Mike Downey (born August 9, 1951 in

Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed "The Heights". Geogra ...

, and raised in the nearby village of Steger, Illinois) is a retired American newspaper columnist. From 2003 to 2008, Downey wrote the "In the Wake of the News" column for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' originated by

Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wo ...

in 1913, replacing

Skip Bayless Skip Bayless (born John Edward Bayless II) is an American sports columnist, commentator, and television personality. He is well-known for his work as a commentator on the ESPN2 show '' First Take'' with Stephen A. Smith, a show which he left ...

in that position at the Tribune. He has also been a columnist in news, entertainment and sports for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'', ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' and ''

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Doughert ...

''. In retirement, he has written book reviews for the Times and columns for CNN.com. Downey began a career in journalism at age 15 for a newspaper chain in the south suburbs of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and graduated at 16 from Bloom Township High School in

. He did not attend college. He has been a police reporter, entertainment writer, editor, critic and columnist and has covered national political conventions, murder trials and twelve Olympic Games. Among his assignments have been an America's Cup yacht race in Australia, tennis at Wimbledon, British Open golf in Scotland, the Tour de France bicycle race, Stanley Cup hockey finals in Montreal and World Cup soccer in Italy, as well as Pan-American Games competitions in Argentina and Cuba. He also has been a columnist for ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' and '' Sport Magazine'' and for 15 years wrote a humor column for ''

Inside Sports ''Inside Sports'' magazine was a major general interest sports magazine in the United States. Launched in 1979 by Newsweek, it was designed as an edgier, monthly alternative to the longer-running ''Sports Illustrated'' and '' SPORT Magazine'' bra ...

'' magazine known as "The Good Doctor." He was a featured sports correspondent for KABC radio in Los Angeles and for WJR radio in Detroit and has often been a panelist on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

television's weekly talk show, ''

The Sports Reporters ''The Sports Reporters'' was a sports talk show that aired on ESPN at 9:30 a.m. ET every Sunday morning (and replayed at 10:30 a.m. ET the same day on ESPN2 and 11:30 AM on ESPNews). It featured a roundtable discussion among four spor ...

''. He is a voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame. In statewide voting by peers, Downey has been selected National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association sportswriter of the year eleven times, in Illinois (twice), Michigan (twice) and California (seven times). He was honored for his news column by the Los Angeles Press Club in 1998 and won the 1994 Eclipse Award, thoroughbred racing's highest honor.Downey, Hovdey Win 1994 Eclipse Awards
/ref> Downey's writing has appeared in a variety of national magazines including '' GQ'', '' Parade'', ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'', ''

Disney Adventures ''Disney Adventures'' (also short-formed as ''D.A.'') was an American children's entertainment and educational magazine published twelve (later ten) times per year by Disney Publishing Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney Consumer Products, a unit o ...

'', ''

American Way The American way of life or the American way refers to the American nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. At the center of the American way is the belief in an American Dream that is clai ...

'', ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

'' and ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

''. He was included as a character in the Elmore Leonard novel ''Be Cool''. Downey resides in

Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and locate ...

. He is married to singer Gail Martin, daughter of the entertainer Dean Martin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downey, Mike 1951 births Living people American columnists Writers from Chicago Chicago Sun-Times people Journalists from Illinois Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area Detroit Free Press people Chicago Daily News people Los Angeles Times people People from Chicago Heights, Illinois People from Steger, Illinois Sportswriters from Illinois