Tom Goldman

Tom Goldman is NPR's sports correspondent. His reports can be heard throughout NPR's news programming, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and NPR.org.

With a beat covering the entire world of professional sports, both in and outside of the United States, Goldman reporting covers the broad spectrum of athletics from the people to the business of athletics.

During his more than 20 years with NPR, Goldman has covered every major athletic competition including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, golf and tennis championships, and the Olympic Games.

His pieces are diverse and include both perspective and context. Goldman often explores people's motivations for doing what they do, whether it's solo sailing around the world or pursuing a gold medal. In his reporting, Goldman searches for the stories about the inspirational and relatable amateur and professional athletes.

Goldman contributed to NPR's 2009 Edward R. Murrow award for his coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and to a 2010 Murrow award for contribution to a series on high school football, "Friday Night Lives." Earlier in his career, Goldman's piece about Native American basketball players earned a 2004 Dick Schaap Excellence in Sports Journalism Award from the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University and a 2004 Unity Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association.

In January 1990, Goldman came to NPR to work as an associate producer for sports with Morning Edition. For the next seven years he reported, edited and produced stories and programs. In June 1997, he became NPR's first full time sports correspondent.

For five years before NPR, Goldman worked as a news reporter and then news director in local public radio. In 1984, he spent a year living on an Israeli kibbutz. Two years prior he took his first professional job in radio in Anchorage, Alaska, at the Alaska Public Radio Network.

The Two-Way
12:44 pm
Tue April 9, 2013

Giant-Killing Louisville Women Look To Keep Charmed Run Alive

Originally published on Tue April 9, 2013 5:34 pm

Tonight, there's a chance for a rare double in NCAA Division I college basketball.

As we reported earlier, if the University of Louisville scores a victory in the women's championship game, it will be only the second school to capture both the men's and women's titles in the same year.

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Sports
3:16 am
Sun April 7, 2013

Old Guard And Fresh Faces Square Off At Women's Final Four

Credit Sue Ogrocki / AP
Louisville guard Shoni Schimmel (23) and the Louisville bench react to her 3-point shot against Tennessee in the second half of the regional final in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Louisville won 86-78.

Originally published on Sun April 7, 2013 10:51 am

A women's Final Four without Baylor, Stanford or Tennessee? That's happened only one other time in the last dozen years. We've become so used to it being a power party, that it's downright disorienting.

Or maybe that's just vertigo from trying to track the movements of the Final Four's breakout star, Louisville guard Shoni Schimmel. She's a big reason why two of those teams — Tennessee and Baylor — aren't in New Orleans for a chance at the title.

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The Two-Way
10:13 am
Sat March 23, 2013

Oregon's Arsalan Kazemi: From Iran To NCAA Hoopla

Credit Julie Jacobson / AP
Rebounding machine Arsalan Kazemi is the first Iranian-born player in Divison I men's college hoops.

Originally published on Sun March 24, 2013 1:23 pm

San Jose, Calif., is just a piece of a very big March Madness pie. But in the eight teams that gathered there for second- and third-round games this week, you could see the undeniable trend in big-time college basketball globalization.

Rosters from schools as geographically diverse as Syracuse, New Mexico State and California featured athletes from Senegal, France, Canada, South Africa, Croatia, Sudan.

But it's the University of Oregon with a groundbreaker — from Iran.

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Sports
5:11 am
Wed March 20, 2013

Dominican Republic Wins World Baseball Classic

Originally published on Wed March 20, 2013 6:16 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The Dominican Republic has always been a goldmine of baseball talent. Today, the D.R. can call itself the game's world champion. Last night in San Francisco, Team D.R. won the World Baseball Classic, beating Caribbean rival Puerto Rico three-to-nothing. The Dominicans also made history in the process. They became the first team to win the Olympic-style tournament without losing a single game.

From San Francisco, NPR's Tom Goldman reports.

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Sports
2:58 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

Dominican Republican, Puerto Rico Face Off In World Baseball Championship

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 5:51 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel. It is the first all Caribbean final. Tonight, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are facing off in the World Baseball Classic in San Francisco. And for more on the big game and Major League Baseball's quest to make the sport more international, we're joined now by NPR's Tom Goldman, who is in San Francisco covering the event. Hi, Tom.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: Hi, Robert.

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The Two-Way
5:57 am
Tue March 19, 2013

World Baseball Classic's All-Caribbean Showdown Is A Winner Either Way

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 9:35 am

NPR's Tom Goldman is covering the World Baseball Classic tournament and sends along this report:

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The Two-Way
6:17 am
Mon March 18, 2013

World Baseball Classic Heads For Dramatic Finish

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 7:05 am

  • Tom Goldman reporting for the NPR Newscast

NPR's Tom Goldman is covering the World Baseball Classic tournament and sends along this report:

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Sports
4:12 pm
Thu February 28, 2013

Pete Rose: A Living Legend, Off The Record

Originally published on Thu February 28, 2013 7:04 pm

As baseball emerges from its winter hibernation, one of the game's greatest and most controversial figures, Pete Rose, is back in the news.

The all-time hits leader has been banned from baseball since 1989 for gambling on the game.

It appears fallout continues: A new batch of Topps baseball cards lists some of his many records, but not his name. It's a reminder of Rose's singular status as a Major League Baseball pariah. It also raises the question, with so much bad behavior by top athletes, is it time to re-evaluate Rose's status?

