John Letasky

John Letasky (born December 6, 1976, in Billings, Montana) is an American sportswriter and columnist. Letasky is currently the Club Boxing, MMA and prep wrestling beat writer for the Billings Gazette. He also covers various other sports for the Gazette, including state prep football. In the summer Letasky has written the Gazette fishing report. He is well known throughout the state of Montana and is better known by his nickname "Chopper."

Biography
Letasky graduated from Rocky Mountain College with honors, holding a degree in English and History. In June 2003, he coined the term "jet leg" (as opposed to "jet lag") in describing a baseball pitcher's discomfort while sitting on a plane. Letasky is also known to interview himself on occasion.

Letasky has interviewed various World Wrestling Entertainment stars including Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, and Eric Bischoff. Letasky has also interviewed Montana boxer Todd Foster.

Red Wire
Letasky was one of the first writers for a Montana Newspaper (and first for the Gazette) to have an online-exclusive column. From 2002-03 Gazette online readers could get Letasky's take on various local and national sports issues in a column entitled Red Wire.

Red Wire re-launched as Red Wire II on March 30, 2009 on the since failed My.BillingsGazette.com portal project.

Notable Achievements

 * ABC Bowling Pride Award (Best Dressed, Well-Mannered) - 2002
 * In 2006 contributed information on Montana wrestlers to The American High School Wrestling Yearbook.

Resources

 * Letasky's Gazette Profile
 * November 3, 2006 interview with Eric Bischoff for the Billings Gazette
 * Falcons' Barta ready to return to top of AA wrestling ranks