Paul Lionel Zimmerman (born October 23, 1932 in Philadelphia, U.S.) is the son of Charles S. Zimmerman and Rose Zimmerman. Zimmerman, also known to readers as "Dr. Z", is an American football sportswriter who wrote for the weekly magazine Sports Illustrated, as well as the magazine's website, SI.com. He is sometimes confused with Paul D. Zimmerman, a sportswriter who covered college football for the Los Angeles Times from 1931 to 1968.