Sal Paolantonio
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Sal Paolantonio (born June 13, 1956 in Queens, New York) is a Philadelphia-based bureau reporter for ESPN, primarily reporting on NFL stories. Since joining ESPN in 1995, Paolantonio has become a staple in their NFL coverage, as he contributes to shows such as SportsCenter, NFL Live, Sunday NFL Countdown (from a game site) and Monday Night Countdown (from the Monday Night Football site). In 2004, he added studio work to his duties, replacing Suzy Kolber as the host of NFL Matchup, an X's and O's football show, joining him are Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworski. His best known work for ESPN, is covering the Terrell Owens saga with the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He is considered one of the two top NFL reporters for the network along with Ed Werder.
[edit] Before ESPN
Prior to joining ESPN, he was a political reporter and Philadelphia Eagles beat reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer from 1993-1995. During that time he also served as a reporter for WPHL-TV nightly news show, Inquirer News Tonight and hosted Saturday Morning Sports Page on WIP (AM) sports radio. In 1993, he published his first book, a biography of Frank L. Rizzo entitled The Last Big Man in Big City America.
He graduated from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 1977 with a bachelor of arts degree in history. He also attended New York University, where he received a master’s degree in journalism in 1978.Paolantonio served in the U.S. Navy from 1979-1983 where he was awarded the United Nations Meritorious Service Medal in 1983. He is married with three children.
