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{{Short description|American sportswriter}}
{{About|the ESPN sports analyst|the former FCC General Counsel and Virginia politician|Matthew Berry (politician)}}
{{About|the sports analyst|the former FCC General Counsel and Virginia politician|Matthew Berry (politician)|other uses|Matt Berry (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Matthew J. Berry
| name = Matthew Berry
| birth_name = Matthew J. Berry
| birth_name = Matthew J. Berry
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|12|29}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|12|29}}
| birth_place = [[Denver]], [[Colorado]]
| birth_place = [[Denver]], Colorado, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_place =
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| occupation = Fantasy Sports analyst, writer, author
| occupation = [[Fantasy sports]] analyst, writer, author
| other_names = Mr. 100, Talented Mr. Roto, TMR
| other_names = Mr. 100, Talented Mr. Roto, TMR
| years_active = 1999–present
| years_active = 1999–present
| alma_mater = [[Syracuse University]]
| alma_mater = [[Syracuse University]]
}}
}}
'''Matthew J. Berry''' (born December 29, 1969)<ref>http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=mlbdk2k10manifesto</ref> is an American writer, columnist, fantasy sports analyst, and television personality. Berry started as a writer for television and film and creating a few pilots and film scripts with his writing partner Eric Abrams with varying success. After beginning as a content writer for [[Rotoworld]] as a side-job, Berry launched his own fantasy sports websites "TalentedMr.Roto.com" in 2004 and "[https://www.rotopass.com Rotopass.com]" once the former took off. Berry’s websites were timed perfectly with the rise in fantasy popularity, as the internet aided in making fantasy more accessible. Berry has been employed at [[ESPN]] since 2007. He is ESPN’s "Senior Fantasy Sports Analyst".<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/berry_matthew/|title = ESPN's Matthew Berry Bios|date = |accessdate = 2014-08-14|website = |publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref>
'''Matthew J. Berry''' (born December 29, 1969)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Berry |first1=Matthew |title=The Talented Mr. Roto: Draft Day Manifesto |url=https://www.espn.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=mlbdk2k10manifesto |website=ESPN.com |access-date=17 October 2021 |date=12 February 2010}}</ref> is an American writer, columnist, [[fantasy sports]] analyst, and television personality. Berry started his career by writing for television and film and creating a few pilots and film scripts with his writing partner Eric Abrams. After writing for [[Rotoworld]] as a side-job, Berry launched his own fantasy sports websites "TalentedMr.Roto.com" in 2004 and "[https://www.rotopass.com Rotopass.com]". Berry worked for [[ESPN]] from 2007 to 2022 as their "Senior Fantasy Sports Analyst".<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/berry_matthew/|title = ESPN's Matthew Berry Bios|access-date = 2014-08-14}}</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Berry was born in [[Denver, Colorado]], to Nancy and [[Leonard Berry (professor)|Leonard Berry]]. He is Jewish, although [[Jewish secularism|nonpracticing]].<ref> {{cite web
Berry was born in [[Denver, Colorado]], to Nancy and [[Leonard Berry (professor)|Leonard Berry]]. He grew up raising cattle on a small ranch in Richmond, Virginia. The family<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/fantasy/football/story/_/page/TMRlovehate190813/matthew-berry-love-hate-2019-most-overvalued-undervalued-players-fantasy-football|title=Love/Hate for 2019 season: Thoughts from a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent|date=2019-08-08|website=ESPN.com|language=en|access-date=2019-09-02}}</ref> were a generational farming family that owned 17 acres near Marion Hill. They ran an extremely successful business until the Berrys became involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding. During this time, several cattle ranches in the Richmond area were discovered by the FBI to be smuggling narcotics in cow hides out of the country. Unfortunately for the Berrys, they shared land with a family that was being investigated. During the investigation, some of the cattle had been misunderstood as being the property of the Berry family. After 13 lawsuits, 8 employees being let go, multiple local news stories, and a cattle farming social media smear campaign, the family decided to leave the state. Berry credits this difficult time in his life as the exact reason why he went into fantasy football predicting. He stated that it was because his career is proof that you can have an entire working life succeed or fail without having one piece of credible evidence. The family then moved several times, including to Atlanta, Georgia and Charlottesville, Virginia. From the age of 12 to adulthood he was raised in [[College Station, Texas]]. His mother became the former mayor of the city and his father is a professor for [[Texas A&M University]].
| url = https://www.espn.com/fantasy/football/story/_/page/TMRFacts180920/fantasy-football-matthew-berry-50-facts-week-3-2018-nfl-season#
| title = 50 facts you need to know before Week 3
| last = Berry
| first = Matthew
| date = 20 September 2018
| website = [[ESPN]]
| access-date = 6 August 2023}}</ref> The family moved several times, including to Richmond, Virginia, Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlottesville, Virginia. From the age of 12 to adulthood he was raised in [[College Station, Texas]]. His mother is the former mayor of the city and his father is a professor for [[Texas A&M University]].


