Sports Is Education - Bios

Bob Sakamoto
Sportswriter, Chicago Tribune

Bob Sakamoto's life in sports began in the summer of 1968, the first of three seasons as a ballboy/batboy for his beloved White Sox. He was unofficially credited with 2 RBIs by manager Eddie Stanky when a collision with Twins left fielder Rich Reese in '68 brought home the tying and winning runs in a 3-2 Sox victory. After getting a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern, the Lane Tech grad began to chronicle the exploits of a high school hoops phenom named Isiah Thomas and his contemporaries like Proviso East's Glenn "Doc'' Rivers and Carver's Terry Cummings. He spent the 1980s covering Michael Jordan, the Bulls and the Bears and was back on the high school beat in '92, getting to know the likes of Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Antwaan Randle El, and Donovan McNabb. From 1995-2005, Sakamoto also co-hosted the "High School Extra'' TV show on CLTV. Best high school event ever covered: Joliet Catholic's 56-50 playoff victory over Riverside-Brookfield in 2001 when 8,000 fans jammed into R-B's 3,000-seat stadium to see R-B quarterback Tim Brasic pass for a record 573 yards and seven TDs.