Michael Wilbon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Michael Wilbon | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 19, 1958 (age 48) Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupation | Sports Columnist Television host |
| Spouse | Cheryl |
| Parents | Raymond and Cleo |
Michael Raymond Wilbon (born November 19, 1958) is an American sportswriter and columnist. He is a columnist for The Washington Post, has co-hosted Pardon the Interruption on ESPN since 2001, and serves as an analyst for ESPN.
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Career
Wilbon began working for The Washington Post in 1980 after summer internships at the newspaper in 1979 and 1980. He covered college sports, Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA before being promoted to full-time columnist in February of 1990. His column in the Post, which deals as much with the culture of sports as the action on the court or field, appears up to four times a week.
In his career, Wilbon has covered 10 different Summer and Winter Olympic Games for The Washington Post, every Super Bowl since 1987, nearly every Final Four since 1982 and each year's NBA Finals since 1987.
After contributing to ESPN's The Sports Reporters and other shows on the cable network, he began co-hosting ESPN's daily Pardon the Interruption, or PTI as it is affectionately known among its fans, with Tony Kornheiser on October 22, 2001. Kornheiser commonly refers to him simply as "Wilbon." As of February 4, 2007, he is also a member of ABC's "NBA Countdown" (with host Dan Patrick and analyst Mark Jackson) which is the pre-game show for the network's NBA telecasts.
In addition to his work at The Washington Post, PTI and ESPN, Wilbon appears weekly on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. with WRC Sports Director George Michael, and Pro Football Hall of Famers John Riggins and Sonny Jurgensen on Redskins Report during the football season. He also appears with Michael, USA Today basketball writer David DuPree and Washington Post columnist Mike Wise on Full Court Press during the basketball season.
In recent years, he has become more known as an ESPN personality, and in late 2006, agreed to a multi-year contract extension with ESPN that will give the network priority in conflicts with his newspaper assignments.[1][2] The first major example of this happened on February 4, 2007 when Wilbon covered a Detroit Pistons-Cleveland Cavaliers game instead of Super Bowl XLI.
Personal
Born in the south side of Chicago, Illinois, Wilbon graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in 1976 and received his journalism degree in 1980 from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He has one brother, Donald, a Chicago-based investment banker, and is the son of Raymond (deceased) and Cleo Wilbon, retired after a long career as a teacher.
Wilbon currently lives in the Washington, D.C., area, but he also has a home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He and his wife, Cheryl, enjoy escaping from the Washington D.C. winters, and he is an avid golfer.
Wilbon is a life-long fan of the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks and the north-side Chicago Cubs. Wilbon has also publicly displayed fondness toward the Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball team during their run to the 2005 NCAA National Championship game, as well as the Chicago White Sox during their 2005 World Series Championship run, despite the heated rivalries these teams hold respectively to the Northwestern Wildcats and the Chicago Cubs.
Wilbon is good friends with former NBA star Charles Barkley and has edited and written the introduction for his most recent books, "I May Be Wrong But I Doubt It" and "Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man?", both of which were New York Times best sellers.
Wilbon has a cousin, Travon Bellamy, who plays for the University of Illinois football team.[3]
Books
- Barkley, Charles and Wilbon, Michael. I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It. Random House, 2002. (ISBN 0-375-50883-X).
- Barkley, Charles and Wilbon, Michael. Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man?. Penguin Press, 2005. (ISBN 1-594-20042-4).
Reference
- ^ Michael McCarthy (2006-12-27). Wilbon now more of an ESPN guy. USA Today.
- ^ Harry Jaffe (2007-01-25). Will Wilbon’s $8-Million TV deal make him a stranger at the Post?. Washingtonian.
- ^ As mentioned on PTI, Feb. 7, 2007. This was during a discussion of questionable recruiting by head coach Ron Zook.
External links
- Wilbon’s recent sports columns from The Washington Post (requires registration)
- USA Today on Wilbon's expanded role with ESPN
Categories: Semi-protected | American sportswriters | National Basketball Association broadcasters | Washington Post people | African American writers | Chicago writers | Washington, D.C. writers | Northwestern University alumni | People from Chicago | People from Washington, D.C. | African Americans | 1958 births | Living people