Berry graduated from [[Syracuse University]] in 1992 with a degree in electronic media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sumagazine.syr.edu/2010fall-winter/alumnijournal/profiles/matthewberry.html|title=Dream Job in Fantasy Sports World|last1=Chaffin|first1=Sean|date=|website=|publisher=Syracuse University|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>
Berry graduated from the [[S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications]] at [[Syracuse University]] in 1992 with a degree in electronic media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sumagazine.syr.edu/2010fall-winter/alumnijournal/profiles/matthewberry.html|title=Dream Job in Fantasy Sports World|last1=Chaffin|first1=Sean|publisher=Syracuse University}}</ref>


⚫
==Hollywood writer==
==Career==
⚫
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. Thanks in part to the recommendation, Berry was accepted to the workshop, officially getting him into the LA writing scene.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Berry |first1=Matthew |title=The Talented Mr. Roto: Ten (more) lists of 10 |url=https://www.espn.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=tmr080624 |website=ESPN.com |access-date=17 October 2021 |date=24 June 2008}}</ref> During his writing tenure, he worked on such movies as ''[[Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles]]'', and the final year of the TV show ''[[Married... with Children]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0077626/|title=Matthew Berry|website=IMDb}}</ref> ''Crocodile Dundee'' was nominated for a [[Golden Raspberry Awards|Razzie award]] in 2001 under the category of "Worst Remake or Sequel", but lost to ''[[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|Planet of the Apes]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.razzies.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=351&PN=1|title="2001 Razzie Award Nominees and Winners"}}</ref> Berry gained further (possibly unwanted) attention for ''Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles'' after Paul Hogan filed a lawsuit against Berry and the Writers Guild of America because Berry and Eric Abrams were credited as writers, while Hogan insisted that he was the only one who wrote it.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Staff |title=QUICK TAKES: Hogan contests new "Dundee" screenplay credits |url=https://www.hollywood.com/general/quick-takes-hogan-contests-new-dundee-screenplay-credits-57167531/ |website=Hollywood.com |access-date=17 October 2021 |date=26 April 2001}}</ref> Berry and Abrams maintained their writing credits.

⚫
===Hollywood writer===
⚫
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. Thanks in part to the recommendation, Berry was accepted to the workshop, officially getting him into the LA writing scene.<ref>http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=tmr080624</ref> During his writing tenure, he worked on such movies as ''[[Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles]]'', and the final year of the TV show ''[[Married... with Children]]''.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0077627 "Matthew Berry's International Movie Database page"]</ref> ''Crocodile Dundee'' was nominated for a [[Golden Raspberry Awards|Razzie award]] in 2001 under the category of "Worst Remake or Sequel", but lost to ''[[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|Planet of the Apes]]''.<ref>[http://www.razzies.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=351&PN=1 "2001 Razzie Award Nominees and Winners"]</ref> Berry gained further (possibly unwanted) attention for ''Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles'' after Paul Hogan filed a lawsuit against Berry and the Writer’s Guild of America because Berry and Eric Abrams were credited as writers, while Hogan insisted that he was the only one who wrote it.<ref>http://www.hollywood.com/news/brief/386469/quick-takes-hogan-contests-new-dundee-screenplay-credits</ref> Berry and Abrams maintained their writing credits.


==Fantasy sports career==
===Transition to fantasy sports===
===Transition to fantasy sports===
On the July 26, 2007 episode of "The B.S. Report with [[Bill Simmons]]" 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Bill | last=King | coauthors= | title=How Mr. Roto came to live a life of fantasy | date=November 12, 2007 | publisher=Street & Smith's Sports Group | url =http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/57050 | work =Sports Business Journal | pages = | accessdate = 2008-06-04 | language = }}</ref>
On the July 26, 2007 episode of "The B.S. Report with [[Bill Simmons]]" 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Bill | last=King | title=How Mr. Roto came to live a life of fantasy | date=November 12, 2007 | publisher=Street & Smith's Sports Group | url =http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/57050 | work =Sports Business Journal | access-date = 2008-06-04 }}</ref>


Berry then started two fantasy web sites in addition to his Hollywood writing. He started RotoPass.com, a site which aggregates multiple fantasy sports sites that use paywalls, and TalentedMrRoto.com, a fantasy content site. The popularity of these sites, and his inability to focus on script writing in lieu of keeping the sites active, led to him dropping his full-time job and focusing on fantasy sports. He also appeared on several media outlets as a fantasy expert.<ref>{{cite news | title=ESPN's Matthew Berry on Sports, Comedy, and Happiness|author=Andrew C. Stone | publisher=Los Angeles Confidential Magazine | url =http://la-confidential-magazine.com/personalities/articles/fantasy-fulfilment | accessdate =March 29, 2014}}</ref>
Berry then started two fantasy web sites in addition to his Hollywood writing. He started RotoPass.com, a site which aggregates multiple fantasy sports sites that use paywalls, and TalentedMrRoto.com, a fantasy content site. The popularity of these sites led to him dropping his full-time job and focusing on fantasy sports. He also appeared on several media outlets as a fantasy expert.<ref>{{cite news | title=ESPN's Matthew Berry on Sports, Comedy, and Happiness|author=Andrew C. Stone | publisher=Los Angeles Confidential Magazine | url =http://la-confidential-magazine.com/personalities/articles/fantasy-fulfilment | access-date =March 29, 2014}}</ref>


Prior to joining ESPN exclusively, Matthew spent 2005 and 2006 writing the daily fantasy blog for Major League Baseball on MLB.com as well as writing a weekly fantasy column for NBA.com while also serving as editor of the 2005 and 2006 NBA.com Fantasy Basketball Magazine. In addition, he spent those two years making multiple weekly appearances as the official Fantasy Sports Expert for the Fox Sports Radio Network. <ref>https://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/berry_matthew/</ref>
Prior to joining ESPN exclusively, Matthew spent 2005 and 2006 writing the daily fantasy blog for Major League Baseball on MLB.com as well as writing a weekly fantasy column for NBA.com while also serving as editor of the 2005 and 2006 NBA.com Fantasy Basketball Magazine. In addition, he spent those two years making multiple weekly appearances as the official Fantasy Sports Expert for the Fox Sports Radio Network.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/berry_matthew/| title = Matthew Berry - ESPN Press Room U.S.}}</ref>


===ESPN and the fantasy explosion===
===ESPN and the fantasy explosion===
Radio host [[Steve Mason (broadcaster)|Steve Mason]], who was working for [[Fox Sports Radio|FOX]] at the time, was a fan of the TMR 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 to staff in the ESPN base of Bristol, Connecticut. 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]]''.
Radio host [[Steve Mason (broadcaster)|Steve Mason]], who was working for [[Fox Sports Radio|FOX]] at the time, was a fan of the TMR 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 to staff in the ESPN base of Bristol, Connecticut. 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]]''.


