About the Authors

Photo by Anna Routh Barzin

Jim Lampley went from a small-town radio announcer to one of the most recognizable figures in the country as the first sideline reporter for nationally televised college football on ABC. From there his career expanded exponentially through ABC’s Wide World of Sports and the start of 14 assignments at the Olympic Games and, fatefully, as the ABC boxing host, where he began to build his longest and most popular platform. After leaving ABC, he went to CBS and joined acclaimed co-anchor Bree Walker as among the first man and woman hosts of the evening news at KCBS in Los Angeles. His four-decade Olympics resume is the best in the business with assignments that included the “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid, the “Dream Team” in Barcelona, the bombing at Centennial Park in Atlanta, and turning the “Silent Boléro” at Sarajevo into among the most mesmerizing ice-skating events of all time. His 30-plus years with HBO included hosting Wimbledon weekday matches and becoming the face and voice of HBO Championship Boxing for 30 years that followed the rise and fall of Mike Tyson. He is still near ringside for ppv.com, hosting online chat sessions during the biggest bouts left in the sport. Lampley won three Emmys for boxing programming and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015. Jim lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife, Debra.

Photo by H’aiasi Chinfloo

Art Chansky has been a sports reporter, broadcaster, columnist, and author for 50 years in North Carolina, where he and Lampley graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill. He has written 10 books, including bestsellers The Dean’s List, Blue Blood, and Game Changers. He continues to broadcast, write, and sell for WCHL AM/FM radio, where he and Lampley met.