SHARYN ALFONSI JOINS "60 MINUTES SPORTS"

Veteran reporter and former CBS News Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi has been named a contributor to 60 MINUTES SPORTS, the new sports magazine that premiered on SHOWTIME(R) on Jan. 9.

Alfonsi comes from ABC News, where she was a New York-based reporter for five years, appearing regularly on all of the division's platforms. For "World News Tonight," she revealed that uniforms to be worn by U.S. Olympic athletes last summer were made in China. Reporting for "Nightline," she showed the often cruel world of the puppy mill industry, exposing factory-like breeding facilities in the Amish country in Pennsylvania.

As a correspondent for the CBS EVENING NEWS, Alfonsi covered wars and was the lead reporter on many domestic and international stories for the Network, including the school shootings at Virginia Tech. In 2006, she reported from the Israel-Lebanon border covering the war with Hezbollah and later, the violence in Gaza. Alfonsi also covered the war in Iraq.

Other big stories Alfonsi covered for CBS News include Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita and the Sago Mine Disaster in West Virginia. She has served as substitute anchor for the CBS EVENING NEWS weekend edition and appeared regularly on CBS NEWS SUNDAY MORNING.

Before being promoted to correspondent, Alfonsi was a freelance correspondent for the CBS EVENING NEWS weekend edition, UP TO THE MINUTE and CBS NEWSPATH, the Network's 24-hour news service (December 2003-July 2004).

Alfonsi came to CBS News from the CBS-Owned station WBZ-TV in Boston, where she covered the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal, the Michael Skakel trial, the historic Rhode Island nightclub fire and served as substitute anchor.

Prior to that, she was a reporter for KIRO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Seattle, Wash. (1998-2000), where she covered the World Trade Organization riots. Alfonsi was also a general assignment reporter for WVEC-TV Norfolk, Va. (1995-97), where she traveled extensively with the military. She began her career in broadcast journalism at KHBS-TV Ft. Smith, Ark. (1994-95).

Alfonsi grew up in McLean, Va. She graduated from the University of Mississippi, Oxford, where she was a James Love Scholar and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and journalism studies.

60 MINUTES SPORTS is the product of a unique agreement between 60 MINUTES and SHOWTIME Sports(R) and is the first time original 60 MINUTES segments have been produced for a cable network. The program is co-executive produced by CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager and 60 MINUTES Executive Editor Bill Owens with SHOWTIME Sports.