Matthew Berry
Encyclopedia
Matthew Berry is an ESPN
fantasy sports analyst and ESPN.com
columnist. He writes under the nickname "the Talented Mr. Roto," or "TMR". Berry currently works as ESPN's senior director of fantasy sports.
, but raised in College Station, Texas
, Berry graduated from Syracuse University. After graduation Berry moved to Los Angeles to work in show business. After a few odd jobs Berry got hired as a production assistant for The George Carlin Show
on Fox. Berry worked on the show for one year and has fond memories of George Carlin
who wrote a recommendation letter for the Warner Brothers Writer's Workshop, to which Berry was accepted and where his first writing job came from. He worked on such movies as Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles
, and the final year of the TV show Married... with Children
. Crocodile Dundee was nominated for a Razzie award
in 2001 under the category of "Worst Remake or Sequel", but lost to Planet of the Apes
.
" podcast, he told the abridged version of how he went from Hollywood screenwriter to fantasy expert. He eventually grew tired of being in meetings with two movie stars he didn't think were funny telling him what comedy was. Even though he was in Hollywood, writing scripts and screenplays for movies and TV shows, he was still miserable. He asked a small fantasy site [RotoWorld.com] if he could do a column for them. He has been playing fantasy sports ever since he was 14; "it's my passion," he said on the podcast. The site did in fact hire him to do a column, because "Married with Children is their favorite show." Berry wrote for Rotoworld from 1999 to 2003, when he was let go after the site wanted to lower his pay from $100 a week to $25 a week.
Berry then started two fantasy web sites in addition to his Hollywood writing. He started RotoPass.com, a network of fantasy sports sites, and TalentedMrRoto.com, a fantasy content site. He also appeared on several media outlets as a fantasy expert.
Radio host Steve Mason, of Mason & Ireland on ESPN Radio 710 in Los Angeles, who was working for FOX
at the time, was a fan of the column and asked Berry to do a segment, which ended up lasting over an hour. He eventually was asked to do more guest appearances and was soon hired as their fantasy analyst. Mason then left to go to ESPN Radio
, where he introduced Berry. He did a two-hour fantasy show there, which led him to spots on Cold Pizza
. That grew into doing segments on ESPNEWS
, which led to his getting a column in ESPN The Magazine
. That allowed him to start The Fantasy Show
.
, it purchased TalentedMrRoto.com and hired Berry as director of fantasy sports in February 2007.
Berry appears on the Fantasy Insider on ESPNEWS
and First Take
once or twice a week, doing a "Fantasy Minute".
Berry's two columns, "The Talented Mr. Roto" and "TRUM: Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless Info and Musings" appear often on ESPN.com. He also often does several "Love/Hate" articles a year, including each week of the fantasy football season and one at the beginning of the baseball season, as well as rankings with the rest of the ESPN staff at intervals throughout the fantasy sports season.
In June 2007, Berry and fellow ESPN fantasy analyst Nate Ravitz
were announced as the full-time hosts of the "Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast". He currently hosts ESPN's "Fantasy Focus Football Podcast" with Ravitz, as well as injury expert Stephania Bell. This podcast is currently ESPN's most downloaded original-content podcast (and second overall behind only the podcast version of Pardon the Interruption). It consistently ranks among the top ten podcasts on iTunes and in August 2009, was the #1 audio podcast on all of iTunes. The show won two awards from PodcastAwards.com, including "Best Sports Podcast" and the overall "People's Choice." Berry is also featured on SportsCenter, NFL Live, in ESPN.com
fantasy videos, including on "Fantasy Football Now", "Start 'Em, Sit 'Em", "GMC Pro Grade League", "Working the Wire", a "Fantasy 3:50" segment on ESPNEWS once a week, and the "Fantasy Focus VideoCasts" -- both football and baseball. He co-stars the VideoCasts with Ravitz, Paul Severino, Molly Qerim, Eric Karabell, Christopher Harris
, Ken Daube, and Jon Anik, just to name a few.
