He continued his work up until just 10 days ago, when he broke down the Seattle Seahawks' blockbuster trade of Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos for Seattle Sports 710 AM, where he was a regular contributor. He had a spirit and energy, and, dare I say, a sense of purity in his love of sports and his delivering of the evenings news through the TV to his fellow sports fans that all of us envy to this day. He loved his work, he loved his daughters, he loved being Stu.". Unfortunately, their enjoyable afternoon turned deadly in a matter of seconds. "When he went to ESPN, Stuart didn't change his style -- and there was some resistance. WAIT At a certain point, Stuart became as famous as the athletes he covered. I'm not sure the dance steps were up to Baryshnikov, but certainly the intentions were.". He was a terrific journalist, producer, friend, husband and father. Lokulo-Sodipe, 67, was said to have slumped in his office while preparing to attend a court session on . Fellow anchor Chris Berman remembered Mees years later as ESPN celebrated its 50,000th SportsCenter. ", He first met ESPN anchor Chris Berman in Tampa, Florida. "I never found him without a statistic to back up what he was saying," says Patrick. We will all miss John greatly. A loyal life friend to me. Warrior. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. So, with that in mind, and with the help of his colleagues, here are the Top 10 roles Stuart played for ESPN: Competitor. ", Gus Ramsey, who arrived in Bristol in 1994, remembers exactly when he knew Stuart had found a new audience. He never slipped. He was part of the Miles Davis Quintet and Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers. He was 49 years old. While he covered the NFL for his entire career, Clayton was also well-known for his appearance on a This Is SportsCenter commercial, where he appeared with long hair and expressing a love for heavy metal music. But then you think to turn the pillow over, and, wow, it's cool, and it feels so good. At the time of his death, Mees was just 46. He owned it, just like he owned every sportscast, every 'SportsCenter,' every 'Monday Night Football' show he did. A fast and unbiased roundup of whats happening in the world today. Our friendship was special. The sports network announced Aschoff died Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2019 after a brief illness. A special man. Clayton wrote for multiple newspapers early in his career, including The Pittsburgh Press and The Tacoma News Tribune in Washington, before joining ESPN in 1996. He was publishing stories as recently as last week. Among the features of the new ESPN studio in Bristol is a wall of catchphrases made famous by on-air talent over the . Then the guy looks at me and goes, 'And the white guy. Grant Wahl, one of the best known football writers in the United States, died early Saturday while covering the World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands. but the THING that makes "best ever" SING His brain was donated to Mt. John Clayton, one of the country's foremost NFL insiders who covered the league to great depths during a 20-plus-year career at ESPN, died Friday, his family said. Mees learned of an opportunity to work for a new sports network launching in Connecticut that would broadcast sports coverage 24/7. About a quarter of cases are passed down through families, and the rest come from infections, a weakened immune system or cancer. For 30 years sports fans turned on their televisions and watched John Saunders on a variety of ESPN shows. He was 48. And occasionally, he would bust out his own poetry, as he did for this jam on Michael Jordan's 50th birthday on Feb. 17, 2013: the best ever a CLEVER phrase we OVERuse He loved hockey and started playing it at a young age. Baseball Commentator. Benner's death was announced by the team, which learned of it from his family. ESPN's Rachel Michele Nichols is an American sportswriter, reporter, and TV journalist. A popular television news anchor with NBC New York, Katherine Creag, has died suddenly, the station announced. "The Saturday night before the NBA All-Star Game in New York City. NBA and Men's College Basketball Analyst. And he continued to do "SportsCenter." He would spell it out B-O-O dash Y-O-W. He and Berteau were to be married in April. For much of those twenty years, public service and campaigns have kept me from my family -- but wherever I went, I could flip on the TV and Stu and his colleagues on SportsCenter were there. I owe so much to John and will miss him terribly.''. John Clayton, whose list of contacts in the NFL was matched only by his attention to detail and dedication to his craft, died Friday in Washington after a brief illness, his family said. "His wife Pat and sister Amy were at his side and communicated. He suffered a concussion and much worse. A ton of work with everyone rolling up their sleeves. Through it all, Stuart remained upbeat and defiant. He was pursuing a nursing degree to become a doctor at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College. That wasn't the Stuart Scott that I worked with for so many years. Taylor Twellman is leaving ESPN, so what will he do next? "But he was the best-dressed guy on the course.". (14:52). He wrote the story for Flipper and directed many episodes of the TV show. Unbeknownst to us, Edward had stage 4, non-Hodgkins lymphoma in his lungs. Sports writer and commentator Frank Deford, who won awards for his work with Sports Illustrated magazine and NPR, has died at 78. We got there mid-first quarter, and we just kind of walked up to the sidelines, and one by one, the kids start comin' over to him. When he wasnt delivering the days sports news from the SportsCenter desk, viewers regularly watched him on Sundays as host of the popular Sports Reporters roundtable. "In the fall of '95 I asked him if he wanted to go to my high school homecoming football game in Greenwich, Conn., and he said, 'Sure, let's go.' He inspired his colleagues with his talent, his work ethic, his personality and his devotion to his daughters. Despite his digital critics, Saunders pushed forward. They took us to the moon and left the rest of us to fly the