Athletes - Paul Shirley

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	Athletes - Paul Shirley

Paul Shirley (born December 23 1977 in Redwood City, California) is a professional basketball player, most noted for briefly maintaining an online journal while playing for the Phoenix Suns in 2004-05. His first journal dealt with a several-day-long road trip, while the second chronicled the Suns' NBA playoffs run. After their playoff elimination, the Suns did not re-sign him, as he rarely played in his twelfth man position. He currently authors a blog for ESPN.

Shirley's first two blogs have gained notoriety for their witty, literate, frank, and sometimes sarcastic observations on players, teams, fans, cities, sports media, cheerleaders, the game of basketball, and topics outside the athletic sphere. Much of their popularity is due to their sharp divergence from common expectations: Shirley employs a rich vocabulary, openly criticizes fans and the general public, and makes forays into controversial, sophisticated topics such as the USA Patriot Act, which he condemned as " the US on a fast-track to an Orwellian destiny" . His writing garnered attention from national sports media, as well as other outlets such as Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, and the British Broadcasting Corporation.

He is now working on a book deal with Random House, writing about his experiences playing for a multitude of professional basketball teams. His current blog on ESPN, entitled "My So-Called Career", chronicles Paul's life while trying to get signed by an NBA team.

Shirley went to Iowa State University on a National Merit academic scholarship and majored in mechanical engineering. The Cyclones went to the Elite 8 of the NCAA basketball tournament his junior season. In his college career, he earned three Academic All-Big 12 selections and, in his senior season, was named second-team Academic All-American. Since graduating, he has played for eleven different professional teams as well as the Suns, including the Atlanta Hawks; Chicago Bulls; and teams in Barcelona, Spain and Kazan, Russia. He now resides in Kansas City, Missouri.

Shirley wore #45 for the Bulls and Hawks and #17 For the Suns.

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