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Mike Bianchi

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Mike Bianchi
Mike Bianchi.jpg
Born (1960-06-01) June 1, 1960 (age 61)
OccupationSports columnist
NationalityAmerican

Michael A. Bianchi (born c. 1960)[citation needed] is an American journalist and sports columnist at the Orlando Sentinel.[1] He joined the Sentinel as a columnist in 2000 after working as the lead sports columnist at The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville.[2] Before the Times-Union, Bianchi worked at Florida Today in Cocoa Beach, where he wrote columns and covered athletics at the University of Florida.[3]

In Orlando, he writes about the Orlando Magic, Orlando City Soccer Club, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, University of Central Florida, NASCAR, the NBA, NFL and other sports and events.[1] Bianchi has a weekday morning radio program in Orlando, Open Mike, on WYGM AM 740; the show focuses on sports in Central Florida and Florida.[4][3]

In 2014, Bianchi came under fire for suggesting that the SEC should dump Ole Miss and instead add the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida.[5] Bianchi responded by posting a uTube video of himself, reading the hate mail he received from Mississippi State fans.[6]

in June of 2020, Bianchi wrote a powerful article titled, "My apology to Colin Kaepernick." He began his column with the statement, "I am on one knee right now for something I really need to say. In fact, it's something many of us should be saying right now." Bianchi apologized because we didn't listen to his "peaceful and silent protest," before the death of George Floyd. He recalled how those before Kaepernick were treated, like Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who were banned from the Olympic Village, for daring to raise their fists in their 1968 Olympics Black Power salute; he wrote about how white America chose to strip Muhammad Ali of his heavyweight championship. Bianchi referred to a meme, posted on social media by LeBron James showing Chauvin kneeling on the neck of Floyd, next to a photo of Kaepernick kneeling at a football game with a caption that read, "Do you understand now?" Bianchi wrote, "Yes, LeBron. We understand. Thank God, we understand."[7]

Awards[]

  • 2002 First Place in Sports Reporting, for "Mike Bianchi's Road Trip," Orlando Sentinel, Society of Professional Journalists, Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism (work produced in 2001).[8]
  • 2009 Sunshine States Award for sports commentary, South Florida Society of Professional Journalists.[9]
  • 2013 Florida Sportswriter of the Year, National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA).[10]
  • 2013 Alumni of Distinction, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.[11]

Books[]

  • Danny Wuerffel's tales from the Gator swamp: reflections of faith and football, co-author with Danny Wuerffel and Steve Spurrier. Sports Publications, 2004.[12]
  • Swampmeet: a Gator counting book, co-author with Marisol Novak and Andy Marlette. (Juvenile audience) Sports Publications, LLC, 2004.[13]
  • Gator alphabet: ABC, co-author with Marisol Novak and Andy Marlette. (Juvenile audience) Sports Publications, LLC, 2004.[14]

Personal[]

Bianchi was born in Gainesville, Florida;[15] he received a Bachelors in Journalism from the University of Florida in 1985.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Mike Bianchi - Orlando Sentinel". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  2. ^ "Annual Football Kickoff Meeting with Mike Bianchi". Daytona Beach Gator Club. 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Mike Bianchi". UF College of Journalism and Communications. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  4. ^ "Mike Bianchi Biography". CFL Radio. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  5. ^ Nanni, Ryan (2014-10-07). "Newspaper columnist had unbelievably bad idea". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  6. ^ Bianchi, Mike. "Mike Bianchi Reads his Hate Mail".
  7. ^ Bianchi, Mike. "Mike Bianchi: My apology to Colin Kaepernick". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  8. ^ "SPJ names 2002 Green Eyeshade Winners". www.spj.org. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  9. ^ spjadmin (2009-05-30). "2009 Sunshine State Award Winners Announced". SPJ Florida Pro. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  10. ^ "Vitale, Albom Newest NSSA Hall of Fame Electees; Patrick, King Win National Awards | NSSA". nssafame.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  11. ^ "2013 Alumni of Distinction » College of Journalism and Communications » University of Florida". www.jou.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  12. ^ Wuerffel, Danny; Bianchi, Mike; Spurrier, Steve (2004). Danny Wuerffel's tales from the Gator swamp: reflections of faith and football. Champaign, Ill.: Sports Pub. ISBN 978-1-58261-847-0. OCLC 56547501.
  13. ^ Novak, Marisol; Bianchi, Mike; Marlette, Andy (2004). Swampmeet: a Gator counting book. U.S.: Sports Pub. L.L.C. ISBN 978-1-58261-780-0. OCLC 56429704.
  14. ^ Novak, Marisol; Bianchi, Mike; Marlette, Andy (2004). Gator alphabet: ABC. U.S.: Sports Pub. L.L.C. ISBN 978-1-58261-403-8. OCLC 56429727.
  15. ^ "Swampland:Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel". swampland.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.

External links[]

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