Mike Wise (American columnist)

Mike Wise is a writer for ESPN.

Career

Wise was a sports columnist with The Washington Post from May 2004 to December 2014.[1] In addition, from 2009 to December 2012, Wise also hosted "The Mike Wise Show" on WJFK-FM. His on-air shift was originally four hours before being cut to two hours before Wise's show was canceled for ratings-related reasons.[2][3]

During the Washington Redskins football season, Mike appears on WRC-TV's "Redskins Showtime" along with Jason Reid, Doc Walker, and Dan Hellie.

He is best known for his basketball coverage and his portraits of athletes and their psychological pasts. Wise was previously at The New York Times for 10 years, where he covered the New York Knicks, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and many of the nation's major sporting events. At the Post and the Times, he has covered the NBA Finals, World Series, multiple Super Bowls, an America's Cup in New Zealand and six Olympic Games.

During an August 2010 segment on his radio show, Wise tried to mock modern day journalism's lack of sourcing and fact-checking by deliberately posting a phony story about Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Twitter. Because he had used his Washington Post Twitter account, the Post suspended him for a month.[4]

Other media

Wise is the co-author of two books: 2001's Shaq Talks Back, with Shaquille O'Neal, a New York Times bestseller; and 1999's Just Ballin' – the Chaotic Rise of the New York Knicks, with New York Daily News reporter Frank Isola. His television appearances have included Comcast's Washington Post Live, ESPN's Jim Rome is Burning, MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, CNN, The Charlie Rose Show, PBS NewsHour, The Today Show and Good Morning America.

Selected awards

Wise won the 2006 Associated Press Sports Writers first-place Feature Story Award[5] for a portrait of NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas and the mother who abandoned him.[6] He also won the 2009 Associated Press Sports Writers first-place Feature Story Award.[7]

Personal life

Wise was raised in Northern California and Hawaii and is a graduate of California State University, Fresno.

In January 2008, Wise and his dog were running along a frozen canal in Georgetown when his dog fell through the ice. Wise also fell through the ice trying to save his dog, and would have died if a stranger had not pulled him out. Wise later found the person, a George Washington University Law School student named Jason Coates, and wrote a story about their experiences in The Washington Post Magazine.[8]

In June 2010, Wise married Christina Lohs. They have one child, a son.

References

  1. ↑ Wise, Mike. "After nearly 11 years as a Post columnist, once again with feeling". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Wise, Mike. "The Mike Wise Show".
  3. ↑ Steinberg, Dan. "Mike Wise's Radio Show Ends". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  4. ↑ Howard Kurtz (1 September 2010). "Post sportswriter Mike Wise suspended for Roethlisberger hoax on Twitter". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  5. ↑ Associated Press Sports Editors. "Best of Writing 2006". Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  6. ↑ Mike Wise (29 October 2006). "The Psychic Scars That Shaped an NBA Star". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  7. ↑ Associated Press Sports Editors. "Best of Writing 2009". Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  8. ↑ Mike Wise (6 April 2008). "For the Love of Dog". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 December 2010.