Joel Huerto is the publisher and editor of OneManFastBreak.net, an online journal for basketball fans around the world and a partner site of SportsFanLive.com. He has been a member of the sports media for more than 20 years as a writer, copy editor, news editor and sports editor. He was one of the top news editors at the Los Angeles Daily News and Los Angeles Times, and a front page content producer at Yahoo! Inc. He began his journalism career when he was still in high school, working as a freelance writer for the Glendale News-Press in Glendale, Calif. In 1995, he became one of the youngest sports editors in the country after being promoted News-Press Sports Editor at the age of 24. Under his leadership, the News-Press sports section was a California Newspapers Publishers Association (CNPA) finalist in 1997. While at the L.A. Daily News, he collaborated with NBA writer Howard Beck in putting together the Daily News’ NBA special section for the 1999-2000 season. At the L.A. Times, he was part of an award-winning sports department that was voted first by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) among newspapers with a circulation of 300,000 or more. As a reporter, Huerto has interviewed famous basketball personalities such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Derek Fisher, Patrick Ewing, Jason Kidd, and college basketball icons such as John Wooden, Lute Olson, Jim Harrick and Dick Vitale. He has covered major events such as the NBA playoffs, The Rose Bowl, NFL regular-season games and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. From 1993-98, he covered the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers for the News-Press.
In 1999, he joined the L.A. Times sports staff as news editor and page designer. For much of his nine years at the L.A. Times, he was the lead news editor of the basketball pages and was responsible for the majority of the NBA statistical charts published in print and online. He was instrumental in the L.A. Times’ award-winning coverage of the Lakers’ championship run from 2000-2002. He has worked with award-winning journalists such as Bill Plaschke, T.J. Simers, J.A. Adande, Mark Heisler, Kurt Streeter, Helene Elliott, Robyn Norwood, Lonnie White, Jason Reid, Sam Farmer, Jonathan Abrams and Mike Bresnahan.
Huerto writes a column for SportsFanLive.com and posts basketball articles for Covers.com, TheMarchtoMadness.com and OpposingViews.com.
Huerto says: “I’ve been following basketball since I was 10 years old. Growing up in the Philippines, I was a huge fan of the PBA and idolized local icons such as Sonny Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz, Mon Fernandez, Philip Cezar, Atoy Co, Alberto Guidaben, Freddie Hubalde, Manny Paner, Hector Calma, and Bogs Adornado. Back then the popular teams were Toyota and Crispa, which is equivalent to the Lakers-Celtics rivalry. Since the PBA allowed imports, I was also influenced by American players like Billy Ray Bates, Donnie Ray Koonce, Andrew Fields, Norman Black, Chip Engelland, Jack Dorsey and Kevin Porter.
“Because of the time difference, I could only watch selected NBA games but I knew all the players through reading newspapers and books. I remember going to the store and asking my parents to buy me the latest Basketball Digest so I could memorize the players’ names, numbers, heights, weights and their schools. Even though I had no clue where Southwestern Louisiana was or Centenary or Duquesne, I knew those were the colleges Andrew Toney, Robert Parish and Norm Nixon attended. I began to follow the NBA in 1981 and my favorite players back then were Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Darryl Dawkins, Moses Malone, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Norm Nixon, Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson, George Gervin, Bernard King, Buck Williams, Michael Ray Richardson, Isiah Thomas, Kelly Tripucka, Marques Johnson and Sidney Moncrief. Just from reading my list you could probably tell that I used to watch a ton of Lakers and Sixers games. Those were my teams! When my family moved to California in 1984, I became even more consumed by the NBA. That’s when basketball became an even greater part of my life.
“Basketball is my passion. Writing is another. I’m a big fan of the L.A. Lakers, the NBA, Euroleague, FIBA basketball, Asian leagues, rec leagues, the local YMCA hoops and even 3-on-3 pickup games at the park. To me, basketball is the No. 1 sport in the world and it’s popularity extends beyond North America. It needs a global voice. It needs someone who can lead the break. A one-man fastbreak!”
The ultimate goal of this site is to provide in-depth commentary on any basketball related news, events or noteworthy items around the world. In addition, there will be weekly features on players, coaches and up-and-comers. OneManFastBreak.net is warmed up and ready to go. Check ball!
