This is another in a series on area executives, political and community leaders and personalities who have played prominent roles in the development of Downtown or Jacksonville as a whole over the years. Some are still in the area, working or retired or a bit of both. Some have moved away and are working in other areas of the state or country. The series continues with Mike Bianchi.
What he did: Times-Union sports columnist
What he’s doing now: Since 2001, Orlando Sentinel sports columnists, radio and television host.
If you remember reading Mike Bianchi’s column in the sports section of the Times-Union, you probably remember his sense of humor. You probably also remembered his passion for college football, especially those teams whose players go to class in the Sunshine State.
Bianchi headed south in 2001 for the sports columnist’s job with the Orlando Sentinel and while he has a new address, he has retained his passion and his sense of humor.
“The company everybody here works for filed bankruptcy yesterday, so there have been better days in Orlando,” he said Tuesday morning from his office at the Sentinel (one of the newspapers owned by the Tribune Company). Then Bianchi laughed and added, “But at least down here I don’t have to cover the Jaguars every week.”
He grew up in Interlachen, Fla. just down the road from Gainesville and earned his degree in journalism at the University of Florida. Being a Gator himself has sometimes led to fans of other teams accusing Bianchi of being a “homer.”
“But I really don’t think that way. I like to see all Florida teams do well because it makes my job easier and it’s better for business,” he said. “When teams are doing well people want to read about them.”
When he’s not working, Bianchi said he sometimes misses the atmosphere he left when he relocated to Central Florida.
“Jacksonville is a much more close-knit community than Orlando,” he said. “Here there are a lot of visitors so down here it’s much more transient. Sometimes it seems like nobody is from here.
“Job-wise it’s similar to Jacksonville, but there are a lot more sports to pick and choose from. College football is huge here like it is in Jacksonville, but there’s more sports variety. Orlando has the NBA and the University of Central Florida and I’m within driving distance of the NHL (the Lightning play in Tampa) and all of the college and pro football programs.”
In addition to his column in the Sentinel, Bianchi also hosts a Monday night football wrap-up and look ahead television show on Sun Sports Network and a radio show, “The Beat of Sports,” Monday-Friday mornings on Orlando’s AM-1190.
It’s not long in any conversation before the Gators football season and one of its players comes up and that’s when vintage Bianchi will come out these days leading up to the Jan. 8 BCS Championship game when the Gators will play Oklahoma.
“Covering the Gators is tremendous,” he exalted. “I’m going to New York City for the Heisman (Trophy) ceremony Saturday. I’ll be there to see if (UF QB) Tim Tebow will win another Heisman. If he does, he will probably go down as the greatest college football player of all time. Only Archie Griffin has been able to win two so far, but there is much more exposure now.”
As far as a prediction for the national championship game is concerned, Bianchi said he’s not comfortable picking the winner yet, but considering the two teams’ offensive statistics, “There might be 100 points scored combined.”
As a former resident of Jacksonville and member of the local sports media, Bianchi couldn’t end the interview without saying something positive about the Jaguars and not surprisingly, it was Gators-related and a classic comment.
“The best thing the Jaguars could do is talk Tim Tebow into coming out for the NFL draft and drafting him,” he said. “There’s no way to know if he’ll be any good in the NFL but he sure would sell tickets.”
Source: jaxdailyrecord.com
What he did: Times-Union sports columnist
What he’s doing now: Since 2001, Orlando Sentinel sports columnists, radio and television host.
If you remember reading Mike Bianchi’s column in the sports section of the Times-Union, you probably remember his sense of humor. You probably also remembered his passion for college football, especially those teams whose players go to class in the Sunshine State.
Bianchi headed south in 2001 for the sports columnist’s job with the Orlando Sentinel and while he has a new address, he has retained his passion and his sense of humor.
“The company everybody here works for filed bankruptcy yesterday, so there have been better days in Orlando,” he said Tuesday morning from his office at the Sentinel (one of the newspapers owned by the Tribune Company). Then Bianchi laughed and added, “But at least down here I don’t have to cover the Jaguars every week.”
He grew up in Interlachen, Fla. just down the road from Gainesville and earned his degree in journalism at the University of Florida. Being a Gator himself has sometimes led to fans of other teams accusing Bianchi of being a “homer.”
“But I really don’t think that way. I like to see all Florida teams do well because it makes my job easier and it’s better for business,” he said. “When teams are doing well people want to read about them.”
When he’s not working, Bianchi said he sometimes misses the atmosphere he left when he relocated to Central Florida.
“Jacksonville is a much more close-knit community than Orlando,” he said. “Here there are a lot of visitors so down here it’s much more transient. Sometimes it seems like nobody is from here.
“Job-wise it’s similar to Jacksonville, but there are a lot more sports to pick and choose from. College football is huge here like it is in Jacksonville, but there’s more sports variety. Orlando has the NBA and the University of Central Florida and I’m within driving distance of the NHL (the Lightning play in Tampa) and all of the college and pro football programs.”
In addition to his column in the Sentinel, Bianchi also hosts a Monday night football wrap-up and look ahead television show on Sun Sports Network and a radio show, “The Beat of Sports,” Monday-Friday mornings on Orlando’s AM-1190.
It’s not long in any conversation before the Gators football season and one of its players comes up and that’s when vintage Bianchi will come out these days leading up to the Jan. 8 BCS Championship game when the Gators will play Oklahoma.
“Covering the Gators is tremendous,” he exalted. “I’m going to New York City for the Heisman (Trophy) ceremony Saturday. I’ll be there to see if (UF QB) Tim Tebow will win another Heisman. If he does, he will probably go down as the greatest college football player of all time. Only Archie Griffin has been able to win two so far, but there is much more exposure now.”
As far as a prediction for the national championship game is concerned, Bianchi said he’s not comfortable picking the winner yet, but considering the two teams’ offensive statistics, “There might be 100 points scored combined.”
As a former resident of Jacksonville and member of the local sports media, Bianchi couldn’t end the interview without saying something positive about the Jaguars and not surprisingly, it was Gators-related and a classic comment.
“The best thing the Jaguars could do is talk Tim Tebow into coming out for the NFL draft and drafting him,” he said. “There’s no way to know if he’ll be any good in the NFL but he sure would sell tickets.”
Source: jaxdailyrecord.com
Post Title
→orlando sentinel: Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel sports columnist.
Post URL
→https://imaginefantasy4u.blogspot.com/2008/12/orlando-sentinel-mike-bianchi-orlando.html
Visit Imagination and Fantation for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection
