Associate Editor David Sabino proudly notes that "I'm one of the few people on the planet with a passport photo shot by [longtime SI photographer] Heinz Kluetmeier." Such are the benefits for being one of SI's and SI.com's most valuable staffers. Sabino has specialized in statistics and fantasy sports since joining SI in 1995. His work extends to every sport, including the Olympics and SI's commemorative division. Sabino cites his work on The Baseball Book (2006) as his favorite SI project. "The whole process was cool, from creating an alltime All-Star ballot, to polling former writers and editors on the team, to the photo shoots to re-create the alltime roster in one dugout," he says. "The idea started as a discussion in a meeting, which soon became an SI cover story. It was a very gratifying project."

Before joining SI, Sabino was a freelance reporter for SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS (1993-95) and a technical assistant at Bank Street College (1992). He graduated from Syracuse University in 1991 with a dual B.S. in television, radio and film management & marketing. He later attended the University of Miami Graduate Business School where he received an M.B.A in Marketing. A New York City native, Sabino is a graduate of the prestigious Bronx High School of Science.

Sabino is the author of two books: Dominate Your Fantasy Baseball League (2005, Course Technology PTR) and Football Fever (1995, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS). He has been a major contributor to a number of SI Books, including The Football Book (2005), The Baseball Book (2006), The Basketball Book (2007), The College Football Book (2008) and the upcoming The Golf Book. He says the NBA is his favorite sport to cover. "Basketball's the game I love to play the most," he says.

Sabino and his wife, Ila, live in New Jersey.

EXTRA POINTS

• Writers who have inspired your work: "Bill James and Jayson Stark. James for the analysis and Stark for his ability to pull out the interesting aspects of sports statistics. I'm always looking for the ‘wow' factor, coming across something that the reader might not know but will find interesting."
• Hobbies/Interests: "Golf, cooking, concerts (especially Pearl Jam and Tool), exploring, driving."
• Person you would most like to interview: "Gordon Ramsay. The cantankerous British restaurateur is long on ideas but short on tact. I'm sure he'd be a great quote about anything."
• Favorite TV show: "30 Rock, The Simpsons, The Office, and cooking shows. My favorite current character is Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock."
• Non-sports websites regularly visited: "Perez Hilton, Gawker.com, The Onion, Elbo.ws. (Elbow Music Blog Aggregator)."
• The SI staffer you would most want to trade places with for a day: "Photographer Walter Iooss. The coolest guy in the coolest job on the planet."
• Hidden talent: "I make a mean Chinese hot and sour soup."

Updated 21 October 2009