Rick Telander biography

Rick Telander has been the lead sports columnist at the Sun-Times since April, 1995. He previously was a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and ESPN, The Magazine. He has written for numerous magazines, including Men's Journal, Esquire, Outside, Premiere, National Wildlife, and American Libraries. He has written eight books, one of which, "Heaven Is A Playground," was made into a movie and has been in print for 30 years and was recently named one of the 10 best sports books ever (Playboy, June 2006). Sports Illustrated (Dec., 2002) already had named "Heaven" one of the top 25 sports books of all time.

Telander has had five pieces collected in the "Best American Sportswriting" series and has won numerous writing awards, including Associated Press Illinois Sports Columnist of the Year, A.P. National Top Ten Sports Columnist, and Illinois Sportswriter of the Year as voted by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

Telander played football at Northwestern and was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, played in two post-season all-star games, and was drafted in the eighth round by the Kansas City Chiefs. He is married and has four children.