Mike Pesca

Credit David Banks

Mike Pesca first reached the airwaves as a 10-year-old caller to a New York Jets-themed radio show and has since been able to parlay his interests in sports coverage as a National Desk correspondent  for NPR based in New York City.

Pesca enjoys training his microphone on anything that occurs at a track, arena, stadium, park, fronton, velodrome or air strip (i.e. the plane drag during the World's Strongest Man competition). He has reported from Los Angeles, Cleveland and Gary. He has also interviewed former Los Angeles Ram Cleveland Gary. Pesca is a panelist on the weekly Slate podcast “Hang up and Listen”.

In 1997, Pesca began his work in radio as a producer at WNYC. He worked on the NPR and WNYC program On The Media. Later he became the New York correspondent for NPR's midday newsmagazine Day to Day, a job that has brought him to the campaign trail, political conventions, hurricane zones and the Manolo Blahnik shoe sale. Pesca was the first NPR reporter to have his own podcast, a weekly look at gambling cleverly titled “On Gambling with Mike Pesca.”

Pesca, whose writing has appeared in Slate and The Washington Post, is the winner of two Edward R. Murrow awards for radio reporting and, in1993, was named Emory University Softball Official of the Year.

He lives in Manhattan with his wife Robin, sons Milo and Emmett and their dog Rumsfeld. A believer in full disclosure, Pesca rates his favorite teams as the Jets, Mets, St. Johns Red Storm and Knicks, teams he has covered fairly and without favor despite the fact that they have given him a combined one championship during his lifetime as a fully cognizant human.

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4:00am

Mon January 23, 2012
Sports

Giants, Patriots To Meet Again In Super Bowl

Originally published on Mon January 23, 2012 9:25 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Announcers also remembered Joe Paterno during yesterday's pro football games. Those two conference championships on Sunday determined the lineup for the Super Bowl. The New York Giants will play the New England Patriots in a rematch of a Super Bowl from four years ago. Neither team made it to the big game easily. Both have great quarterbacks, but on Sunday, both had to rely on defense. Here's NPR's Mike Pesca.

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2:23pm

Sat December 24, 2011
Sports

An Epic (And Mythic) 2011 NBA Preview

The NBA season opens Christmas Day, and every sports writer worth his tinseled tropes has made a reference to basketball fans being able to unwrap a slate of games under the tree.

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3:00pm

Fri December 16, 2011
Sports

Tebow Mania: Why The Quarterback Is So Popular

Every so often, an NFL player transcends the game. Think William "Refrigerator" Perry or Bo Jackson.

Tim Tebow, the quarterback who'll lead the Denver Broncos against the powerful New England Patriots on Sunday, has become a household name, thanks to his improbable come-from-behind victories combined with his prominent expressions of faith.

How does he do it? The Bears, Chargers, Chiefs, Dolphins, Jets, Raiders and Vikings would like to know.

Time For A Comeback

Tebow is a proper noun. Tebow is a verb meaning to genuflect.

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11:55am

Fri December 9, 2011
Sports

Larry Kelley: The Life Of The First Heisman Winner

On Saturday, college football's best player will be awarded the Heisman Trophy in New York. This year's front-runners attend Baylor University, Stanford University and University of Alabama; but 75 years ago, the Heisman winner was a Yale man. In 1936, at a time when the Ivy League was a hotbed of football talent, Yale end Larry Kelley was the first to win a Heisman Trophy.

3:00pm

Wed November 2, 2011
Sports

McCourt, MLB Reach Agreement To Sell Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Major League Baseball have reached an agreement to put the team up for sale. While McCourt's ownership has been widely seen as a disaster for the club, it will still likely sell for nearly three times what he paid for it.

4:00am

Tue October 25, 2011
NPR Story

Communication Issues For Cardinals In Game 5 Loss

Originally published on Tue October 25, 2011 6:50 am

The Texas Rangers rallied with a two-run double in the eighth inning, winning Monday's game 4-2 and taking a 3-2 lead in the World Series. But they also benefited from a highly unusual communication breakdown on the part of the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis hosts Game 6 on Wednesday.

4:00am

Mon October 24, 2011
Sports

Keys To Rangers' Game 4 Win: 1 Swing, 112 Pitches

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, host: The Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals four to nothing in Arlington, Texas last night. The win evens the series at two games apiece. The keys to the Rangers' victory were a single swing to the bat on offense and 112 pitches from their starter, Derek Holland. NPR's Mike Pesca was at the ballpark and filed this report.

MIKE PESCA: Mike Napoli - Napoli. It's fun to say. Napoli.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Napoli. Napoli. Napoli. Napoli.

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8:00am

Sun October 23, 2011
Sports

Cardinals Take Game 3 With A Bang

Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals gave a performance for the record books Saturday night in Game 3 of the World Series. They beat the Texas Rangers 16 to 7. NPR's Mike Pesca reports.

3:00pm

Wed October 19, 2011
Sports

Cardinals, Rangers Face Off In World Series

This year's World Series match-up puts the St. Louis Cardinals against the Texas Rangers. If history is any guide, there's only a small chance the series will go to seven games.

4:00am

Thu September 22, 2011
Sports

'Moneyball' Is More Than Just Baseball Stats

The movie Moneyball opens Friday. Based on the Michael Lewis book, it focuses on the rise of advanced statistical analysis in Major League Baseball.

3:00pm

Fri September 9, 2011
Sports

Australian Wins Surfing Competition

Australian Owen Wright won the first pro-surfing competition held in New York. Wright beat out Kelly Slater, a ten-time world champion surfer, for the $300,000 prize.

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