Berry’s relationship with ESPN grew to the point that it purchased TalentedMrRoto.com and hired Berry as director of fantasy sports in February 2007.<ref>[http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/player?context=podcast&id=2950378 "The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons: 7/26"]</ref>
Berry's relationship with ESPN grew to the point that it purchased TalentedMrRoto.com and hired Berry as director of fantasy sports in February 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/2950378|title=- The B.S. Report: 7/26|website=ESPN}}</ref>


As the popularity and demand for fantasy sports rose, so did Matthew Berry’s profile on the network. Berry appeared on the Fantasy Insider on [[ESPNEWS]] and ''[[ESPN First Take|First Take]]'' once or twice a week, doing a "Fantasy Minute". Berry has also been featured on ''SportsCenter'', ''NFL Live'', ''Olbermann'', ''Football Today'', etc.
As the popularity and demand for fantasy sports rose, so did Matthew Berry's profile on the network. Berry appeared on the Fantasy Insider on [[ESPNEWS]] and ''[[ESPN First Take|First Take]]'' once or twice a week, doing a "Fantasy Minute". Berry has also been featured on ''SportsCenter'', ''NFL Live'', ''Olbermann'', ''Football Today'', etc.


Berry also has a frequent presence on ESPN.com in various mediums outside of his columns. Berry has been featured in fantasy videos, which have included "Fantasy Football Now", "Start 'Em, Sit 'Em", "GMC Pro Grade League", "Working the Wire", and the "Fantasy Focus VideoCasts"—both football and baseball. Berry and Ravitz co-starred the VideoCasts along with [[Paul Severino]], [[Molly Qerim]], [[Jon Anik]], and various others. He also chats with fans on ESPN SportsNation. 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 also has a frequent presence on ESPN.com in various mediums outside of his columns. Berry has been featured in fantasy videos, which have included "Fantasy Football Now", "Start 'Em, Sit 'Em", "GMC Pro Grade League", "Working the Wire", and the "Fantasy Focus VideoCasts"—both football and baseball. Berry and Ravitz co-starred the VideoCasts along with [[Paul Severino]], [[Molly Qerim]], [[Jon Anik]], and various others. He also chats with fans on ESPN SportsNation. 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.


In 2013, Berry was named the 2013 Marketer of the Year by the Academy of Marketing Science for his role in fueling the national growth of fantasy football <ref>{{cite web| url = https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/berry_matthew/| title = Matthew Berry - ESPN Press Room U.S.}}</ref>
⚫
The popularity of fantasy sports, and Berry’s status as one of the leading voices of them, led to him stepping in front of the camera in numerous occasions. In 2008, Berry played a guest role on the soap opera ''[[One Life to Live]]''. In 2009, Berry filmed a segment for ''[[Dancing with the Stars]]'', a fellow Disney product. Berry also made a guest appearance as himself in an episode of the [[FX (TV channel)|FX]] fantasy sports sitcom ''[[The League]]'' in 2011.

⚫
The popularity of fantasy sports, and Berry's status as one of the leading voices of them, led to him stepping in front of the camera in numerous occasions. In 2008, Berry played a guest role on the soap opera ''[[One Life to Live]]''. In 2009, Berry filmed a segment for ''[[Dancing with the Stars]]'', a fellow Disney product. Berry also made a guest appearance as himself in an episode of the [[FX (TV channel)|FX]] fantasy sports sitcom ''[[The League]]'' in 2011.


====Fantasy Focus Podcast====
====Fantasy Focus Podcast====
Berry began his first foray into audio podcasting in 2007 with the ''Fantasy Forget (Four Get)'' where he gave "four players to leave off your roster this week."<ref>http://search.espn.go.com/roto/audio/7</ref> In June 2007, Berry and fellow ESPN fantasy analyst [[Nate Ravitz]] were announced as the full-time hosts of the ''[[Fantasy Focus (Podcast)|Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast]]'' and, soon after, the ''[[Fantasy Focus (Podcast)|Fantasy Focus Football Podcast]]''. Ravitz was replaced in 2015 by Field Yates. The shows are produced by Daniel Dopp and have featured many recurring ESPN guests such as Stephania Bell, Mike Clay, and Tristan Cockcroft.
Berry began his first foray into audio podcasting in 2007 with the ''Fantasy Forget (Four Get)'' where he gave "four players to leave off your roster this week."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://search.espn.go.com/roto/audio/7 |title=Roto Audio - ESPN |access-date=2014-08-16 |archive-date=2014-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819083855/http://search.espn.go.com/roto/audio/7 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In June 2007, Berry and fellow ESPN fantasy analyst [[Nate Ravitz]] were announced as the full-time hosts of the ''[[Fantasy Focus (Podcast)|Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast]]'' and, soon after, the ''[[Fantasy Focus (Podcast)|Fantasy Focus Football Podcast]]''. Ravitz was replaced in 2015 by [[Field Yates]]. The shows are produced by Daniel Dopp and have featured many recurring ESPN guests such as Stephania Bell, Mike Clay, and Tristan Cockcroft.


These podcasts, much like Berry’s columns, involve a mix of fantasy advice and comedic musings. Common features on the shows include the “Name Game,” “Over-reaction Theater,” “Mailbag,” and “Double Trouble.” The Fantasy Focus uses user-created drops for certain features and other funny/off-kilter sounds, occasionally simply to test if their producer is actually paying attention.
These podcasts, much like Berry's columns, involve a mix of fantasy advice and comedic musings. Common features on the shows include the "Name Game," "Over-reaction Theater," "Mailbag," and "Double Trouble." The Fantasy Focus uses user-created drops for certain features and other funny/off-kilter sounds, occasionally simply to test if their producer is actually paying attention.


