports during the “Pardon the Interruption” challenge. They had 60 seconds to battle back and forth.

Holmes said he and Thompson had fun during the challenge, weaving in jokes about hot girls, and it was apparent to those watching.

The next hurdle thrown their way was “Run Down,” a challenge that included six trivia categories with three questions per category. Holmes stumbled on this challenge, ending up with three correct answers, while Thompson ended up answering 10 correctly.

The last challenge was described as the toughest MySportsCenter to date.

This time around, Holmes was paired up with ESPN sports anchor Steve Levy. The prompter went down, and there was an interview to conduct; missing highlights and a director giving cues though an ear piece. Through all of the surprises, Holmes had to keep his cool.

Levy’s advice to Holmes prior to the challenge was, “It seems really fast, slow it down. We aren’t CNN. We are doing sports — nothing’s too serious.”

The judges were impressed. They said he had great writing, great open-ended questions and an overall exceptional performance.

Holmes received praise on the hardest night of competition, and he knew it.

“I know I nailed it,” Holmes said. “I really did.”

Carrie Young, TV-2 news director, was in the audience.

“He was flawless,” Young said. “He was on top of his game. He really knew his stuff.”

Thompson was paired with the original Dream Job winner from season one, Mike Hall.

But Thompson received less-than-flattering remarks from the judges, who said it wasn’t his best performance.

It all came down to one final show. But before the show, Holmes distanced himself from sports altogether.

At the end of the experience, Holmes said it was the coolest thing he’s ever done.

“At least when I’m 50, I can tell my kids I was cool for 10 weeks,” he said.

Holmes still plans on finishing school before he begins his new job in Bristol, Conn., the ESPN headquarters. He has one journalism class left.

Holmes’ girlfriend Adrienne Vaughan was also watching his performance.

“Whether he wins or loses, something good will come out of this,” Vaughan said.

Jason Ashworth, a fellow finalist, was cheering for Holmes during the show.

“Come on Holmes-ey!” Ashworth said.

Holmes said he was able to learn more about himself through the process. Holmes said the show made him work and made him feel more comfortable with himself.

Throughout the show, his parents Marshall and Donna said they were amazed at how calm he’s been and how he’s matured.

Holmes also reflected on the words judge Woody Paige said to him in the third week of competition: “Dave, call your mom to turn on the porch light because you’re coming home.”

Holmes had other plans and was out to prove him wrong. Week after week, Holmes kept getting more ambitious, wanting to be in the top eight, the top four and then the top two.

Now, this has become his dream job.

Contact student media reporter Lauren Anderson at lmanders@kent.edu.