According to Frank Deford, today is the greatest unofficial holiday of the year, the day when even people who don't like football watch the Super Bowl.

"Like Halloween and Valentine's Day, Super Sunday isn't an official paid holiday," Deford said recently, " but let's face it, it's become as much an accepted part of the modern American calendar as Presidents Day or Memorial Day."

Deford will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Owens Auditorium at Sandhills Community College for the Ruth Pauley Lecture Series. His lecture is entitled "The Hype and the Hoopla: The Good and Bad of Sports." It is free and open to the public.

Earlier that day, his regular commentary on National Public Radio's Morning Edition airs over WUNC radio.

Deford is a world-renowned sports commentator, but there is much more to him. A winner of both an Emmy and a Peabody Award for broadcast journalism, Deford appears as a regular correspondent on the HBO show "RealSports" With Bryant Gumbel.

He is senior contributing writer at Sports Illustrated. He also has 15 published books to his credit.

The most recent is "The Entitled," a novel about sex, baseball and celebrity that came out in 2007. Another novel, "Casey On The Loose," is headed to Broadway as a musical. Two of his books -- "Alex: The Life Of A Child" (Deford's memoir of his daughter who died of cystic fibrosis) and his novel "Everybody's All-American" -- were adapted for the movies. His next film is a comedy, "The Sister-in-Law."

Deford has been elected to the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters and voted U.S. Sportswriter of the Year by his peers six times. He was twice named Magazine Writer of the Year by the Washington Journalism Review. American Journalism Review calls him "the nation's finest sportswriter."

Deford's profiles won the National Magazine Award. His reports also won a Christopher Award, Honor Awards in journalism from the University of Missouri and Northeastern University, and many honorary degrees.

The Sporting News calls Deford "the most influential sports voice among members of the print media" while GQ magazine just says he is "the world's greatest sportswriter." Deford is a popular campus speaker whose travels have taken him to more than a hundred colleges.

For 16 years, Deford has served as national chairman of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and he remains chairman emeritus.

He lives in Westport, Conn., with his wife, Carol. They have two children -- a son, Christian, and a daughter, Scarlet. A native of Baltimore, Deford is a graduate of Princeton University, where he has taught American studies.

The Ruth Pauley Lecture Series is sponsored by Sandhills Community College, the Moore County public schools, the Moore County League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women. The objective of the series is to bring speakers to the Sandhills to give insights on important issues to the community.

The next lecture in the series will be March 12 by Jim Hendrickson, a photojournalist and world traveler. He will speak on "10,000 Miles, 100 Cultures on a Bike." It will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Owens Auditorium at SCC.

Previous speakers have included Sandra Day O'Connor, Stephen Ambrose, George McGovern, Ossie Davis and Newt Gingrich. Additional information can be obtained by calling 245-3131.

Contact John Chappell at 783-5841 or by e-mail at jchappell@thepilot.com.