More About the Author
ABOUT SCOTT PITONIAK
Since the time he was knee-high to a Louisville Slugger, Scott dreamed of succeeding Mickey Mantle in center field at Yankee Stadium. His inability to hit the fastball, the curve ball, the knuckle ball, the beach ball - you name it - put an end to those grand plans, so the Rome, N.Y. native opted instead to play write, as in W-R-I-T-E, field for various newspapers, magazines, books and web sites the past three-and-half decades.
After graduating magna cum laude from Syracuse University in 1977, Scott eschewed grad and law school to begin work at several small dailies. He joined the Democrat and Chronicle in 1985 and spent five years covering the Buffalo Bills before being promoted to sports columnist - a position he held until leaving the newspaper in December 2008 to become a full-time author and freelancer.
Along the way, he has covered five Olympics - including last Summer's Beijing Games - eight Super Bowls, five World Series, the NBA All-Star Game and four major golf tournaments, as well as scores of Rochester Red Wings, Buffalo Bills, high school and SU games.
The most decorated sportswriter in Rochester newspaper history, Scott has received more than 100 national and regional journalism honors. His work, which often deals with the human side of sports, has been cited in the Best American Sportswriting anthology. Scott was inducted into the Frontier Field Walk of Fame in 1999, SU's Newhouse School of Public Communications Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Rome Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. He also was selected as a torchbearer for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
Scott is passionate about giving back to his community. Through the years, he has mentored hundreds of students, taught journalism at the college level and been heavily involved in charities and community service organizations. He is a past president of the Rochester Press-Radio Club Children's Charities, which has donated more than $2 million to local charities.
His varied interests include everything from playing 19th Century Base Ball at the Genesee Country Village and Museum to making a fool of himself as an aspiring thespian at GeVa's annual curtain call fundraiser.
His most cherished moments are spent with his wife - the former Beth Adams - his children, Amy and Christopher, and their energetic family cat, Sassy.
Somehow, he also has found time to author 15 books. His most recent title, "Color Him Orange: The Jim Boeheim Story," was published by Triumph Books last November. He has two more books scheduled for publication in 2012.
Scott currently writes a regular column for his website - www.ScottPitoniak.com - and does blogging and occasional on-air work for WROC-TV 8 in Rochester. He also is a regular contributor to various magazines and is working on two more books.
Scott is a frequent radio guest, locally and nationally, and is an accomplished public speaker.