Berry announced on the last episode of the 2013 Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast that he would not return to host the podcast for the 2014 season. This was announced immediately after Nate Ravitz announced his departure from the show.
Berry announced on the last episode of the 2013 Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast that he would not return to host the podcast for the 2014 season. This was announced immediately after Nate Ravitz announced his departure from the show.


The Fantasy Focus Football podcast is 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 has won a total of five awards from PodcastAwards.com, including "Best Sports Podcast" in 2009, 2011, and 2012, and the overall "People's Choice" podcast in 2009 and 2012.<ref>http://www.podcastawards.com/</ref>
The Fantasy Focus Football podcast is 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 has won a total of five awards from PodcastAwards.com, including "Best Sports Podcast" in 2009, 2011, and 2012, and the overall "People's Choice" podcast in 2009 and 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.podcastawards.com/|title=Podcast Awards - The People's Choice|website=www.podcastawards.com}}</ref>


====ESPN.com columns and articles====
====ESPN.com columns and articles====
Berry has a comedic and often self-depreciating voice in his articles. He more often than not acknowledges his false predictions rather than his correct ones, both in the form of angry e-mails and tweets from people who followed his advice for the worse. 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Nando | last=Di Fino | coauthors= | title=The Thick-Skinned Mr. Roto | date=May 29, 2008 | publisher=Dow Jones | url =https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121207629074329587?mod=sports | work =The Wall Street Journal | pages = | accessdate = 2008-06-04 | language = }}</ref> His articles generally begin with a short introduction involving experiences from his personal life. Pop culture references and quips will often be found during the otherwise serious fantasy advice portions.
Berry has a comedic and often self-deprecating voice in his articles. He more often than not acknowledges his false predictions rather than his correct ones, both in the form of angry e-mails and tweets from people who followed his advice for the worse. 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Nando | last=Di Fino | title=The Thick-Skinned Mr. Roto | date=May 29, 2008 | publisher=Dow Jones | url =https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121207629074329587?mod=sports | work =The Wall Street Journal | access-date = 2008-06-04 }}</ref> His articles generally begin with a short introduction involving experiences from his personal life. Pop culture references and quips will often be found during the otherwise serious fantasy advice portions.


Berry initially wrote two main fantasy columns for ESPN, "The Talented Mr. Roto" and "TRUM: Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless Info and Musings".<ref>Berry, Matthew, [http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3167984&searchName=berry_matthew "TRUM: No rest for the TMR"]</ref> However, his last post on the TRUM blog post was written in October 2011.
Berry initially wrote two main fantasy columns for ESPN, "The Talented Mr. Roto" and "TRUM: Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless Info and Musings".<ref>Berry, Matthew, [https://insider.espn.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3167984&searchName=berry_matthew "TRUM: No rest for the TMR"]</ref> However, his last post on the TRUM blog post was written in October 2011.


Currently, Matthew Berry writes a number of larger fantasy articles annually for what is now known as ESPN’s Fantasy Football Draft Kit. First, there is “100 Facts”, which is both printed in ESPN The Magazine and posted on ESPN.com. Second is the “Draft Day Manifesto,” where he goes over basic and advanced stats and tips to help ensure you succeed in your draft without necessarily recommending certain players. Third is Berry’s pre-draft Love/Hate. Love/Hate focuses on players who he feels are being over or under drafted. He originally wrote Love/Hate, 100 Facts, and a Bold Predictions column for Fantasy baseball as well, but penned his final editions of these in 2014 to focus on football.<ref>http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=tmr100422</ref>
Currently, Matthew Berry writes a number of larger fantasy articles annually for what is now known as ESPN's Fantasy Football Draft Kit. First, there is "100 Facts", which is both printed in ESPN The Magazine and posted on ESPN.com. Second is the "Draft Day Manifesto," where he goes over basic and advanced stats and tips to help ensure you succeed in your draft without necessarily recommending certain players. Third is Berry's pre-draft Love/Hate. Love/Hate focuses on players who he feels are being over or under drafted. He originally wrote Love/Hate, 100 Facts, and a Bold Predictions column for Fantasy baseball as well, but penned his final editions of these in 2014 to focus on football.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Berry |first1=Matthew |title=The Talented Mr. Roto: Identity crisis |url=https://www.espn.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=tmr100422 |website=ESPN.com |access-date=17 October 2021 |date=22 April 2010}}</ref>


Along with the articles, Berry also maintains a top 200 rankings and individual position rankings for the NFL from preseason through week 17.
Along with the articles, Berry also maintains a top 200 rankings and individual position rankings for the NFL from preseason through week 17.


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.<ref>Berry, Matthew, [http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=lovehate2008 "Love/Hate for 2008]</ref> In the football articles, he names the players he likes significantly better than the other ESPN rankers for that week (i.e., 'Love'), and the guys who he likes significantly less than the other ESPN rankers for that weeks (i.e., 'Hate'). Berry is 1 of only 5 people to be named to the Hall of Fame for Fantasy Sports Trade Association and Fantasy Sports Writers Association.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/berry_matthew/|title=Matthew Berry - ESPN MediaZone|website=espnmediazone.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-10-24}}</ref>
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.<ref>Berry, Matthew, [https://www.espn.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=lovehate2008 "Love/Hate for 2008]</ref> In the football articles, he names the players he likes significantly better than the other ESPN rankers for that week (i.e., 'Love'), and the guys who he likes significantly less than the other ESPN rankers for that weeks (i.e., 'Hate'). Berry is 1 of only 5 people to be named to the Hall of Fame for Fantasy Sports Trade Association and Fantasy Sports Writers Association.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://espnmediazone.com/us/bios/berry_matthew/|title=Matthew Berry - ESPN MediaZone|website=espnmediazone.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-10-24}}</ref>