On March 9, 2009, Berry set the record for longest chat on ESPN.com with a mark of 13 hours and 12 minutes. He beat the previous mark set by Rob Neyer
who chatted for 12 hours and 1 minute.
Berry is a frequent target for criticism because he is vocal about his opinions on players and their projected performance. "You don't see people getting upset about middle-of-the-road guys. I guess that means I'm doing my job well."
Berry frequently emphasizes that a player on the "Hate" list are not players that he believes will play poorly, but instead players that are being drafted too high or started too often. For example, in the pre-season article preparing readers for the draft, a usual first-rounder on the "Hate" list might be thought by Berry to deserve to go about five spots lower than he normally does, while later-round players on the "Love" list are players Berry would draft a round or two higher than expected. In the football articles, he names the players he likes to exceed their expectations for that week, and the guys who he expects to do worse than the fantasy benchmarks for their respective positions. The fantasy benchmarks are as follows:
His columns include many pop culture references such as comparing the New England Patriots
head coach Bill Belichick
to the Gooch in Diff'rent Strokes
. During the course of the 2008 baseball season, Berry has frequently posed the question of who his audience thinks is hotter - Megan Fox
or Anne Hathaway
- with Berry stating his choice of the latter and defending it both on the Fantasy Podcast and his weekly columns. Berry and Fantasy Focus co-host Nate Ravitz, also often mention their liking of Beverly Hills 90210.
, Los Angeles Angels, and Los Angeles Lakers
. As of October 27, 2010, Berry has adopted a support for the London based football club West Ham United F.C.
Berry made a guest appearance as himself in an episode of the FX sports sitcom The League
in 2011.
ESPN
Entertainment 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....
fantasy sports analyst and ESPN.com
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
columnist. He writes under the nickname "the Talented Mr. Roto," or "TMR". Berry currently works as ESPN's senior director of fantasy sports.
Hollywood writer
Born in Denver, ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, but raised in College Station, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Berry graduated from Syracuse University. After graduation Berry moved to Los Angeles to work in show business. After a few odd jobs Berry got hired as a production assistant for The George Carlin Show
The George Carlin Show
The George Carlin Show is an American sitcom that aired on the Fox network from January 1994 to July 1995. It was created jointly by veteran TV producer Sam Simon and the show's namesake, comedian George Carlin.-Synopsis:...
on Fox. Berry worked on the show for one year and has fond memories of George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
who wrote a recommendation letter for the Warner Brothers Writer's Workshop, to which Berry was accepted and where his first writing job came from. He worked on such movies as Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles is a 2001 Australian-American comedy film, directed by Simon Wincer and starring Paul Hogan. It is the sequel to the 1988 film Crocodile Dundee II, which itself was the sequel to 1986's Crocodile Dundee and the third and final film of the trilogy...
, and the final year of the TV show Married... with Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
. Crocodile Dundee was nominated for a Razzie award
Golden Raspberry Awards
A Golden Raspberry Award, or Razzie for short, is an award presented in recognition of the worst in movies. Founded by American copywriter and publicist John J.B. Wilson in 1981, the annual Razzie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles precedes the corresponding Academy Awards ceremony by one day...
in 2001 under the category of "Worst Remake or Sequel", but lost to Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (2001 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 2001 American science fiction film, based on Pierre Boulle's novel and a remake of the 1968 film of the same name. Tim Burton directed the film, which stars Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, and Estella Warren. It tells the...
.
Transition to fantasy sports
On the July 26, 2007 episode of "The B.S. Report with Bill SimmonsBill Simmons
William J. "Bill" Simmons III is a sports columnist, author, and podcaster. He currently writes columns and hosts podcasts for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. He is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine and Jimmy Kimmel Live!...