The Art Of Pete

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Sports
10:04 pm
Thu February 7, 2013

Lawsuit, Investigation Loom Over Lance Armstrong

Credit George Burns/ Harpo Studios / AP
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey interviews Lance Armstrong on Jan. 14. Armstrong confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, reversing more than a decade of denial.

Originally published on Fri February 8, 2013 5:41 am

There are more troubles for disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.

A Texas-based promotions company sued the former cycling champion Thursday for more than $12 million, which was paid to Armstrong for several of his record seven Tour de France wins. Armstrong publicly admitted last month that those herculean victories were aided by doping.

The lawsuit is part of a flurry of activity: Armstrong still is in talks with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, and there is now word that he is under federal investigation, a year after another federal criminal inquiry ended abruptly.

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Sports
2:48 pm
Tue February 5, 2013

Olympian Skier Lindsey Vonn Ends Season With Knee Injury

Originally published on Tue February 5, 2013 4:36 pm

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel. For skier Lindsey Vonn, the racing season is over. Today, at the World Championships, the American Alpine skiing star crashed. She injured her right knee. Still, as we hear from NPR's Tom Goldman, U.S. ski officials expect Vonn will be ready for next year's Winter Olympics.

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Business
2:50 am
Fri January 25, 2013

Dodgers Channel Close To Being A Reality

Originally published on Fri January 25, 2013 7:14 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

In recent years, regional cable TV sports networks have been a financial windfall for pro sports and college teams. And now it seems to be the turn of the Los Angeles Dodgers to make a record haul here.

There are reports the Dodgers and Time Warner Cable are close to announcing a deal for a Dodgers channel that would pay the team around $7 billion over at least 20 years.

But NPR's Tom Goldman reports it may be one windfall too many in a crowded Los Angeles market.

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Sports
4:06 am
Tue January 8, 2013

Alabama Wins 2nd Consecutive BCS Championship

Originally published on Wed January 9, 2013 7:32 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. The good news for Notre Dame fans is that they should be well rested this morning. They had no reason to stay up late last night. Alabama took the fight out of the Irish, 42-14, defeating the previously undefeated team and winning the BCS championship. NPR's Tom Goldman was at the game in Miami.

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Sports
2:42 pm
Mon January 7, 2013

Notre Dame Battles Alabama For BCS Football Glory

Originally published on Mon January 7, 2013 4:19 pm

Tom Goldman talks to Melissa Block about the college football championship game in Miami. Undefeated Notre Dame battles No. 2 Alabama for the Bowl Championship Series title.

Sports
5:58 am
Thu December 20, 2012

Film: Sam Bowie Insists NBA Career Wasn't A Bust

Originally published on Thu December 20, 2012 9:37 am

In 1984, the Portland Trail Blazers chose Sam Bowie, a 7-foot-1 center from the University of Kentucky, with the second pick in the college draft. The Chicago Bulls then took Michael Jordan.

The words "Bowie over Jordan" are part of pro basketball lore, and are still a source of pain for many fans of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. Bowie's tenure in Portland was marred by leg injuries; Jordan became a legend. ESPN recounts it all in a documentary about Bowie on Thursday night.

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Sports
2:48 am
Wed December 5, 2012

Talks Resume In Nation Hockey League Dispute

Originally published on Wed December 5, 2012 7:09 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Professional hockey is getting close to the moment when it will have to cancel its entire season for the second time in eight years. So far, a lockout that began last September has forced games to be cancelled through the middle of December. The two sides in the National Hockey League labor dispute are expected to meet again today, after nearly 10 hours of talks yesterday.

NPR's Tom Goldman has more.

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Planet Money
10:05 am
Wed November 21, 2012

Lance Armstrong And The Business Of Doping

Originally published on Wed November 21, 2012 3:57 pm

The story of Lance Armstrong's alleged doping is, in part, the story of an astonishing business enterprise — an enterprise that drove what the U.S. anti-doping agency called "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program" cycling has ever seen.

The story of that enterprise starts in 1998, when the Festina cycling team was caught at the Tour de France with a car full of banned drugs. According to author Daniel Coyle, this marked a huge shift in the culture of doping in cycling.

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Sports
6:11 am
Mon October 22, 2012

World Cycling Body Upholds U.S. Ruling On Armstrong

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Lance Armstrong became a bicycle racing legend when he won every Tour de France from 1999 to 2005. But after what happened today, there will be no official record of all those victories. Cycling's international governing body announced it will not appeal sanctions by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

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Sports
3:24 pm
Wed October 17, 2012

Nike Drops Sponsorship Of Armstrong Over Doping

Originally published on Wed October 17, 2012 5:09 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel.

We begin this hour with major fallout for Lance Armstrong. Last week's scathing report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency linked Armstrong to a widespread doping program in cycling. Today, Armstrong stepped down as chairman of the foundation Livestrong, which he created to support those with cancer. Armstrong also lost major sponsors, including longtime supporter Nike. NPR's Tom Goldman begins our coverage.

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Sports
1:26 am
Mon October 15, 2012

Head Injuries Rattle Even Devout Football Parents

Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 6:16 am

It's Monday after another football weekend in America. From the Friday night drama on high school fields to the multibillion-dollar juggernaut NFL, the game seems as popular as ever.

But in fact, amid the cheering, there's concern — a growing anxiety about head injuries in the sport, from the NFL all the way down to the pee-wee leagues. Some say kids shouldn't be playing until their teenage years. High-profile NFL players have gone on record saying they don't want their children playing at all because of the concussion risk.

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