====Past Work/Appearances====
===NBC Sports===
In 2022, Berry left ESPN and joined NBC Sports. He primarily serves as a fantasy football analyst, hosting the [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]] studio shows ''Fantasy Football Happy Hour'' and ''Fantasy Football Pregame''. He will also be a contributor for ''[[Football Night in America]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/12/media/matthew-berry-espn-departure/index.html|title=Matthew Berry, ESPN's fantasy guru, is leaving the network|work=CNN|date=July 12, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bucholtz |first=Andrew |date=2022-09-16 |title=Matthew Berry's Sunday pregame show is coming to some NBC affiliates |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/matthew-berry-peacock-fantasy-football-pregame-affiliates.html |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Traina |first=Jimmy |title=Matthew Berry Explains Why He Went to NBC After 15 Years With ESPN |url=https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2022/09/01/matthew-berry-explains-why-he-left-espn-for-nbc |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=Sports Illustrated |language=en-us}}</ref>


===Past work/appearances===
⚫
Matthew Berry has made a variety of appearances throughout his career. Berry has appeared on SportingNews.com, The Sporting News magazine, NFL Network, NBA TV, Fox Sports Net, Sporting News Radio, SportsIllustrated.com, Fox Sports Radio, Slam Magazine, and XM & Sirius Satellite Radio.<ref>https://www.siriusxm.com/siriusxmnbaradio</ref>

⚫
Berry has made a variety of appearances throughout his career. Berry has appeared on SportingNews.com, The Sporting News magazine, NFL Network, NBA TV, Fox Sports Net, Sporting News Radio, SportsIllustrated.com, Fox Sports Radio, Slam Magazine, and XM & Sirius Satellite Radio.


==Filmography, television, and audio==
==Filmography, television, and audio==
Line 93: Line 105:
| ''[[Conrad Bloom]]''
| ''[[Conrad Bloom]]''
| Co-producer
| Co-producer
|TV Series
|TV series
|-
|-
| 2001
| 2001
Line 105: Line 117:
|TV series
|TV series
|-
|-
| rowspan=”2”| 2003
| rowspan="2"| 2003
| ''[[Abby (TV series)|Abby]]''
| ''[[Abby (TV series)|Abby]]''
| Supervising producer/writer (1 ep)
| Supervising producer/writer (1 ep)
|TV series
|TV series
|-
|-
|2003
| ''[[Oliver Beene]]''
| ''[[Oliver Beene]]''
| Story
| Story
|TV series
|TV series
|-
|-
|2006-
|2006
| ''[[ESPN]], [[ESPN2]], [[ESPNews]]''
| ''[[ESPN]], [[ESPN2]], [[ESPNews]]''
| Fantasy football analyst
| Fantasy football analyst
| Appears on multiple ESPN broadcasts to give fantasy analysis, especially during football season.
| Appears on multiple ESPN broadcasts to give fantasy analysis, especially during football season.
|-
|-
|2007-
|2007
| ''ESPN Fantasy Focus Podcast''
| ''ESPN Fantasy Focus Podcast''
| Fantasy Analyst
| Fantasy Analyst
Line 127: Line 138:
|2008
|2008
| ''[[One Life to Live]]''
| ''[[One Life to Live]]''
| Actor, “Neil Silver”
| Actor, "Neil Silver"
| TV series
| TV series
|-
|-
|2008-
|2008
| ''Fantasy Football Now''
| ''Fantasy Football Now''
| Co-host
| Co-host
Line 153: Line 164:
| ''[[60 Minutes Sports]]''
| ''[[60 Minutes Sports]]''
| Himself
| Himself
| TV Series documentary
| TV series documentary
|-
|-
|2013
|2013
Line 166: Line 177:
|-
|-
|}
|}
All information from IMDB.<ref>https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4578753/</ref>
All information from IMDB.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4578753/|title=Matthew Berry|website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref>


==Awards and achievements==
==Awards and achievements==
*New York Times Bestseller, ‘’Fantasy Life’’
*New York Times Bestseller, ''Fantasy Life''
*[[Sports Emmy Award]] for Outstanding New Approach, ‘’Fantasy Football Now’’ on ESPN.com <ref>http://awardsandwinners.com/category/sports-emmy-award/2008/</ref>
*[[Sports Emmy Award]] for Outstanding New Approach, ''Fantasy Football Now'' on ESPN.com {{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
*Fantasy Sports Trade Association Hall of Fame Class of 2012 <ref>http://www.fsta.org/?page=HallofFame</ref>
*Fantasy Sports Trade Association Hall of Fame Class of 2012 <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fsta.org/?page=HallofFame |title=Hall of Fame - Fantasy Sports Trade Association |website=www.fsta.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313192122/http://www.fsta.org/?page=HallofFame |archive-date=2014-03-13}}</ref>
*Fantasy Sports Writer Association Hall of Fame Class of 2010 <ref>http://fswa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3401:fswa-hall-of-fame</ref>
*Fantasy Sports Writer Association Hall of Fame Class of 2010 <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fswa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3401:fswa-hall-of-fame|title = FSWA Hall of Fame}}</ref>
* Five-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Awards (2005-06) winner<ref>http://fswa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=6</ref>
* Five-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Awards (2005–06) winner<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fswa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=6|title = FSWA Writing Awards}}</ref>
*Writer of the Year (Basketball)
*Writer of the Year (Basketball)
*USA Today NFL Top 100 Most Important People
*USA Today NFL Top 100 Most Important People
*Best Article on the Web (Football)
*Best Article on the Web (Football)
*Most Humorous Article, Best Major Media Article x2 (Baseball)
*Most Humorous Article, Best Major Media Article x2 (Baseball)
*Five-time Podcast Awards Winner (w/ co-host Nate Ravitz)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.podcastawards.com/index.php?option%3Dpastwinners |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-20 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6Lh9tnIpR?url=http://www.podcastawards.com/index.php?option=pastwinners |archivedate=2013-12-07 |df= }}</ref>
*Five-time Podcast Awards Winner (w/ co-host Nate Ravitz)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.podcastawards.com/index.php?option%3Dpastwinners |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-01-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210230028/http://www.podcastawards.com/index.php?option=pastwinners |archive-date=2013-12-10 }}</ref>
*People’s Choice (2009, ’12), ’’ESPN Fantasy Focus Football’’
*People's Choice (2009, '12), ''ESPN Fantasy Focus Football''
*Sports (2009, ’11, ’12), ’’ESPN Fantasy Focus Football’’
*Sports (2009, '11, '12), ''ESPN Fantasy Focus Football''
*Sports (2013), ‘’ESPN Fantasy Focus Baseball’’
*Sports (2013), ''ESPN Fantasy Focus Baseball''
*Sports (2012), ‘’Marketer of the Year" by Academy of Marketing Science’’
*Sports (2012), ''Marketer of the Year" by Academy of Marketing Science''
*Sports (2017), ‘’FTSA Award Best Fantasy Show’’
*Sports (2017), ''FTSA Award Best Fantasy Show''
*Sports (2017), ‘’Analyst of the Year’’
*Sports (2017), ''Analyst of the Year''


