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The Six Questions

Who: Art Spander, 71, Oakland

What: He’s a widely-read sports columnist whose accolades include the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism and membership in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s also a husband (wife Liz) and father of two daughters, Wendy and Debbie. The women in his life are sports fans and have been lucky enough to accompany him to many major events.
 
When: Spander started covering sports five decades ago in Los Angeles as a news writer for United Press International. Since moving to the Bay Area (in 1965) he’s worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, The Examiner, the Oakland Tribune and is currently a columnist for www.realclearsports.com as well as a regular guest on ESPN and KNBR Radio.
 
Where: He makes his home wherever there is a major sporting event. Spander has covered 44 straight Masters Golf Tournaments, 33 Super Bowls, 42 U.S. Open Golf Tournaments, 28 NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournaments, and he’s attended 57 straight Rose Bowls.
 
Why:  “I’m crazy,” he admits, saying he likes being where the action is. “Red Smith [the famed sportswriter] once said, ‘I want to be in the kitchen and smelling the corned beef cooking.’ Besides, what else am I going to do? I can still write and I feel good, so I’m going to keep doing it.”

How: As a freelance journalist, he has to hustle assignments and pay his own travel expenses. And at 71, he still burns the midnight oil. “Monday I drove to Pebble Beach and went to a press conference for the U.S. Open. I had a noon deadline, and I wrote an Examiner column. Then I grabbed a sandwich and went to the ballpark and the game went 3 hours and 25 minutes and I worked till 12:15.”