New York Post sports writer Mike Vaccaro to teach, then talk at SUNY Orange

Middletown — New York Post’s lead sports columnist Mike Vaccaro will speak at two events at SUNY Orange County Community College on Thursday, Nov. 3, in Harriman Hall 111 Lecture Hall. From 2 to 3:15 p.m., Vaccaro will present a journalism/writing master class entitled, “My Back Pages: Why quality sports writing is as important as ever before.” Having won more than 50 major journalism awards, he is well-qualified to discuss the subject. Vaccaro has had many different writing opportunities in various sports as he has reported from four Olympics, twelve World Series, ten Super Bowls, eight Final Fours, and five US Opens. Former Record writer Many area readers may remember Vaccaro when he was a sports writer and columnist at the Times Herald-Record, one of several newspapers in his 20-plus year career that started at the Olean Times Herald, the hometown of St. Bonaventure University from which he graduated in 1989. Vaccaro has also been a sports editor at the Northwest Arkansas Times and sports columnist at the Kansas City Star and The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.). Vaccaro has the newspaper beat at the New York Post that is the dream of man: Covering New York sports where the high expectation, bright-lights, under-the-microscope atmosphere can make or break an athlete. What does he think of this competitiveness and how does he approach the daily challenges of quality writing in a pressure-packed surroundings? At 7 p.m., he will discuss covering New York sports; a question and answer session will follow. Three books as well Both events are free and open to the public and registration is not required. Harriman Hall is located at the corner of Wawayanda and East Conkling avenues, Middletown. In addition to his newspaper writing, Vaccaro has written three books: “The First Fall Classic;” “Emperors and Idiots: The Hundred Year Rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox;” and “1941: The Greatest Year in Sports.” Vaccaro will be available after the lecture for book signing. These events are offered by Cultural Affairs. For additional information, call 845-341-4891; e-mail cultural@sunyorange.edu or visit online at www.sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs.