Sal Paolantonio

Born, in Long Island, N.Y., Salvatore Anthony Nicholas Paolantonio is a national correspondent for ESPN, based in Philadelphia. From 1973-1983 he served as a gunnery officer in the U.S. Navy. He graduated from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 1977, earning a bachelor's degree in history, and received a master's degree in journalism from New York University in 1978. Paolantonio began his career at the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he worked as a political reporter and as the Philadelphia Eagles beat reporter. At the same time, he worked as a reporter for the WPHL evening news while also hosting "Saturday Morning Sports Page" on WIP sports radio. In 1995 he joined ESPN, where his primary focus was coverage of the NFL for "SportsCenter," "Sunday NFL Countdown," "Monday Night Countdown," "NFL Live" and "NFL Insiders." He was also a regular contributor to 97.5 The Fanatic, the ESPN affiliate in Philadelphia. Off-camera Paolantonio has written three books, and spent several years in the English department at St. Joseph's University, where he taught classes in journalism and communications. In 2013 his alma mater, SUNY Oneonta, honored him with a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, and in 2014 he was named a member of the advisory board to the University of Central Florida's School of Communications.