Jerry Palm - Expanded Profile

• I have 4 children, and live in the suburbs. I could hardly be more average in that sense.
  
• I a member of (and actually attend) an ELCA Lutheran church.
  
• I graduated from Purdue in 1985 with a degree in computer science.
  
• I was a four-year All-American at Purdue.
  
• That's only partially true. Actually, I was a four-year [member of the] All-American [Marching Band] at Purdue. I played alto sax when I marched and bass clarinet in concert band.
  
• Before I had children, I was actively involved in the Purdue Club of Chicago.
  
• I have 16 years of experience as an baseball umpire and eight years as a basketball referee. I worked youth leagues, high school, and a little college in both sports, but that is another activity I more or less gave up when the first child came along.
  
• Now that I have kids, I do a lot of coaching. I have coached baseball, softball, football, basketball and especially soccer.
  
• I am a frequent guest on sports talk radio during college football and basketball seasons. I also have my own show on The Lakeshore in NW Indiana, but I don't listen to a lot of sports talk radio.
  
• I almost never watch Sportscenter either. I don't have the patience to watch a 90 minute show that shouldn't take more than 45.
  
• I am a political independent. I dislike more than I like about each of our major political parties. I don't like the tone of political discourse in our country and few of the politicians and pundits that create it. However, two of the politicians I do like are Indiana's senators, Richard Lugar (R) and Evan Bayh (D).
  
• I'm 6'1", 185 lbs, and shrinking on both counts.
  
• As you can tell from my mug shot, I'm having a bad hair life.
  
• Find out more in this USA Today feature about me.