Rick Reilly

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Richard "Rick" Paul Reilly (born February 3, 1958 in Boulder, Colorado) is the "back-page" sportswriter for Sports Illustrated. He has won the Sportswriter of the Year award 10 times.

Reilly began his career in 1981 with the Boulder Daily Camera. He joined Sports Illustrated in 1985, and also writes an annual article for the Swimsuit Issue and hosts The Riffs of Reilly on Verizon VCAST and SI.com. His current column on Sports Illustrated's back page is called "The Life of Reilly."

Reilly's style is usually humorous, poking fun at the absurdities of athletes, coaches, and almost anyone involved in sports at any level. Reilly does have a serious side, and has written on many subjects, from "small town" heroes to his own personal life. Reilly has also done features, notably one about a week spent with Marge Schott that ultimately helped lead to her suspension from baseball.

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 drug test after a game; Sosa reacted by yelling and threatening him. Reilly then wrote a critical column the next week. Reilly has also been a constant critic of San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds, and Bonds has become a regular subject of his columns. Reilly ridicules his treatment of his teammates, his off-field behavior, and accusations of steroid use.

Despite being highly critical of the recruiting and sexual assault scandal at his alma mater, the University of Colorado, Reilly himself has been accused of not being able to supervise his own teenage daughter while an alleged sexual assault and underage drinking took place in his own home. (http://http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stories/031304aae.html).

Reilly has his own football card, which he detailed in a column. The card was part of the Topps "Fans of the Game" series, and featured Reilly with the logo of his favorite team, the defunct Los Angeles Rams.


Rick Reilly has also written Who's Your Caddy? (a bestseller), Missing Links and Slo Mo!. His latest comic golf novel, "Shanks for Nothing", is the sequel to Missing Links.

Rick Reilly is an avid supporter of Lance Armstrong and has often argued him to be the greatest athlete of all time.

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