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Berry’s sports team allegiances lie from coast to coast. He is a Texas A&M fan because of his close familial ties with the program, having season tickets in his youth. Due to his residences in Virginia, Berry’s favorite NFL team became the [[Washington Redskins]].<ref>Berry, Matthew. ‘’A Fantasy Life’’. Riverhead/Penguin:2013.</ref> During his time in Los Angeles, Berry gained an affinity for the [[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 is also a friend to many stars including Jay Z, Seth Meyers, and Zooey Deschanel helping them with fantasy world advice.<ref>https://people.com/celebrity/fantasy-movie-league-makes-box-office-results-actually-exciting/</ref>
Berry's sports team allegiances lie from coast to coast. He is a Texas A&M fan because of his close familial ties with the program, having season tickets in his youth. Due to his residences in Virginia, Berry's favorite NFL team became the [[Washington Commanders]].<ref>Berry, Matthew. ''A Fantasy Life''. Riverhead/Penguin:2013.</ref> During his time in Los Angeles, Berry gained an affinity for the [[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 is also a friend to many stars including [[Jay-Z]], [[Seth Meyers]], and [[Zooey Deschanel]] helping them with fantasy world advice.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lane |first1=Laura |title=Fantasy Movie League Makes Box Office Results Actually Exciting |url=https://people.com/celebrity/fantasy-movie-league-makes-box-office-results-actually-exciting/ |website=PEOPLE |access-date=October 20, 2021 |date=July 14, 2015}}</ref> Berry resides in Connecticut with his wife, Beth Berry (who also works for ESPN), and their five children.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lev |first1=Michael |title=Lev: Matthew Berry is living the 'Fantasy Life' |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2013/07/25/lev-matthew-berry-is-living-the-fantasy-life/ |website=Orange County Register |access-date=October 20, 2021 |date=July 25, 2013}}</ref>
Berry resides in Connecticut with his wife, Beth Berry (who also works for ESPN), and five children.<ref>http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fantasy-518482-espn-sports.html</ref>


==References==
==References==
Line 194: Line 204:


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Official|https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/berry_matthew/}}
*[https://anchor.fm/cuseconversations/episodes/Matthew-Berry-92-Fantasy-Football-Guru-enc3to Berry on 'Cuse Conversations Podcast in 2020]


{{Fantasy sports}}




{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:ESPN people]]
[[Category:Writers from Denver]]
[[Category:Writers from Denver]]
⚫
[[Category:S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni]]


⚫
[[Category:S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni]]

Revision as of 14:25, 9 September 2024

This article is about the sports analyst. For the former FCC General Counsel and Virginia politician, see Matthew Berry (politician). For other uses, see Matt Berry (disambiguation).
Matthew Berry
Born
Matthew J. Berry

(1969-12-29) December 29, 1969 (age 54)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesMr. 100, Talented Mr. Roto, TMR
Alma materSyracuse University
Occupation(s)Fantasy sports analyst, writer, author
Years active1999–present

Matthew J. Berry (born December 29, 1969)[1] is an American writer, columnist, fantasy sports analyst, and television personality. Berry started his career by writing for television and film and creating a few pilots and film scripts with his writing partner Eric Abrams. After writing for Rotoworld as a side-job, Berry launched his own fantasy sports websites "TalentedMr.Roto.com" in 2004 and "Rotopass.com". Berry worked for ESPN from 2007 to 2022 as their "Senior Fantasy Sports Analyst".[2]

Early life

Berry was born in Denver, Colorado, to Nancy and Leonard Berry. He is Jewish, although nonpracticing.[3] The family moved several times, including to Richmond, Virginia, Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlottesville, Virginia. From the age of 12 to adulthood he was raised in College Station, Texas. His mother is the former mayor of the city and his father is a professor for Texas A&M University.

Berry graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in 1992 with a degree in electronic media.[4]

Hollywood writer

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. Thanks in part to the recommendation, Berry was accepted to the workshop, officially getting him into the LA writing scene.[5] During his writing tenure, he worked on such movies as Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, and the final year of the TV show Married... with Children.[6] 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.[7] Berry gained further (possibly unwanted) attention for Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles after Paul Hogan filed a lawsuit against Berry and the Writers Guild of America because Berry and Eric Abrams were credited as writers, while Hogan insisted that he was the only one who wrote it.[8] Berry and Abrams maintained their writing credits.

