Joe Yanarella's Sportswriter Profile

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Joe Yanarella

Joined 6 months ago

2 articles written
138 comments posted
2 articles of the day
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Joe's Bio

I've worked as a sportswriter at two daily newspapers, written text for baseball, basketball and football cards backs for Fleer and have interned at the home of hockey maven Stan Fischler. I've also served as a managing editor at a daily newspaper, entertainment publication and most recently, Wizard Entertainment, where I helped oversee the daily operations of four national pop culture mags, four national conventions and two websites.

But my first love has always been sports dating back to when my parents took me to see Lew Alcindor (yes, it was the pre-Kareem days) and the Bucks play Walt Frazier and the Knicks.

I'm a lifelong New Yorker, except for that one year I spent in Chicago, which was the longest year of my life when Charles Smith couldn't dunk the ball when we had Jordan and the Bulls on the ropes. The New York guy took plenty of abuse that summer.

I'm also a huge college basketball buff and have been to the NCAA Tournament numerous times. I've seen Jason Kidd and Cal end Bobby Hurley's Duke career and Kerry Kittles and Nova go to three OTs vs. Old Dominion. I've had beers in Rex Chapman's sports bar 3's in Lexington and bought a CBS Sports vest off an employee for $200 in a post-game celebration of one particularly gratifying win. (But that's a whole other story)

Baseball is a huge passion of mine and I love fantasy baseball. I'm still haunted by the memory of taking Joe Carter with the No. 2 pick in 1987 and passing on Eric Davis, who went on to a 37-homer, 50-steal season.

Joe's Recent Articles

Remembering My Father: A Sports Son's Tribute

Published 2 months ago
918 reads 59 comments

The 20 Hottest Sports Movie Babes

Published 5 months ago
17,291 reads 19 comments

Joe Writes About

Tom Edrington responded to a comment on Ricky Bell: The Unsung Hero of the 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Edrington responded to a comment on Ricky Bell: The Unsung Hero of the 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Joe Yanarella has picked Ricky Bell: The Unsung Hero of the 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a favorite article
Rich Kurtzman responded to a comment on Colorado Rockies: Why Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups are NBA's Best One-Two Punch
Rich Kurtzman responded to a comment on Colorado Rockies: Why Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups are NBA's Best One-Two Punch
Joe Yanarella commented on Bleacher Report College Basketball Season Preview Digest
Joe Yanarella commented on Iowa Hawkeyes: Luckiest Team in the BCS?
PJ Ross responded to a comment on Jamie McCourt Affair with Jeff Fuller Further Complicates Dodgers Power Struggle

The Short List What Joe thinks about sport's most pressing questions

Favorite Athletes

Bernie Williams, John Starks, Bert Jones,
Favorite Sports Teams

New York Yankees,
Favorite Coaches

Jeff Van Gundy, Joe Torre, Bill Parcells
Most Memorable Game Attended

Cal-Duke NCAA Men's Basketball Game when the arena literally shook and Jason Kidd ended Bobby Hurley's college carer
Most Unbreakable Sports Record

I always thought it was Joe D's 56-game hit streak but the direction baseball has gone in the last 10-20 years, it has to be Cy Young's 511 pitching victories. We may never see anyone get to 300 again after this year.
Ruth or Mays?

Mays. I love a five-tool guy who is clearly the best overall player on the field and can beat you in multiple ways.
Unitas or Montana?

Johnny U. Just cuz of the high tops.
Jordan or Russell?

Russell. He won more titles and as a die-hard '90s Knicks fan, I hated Jordan with a passion
Gretzky or Orr?

Gretzky. No one could come close to doing the things he could do with a puck.
Pele or Maradona?

Pete. I can still remember going to see Pele and Giorgio Chinaglia play at the Meadowlands in the 1970s with the NY Cosmos
Tiger or Nicklaus?

Tiger. There's no better competitor or clutch performer in all of sports right now
Pac 10, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC, or Big East?

Big East all the way

Bulletin Board (62) Post a note »

by JW
1 day ago

here is a story of another NFL Legend who has yet to get his deserved respect :

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/286573-crazy-canton-cuts-ed-meador
by JW
5 days ago

Now that the offense is done, it is time for the defense :

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/284160-the-almost-all-time-tennessee-titans-defense
by Jersey Al
10 days ago

As Favregeddon approaches, it's time to look back at the Packers-Vikings Rivalry and the moments that have made it a special one... Hope you like it!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/281184-green-bay-packers-vs-minnesota-vikings-the-historythe-rivalry-favre
by Dan
15 days ago

I've got that BCS rankings article up. Sent it to your email too, just covering all my bases.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/278598-bcs-rankings-week-9-miami-byu-drop-cincy-boise-scratch-their-heads
by GeorgiaDawg
17 days ago

Am I just venting? Or do I have a valid point? What do you think?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/276855-sec-officiating-five-ways-to-make-it-better
by Ash
19 days ago

Hey Joe. I thought you might get a kick out of this mock interview I wrote about last night's umpiring in the Yankees-Angels game.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/275820-interview-baseball-crew-chief-speaks-out-why-hes-a-moron-satire

Cheers,

Ash
by JW
26 days ago

you might like this Oiler great:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/272178-crazy-canton-cuts-bob-talamini
by Suzette
26 days ago

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/272100-im-not-the-greatest-but-i-have-met-muhammad-ali

I hope you have a chance for this one...and I hope you are fairing well!
by Leroy
26 days ago

Hi Joe, how are you?

Hi Dave, how's it going?

I would seriously love it if you and the other admins weighed in on this one:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/271676-when-bleacher-report-gets-x-rated

Thanks in advance.
by GeorgiaDawg
about 1 month ago

Vols and Dawgs renew rivalry:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/267576-georgia-vs-tennessee-time-to-squeeze-the-big-orange
by Darrell
about 1 month ago

Hi Joe,

I noticed you enjoyed Bob's interview with Ernie Banks the other day. I thought you might also enjoy this interview I conducted with him a few years back.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/266295-an-interview-with-ernie-banks-circa-2004
by JW
about 1 month ago

this man belongs in Canton :

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/265091-crazy-canton-cuts-don-coryell
by Justin
about 1 month ago

Joe,

I just posted a Creature Vs. Creature article on the Michigan-Michigan State game, with a link to Joe Guarr's article. Check it out, and Go Blue!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/264956-creature-vs-creature-oh-little-brother-where-art-thou-wins

Thanks,

Justin
by Dan
about 1 month ago

Joe,

The Heisman Trophy isn't the same as it use to be. What are the faults and what can be done in order to get the bronze figurine back to where it once was?

Don't be shy!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/264139-the-many-faults-of-college-footballs-most-prized-hardware
by Hotnuke
about 1 month ago

Joe,

I know this is a very lengthy piece, but it’s one I hope you find the time to enjoy at your leisure. It’s a fantastic biographical tribute to the greatest boxer in history, Sugar Ray Robinson. If you have the time, give it a perusal and let me know what you think.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/262970-greatness-revisited-sugar-ray-robinson-dominates-the-sweet-science

Thanks,

Daniel Barber aka Hotnuke

Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Getty Images.
Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Getty Images is strictly prohibited.

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