Paul Finebaum

Paul Finebaum is an American sports author, former columnist, and television-radio personality. His primary focus is sports, particularly those in the Southeast. After many years as a reporter, columnist, and sports-talk radio host in the Birmingham area, Finebaum was hired by ESPN in 2013 for its new SEC Network. He produces a radio show out of the network's regional base in Charlotte, North Carolina. Career News reporter Finebaum became a columnist and reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald in 1980. Finebaum's work has earned him more than 250 national, regional, and area sports writing awards, including his stories on the recruitment of Alabama basketball player Buck Johnson. In 1993, he broke the story of Antonio Langham, a University of Alabama football player who signed a contract with a sports agent while playing for the school, which led to an NCAA probation for the school. Finebaum joined the Mobile Press Register in 2001 where he wrote a twice-weekly (later weekly) column with the column syndicated to other newspapers. Finebaum discontinued the column in December 2010. On September 1, Finebaum returned to writing with his first column for Sports Illustrated. Radio career