Mike Pesca
Mike Pesca first reached the airwaves as a 10-year-old caller to a New York Jets-themed radio show and has since been able to parlay his interests in sports coverage as a National Desk correspondent for NPR based in New York City.
Pesca enjoys training his microphone on anything that occurs at a track, arena, stadium, park, fronton, velodrome or air strip (i.e. the plane drag during the World's Strongest Man competition). He has reported from Los Angeles, Cleveland and Gary. He has also interviewed former Los Angeles Ram Cleveland Gary. Pesca is a panelist on the weekly Slate podcast "Hang up and Listen".
In 1997, Pesca began his work in radio as a producer at WNYC. He worked on the NPR and WNYC program On The Media. Later he became the New York correspondent for NPR's midday newsmagazine Day to Day, a job that has brought him to the campaign trail, political conventions, hurricane zones and the Manolo Blahnik shoe sale. Pesca was the first NPR reporter to have his own podcast, a weekly look at gambling cleverly titled "On Gambling with Mike Pesca."
Pesca, whose writing has appeared in Slate and The Washington Post, is the winner of two Edward R. Murrow awards for radio reporting and, in1993, was named Emory University Softball Official of the Year.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife Robin, sons Milo and Emmett and their dog Rumsfeld. A believer in full disclosure, Pesca rates his favorite teams as the Jets, Mets, St. Johns Red Storm and Knicks, teams he has covered fairly and without favor despite the fact that they have given him a combined one championship during his lifetime as a fully cognizant human.
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The Chicago Blackhawks were on the verge of elimination from the National Hockey League playoffs. But in overtime Wednesday night, they came back to beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series.
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In New York's Grand Central Terminal Wednesday, wrestlers from Iran, Russia and the United States faced off in what was dubbed "Rumble on the Rails." This meet was more than just a show of diplomacy and sportsmanship. The athletes want to rally support for their sport which could be excluded from upcoming Olympic games.
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Broadcaster Bob Wolff, 92, witnessed many historic moments in sports during his 74-year career. He has donated more than 1,000 hours of his broadcasts to the Library of Congress.
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Marathons are among the most open sporting events. Crowds can press right up against the route as runners wind there way through city streets. But two explosions at the Boston Marathon have raised questions about whether that openness can last.
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Louisville hasn't won the NCAA men's college basketball championship since 1986. They beat Michigan 82-76. Coach Rick Pitino added this title to the one he won at Kentucky in 1996. He's the first coach to win a championship at two schools.
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Syracuse is the only college team that relies exclusively on a 2-3 zone defense. They've been unstoppable so far in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, but on Saturday night, Michigan will try to break through Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim's winning strategy.
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Top overall seed Louisville will face Wichita State at the Georgia Dome next Saturday, while Michigan takes on Syracuse in the other national semifinal. The winners advance to the April 8 championship.
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The basketball tactic isn't officially tracked. There isn't even a universal definition (it can occur when a defensive player in any way redirects the intended flight of the ball). But University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino knows deflections are key to winning.
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The weekend's NCAA men's college basketball tournament saw some close games. Top seeds Gonzaga and Georgetown lost. Florida Gulf Coast University became the first 15th seed to win two games in tournament history.
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A host of Division 1 games gets underway in men's college basketball Thursday. That play begins a massive national overdose of basketball that will continue for several weeks.The competition will be held at four sites.