Fantasy sports career

Transition to fantasy sports

On the July 26, 2007 episode of "The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons" 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.[9]

Berry then started two fantasy web sites in addition to his Hollywood writing. He started RotoPass.com, a site which aggregates multiple fantasy sports sites that use paywalls, and TalentedMrRoto.com, a fantasy content site. The popularity of these sites led to him dropping his full-time job and focusing on fantasy sports. He also appeared on several media outlets as a fantasy expert.[10]

Prior to joining ESPN exclusively, Matthew spent 2005 and 2006 writing the daily fantasy blog for Major League Baseball on MLB.com as well as writing a weekly fantasy column for NBA.com while also serving as editor of the 2005 and 2006 NBA.com Fantasy Basketball Magazine. In addition, he spent those two years making multiple weekly appearances as the official Fantasy Sports Expert for the Fox Sports Radio Network.[11]

ESPN and the fantasy explosion

Radio host Steve Mason, who was working for FOX at the time, was a fan of the TMR 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 to staff in the ESPN base of Bristol, Connecticut. 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.

Berry's relationship with ESPN grew to the point that it purchased TalentedMrRoto.com and hired Berry as director of fantasy sports in February 2007.[12]

As the popularity and demand for fantasy sports rose, so did Matthew Berry's profile on the network. Berry appeared on the Fantasy Insider on ESPNEWS and First Take once or twice a week, doing a "Fantasy Minute". Berry has also been featured on SportsCenter, NFL Live, Olbermann, Football Today, etc.

Berry also has a frequent presence on ESPN.com in various mediums outside of his columns. Berry has been featured in fantasy videos, which have included "Fantasy Football Now", "Start 'Em, Sit 'Em", "GMC Pro Grade League", "Working the Wire", and the "Fantasy Focus VideoCasts"—both football and baseball. Berry and Ravitz co-starred the VideoCasts along with Paul Severino, Molly Qerim, Jon Anik, and various others. He also chats with fans on ESPN SportsNation. 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.

In 2013, Berry was named the 2013 Marketer of the Year by the Academy of Marketing Science for his role in fueling the national growth of fantasy football [13]

The popularity of fantasy sports, and Berry's status as one of the leading voices of them, led to him stepping in front of the camera in numerous occasions. In 2008, Berry played a guest role on the soap opera One Life to Live. In 2009, Berry filmed a segment for Dancing with the Stars, a fellow Disney product. Berry also made a guest appearance as himself in an episode of the FX fantasy sports sitcom The League in 2011.

Fantasy Focus Podcast

Berry began his first foray into audio podcasting in 2007 with the Fantasy Forget (Four Get) where he gave "four players to leave off your roster this week."[14] In June 2007, Berry and fellow ESPN fantasy analyst Nate Ravitz were announced as the full-time hosts of the Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast and, soon after, the Fantasy Focus Football Podcast. Ravitz was replaced in 2015 by Field Yates. The shows are produced by Daniel Dopp and have featured many recurring ESPN guests such as Stephania Bell, Mike Clay, and Tristan Cockcroft.

These podcasts, much like Berry's columns, involve a mix of fantasy advice and comedic musings. Common features on the shows include the "Name Game," "Over-reaction Theater," "Mailbag," and "Double Trouble." The Fantasy Focus uses user-created drops for certain features and other funny/off-kilter sounds, occasionally simply to test if their producer is actually paying attention.

Berry announced on the last episode of the 2013 Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast that he would not return to host the podcast for the 2014 season. This was announced immediately after Nate Ravitz announced his departure from the show.

The Fantasy Focus Football podcast is 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 has won a total of five awards from PodcastAwards.com, including "Best Sports Podcast" in 2009, 2011, and 2012, and the overall "People's Choice" podcast in 2009 and 2012.[15]

ESPN.com columns and articles

Berry has a comedic and often self-deprecating voice in his articles. He more often than not acknowledges his false predictions rather than his correct ones, both in the form of angry e-mails and tweets from people who followed his advice for the worse. 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."[16] His articles generally begin with a short introduction involving experiences from his personal life. Pop culture references and quips will often be found during the otherwise serious fantasy advice portions.

Berry initially wrote two main fantasy columns for ESPN, "The Talented Mr. Roto" and "TRUM: Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless Info and Musings".[17] However, his last post on the TRUM blog post was written in October 2011.

Currently, Matthew Berry writes a number of larger fantasy articles annually for what is now known as ESPN's Fantasy Football Draft Kit. First, there is "100 Facts", which is both printed in ESPN The Magazine and posted on ESPN.com. Second is the "Draft Day Manifesto," where he goes over basic and advanced stats and tips to help ensure you succeed in your draft without necessarily recommending certain players. Third is Berry's pre-draft Love/Hate. Love/Hate focuses on players who he feels are being over or under drafted. He originally wrote Love/Hate, 100 Facts, and a Bold Predictions column for Fantasy baseball as well, but penned his final editions of these in 2014 to focus on football.[18]

Along with the articles, Berry also maintains a top 200 rankings and individual position rankings for the NFL from preseason through week 17.

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.[19] In the football articles, he names the players he likes significantly better than the other ESPN rankers for that week (i.e., 'Love'), and the guys who he likes significantly less than the other ESPN rankers for that weeks (i.e., 'Hate'). Berry is 1 of only 5 people to be named to the Hall of Fame for Fantasy Sports Trade Association and Fantasy Sports Writers Association.[20]

NBC Sports

In 2022, Berry left ESPN and joined NBC Sports. He primarily serves as a fantasy football analyst, hosting the Peacock studio shows Fantasy Football Happy Hour and Fantasy Football Pregame. He will also be a contributor for Football Night in America.[21][22][23]

Past work/appearances

Berry has made a variety of appearances throughout his career. Berry has appeared on SportingNews.com, The Sporting News magazine, NFL Network, NBA TV, Fox Sports Net, Sporting News Radio, SportsIllustrated.com, Fox Sports Radio, Slam Magazine, and XM & Sirius Satellite Radio.

