Sheldon Spencer

Michael Jeffrey Jordan and I were born about 366 days and 400 miles apart years ago in New York state. Each of us eventually moved to the Carolinas. Each failed to make the cut for a prep team once. Then our paths diverged somewhat. Perhaps you’re familiar with his story. Here’s the short version on me: My love of journalism has taken me to sports writing jobs with the Tacoma News Tribune, The National Sports Daily, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and San Jose Mercury News. I’ve enjoyed an 19-year run with ESPN, including four seasons on ESPN.com’s NFL desk. I’ve had chances to interview the likes of Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Eva Longoria, Kevin Costner, Mike Tyson after a car chase (long story), Tom Brady, Ryan Leaf, boomerang throwers, one-armed demolition-derby drivers, and Rose Bowl trophy thieves. I hope to see a day when every issue of The National Sports Daily is readable on a tablet, the Lombardi Trophy returns to the Raiders trophy case, and Hollywood films a sequel to “The Long Kiss Goodnight.” I’ve flown upside down at the speed of sound and stood at the foot of a bleeding volcano, experiences that might prove useful in this job.