Jack McCallum

Last updated

Jack McCallum
Born1949 (age 7475)
Alma mater Muhlenberg College [1]
Occupation(s)Novelist and sportswriter

Jack McCallum (born 1949) is an American novelist and sportswriter.

Contents

Early life and education

He graduated from Muhlenberg College, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1971. [1]

Career

McCallum joined the staff of Sports Illustrated magazine in 1981, and became known for his articles on the National Basketball Association (NBA). [1] He won the Basketball Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy Media Award  Print in 2005. [2]

During the 2005–06 NBA pre-season, McCallum began working as an unofficial assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team, based in Phoenix, Arizona, as part of an assignment for Sports Illustrated. The piece soon evolved into a larger project, as the Suns granted McCallum full access to their practices and strategy sessions throughout the entire season. The resulting work was his book :07 Seconds or Less  My Season on the Bench with the Runnin' and Gunnin' Phoenix Suns (2006). [3] [4]

In November 2008, McCallum announced that he had accepted a contract buyout from Sports Illustrated, but he has continued[ clarification needed ] to write pieces for the magazine as a special contributor. [5]

Additionally, McCallum wrote Unfinished Business: On and Off the Court With the 1990-91 Boston Celtics, as well as Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and The Greatest Team Of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever, a nonfiction book chronicling the players on the Dream Team and the events before, during and after the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

His most recent work, entitled Golden Days (2017), is on Jerry West's L.A. Lakers and Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors.

Novelist

With L. Jon Wertheim, McCallum also co-wrote a basketball novel, Foul Lines  A Pro Basketball Novel (2006). [6]

Bibliography

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix Suns</span> National Basketball Association team in Phoenix, Arizona

The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Suns are the only team in their division not to be based in California. They play their home games at the Footprint Center. The Suns are one of four major league sports teams based in the Phoenix area, but are the only one to bill themselves as representing the city.

Al McCoy, known as The Voice of the Suns, is a retired American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association from 1972 to 2023. The 2022–23 NBA season was his 51st and final season. He is the longest-tenured broadcaster in NBA history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Westphal</span> American basketball player and coach (1950–2021)

Paul Douglas Westphal was an American basketball player, head coach, and commentator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Sun</span> American professional basketball team

The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Nash</span> Canadian basketball player and coach (born 1974)

Stephen John Nash is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, where he was an eight-time All-Star and a seven-time All-NBA selection. Nash was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player while playing for the Phoenix Suns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curt Gowdy</span> American sportscaster

Curtis Edward Gowdy was an American sportscaster. He called Boston Red Sox games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s. He coined the nickname "The Granddaddy of Them All" for the Rose Bowl Game, taking the moniker from the Cheyenne Frontier Days in his native Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Johnson (basketball, born 1969)</span> American basketball player (born 1969)

Larry Demetric Johnson is an American former professional basketball player who spent his career as a power forward with the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 2008, Johnson was inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame. He was then inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame on November 24, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Breen</span> American sportscaster

Michael Breen is an American play-by-play sports commentator. He has been the lead announcer for NBA games on ABC and ESPN since 2006, including the NBA Finals. He is also the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen previously called NFL regular season games for both NFL on Fox and NFL on NBC, as well as New York Giants preseason games.

Nationally television broadcasts of National Basketball Association (NBA) games first aired on ABC from 1965 to 1973. In 2002, NBA games returned to ABC as part of a contract signed with the league, along with cable sister network ESPN. After the ABC Sports division was merged into ESPN Inc. by parent company Disney in 2006, broadcasts have since been produced by ESPN, and have primarily used the NBA on ESPN branding and graphics instead of the NBA on ABC branding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Strom</span> American basketball referee (1927–1994)

