Adam Asks | ESPN's Tom Rinaldi
In this edition of 'Adam Asks' I caught up with ESPN reporter Tom Rinaldi, who was in Louisville to cover the PGA Championship. Rinaldi described how he went from being a handball coach at an inner-city high school to a nationally-known sports reporter whose stories have probably made you cry. He also talked Tiger Woods, UK/UofL and how he ended up at ESPN.
Hopefully your Wikipedia page is accurate, because I got some decent info for this from it.
I've never seen it.
Really?
Yeah, I made a decision a long time ago, and I've really tried to honor it, never to look myself up on the internet.
OK, then we'll both find out now if what they say is true. So where are you from?
I was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and I grew up in northern New Jersey in a little town called Cresskill, about eight miles from the George Washington Bridge. My father was a stonemason, my mom raised us and then became a bank teller. I was first-generation college, went to school in Philly, and after I graduated I became a high school English teacher and a coach. I started at a private school near Pittsburgh, and then went to a public high school in the south Bronx.
Had you always planned to teach?
I don't know that I had a grand plan. I'd majored in English. I absolutely loved being a teacher and a coach. I think it taught me a lot. It taught me all I didn't know.
What made you switch from private school to an inner-city public school?
I think the students were so fantastic at the private school that I wondered whether I had even the smallest iota to do with their success. And the other reason was I wanted to see if I could do it. I went to Morris High School in the Bronx. It's Colin Powell's alma mater. It looks like a castle. It was a decrepit castle when I was there.
Is it true you coached handball there?
That's true. It's one of the most urban games there is, tennis without anybody having a racquet. I was upfront with our players and told them I didn't really know the game, but I'd try to motivate them and run the show as best I could. At Shady Side, the school in Pittsburgh, I coached freshman basketball and soccer.
How did you transition into journalism?
Every graduation day was a tough day for me. It felt like the kids were going off on their next adventure, and it made me wonder where my adventure was. So after four years of teaching, I got into Columbia University for a graduate journalism program, which was fantastic. It was one year and I could continue to live in the Bronx and continue to coach.
What was your first job?
It was WNDU In South Bend, Ind. I was a TV news reporter.
Many journalists say their first jobs were their most important. How did yours shape you?
It helped me grow immeasurably. I was a one-man band. I was a cameraman who shot Friday night football and basketball, and I helped out minimally with Notre Dame football coverage. I was there for two and half years and I went to Portland, Ore., where I worked for the ABC affiliate, KATU, for a couple years. Then I went to Sacramento where I worked for KCRA. I was all news. And then I got a fantastic break to work for CNN-SI. That was really my first sports job.
What's a story you worked on during your time in local news that stuck with you?
When I was in Portland, I spent 24 hours in a neonatal intensive care unit with a fantastic shooter named Lyle Morgan. I was single and didn't have children yet. An infant died during those 24 hours we were there. And the way the staff reacted, the doctors and the nurses, I will never, ever forget. I will never forget the incredible example of parenting from these parents. They had a sense that their newborn wasn't going to survive, and they wanted the newborn to have a handful of experiences—to taste ice cream, to touch a puppy, to feel sunlight and wind.
Did they welcome you to chronicle that?
No, we never spoke to the parents and never asked. Instead, Lyle did an amazing job of simply shooting the room after everyone had left, and how heartbreaking it was to see. The doctors were shattered. The doctors and nurses were absolutely gutted, because they had grown so close to the family.
You've become known for emotional stories at ESPN. Did stories from early in your career have an impact on your approach?
I've always been interested in people, and I love their stories, from the obscure to the famous. I don't know how or why I became associated with these [emotional] stories.
So you were at CNN-SI for four years, and then went on to ESPN. How did that come about?
I worked in the Los Angeles bureau at CNN-SI, and in 2001 ESPN made me an offer. And in a career suicide moment, I said no. Then CNN-SI essentially shuttered, and in a miracle, ESPN still took me.
Why did you say no the first time?
I loved my boss and had loyalty to him; his name was Steve Robinson. He'd taken a huge chance on me, a local news reporter to cover sports for a national cable outlet.
What was your initial role at ESPN?
I was a bureau correspondent, and I think technically that's still my title. I really do five things now: I do college football, from kickoff to conclusion, with features for GameDay and sideline reporting…I feel like I'm talking way too much about myself in this interview.
Haha, well that's pretty much the whole point.
