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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4:37pm

Fri January 4, 2013
Sports

Weak Schedule Helped Some Wild Card Teams Into NFL Playoffs

Originally published on Fri January 4, 2013 7:02 pm

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Finally this hour, as we get ready to settle in for the NFL playoffs - that's four football games per weekend over the next two weekends - NPR's Mike Pesca is here to offer insight, analysis, and I understand a little cold water. Mike, what's your deal here?

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5:20pm

Tue December 4, 2012
Sports

Rookie NFL QBs Reignite Their Lagging Teams

Originally published on Tue December 4, 2012 6:50 pm

Audie Cornish talks with Mike Pesca about the success of rookie quarterbacks Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins and Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts. On Monday night, Griffin led the Redskins in a victory over the New York Giants. Andrew Luck threw for a last second touchdown to beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday. The two were the top picks in last year's draft and both are leading their teams to substantial improvement over last season.

4:41pm

Wed November 28, 2012
Sports

Doping Era Could Change MLB Hall Of Fame Entrants

Originally published on Wed November 28, 2012 5:47 pm

Baseball Hall of Fame voters will come face-to-face with the doping era this year. Major figures in steroid scandals including Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa will be on the ballot for the first time. Melissa Block talks with Mike Pesca about the slate of candidates announced on Wednesday.

5:13pm

Tue November 27, 2012
Remembrances

Marvin Miller Changed Baseball With Free Agency

Originally published on Tue November 27, 2012 5:55 pm

Former baseball union leader Marvin Miller has died. He revolutionized sports with free agency, which gave athletes more power and vastly increased their compensation.

5:14am

Mon October 29, 2012
Sports

Giants Sweep Tigers For World Series Title

Originally published on Mon October 29, 2012 6:51 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Please take a chance if you can and send condolences to NPR's Don Gonyea, one of the nation's more prominent Tigers fans. The San Francisco Giants are the World Series champions, completing a four-game sweep last night and beating the Detroit Tigers 4-3 in 10 innings. Few people expected a sweep, but then again the Giants were a surprise team this baseball season. NPR's Mike Pesca reports that the San Francisco's pitching and defense dominated this series.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Baseball, it's a strange game. It's a quirky game.

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4:46pm

Wed October 10, 2012
Remembrances

Football Player-Turned-Actor Alex Karras Dies

Originally published on Wed October 10, 2012 6:57 pm

Alex Karras played defense for the Detroit Lions in the 1960s. He turned to acting when he retired his cleats, landing a number of character roles in television and film. He was 77.

4:36pm

Wed September 5, 2012
Sports

NFL Starts Regular Season Without Its Regular Refs

Originally published on Wed September 5, 2012 5:56 pm

The NFL starts its regular season tonight with replacement referees. A labor dispute has sidelined the regular refs. Some players and fans say the game is suffering.

5:10pm

Fri August 24, 2012
Sports

Lance Armstrong Banned For Life, Stripped Of Medals

Originally published on Fri August 24, 2012 7:47 pm

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

To athletes young and old, Lance Armstrong has been an icon and an inspiration, even more so to cancer survivors, their families and anyone who wore a yellow LIVESTRONG bracelet. So what becomes of Armstrong's legacy now that his titles are gone and he's been labeled a doper?

Here's NPR's Mike Pesca with some reaction.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: The year is 2000, and the Tour de France has just reached a critical stage in Provence. Breaking away from the pack, in effect breaking the pack, is Lance Armstrong.

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4:29pm

Sun August 12, 2012
Sports

Hard Lessons At the Olympics, Like The Metric System

Originally published on Sun August 12, 2012 4:59 pm

Credit Anja Niedringhaus / AP

Olympic winners like gold medalist Claressa Shields have said the games were a learning experience, but what were they learning? Hard work? Sure. Sportsmanship? Maybe. The metric system? Certainly not.

U.S. judo competitor Kyle Vashkulat competes at 100 kg, which he knows means he weighs 220 lbs. But does he know height?

"We were in a sauna, and the guy's telling us the height of the boxers, and he's like, 'Yeah, this guy's like, 1.7 meters' — and we're like, 'How tall is that?'" Vashkulat says, laughing.

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11:16am

Fri August 10, 2012
The Torch

Boxing Maths and Aftermaths: Why Similar Scores Are A Mean System

Credit Scott Heavey / Getty Images

Four years ago, Irish boxer Paddy Barnes lost to China's Zou Shiming by a score of 15-0 in Beijing. Today in London, Barnes fought his way back into their match to tie Zou at 15-15 — but he still lost. Barnes accepted the decision, but the result might confuse anyone who isn't familiar with boxing's scoring system.

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