Samuel P. Smith

Sam Smith (born on January 24, 1948 in Brooklyn, New York) is a retired NBA writer for the "Chicago Tribune". He is married with two children and lives in Geneva, Illinois. Smith has appeared numerous times on the local sports television talk show "Chicago Tribune Live" on Comcast Sports Net.

Smith received a buyout from the Chicago Tribune on April 1, 2008. [http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=159224] Smith continues to write through a blog at [http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/index.php HoopsHype.com] . He is also the NBA writer for "Sporting News" magazine as well as a frequent guest on the Tony Kornheiser and Mike North radio shows.

Pre-"Tribune" years

Growing up in Brooklyn, Smith was a huge New York Yankees fan.Or|date=May 2008 His favorite childhood baseball players were Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle.Fact|date=May 2008 After high school, Smith attended Pace University, graduating with a degree in accounting. He earned his master's degree in journalism from Ball State. He then went on to become the press secretary to Connecticut Senator Lowell Weicker in the 1970s. Before his employment with the "Chicago Tribune", Smith wrote for the newspaper in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Books and articles

Smith has written two books: "The Jordan Rules" and "Second Coming: The Strange Odyssey of Michael Jordan from Courtside to Home Plate and Back Again" (or simply "Second Coming"). "The Jordan Rules" was featured on the "New York Times" Bestseller List. He is known around the NBA as a writer that proposes many trades, the most notable of which would be his attempts to persuade the Chicago Bulls to trade for Kevin Garnett. One major proposal made by Smith was the Ron Artest and Brad Miller for Jalen Rose trade, sending Artest and Miller to the Indiana Pacers. The Bulls eventually executed the deal, avoiding many future embarrassments by Artest.

References