Kevin Manahan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Kevin Manahan shunned law school to become a sports journalist in 1981 at $180 per week. For three decades, he skipped around The Star-Ledger newsroom, from sports to news to features and investigations — and even a stint on the Editorial Board. He spent two years at USA Today before returning home because Virginia traffic is even worse than New Jersey’s. He has been a beat reporter on the Giants, Jets, Yankees and Mets and the golf writer — hockey moved too fast for him — and has a drawer full of awards as a reporter and editor. He gladly accepts angry emails from Rutgers fans who believe Seton Hall gets too much coverage and from Seton Hall fans who believe Rutgers does, and from Mets fans who simply hate the Yankees. His baseball career was ended by the invention of the slider, and at this writing, he’s an 11 handicap (but it’s trending upward.) If you're wondering, "Why is the Sports Director also writing about politics?" it's because in addition to writing about politics while on the Editorial Board, he grew up in a political family (two mayors) and has served his community as a town council member.