Pittsburgh Sports Report - Bio

Pittsburgh Sports Report

Ellis G. Cannon

Overview

Ellis G. Cannon is a former trial lawyer in the downtown Pittsburgh law firm of Robb, Leonard and Mulvihill. Mr. Cannon served as an associate in the law firm before being elevated to partner in 1990. In the fall of 1996, he took a leave of absence from his practice to explore, and eventually secure, a career in sports publishing and broadcasting. He serves as president and publisher of Pittsburgh Sports Report, Inc., which is responsible for the publication of Pittsburgh’s only sports newspaper, the Pittsburgh Sports Report and KidSPORTS Magazine, A Parents’ Guide For The Young Athlete As detailed below, Mr. Cannon has directly performed and overseen numerous multi-media activities within the company, including print, radio and television.

Legal

During his legal career (1984-1996), Mr. Cannon was primarily responsible for the handling and management of extensive civil litigation matters in state and federal courts through Pennsylvania, including the following areas:

o   Commercial and personal litigation
o   Business torts, contract disputes, injunctive and declaratory actions and general liability insurance matters
o   Products liability litigation
o   Complex business, commercial and insurance matters, including liability claims, insurance coverage, director and officer insurance analysis and related litigation
o   Personal injury, premises liability and motor vehicle litigation

In conjunction with the above, Mr. Cannon had extensive trial and courtroom experience, including jury and non-jury trials, motion and brief preparation and presentation, and state and federal court appeals. His extensive civil discovery experience included conducting hundreds of depositions (litigants, witnesses, experts and medical; video and non-video), oversight and direction of investigation, and pre-trial matters before the court, including arbitration, mediation and conciliation matters.

Mr. Cannon’s clients included major/mid-major Pittsburgh-based and regional companies, numerous national insurance/indemnity companies and individuals. A significant aspect of Mr. Cannon’s practice was client development and management; accordingly, substantial commitment was made to client affairs and presentation of legal issues to that client base. A highlight of Mr. Cannon’s career included successful representation of the Major League Baseball Players’ Alumni Association.

He was certified to appear in all Pennsylvania state courts, including the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and federal courts (United States District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania; United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit). His affiliations included the Allegheny County (PA), Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations .

Sports Business/Media

Print/Publishing

Mr. Cannon and his brother, Henry, co-founded the Pittsburgh Sports Report, an award-winning monthly publication dedicated to Western Pennsylvania sports in 1996. The publication offers in-depth analysis, features and commentary from notable Pittsburgh sports writers and national personalities. The publication has been awarded Golden Quill Awards, nationally judged competition rewarding excellence in journalism. Mr. Cannon serves as publisher of the Report.

He managed expansion of the company’s staff and office relocation in conjunction with the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (RIDC), the region’s largest not-for-profit economic development agency and developer of urban and suburban office parks in the ten counties of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Mr. Cannon has also served as a columnist for the Beaver County Times, a leading Pittsburgh suburban newspaper, during the professional football season. His features offer insight, analysis and opinions as part of the newspaper’s Pittsburgh Steelers’ in-season special coverage.

Radio

Mr. Cannon and his brother, Henry, began appearing on local and regional radio as guests in 1997 and co-hosted regular sports talk show programming as "The Cannon Brothers" at Pittsburgh's ESPN Radio 1250 (and predecessors) between 1998 and January, 2004. In January, 2004, Ellis began hosting the station's local sports programming on "The Pittsburgh Sports Report with Ellis Cannon". His weekend sports talk show was the market's #1 weekend talk show and regularly rated at the top of the market’s most desirable demographics. During that period, Mr. Cannon also co-hosted national network programming for ESPN Radio and appeared on numerous outlets regionally and around the country. He also served as the weekday drive-time guest host and hosted golf, baseball and Pittsburgh Steelers’ pre and post-game programming. He previously also hosted Pittsburgh Panther and Pittsburgh Penguins related programming at ESPN Radio 1250.

In January 2004, Mr. Cannon left ESPN Radio 1250 to become a weekday sports talk show host on WPGB-FM (FM NewsTalk 104.7) in Pittsburgh (Clearchannel Communications), the city’s first and only FM newstalk station. He hosts “Ellis Cannon’s Sportsline Pittsburgh” Monday through Friday at 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., discussing topical national and local issues on the station’s exclusive weekday sports program, one of only two local weekday programs on the station. The station’s 50,000 watt signal is one of the strongest in the Pittsburgh market and enables wide regional listenership interaction through Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

In addition, Cannon served as the Sports Director and drive time Sports Anchor for Fox Sports Radio 970 (970 AM), another Clearchannel property, between January, 2004 into February, 2005. At that time, Mr. Cannon’s responsibilities on WPGB-FM were expanded to include production and airing of several drive time daily commentaries heard during the Sean Hannity Show. Mr. Cannon’s evening program is part of a daily on-air lineup including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage.

Mr. Cannon’s weeknight program has been a significant contributing factor to WPGB’s meteoric ratings and success since the station’s onset. As of the fall, 2004, Mr. Cannon’s Sportsline Pittsburgh broadcast became Pittsburgh’s #1 rated evening sports radio program.

Mr. Cannon was also honored in 2004 as the recipient of an A.I.R. Award for the “Best Evening Show on a Sports, Talk or Personality Station”.

Beginning with the 2004 NFL season, Mr. Cannon assumed on-air game day responsibilities on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ radio broadcasts as the studio host of pre-game, in-game and post-game coverage for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Football Network, including on the Steelers’ flagship station, WDVE-FM, and dozens of regional affiliates through Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland. The Pittsburgh Steelers Football Network is annually one of the most highly rated, listened to and successful game day broadcasts in the National Football League.

Television

In addition, Mr. Cannon is a television personality, appearing regularly on Pittsburgh's top-rated sports talk television show, “The #1 Cochran Sports Showdown” (CBS television affiliate, KDKA-TV) for several years. He has also served as a college and pro football expert for the local ABC television affiliate (WTAE-TV) over the past several years.

Mr. Cannon also serves has also served on numerous occasions as a contributor and analyst on Fox News Channel and Court TV for topical sports and law issues since 2004.

Other

Mr. Cannon’s extensive community, non-profit and charity work includes making appearances and serving as spokesperson/honorary chairperson on behalf of the United Way of Allegheny County, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Myasthenia Gravis Association, the Arthritis Foundation, the Pittsburgh Mercy Foundation and others. He also makes appearances and serves as a host and master of ceremony for numerous corporate functions through the region and was a feature speaker at the February 2003 annual Dapper Dan Banquet, a long-time and prestigious event honoring local, regional and national sports personalities and athletes.

Personal/Education

Mr. Cannon has been married since 1985 to his wife, Yvonne, and is the father of three sons. He and his family live in Pittsburgh. He was born on March 28, 1959.

Mr. Cannon was an honors graduate from the University of Pittsburgh (B.A., 1981) and obtained his legal degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (J.D., 1984).