" podcast, he told the abridged version of how he went from Hollywood screenwriter to fantasy expert. He eventually grew tired of being in meetings with two movie stars he didn't think were funny telling him what comedy was. Even though he was in Hollywood, writing scripts and screenplays for movies and TV shows, he was still miserable. He asked a small fantasy site [RotoWorld.com] if he could do a column for them. He has been playing fantasy sports ever since he was 14; "it's my passion," he said on the podcast. The site did in fact hire him to do a column, because "Married with Children is their favorite show." Berry wrote for Rotoworld from 1999 to 2003, when he was let go after the site wanted to lower his pay from $100 a week to $25 a week.
Berry then started two fantasy web sites in addition to his Hollywood writing. He started RotoPass.com, a network of fantasy sports sites, and TalentedMrRoto.com, a fantasy content site. He also appeared on several media outlets as a fantasy expert.
Radio host Steve Mason, of Mason & Ireland on ESPN Radio 710 in Los Angeles, who was working for FOX
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
at the time, was a fan of the column and asked Berry to do a segment, which ended up lasting over an hour. He eventually was asked to do more guest appearances and was soon hired as their fantasy analyst. Mason then left to go to ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN 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...
, where he introduced Berry. He did a two-hour fantasy show there, which led him to spots on Cold Pizza
Cold Pizza
Cold Pizza was a television sports morning talk show that aired weekdays on ESPN2. The show's style was more akin to Good Morning America than SportsCenters straight news and highlights format. It included daily sports news, interviews with sports journalists, athletes, and personalities, and an...
. That grew into doing segments on ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS , launched on November 1, 1996, is a 24-hour-a-day sports news television channel...
, which led to his getting a column in ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998....
. That allowed him to start The Fantasy Show
The Fantasy Show
The Fantasy Show is a fantasy football talk and debate show on ESPN2. The show was supposed to air for 18 weeks a year during the National Football League season every Thursday at 6:30pm ET on ESPN2...
.
ESPN career
With his relationship growing with ESPNESPN
Entertainment 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....
, it purchased TalentedMrRoto.com and hired Berry as director of fantasy sports in February 2007.
Berry appears on the Fantasy Insider on ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS , launched on November 1, 1996, is a 24-hour-a-day sports news television channel...
and First Take
ESPN First Take
ESPN First Take is an American morning sports talk program on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. The show was formerly known as Cold Pizza. The official switch was made on May 7, 2007. Two back-to-back two-hour episodes air each weekday from Monday through Friday, with the live episode airing from 10 a.m...
once or twice a week, doing a "Fantasy Minute".
Berry's two columns, "The Talented Mr. Roto" and "TRUM: Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless Info and Musings" appear often on ESPN.com. He also often does several "Love/Hate" articles a year, including each week of the fantasy football season and one at the beginning of the baseball season, as well as rankings with the rest of the ESPN staff at intervals throughout the fantasy sports season.
In June 2007, Berry and fellow ESPN fantasy analyst Nate Ravitz
Nate Ravitz
Nate Ravitz is Deputy Editor for espn.com fantasy, dealing with fantasy sports. Apart from his internal duties for ESPN, Nate is best known as the co-host of the award-winning Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast and Fantasy Focus Football Podcast. Nate also provides analysis for the Fantasy Focus...
were announced as the full-time hosts of the "Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast". He currently hosts ESPN's "Fantasy Focus Football Podcast" with Ravitz, as well as injury expert Stephania Bell. This podcast is currently ESPN's most downloaded original-content podcast (and second overall behind only the podcast version of Pardon the Interruption). It consistently ranks among the top ten podcasts on iTunes and in August 2009, was the #1 audio podcast on all of iTunes. The show won two awards from PodcastAwards.com, including "Best Sports Podcast" and the overall "People's Choice." Berry is also featured on SportsCenter, NFL Live, in ESPN.com
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
fantasy videos, including on "Fantasy Football Now", "Start 'Em, Sit 'Em", "GMC Pro Grade League", "Working the Wire", a "Fantasy 3:50" segment on ESPNEWS once a week, and the "Fantasy Focus VideoCasts" -- both football and baseball. He co-stars the VideoCasts with Ravitz, Paul Severino, Molly Qerim, Eric Karabell, Christopher Harris
Christopher Harris (American writer)
Christopher Harris is an American fiction writer who also writes about fantasy sports for ESPN.com.Harris attended Cornell University and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. He is fond of dogs. He has red hair.-Fiction Writing:...
