Michael Kruse writes stories. He started at the St. Petersburg Times in June 2005 and covered courts in Hernando County, and also business, and also some of just about everything else. Before coming to the Times, he edited the ACC Basketball Handbook, scouted high school basketball talent for the Recruiter's Handbook and prepstars.com, was a senior writer for Basketball America and covered the Yankees and then was the writer at large for the Times Herald-Record in New York's Hudson Valley. His work also has appeared on ESPN.com and cbs.sportsline.com and in the Sporting News and ESPN The Magazine. Kruse was born outside of Los Angeles, raised outside of Boston and educated at Davidson College in North Carolina.

Phone: (813) 909-4617

E-mail: mkruse@sptimes.com