Filmography, television, and audio

Year Title Roles Notes
1995 Kirk (TV series) Writer TV series
1996 Ink (TV series) Story Editor TV series
1996-1997 Married... with Children Story editor/writer (Season 11) TV series
1998 Conrad Bloom Co-producer TV series
2001 Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles Writer Feature film
2001 Gary & Mike Supervising producer TV series
2003 Abby Supervising producer/writer (1 ep) TV series
Oliver Beene Story TV series
2006 ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews Fantasy football analyst Appears on multiple ESPN broadcasts to give fantasy analysis, especially during football season.
2007 ESPN Fantasy Focus Podcast Fantasy Analyst Podcast. Left FF Baseball in 2013.
2008 One Life to Live Actor, "Neil Silver" TV series
2008 Fantasy Football Now Co-host Sports show
2009 Dancing with the Stars Guest appearance Competition show
2011 The League Guest appearance TV series/Radio
2011-2015 Mike & Mike Guest appearance TV series/Radio
2013 60 Minutes Sports Himself TV series documentary
2013 How Did This Get Made? Himself Podcast
2019 Avengers: Endgame S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Cameo

All information from IMDB.[24]

Awards and achievements

  • New York Times Bestseller, Fantasy Life
  • Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding New Approach, Fantasy Football Now on ESPN.com [citation needed]
  • Fantasy Sports Trade Association Hall of Fame Class of 2012 [25]
  • Fantasy Sports Writer Association Hall of Fame Class of 2010 [26]
  • Five-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Awards (2005–06) winner[27]
  • Writer of the Year (Basketball)
  • USA Today NFL Top 100 Most Important People
  • Best Article on the Web (Football)
  • Most Humorous Article, Best Major Media Article x2 (Baseball)
  • Five-time Podcast Awards Winner (w/ co-host Nate Ravitz)[28]
  • People's Choice (2009, '12), ESPN Fantasy Focus Football
  • Sports (2009, '11, '12), ESPN Fantasy Focus Football
  • Sports (2013), ESPN Fantasy Focus Baseball
  • Sports (2012), Marketer of the Year" by Academy of Marketing Science
  • Sports (2017), FTSA Award Best Fantasy Show
  • Sports (2017), Analyst of the Year

Personal life

Berry's sports team allegiances lie from coast to coast. He is a Texas A&M fan because of his close familial ties with the program, having season tickets in his youth. Due to his residences in Virginia, Berry's favorite NFL team became the Washington Commanders.[29] During his time in Los Angeles, Berry gained an affinity for the 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 is also a friend to many stars including Jay-Z, Seth Meyers, and Zooey Deschanel helping them with fantasy world advice.[30] Berry resides in Connecticut with his wife, Beth Berry (who also works for ESPN), and their five children.[31]

References

  1. ^ Berry, Matthew (12 February 2010). "The Talented Mr. Roto: Draft Day Manifesto". ESPN.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  2. ^ "ESPN's Matthew Berry Bios". Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  3. ^ Berry, Matthew (20 September 2018). "50 facts you need to know before Week 3". ESPN. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  4. ^ Chaffin, Sean. "Dream Job in Fantasy Sports World". Syracuse University.
  5. ^ Berry, Matthew (24 June 2008). "The Talented Mr. Roto: Ten (more) lists of 10". ESPN.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Matthew Berry". IMDb.
  7. ^ ""2001 Razzie Award Nominees and Winners"".
  8. ^ Staff (26 April 2001). "QUICK TAKES: Hogan contests new "Dundee" screenplay credits". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  9. ^ King, Bill (November 12, 2007). "How Mr. Roto came to live a life of fantasy". Sports Business Journal. Street & Smith's Sports Group. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  10. ^ Andrew C. Stone. "ESPN's Matthew Berry on Sports, Comedy, and Happiness". Los Angeles Confidential Magazine. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  11. ^ "Matthew Berry - ESPN Press Room U.S."
  12. ^ "- The B.S. Report: 7/26". ESPN.
  13. ^ "Matthew Berry - ESPN Press Room U.S."
  14. ^ "Roto Audio - ESPN". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2014-08-16.
  15. ^ "Podcast Awards - The People's Choice". www.podcastawards.com.
  16. ^ Di Fino, Nando (May 29, 2008). "The Thick-Skinned Mr. Roto". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  17. ^ Berry, Matthew, "TRUM: No rest for the TMR"
  18. ^ Berry, Matthew (22 April 2010). "The Talented Mr. Roto: Identity crisis". ESPN.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  19. ^ Berry, Matthew, "Love/Hate for 2008
  20. ^ "Matthew Berry - ESPN MediaZone". espnmediazone.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  21. ^ "Matthew Berry, ESPN's fantasy guru, is leaving the network". CNN. July 12, 2022.
  22. ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (2022-09-16). "Matthew Berry's Sunday pregame show is coming to some NBC affiliates". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  23. ^ Traina, Jimmy. "Matthew Berry Explains Why He Went to NBC After 15 Years With ESPN". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  24. ^ "Matthew Berry". IMDb.
  25. ^ "Hall of Fame - Fantasy Sports Trade Association". www.fsta.org. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13.
  26. ^ "FSWA Hall of Fame".
  27. ^ "FSWA Writing Awards".
  28. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-10. Retrieved 2014-01-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. ^ Berry, Matthew. A Fantasy Life. Riverhead/Penguin:2013.
  30. ^ Lane, Laura (July 14, 2015). "Fantasy Movie League Makes Box Office Results Actually Exciting". PEOPLE. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  31. ^ Lev, Michael (July 25, 2013). "Lev: Matthew Berry is living the 'Fantasy Life'". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
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