Mike Wise (American columnist)
Encyclopedia
Mike Wise is a sports columnist and feature writer for The Washington Post
. He also hosts a midday radio show on WJFK-FM
(106.7 The Fan) in Washington, D.C.
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
, a Super Bowl
, an America’s Cup in New Zealand
and four of the last six Olympic Games
.
In August 2010, Wise was suspended from the Post for one month for deliberately posting a phony news story about Pittsburgh Steelers
quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger
on Twitter
.
’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
.
Sports Writers first-place Feature Story Award for a portrait of NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas
and the mother who abandoned him. He also won the 2009 Associated Press Sports Writers first-place Feature Story Award.
and Hawaii
. He is a supporter of changing the Washington Redskins
' nickname, which has brought backlash from the team's fans.
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.
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. He also hosts a midday radio show on WJFK-FM
WJFK-FM
WJFK-FM, known on-air as 106.7 The Fan, is a sports radio-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Manassas, Virginia, serving the metro Washington DC area...
(106.7 The Fan) in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Career
Wise has been with The Washington Post since May 2004. He is best known for his basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coverage and his portraits of athletes and their psychological pasts. Wise was previously at The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
for 10 years, where he covered the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA) and many of the nation's major sporting events. At the Post and the Times, he has covered the NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
, World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
, a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, an America’s Cup in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and four of the last six Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
.
In August 2010, Wise was suspended from the Post for one month for deliberately posting a phony news story about Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger , nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round in the 2004 NFL Draft...
on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.
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 ComcastComcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
’s Washington Post Live, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
’s Jim Rome is Burning
Jim Rome is Burning
Jim Rome Is Burning, originally titled Rome Is Burning and often abbreviated as JRIB, is a sports conversation and opinion show hosted by Jim Rome. Debuting on May 6, 2003 as Rome Is Burning, it was originally a once a week show in primetime at 7:00 PM ET on Tuesday nights on ESPN...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
's Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, The Charlie Rose Show, PBS NewsHour, The Today Show and Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
.
Selected awards
Wise won the 2006 Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
Sports Writers first-place Feature Story Award for a portrait of NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas
Gilbert Arenas
Gilbert Jay Arenas, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association . He plays as a point guard and shooting guard....
and the mother who abandoned him. He also won the 2009 Associated Press Sports Writers first-place Feature Story Award.
Personal life
Wise was raised in Northern CaliforniaNorthern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. He is a supporter of changing the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
' nickname, which has brought backlash from the team's fans.
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.