Tom Goldman
Tom Goldman is NPR's sports correspondent. His reports can be heard throughout NPR's news programming, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and on NPR.org.
With a beat covering the entire world of professional sports, both in and outside of the United States, Goldman reporting covers the broad spectrum of athletics from the people to the business of athletics.
During his nearly 30 years with NPR, Goldman has covered every major athletic competition including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, golf and tennis championships, and the Olympic Games.
His pieces are diverse and include both perspective and context. Goldman often explores people's motivations for doing what they do, whether it's solo sailing around the world or pursuing a gold medal. In his reporting, Goldman searches for the stories about the inspirational and relatable amateur and professional athletes.
Goldman contributed to NPR's 2009 Edward R. Murrow award for his coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and to a 2010 Murrow Award for contribution to a series on high school football, "Friday Night Lives." Earlier in his career, Goldman's piece about Native American basketball players earned a 2004 Dick Schaap Excellence in Sports Journalism Award from the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University and a 2004 Unity Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association.
In January 1990, Goldman came to NPR to work as an associate producer for sports with Morning Edition. For the next seven years he reported, edited, and produced stories and programs. In June 1997, he became NPR's first full-time sports correspondent.
For five years before NPR, Goldman worked as a news reporter and then news director in local public radio. In 1984, he spent a year living on an Israeli kibbutz. Two years prior he took his first professional job in radio in Anchorage, Alaska, at the Alaska Public Radio Network.
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Willie Mays is widely considered to be the greatest baseball player of all time. The 'Say Hey Kid' had incomparable skills and an infectious smile. He dazzled on the field and off.
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During his nine-year Hall of Fame career with the Cleveland Browns, Jim Brown averaged more than a hundred yards rushing in every regular season game. He's the only player in NFL history to do that.
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Any team that can put together a four-game winning streak will become the next champions. Only two No. 1 seeds are alive in the tournament, and the highest-profile schools have already gone home.
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Damian Lillard has played his whole NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers. Unlike other star players, he has wowed fans in the Northwest with his demeanor & wisdom - including NPR's Tom Goldman.
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Kamila Valieva helped Russia win gold in team figure skating at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. It wasn't until after the competition that it was learned she'd previously tested positive for doping.
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The monthlong tournament in Qatar was filled with excitement, surprise and controversy. Argentina's victory in the final — which gave Lionel Messi his first title — cemented it as one of the best.
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While attention at the World Cup has mostly been on stars like Argentina's Messi, Brazil's Neymar, and Portugal's Ronaldo, goalkeepers have also shined — especially for the final four teams.
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Croatia does it again - winning a penalty kick shootout to advance to the semifinals for the second World Cup, eliminating Brazil. Croatia's defense stymied the 5-time champions the entire match.
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Gonçalo Ramos scored three goals - the first hat trick of this World Cup - to power Portugal past Switzerland 6-1. Ramos was playing in place of star Cristiano Ronaldo who did not start the match.
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Croatia and Japan ended 90-minutes of regulation and 30-minutes of extra time tied 1-1. The Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković stopped three Japanese penalty attempts in the shootout.