Earl "Yogi" Strom was an American professional basketball referee for 29 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and for three years in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Strom is credited as one of the greatest referees in the history of the NBA and was known for his flamboyant style and ability to control the game. Nicknamed "The Pied Piper", the assertive Strom made foul calls with his whistle by using a "tweet-pause-tweet-tweet" tune and pointing at the offending player. In addition to calling fouls with flair, he was known for ejecting players from games with style and he sometimes supported his rulings with physical force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie MacMullan</span> American journalist

Jackie "Mac" MacMullan Boyle is a retired American freelance newspaper sportswriter and NBA columnist for the sports website ESPN.com. She retired from ESPN on August 31, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doris Burke</span> American sports commentator

Doris Burke is an American sports announcer and analyst for NBA on ESPN, NBA on ABC, College Basketball on ESPN, and College Basketball on ABC games. She formerly worked as an analyst for WNBA games on MSG, and has worked on New York Knicks games. Burke was the first female commentator to call a New York Knicks game on radio and television.

The Pacific Division is one of the three divisions in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The division consists of five teams, the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings. All teams, except the Suns, are based in California. Along with the American League West, they are one of two North American major league divisions with no animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Rubio</span> Spanish basketball player (born 1990)

Ricard Rubio Vives is a Spanish professional basketball player who last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rubio became the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB League on 15 October 2005, at age 14. He made his EuroLeague debut on 24 October 2006, a few days after turning 16, making him one of the youngest players to play in the EuroLeague.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball</span> Mens basketball team of UNLV

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are the men's basketball team that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the Mountain West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); it plays at the Thomas & Mack Center on campus. As of 2023, UNLV has the seventh-highest winning percentage (.687) in Division I history. UNLV is 33–19 all-time in the NCAA tournament with a 63.5 winning percentage. In July 2008, ESPNU named the program the eighth most prestigious collegiate basketball program in the nation since the 1984–85 season.

<i>07 Seconds or Less</i> 2006 book by Jack McCallum

:07 Seconds or Less: My Season on the Bench with the Runnin' and Gunnin' Phoenix Suns is a book written by Jack McCallum about the Phoenix Suns' 2005–06 NBA season. It gives an inside look about the NBA team and its players, including Steve Nash and Shawn Marion, as well as the head coach, Mike D'Antoni, and his assistants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curt Gowdy Media Award</span> Annual award for outstanding basketball writers

The Curt Gowdy Media Award is an annual award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to outstanding basketball writers and broadcasters. It is named for American sportscaster Curt Gowdy, who was the Hall of Fame's president for seven years.

The 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team, nicknamed the "Dream Team", was the first American Olympic team to feature active professional players from the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team has often been described as the greatest sports team ever assembled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 NBA Finals</span> 2021 edition of the NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks

The 2021 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2020–21 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Eastern Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns, 4–2, winning their first NBA championship in 50 years and second overall. Holding home-court advantage, the Suns led the series 2–0 before the Bucks won the next four games, becoming the fifth team in NBA history to win the championship after losing the first two games. Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). With the COVID-19 pandemic altering the NBA's schedule for the second consecutive year, the start date of the series was pushed from its usual time in late May or early June to July 6, the second-latest start in Finals' history. This was the first NBA Finals since 2010 to have neither LeBron James or Stephen Curry as one of the players.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Database (undated). Jack McCallum Archive. Sports Illustrated . Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  2. Staff (undated). "Curt Gowdy Media Award Winners" Archived 2010-12-08 at the Wayback Machine . Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  3. Feschuk, Dave (November 21, 2006). "Author Sleeps Over in House of Rising Suns". Toronto Star . Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  4. [ dead link ] "NBA Insider: Fascinating Book Takes Close Look at Suns" [ permanent dead link ]. San Antonio Express-News . November 3, 2006. Retrieved September 24, 2006.
  5. [ dead link ] "A Titan of NBA Writing Accepts a Buyout" [ permanent dead link ]. ESPN. November 21, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  6. Littlefield, Bill (March 5, 2006). "On the Hardwood, Upsets, Excess, and the Mouth That Roared". The Boston Globe . Retrieved August 6, 2012.