W R I T E R ' S   B I O

Mark Alesia’s hometown, Mount Prospect, Ill., is part of a Chicago suburban area that a writer once called “The Mild Kingdom.” But that didn’t prevent him from finding youthful vices such as underage betting at the old Arlington Park.

He graduated from the same high school as Dave Kingman, though much later, and then Indiana University, where he never marched to the president’s home in support of Bob Knight.

He did internships at the South Bend Tribune, Milwaukee Journal, Chicago Tribune and Miami Herald. He worked at the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Riverside Press-Enterprise and Los Angeles Daily News before returning home to the Daily Herald of suburban Chicago. He joined SportsLine.com in Feb. 1999.

He has won six national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors, including first place in enterprise reporting in the 175,000-and-up circulation category. It was for a series that explored the inner workings of UCLA’s athletic department through public records and interviews.

He is married with a 6-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son. He has two cats, Jake and Yoda. He has high hopes but low expectations for a 2-year-old thoroughbred named Ice Cream Man, in which he has a tiny stake as part of the Virtual Owners Partnership.