Neil Best (journalist)

Best moved from Hillside, New Jersey to East Northport, New York at age 11. He came of age on Long Island, where he would establish his career.[1]

In high school, Best was a journalist for The Rag at Northport High School. Best went on to attend college at Cornell University and wrote for The Cornell Daily Sun until his graduation in 1982.[2]

After his graduation from Cornell, Best began his career at Newsday in 1982. However, he left for a few years to work at The Anchorage Times.[1] He returned to Newsday in 1985 and has remained at the paper since.[3]

Throughout his career at Newsday, Best has covered a variety of sports topics. He began writing about St. John's Red Storm men's basketball and went on to do beat reporting about the New York Giants.[1] He has periodically appeared on the television show Giants Online, hosted by Bob Papa and Pat Hanlon.[4] In 2005, he began his current sports media and business column, SportsWatch.[3]

In 2007, Best began his online sports blog, WatchDog, which quickly became popular. When Cablevision acquired Newsday a few years later, readers had to start paying a monthly subscription fee to read WatchDog, causing Best to bid his readers farewell.[5]

As Best continues to write for Newsday, he has maintained a presence in various media platforms, evaluating everything from sports radio shows to the Super Bowl.[6][7] He has two daughters.[2]