Troy Sparks
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Troy (T.J.) Sparks, Jr. (born September 19 in Johnson City, Tennessee) is a sports columnist and freelance writer. He currently writes for SLAM Magazine and also posts on Sports Saga. He is best known for his tenure at RealGM.com.
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[edit] Early Life
Sparks, born in Johnson City, Tennessee, grew up in a small town known as Richlands, Virginia. He began posting on message boards on the internet while joining the Yahoo! Sports boards in December 1997. Since then, he's been reading and writing to prospering his way to the top of the writing chain.
[edit] RealGM
Sparks began contributing articles to RealGM.com sometime in 2004. Since then he's become a regular on the site, and is known as the "face" of RealGM. He has often said that he was the original The Sports Guy before ESPN.com's Bill Simmons dubbed himself the moniker. Due to Sparks' brash and comical writing, many have taken offense to what he says, which he refers to them as "rusty steak knives." He also often cites references of his father in his work, who passed away in December 2003, and speaks of retrospective memories.
Sparks left RealGM on December 10, 2007, because of bigger prospers and opportunities on the verge.
[edit] Influences
Sparks' writing has been linked to Bill Simmons' style of writing, except many people speculate that Sparks adds a sharper tone of voice and varies from optimism and pessimism, with darker satire and an upbeat tempo.
[edit] Collaborations
Sparks has often collaborated writing articles with ESPN.com's Bill Simmons, LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke, former NFL Running Back Marcus Allen, ESPN.com's Scoop Jackson, and Michael Smith.
[edit] Inconsistencies in Facts
It is not known what year Sparks was truly born. Though, it has been debated by those that read Sparks' work. However, nothing has seen consistently correct facts.
