Our Staff:
Bo Chapman [1983-2019]
– Before passing away in 2019, Bo was the Executive Director of Research for Pro Sports at S.T.A.T., in addition to his work as a traveling statistician, researcher and spotter for Fox Sports for over a decade. He was the traveling research coordinator for Fox A-Crew with Gus Johnson and Charles Davis, and was the font coordinator / graphics producer for Pac-12 Network for nearly five years. Bo was also a talent statistician for the Bay Area “Big Six” – Warriors, 49ers, Raiders, Giants, A’s and Sharks – as well as all the Division-I colleges.
Jeff Chapman, CEO & COO
– Traveling statistician for Fox Sports for more than 20 years
– Gus Johnson’s researcher/statistician since 2010
– Over 25 years as a sportswriter in the S.F. Bay Area – winner of Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) National Feature Story of the Year in 1989
– Austin-based – regular statistician for ESPN and Longhorn Network
Brian Gramling, Director
– Began working at ESPN in 1997, Current title of Senior Talent Statistician / Senior Researcher
– 2-time Emmy Award-winning graphics producer for SportsCenter
– Sportswriter for more than two decades for national newsstand publications and ESPN.com
Dave Del Grande, Senior Analyst and MLB Director
– San Francisco Bay Area-based college and pro sports reporter/columnist for Field Level Media
– 17-year Warriors beat reporter, Bay Area News Group
– Original “Mr. Fantasy” – creator of MrFantasy.com Web site
– Authored first weekly fantasy sports column in a daily newspaper/first nationally syndicated fantasy sports column by Universal Press
– Aided in fantasy football start-up at ESPN, USA Today, NFL.com
– Two-year soccer player at University of California
– Grantland Rice Memorial Scholarship finalist, first ever from West Coast
Jeff Faraudo, Senior Writer
– Co-publisher of Cal Sports Report, a Sports Illustrated website related to the California Golden Bears, as part of 20+ years covering Cal football.
– Four decades of experience writing for daily newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Oakland Tribune, San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times.
– Covered college basketball, with focus on Cal and Stanford, since the late 1980s. Worked dozens of NCAA Tournament games and 8 Final Fours.
– Traveled to 4 Summer Olympics – Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and Beijing – with emphasis on track & field and swimming. But also covered softball, basketball, wrestling, boxing, water polo, volleyball and even table tennis.
– Covered the Golden State Warriors in recent seasons, including the 2015 and 2016 NBA Finals.
Mike Matthews, Senior Writer
– Has spent nearly 40 years in various capacities in college athletics, including sports information, compliance, enforcement, championships administration, and information technology at the institutional and conference levels.
– He’s been around so long, he remembers when Game-Winning RBI was an official baseball stat.
Michael Freer, Senior Writer
– Spent 20 years as a researcher in ESPN’s Stats & Information Group
– Two-time Emmy Award winner for work on SportsCenter
– Was lead researcher for NBA2night & NFL2night
– Traveled to work such events as the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Game, BCS National Championship Game, Frozen Four Championship, NBA Draft Combine
– Sports editor/writer for 10 years prior to position with ESPN
Eric Mirlis, Senior Writer
– Talent Statistician for 30+years for ESPN, FOX, MSG and others, working with Marv Albert, Mike Breen, Ian Eagle and others
– Author of “I Was There!” and “Being There” books which included interviews of Bob Costas, Jim Nantz, Joe Buck, Frank Deford and Ernie Harwell
– Ran all statistics operations for NBA from 1996-2003 as Manager of Game Operations
– Past work includes coordinating producer at FOX Sports where he helped launch Fox Sports 1; Manager of Ticker Operations during relaunch of CBS Sports Network; NCAA.com Managing Editor; New York Islanders Assistant Director of Media Relations
Vince Baldassano, Contributing Writer
-Contributes to Syracuse Orange sports blogs and has interviewed various players, with a focus on basketball recruiting and analysis
-Has covered sporting events and interviewed college, professional and Olympic athletes for various outlets, including WNBC-TV in New York
