Kirk Mango

Kirk Mango

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About

Hi, and thanks for visiting my profile page here at Bleacher Report. As a writer, I also publish articles at "The Athlete's Sports Experience" for the Chicagonow blog network, at Weplay.com for their Weplay Moms section "Expert Advice For Sports Parents." Several of my articles have been featured on the Gatorade Moms website (gatorade.com/moms) for their "Articles & Advice: You and Your Athlete" section.

In addition, I am the author of "Becoming a True Champion: Achieving Athletic Excellence From the Inside Out" (http://rowmanlittlefield.com/ISBN/9781442214064) released this past May by Rowman & Littlefield. The book was written to address the “winning at all costs” attitudes and loss of perspective in our current sports and youth sports culture, along with giving athletes the tools they need to reach whatever levels of athletic success they so desire.

As a former athlete, I was a Division I National Champion, 3-Time All-American, 3-Time Hall of Fame Athlete, and in 2009 was selected as #8 on NIU's Top 50 Huskies Athletes of All Time list. I have also been blessed with two athletic daughters who were fortunate enough to earn themselves Division I scholarships to play their respective sports in college.

As an educator, I teach physical education at Downers Grove South High School. I have been teaching for over 32 years, and coached 17 of those years (12 of them as a head coach). Since my profession is one that promotes physical fitness and wellness, I work out regularly in order to set a good example for the students I teach. I believe that trying to encourage high school age students to make sound choices regarding exercise and diet becomes much more difficult if you cannot practice what you preach.

Short List

  • Favorite Athletes

    Shaina Mango and Lindsey Mango - Hey, they're my daughters. They have to be!!!

  • Favorite Sports Teams

    Marquette Soccer and Louisville Volleyball

  • Favorite Coaches

    John Wooden

  • All-Time Sports Moment

    Watching my daughters high school volleyball team win the IHSA State Championships in 2006

  • Most Memorable Game Attended

    Same as above. That was truly exciting!!!

  • Most Unbreakable Sports Record

    Hmmmm, that would probably be mine at NIU. Ha, the program no longer exists, due to cutbacks, leaving that record intact :-)!!!

  • Ruth or Mays?

    Mays

  • Unitas or Montana?

    Montana

  • Jordan or Russell?

    Jordan

  • Gretzky or Orr?

    Gretzky

  • Pele or Maradona?

    Pele

  • Federer or Sampras?

    Federer

  • Tiger or Nicklaus?

    Nicklaus

  • Petty or Earnhardt?

    Petty

  • ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 or SEC?

    Big East then Big 10

Bulletin Board

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  • Meredith Day posted 425 days ago

    Meredith Day

    Of course! Glad I could help. I just popped back in to put em-dashes instead of the shorter dashes.

  • Meredith Day posted 426 days ago

    Meredith Day

    Hi Kirk, thanks for clarifying your position. I think if you changed the last paragraph to refer to other forms of "cheating," that would work. Something like, "By this precedent, poor, unethical, cheating behavior causes one to lose a whole season, and the financial reward that goes with it, or possibly an entire lifetime of seasons (lifetime ban). The culture - not only of bounty systems, but also PEDs and other forms of cheating - will quickly change because no one will want to risk getting slapped with such harsh penalties."

    It's up to you, of course. Let me know if you want me to take a look at whatever you decide to change it to. Thanks!

  • shawn samsel posted 482 days ago

    shawn samsel

    "Kirk"

  • shawn samsel posted 482 days ago

    shawn samsel

    What a freakin nitwit... Toradol?? Really?? Get a life.

  • Amy Lu posted 511 days ago

    Amy Lu

    It's been 9 days since you left a comment on my Bulletin Board, but I only just received a notification today. I apologize for the long wait! This concerns your question regarding italicizing quoted material and using quotation marks for emphasis.

    Another copyeditor might share a different opinion, but here is what I have to say: Context alone can help readers differentiate between quoted text and emphatic text. For example, I knew that "higher-end deals" wasn't emphatic text because it's a full-on phrase and is more specific. Now if you wrote "higher-end" deals, I might have thought it was emphatic; it sounds far more sarcastic. To summarize, it has a lot to do with tone and specificity!

    Explanation aside, italicizing quoted material is really a matter of style. If you think it would really benefit readers, feel free to do that. The downside, however, is that it can diminish the impact of italics if not used sparingly. I hope that helps!

  • lili lili posted 933 days ago

    lili lili

    Change your life! Click here!
    Окна Петрозаводск

  • JW Nix posted 1159 days ago

    JW Nix

    PLEASE Read this story on a Lions and Rams Legend :
    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/366861-crazy-canton-cuts-roger-brown

  • Andrew Cahill posted 1485 days ago

    Andrew Cahill

    A Story From A True Patriots Fan...check this one out...

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/164812-a-story-from-a-true-patriots-fan

  • H posted 1667 days ago

    H

    Wow! That's awesome!

  • The Enforcer posted 1746 days ago

    The Enforcer

    I've been meaning to get in touch with you, but for whatever reason, haven't. Sorry about that! I did stop by your website, though. Let's talk. You can email me at beatstanfurd@yahoo.com

    Thanks!

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