, Ken Daube, and Jon Anik, just to name a few.
On March 9, 2009, Berry set the record for longest chat on ESPN.com with a mark of 13 hours and 12 minutes. He beat the previous mark set by Rob Neyer
Rob Neyer
Rob Neyer is a baseball author and writer for SB Nation. He started his career working for Bill James and STATS, and then joined ESPN.com as a columnist from 1996 to January 2011 before becoming SB Nation's National Baseball Editor...
who chatted for 12 hours and 1 minute.
Writing style
Berry is a comical writer and one who more often than not acknowledges his false predictions rather than his correct ones. Berry also is known for his publishing of hate mail emailed in by readers who have taken his poor advice which then cost them dearly during the week.Berry is a frequent target for criticism because he is vocal about his opinions on players and their projected performance. "You don't see people getting upset about middle-of-the-road guys. I guess that means I'm doing my job well."
Berry frequently emphasizes that a player on the "Hate" list are not players that he believes will play poorly, but instead players that are being drafted too high or started too often. For example, in the pre-season article preparing readers for the draft, a usual first-rounder on the "Hate" list might be thought by Berry to deserve to go about five spots lower than he normally does, while later-round players on the "Love" list are players Berry would draft a round or two higher than expected. In the football articles, he names the players he likes to exceed their expectations for that week, and the guys who he expects to do worse than the fantasy benchmarks for their respective positions. The fantasy benchmarks are as follows:
- QuarterbackQuarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
s - 175 yards and two touchdowns (15 fantasy points in ESPN standard scoring) - Running backRunning backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
s and Wide ReceiverWide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
s - 90 yards OR 30 yards and a touchdown rushing or receiving (9 fantasy points) - Tight endTight endThe tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
s - 60 yards or a touchdown (6 fantasy points) - DefensesDefense (sport)In many team sports, defense or defence is the action of preventing an opponent from scoring. The term may also refer to the tactics involved in defense, or a sub-team whose primary responsibility is defense...
- 8 fantasy points
His columns include many pop culture references such as comparing the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
head coach Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
to the Gooch in Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
. During the course of the 2008 baseball season, Berry has frequently posed the question of who his audience thinks is hotter - Megan Fox
Megan Fox
Megan Denise Fox is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2001 with several minor television and film roles, and played a regular role on Hope & Faith. In 2004, she launched her film career with a role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen...
or Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway (actress)
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She played Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries...
- with Berry stating his choice of the latter and defending it both on the Fantasy Podcast and his weekly columns. Berry and Fantasy Focus co-host Nate Ravitz, also often mention their liking of Beverly Hills 90210.
Awards
Berry is a five-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association award winner, including a Writer of the Year award and was recently inducted into the inaugural class of the FSWA Hall of Fame. Matthew has also recently been bestowed the title of "Emmy Award Winner" for his work on "Fantasy Football Now".Additional information
Despite being born in Denver and raised in Texas, Berry has admitted to being a fan of the Washington RedskinsWashington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, Los Angeles Angels, and Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. As of October 27, 2010, Berry has adopted a support for the London based football club West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
Berry made a guest appearance as himself in an episode of the FX sports sitcom The League
The League
The League is an American sitcom that premiered on FX on October 29, 2009. The series, set in Chicago, is a semi-improvised comedy about a fantasy football league, its members, and their everyday lives.-Synopsis:...
in 2011.