-Extensive experience as a segment producer, writer and booker/ researcher for various national cable networks including Fox News Channel and MSNBC
Doug Mittler, Contributing Writer
-Researcher-reporter and writer at ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com
-Talent statistician for New York Mets telecasts on SNY
-Statistician for MLB, NBA, NFL, XFL, college football and college basketball broadcasts on a variety of networks
-Researcher at MLB Network and ABC Sports
-Senior Editor at SportsTicker
Tyler Springs, Contributing Writer
-Play-by-play voice of University of Memphis women’s basketball beginning in 2019
-Broadcaster for Jackson Generals baseball (Double-A affiliate, Arizona Diamondbacks), 2017-2019
-Part of the broadcast team for the inaugural season of Memphis 901 FC soccer in the USL
-Previous freelance work for ESPNU, SEC Network+, SWAC Digital Network
-Native of Baltimore, MD
-Student at University of Texas-Austin studying Marketing and Management Information Systems
–Pre show + analytics work for high profile NBA broadcasters
–CBB, NBA Draft, and NBA for Daily Texan, Pounding the Rock
–Previously with USA Today and NBC Sports Northwest
Jim Keller, Contributing Writer
-35 years experience analyzing sports data in various roles at Howe SportsData, SportsTicker, ESPN, STATS Inc, Nielsen and Press Association
-Researcher/Reporter at ESPN The Magazine
-ESPN/SportsTicker Senior Editor (also MLB, college basketball editor)
-Long-suffering Pittsburgh Pirates fan who remembers when team originally replaced Roberto Clemente in RF with catcher Manny Sanguillen
Mike McCurry, Contributing Writer
-2-time Emmy Award-winning researcher/associate producer for MLB Network
-Past hoops contributor at ZAGSBLOG & SB Nation, among other publications
-UConn Class of 2014 (member of women’s basketball practice team all 4 years … dropped buckets on Shabazz Napier in a pickup game)
-Based out of New Jersey, 2-time basketball state champion
Tim Gramling, Contributing Writer
-Currently writer and researcher for Athlon Sports NFL Draft Guide
-Time Inc. Senior Writer for DraftEngine Fantasy Football magazine and Managing Editor for Major League Baseball Yearbook and Fantasy Guide
-Managing Editor for Pro Basketball Preview and Draft Guide (Harris Publications)
-Provided content for various NFL player personal sites, including Jerry Rice, Lee Evans, Doug Flutie, Willie McGinest and Deuce McAllister
-Wrote and edited numerous TIME for Kids and Sports Illustrated for Kids publications
Dave Holtzman, Contributing Writer
-Sports TV producer and sports statistician with 15 years of experience
-Works primarily with FOX Sports Kansas City and Kansas City Royals to provide statistical research and in-game production services for Royals broadcasts
-Also works with high-profile sports television personalities on NCAA basketball games to deliver pre-game statistics and pertinent player and team data
-Earned his bachelor’s and master’s in sports management at the University of Kansas
Larry Gramling, Contributing Writer
-Retired University of Connecticut-Storrs accounting professor/associate dean for 38 years
-Presented multiple baseball-themed papers at Cooperstown Symposium with students and peers
-Conducts “Baseball Reminiscence” program to help senior citizens combat memory loss through the history of baseball
-Baltimore Orioles fan since franchise began in 1954
-Born and raised in Williamsport, PA, the home of Little League Baseball
Larry Fleisher, Contributing Writer
-Has over two decades as a writer and editor for numerous wire services such as SportsTicker, The Sports Xchange and Associated Press
-Currently writes NBA, NHL, MLB, College Basketball previews that appear on numerous websites, including ESPN.com, NBA.com and scoreboard pages for numerous newspapers
-Talent statistician for visiting telecasts and radiocasts at Madison Square Garden since 2012
-Also contributes to Forbes.com and is a member of the BBWAA
Joe Stiglich, Contributing Writer
-49ers coverage for Associated Press
-Served as A’s Insider for NBC Sports Bay Area, in both writing and on-camera capacity
-Covered A’s beat for Bay Area News Group
-Radio play-by-play man for Vallejo Admirals baseball
-Cal football beat writer for Bay Area News Group
-Covered numerous golf and motorsports events, including Daytona 500