OK, well I do tennis, I do golf and then I do the features—human interest features across all sports. And then the fifth thing is whatever they tell me to do.
Is there an ESPN story you're most proud of?
Let me preface by saying, without any equivocation, I have the greatest gig at ESPN, because of all the opportunities I get. I get time to report and tell a story. I work with an incredible stable of producers and crews. We invest the money to tell the story. Let's face it, producing features costs money, especially features of length, and I get to do it.
We did a 9/11 story about a young man named Welles Crowther, the man in the red bandana. He had been a Boston College athlete, was working in the South Tower, and had been a volunteer firefighter. He helped save a group of people by ushering them down a stairwell to safety, and then he climbed up and did it multiple times until he died.
When it comes to your narration, was that something you had to work on, or something that evolved as a storyteller?
I don't think I'm a very good narrator. I think I have to work very hard, both in my writing and my narration, not to be overwrought or melodramatic. And I try hard not to be. Frankly, I think sometimes our music choices work against those efforts. I'm sure you would agree. But I'm just trying to write it as simply and plainly as possible, and if I'm lucky enough every once in a while to have some elegance to what I'm writing, then that's a goal. But I'm always trying to guard against that, because it's easy to be maudlin.
I'm sure you're aware that there's a general sense that when a Tom Rinaldi feature comes out, you should get ready to cry. Do you hear that?
(Laughs) This week, at least two dozen people have said that exact thing to me, 'Every time I hear you, my wife starts to cry or I start to cry.' I do think I cover some joyful things, too.
I'd think it would be flattering to know your work has that impact. As a journalist, who do you view as your competition?
Great question. I don't feel competition, but there are people I admire. I fiercely admire Jeremy [Schaap]. As for the written word, how do you not love Wright Thompson? But on television, I think Jeremy is just fantastic.
How did golf become a focus of yours at ESPN?
I caddied. I've never been anything more than a middling player. Jimmy Roberts had just left ESPN when I arrived, so there was maybe a natural opening there. And I'd covered it some for CNN-SI.
It seems Tiger Woods really trusts you. How have you developed your relationship with him?
For some reason, he has been cordial and great with me from the start, and I really don't know why. But he's been great with me. Years ago, maybe after the 2001 Masters, we did a sit-down. And I try, I don't do it every time, but I try to write a thank-you note to anyone who does a sit-down. I wrote Tiger a note and didn't see him again for a couple of months. And when he saw me, one of the first things he said was 'Thanks for the note.' That taught me a lot. I should do a better job of writing notes to every subject, but I try.
What's your assessment of golf today, the state of the game?
I think Rory [McIlroy] is remarkable. The interesting thing about golf is that we love the underdog, except in golf. We want either the prodigy or the brand name. If you're in-between those two, the casual sports fan is not interested. It's a game predicated by stars.
You've been here in Louisville for the week. What do you make of the city?
I like Louisville a lot. I was here for the Ryder Cup. I think it's a great golf town. You've got to give people out here a lot of credit. The conditions are brutal; it's a mud-fest. When the sun is out, it's an oven. And they're all out there. It's a great sports town for the University of Louisville, too. I love Teddy (Bridgewater), from chronicling things with him and his mom.
As an outsider, what's your take on the Kentucky/Louisville rivalry?
It's great. It has every element you'd want to define a great rivalry: Two incredibly storied programs, the dislike. And everything works for contrast. Red vs. blue, the head coaches, everything. It's a great rivalry. It probably doesn't get as much love as it should nationally.
Favorite road city?
I love California. I lived in L.A. when I worked for CNN-SI. I love San Francisco and I love Portland.
Favorite restaurant?
A Manhattan Italian restaurant called 'Cesca, on 75th Street on the West Side.
And finally, an 'Adam Asks' tradition: How many Marriott points do you have?
I'm not sure, but I'm over two million miles. And believe it or not I traveled for a while without even having any rewards program. One of the great things is I have a son, Jack, who's 10 and a daughter, Tess, who's 6. As they begin to understand what I do, hopefully I can take them with me when there are stories in the right spots.
Your wife will probably appreciate that, too.
My wife, Dianne, is not only my editorial conscience, but she buys every piece of clothing I wear on TV. The toughest thing is travelling for work when you have two young kids, but my wife is the greatest person ever.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached by email ahimmelsbach@courier-journal.com and on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach