Chris "Mort" Mortensen (born on November 7, 1951 in
Torrance, CaliforniaTorrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
), an award-winning journalist, provides reports for
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's
Sunday NFL CountdownNFL GameDay redirects here. For the video games series, see NFL GameDay Sunday NFL Countdown is a pregame show of all the NFL action for that week. The official name is Sunday NFL Countdown presented by IBM. The show airs on ESPN, ESPN HD, TSN and TSN HD from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time every...
,
Monday Night CountdownMonday Night Countdown, which debuted in 1993 on ESPN, is a television program featuring analysis and news on that night's NFL match to be broadcast on ESPN...
,
SportsCenterSportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
,
ESPN RadioESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
and
ESPN.comEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
. He also has his own Web page (linked off ESPN.com) that launched in 2000.
Early life
Mortensen attended
El Camino CollegeEl Camino College is a two-year public community college located partially in the unincorporated area of Alondra Park and partially in the City of Torrance in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is commonly referred to as "Elco" or "ECC"...
before serving two years in the
ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
He is the author of the 1991 book
Playing for Keeps: How One Man Kept the Mob from Sinking Its Hooks into Pro Football, currently out of print.
Career
Since starting his career with the
South Bay Daily Breeze (CA) in 1969, Mortensen has received 18 awards in journalism. In 1978, he won the National Headliner Award for Investigative Reporting in all categories.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
From 1983 to 1990 Mortensen worked at the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, filing investigative reports and covering the
Atlanta BravesThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
(1983–85),
Atlanta FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(1985–86) and the NFL (1987–89).
In 1987, he was honored with the George Polk Award for his reporting, and he remains the sole sportswriter to receive the award since Red Smith in 1951. He also worked at the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution after beginning his career with
The Daily Breeze in his hometown of
Torrance, CaliforniaTorrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
. Mortensen says his journalism career began once he realized that he no longer could compete in football, basketball and baseball beyond high school. He forsook his goal of being a teacher and coach when he realized how competitive sports journalism could be—this path taken after he was a "first round draft pick" by the U.S. Army, which he served honorably during the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
The National
He previously covered the
NFLThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for
The National (1989–90), where he was one of the first writers hired by editor
Frank DefordBenjamin "Frank" Deford, III is a senior contributing writer for Sports Illustrated, author, and commentator for National Public Radio and correspondent for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO....
.
ESPN
Since first appearing on
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
in 1991, Mortensen has provided reports for the network's
Emmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning programs
NFL GameDay/NFL Countdown/Sunday NFL CountdownNFL GameDay redirects here. For the video games series, see NFL GameDay Sunday NFL Countdown is a pregame show of all the NFL action for that week. The official name is Sunday NFL Countdown presented by IBM. The show airs on ESPN, ESPN HD, TSN and TSN HD from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time every...
and the
Outside the LinesOutside the Lines, or also referred to as OTL, is an American television program on ESPN that looks "outside the lines" and examines critical issues in American sports on and off the field of play....
series. He has also served as an analyst for ESPN's coverage of the
NFL DraftThe National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
.
Personal
Mortensen's son
Alex Mortensen is a free agent quarterback in the NFL. He was cut from the Tennessee Titans on August 11, 2009.
External links