| Revision as of 20:07, 17 August 2009 editZim924 (talk | contribs)28 edits →Trivia← Previous edit | Revision as of 20:08, 17 August 2009 edit undoZim924 (talk | contribs)28 edits →TriviaNext edit → | ||
| Line 39: | Line 39: | ||
| *During an altercation in a bar in 1997, ] threw 20-year-old Jorge Lugo through a plate-glass window. This led to a long standing running gag in Reilly's column which included a year-end award dubbed "The Chuckies" dedicated to people or things in sports that deserved to be thrown through a plate-glass window. Barkley later wrote the foreword to "Life of Reilly". | *During an altercation in a bar in 1997, ] threw 20-year-old Jorge Lugo through a plate-glass window. This led to a long standing running gag in Reilly's column which included a year-end award dubbed "The Chuckies" dedicated to people or things in sports that deserved to be thrown through a plate-glass window. Barkley later wrote the foreword to "Life of Reilly". | ||
| *Reilly has his own football card, which he detailed in a column. The card was part of the Donruss "Fans of the Game" series, and featured Reilly with the logo of his favorite team, the now-relocated Los Angeles Rams. | *Reilly has his own football card, which he detailed in a column. The card was part of the Donruss "Fans of the Game" series, and featured Reilly with the logo of his favorite team, the now-relocated Los Angeles Rams. | ||
| *Reilly is an avid supporter of Lance Armstrong and has often argued him to be the greatest athlete of all time. Armstrong wrote the foreword for Hate Mail from Cheerleaders and Other Adventures from the Life of Reilly. | *Reilly is an avid supporter of ] and has often argued him to be the greatest athlete of all time. Armstrong wrote the foreword for Hate Mail from Cheerleaders and Other Adventures from the Life of Reilly. | ||
| *Six of his articles have been included in the ] anthology series. | *Six of his articles have been included in the ] anthology series. | ||
Revision as of 20:08, 17 August 2009
 | This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "Rick Reilly" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Richard "Rick" Paul Reilly (born February 3, 1958 in Boulder, Colorado) is an American sportswriter. Long known for being the "back page" columnist for Sports Illustrated, Reilly moved to ESPN on June 1, 2008 where he is a featured columnist for ESPN.com and also writes the back page column for ESPN the Magazine. Reilly hosts ESPN’s Homecoming, an interview show, and he is a contributing essayist for ESPN SportsCenter and ABC Sports.
Career
Reilly began his career in 1981 with the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colorado. He spent two years (1983–85) as a football writer on the sports staff of the Denver Post, then on to the Los Angeles Times before joining Sports Illustrated in 1985. Reilly has become a recognized name in the sportswriting industry because of his human interest pieces; his column, “Life of Reilly” was featured on the back page of SI from 1997 until 2007 when he announced that he would leaving Sports Illustrated to join ESPN. Reilly officially left SI during the week of November 29, 2007, after 23 years with the magazine.
“Life of Reilly” now appears in ESPN the Magazine (also the last page) and on ESPN.com. In addition to his weekly columns, Reilly delivers essays from live sporting events for SportsCenter and other ESPN telecasts, such as the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and the British Open. He is host of “Homecoming”, an interview program, also on ESPN, taped in the hometowns of featured guests. The series launched in April of 2009.
Style
Reilly's style is usually humorous, poking fun at the absurdities of athletes, coaches, and almost anyone involved in sports at any level.
The New York Daily News called him "one of the funniest humans on the planet."
Reilly does have a serious side and has written on a broad range subjects. His writing often focuses on themes of family, heroism, and human spirit. He has said in his columns that he doesn't write about sports, but writes "about people IN sports".
Controversies
In 2002, Reilly responded to Sammy Sosa's assertion that he would "take a drug test if someone offered it to him" by spontaneously offering him a chance to drive to a local lab and take a drug test after a game; Sosa reacted by yelling and threatening him. Reilly responded in his column the next week.
Reilly has also been a frequent critic of former San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds for his treatment of his teammates, his off-field behavior and his alleged steroid use.
Nothing But Nets
In 2006, Reilly wrote a column in Sports Illustrated about program dedicated to providing anti-malaria nets to African children at a cost of $10 per net. His request for contributions elicited a response from thousands and led to the creation the Nothing But Nets foundation in partnership with the United Nations Foundation. By mid-2009, the initiative has collected over $24 million dollars.
Bibliography
Reilly’s books include:
- Slo Mo! –(Doubleday)– A fictional diary of a naive 7'8" kid taken from high school to the NBA.
- Missing Links – (Doubleday) – A novel about an eccentric group of golfers who are regulars at the worst public golf course in America.
Shanks for Nothing (Doubleday)– This sequel to Missing Links cracked the New York Times bestseller list. Like Missing Links, it revolves around the antics and camaraderie of the regulars of the Ponkaquogue Municipal Golf Links and Deli.
- The Life of Reilly – – An anthology of Reilly's best early works from Sports Illustrated. A New York Times bestseller.
- Hate Mail from Cheerleaders and Other Adventures from the Life of Reilly – – An anthology consisting of one-hundred Reilly's best weekly articles from 2000-2006. An instant success, it hit the New York Times bestseller list in its first week.
- Who's Your Caddy –(Doubleday) – A collection of stories about Reilly caddying for several remarkable people ranging from Donald Trump to the blind golfing world champion. A New York Times bestseller.
- The Boz – - co-author of the best-selling autobiography of Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth
- I'd Love to but I Have a Game – co-author with announcer Marv Albert
- The Wit and Wisdom of Charles Barkley – – co-author with Charles Barkley
- Gretzky – The autobiography of hockey superstar, Wayne Gretzky. Reilly was the co-author with Gretzky.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (September 2008) |
- During an altercation in a bar in 1997, Charles Barkley threw 20-year-old Jorge Lugo through a plate-glass window. This led to a long standing running gag in Reilly's column which included a year-end award dubbed "The Chuckies" dedicated to people or things in sports that deserved to be thrown through a plate-glass window. Barkley later wrote the foreword to "Life of Reilly".
- Reilly has his own football card, which he detailed in a column. The card was part of the Donruss "Fans of the Game" series, and featured Reilly with the logo of his favorite team, the now-relocated Los Angeles Rams.
- Reilly is an avid supporter of Lance Armstrong and has often argued him to be the greatest athlete of all time. Armstrong wrote the foreword for Hate Mail from Cheerleaders and Other Adventures from the Life of Reilly.
- Six of his articles have been included in the Best American Sports Writing anthology series.