space shuttle.". People were stopping us every two feet. Vince Carter. '", That was the future, and it looked and sounded different from the present. ", Yes, he would reference Tupac, but he also would quote Shakespeare: "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.". "But then I reminded myself, 'Hello, who are you talking about here? "He had that great balance of being entertaining and being right.". Here's everything we know, Richardson sets QB mark for vertical, broad jump, QB Young 5-10 1/8, 204 pounds at NFL combine, Sources: Patriots tell QB Hoyer he's being cut, Horns' Robinson: Versatility worthy of early pick, Jones: Not fixated on Cowboys' drought, just '23, Sources: Raiders plan franchise tag for Jacobs, WR Addison to Steelers' Pickett: 'Come get me', Wolverines' Turner wows with 4.26 40 at combine, Everything you need to know about Geno Smith's contract negotiations. Stuart and I were both patriotic, but this took it to a whole new level of respect for what our men and women in uniform go through. The very best TV partner. Antibiotics did not work and he got worse. Now his fiance has revealed that, though he did not know it, Aschoff had stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his lungs. His family told ESPN Clayton died following a brief illness. I'll never forget him coming out in this big cape, swooping in with his nutcracker, and he was great. Dickerson's wife, Caitlin, died two years ago from melanoma, and. Clayton's close friend Jeff Muzzy announced the news of Clayton's death on Twitter on March 18, 2022, in an emotional statement. Giants sign offensive lineman who worked with head coach b MLB's rule changes will only bring needless new degree of confusion, Yankees may get solution to to glut of infielders after NL teams' misfortune, The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman, Amazin' But True: A NY Mets Baseball Podcast, Gangs All Here: A NY Jets Football Podcast, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce, Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave. Walters joined ABC News in 1976, becoming the first female anchor on an evening news program. For those not up on their Tchaikovsky, Uncle Drosselmeyer is the toymaker who brings the tableau to life at midnight -- sort of what Stuart did in Bristol. Alexander COVID News-Dr. Paul Elias Alexander's Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. A memorable and original voice over the past two decades, Scott was known for his colorful. It was the Wild West of sports coverage. Edward Aschoff's fiancee, Katy Berteau, took to Twitter to explain the sequence of events that led to Aschoff's sudden decline and Christmas Eve death, USA Today reports. & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. "He wasn't as good an athlete as he thought he was," says Harris, a frequent golfing partner. He brought in the barber shop, the church, R&B, soul music. "That's what I love about him," says Kolber. https://t.co/QbBsi9bg4j, Also memorable were Clayton's appearances on "This is SportsCenter" commercials for ESPN, which to this day are among the best of the popular segments. ", Celebrity. We use cookies. "He wanted you to know that he knew what he was talking about, and he never failed. Sinai Hospital. Clayton's pursuit of news and information was done with such fervor that, as ESPN's Chris Mortensen said, "Anyone paying attention walked away a little more educated. Radio reporter Jeff Dickerson, a beloved and respected figure on the Chicago sports scene, died Tuesday at age 43 after a bout with cancer "He stuck out his hand and said, 'One day I look forward to working with you,'" Berman said. She also asked that donations be made to a scholarship fund in his name set up by Aschoff's alma mater, the University of Floridas School of Journalism and Communications, to help aspiring journalists. He moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to begin a more expanded national role that included television coverage. Sinai for research. Joe Valerio, who produced The Sports Reporters for nearly three decades, has died at the age of 71, from cancer. When Tom Mees arrived at ESPN, there wasnt a template. He was 58 years old. Who Is the Highest-Paid ESPN Personality and How Much Do They Make? Reporter Jeff Dickerson, who covered the Chicago Bears for two decades during his tenure at ESPN, died Tuesday from complications from colon cancer. NHL trade deadline: Winners and losers, including the Bruins, Devils and Bruce Boudreau? What I love about it is there's so much more stuff we didn't have access to years ago and now we do -- the salary information, NFL Game Rewind where you can watch coaches tape. Moments of silence were held at sporting events around the United States on Sunday, including the NFL wild-card games between the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys; the Mavericks-Cavaliers NBA game in Cleveland and at several college basketball games. (AP file photo) Bill Conlin, the legendary former Philadelphia sports columnist whose career came to a crashing end 25 months ago after he was accused of . As for Stuart's most famous line, Eisen discovered one night that it was not what's up on the wall in the new studio. Aschoff himself had expressed surprise about the severity of his illness. Katy Berteau wrote in a Twitter thread on Aschoff's account Wednesday night that doctors found non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in his lungs following his death. John Saunders, a sportscaster for ESPN and ABC, whose wide-ranging coverage of major championships and other events made him one of the most visible black anchors on television, has died at 61 . Below is a list of former ESPN employees who have confirmed their departures via social media (this list will continue to be updated). The sports . Initial reports indicated Mees had jumped into the pool to save one of his daughters. brotha I was sold when he won 6-NBA rings '", His offer of friendship took on a deeper meaning for ESPN vice president Tim Scanlan: "When he found out that my wife had the same type of cancer he had, he was one of the first people to reach out to me and offer help. "He just takes so much pride in the girls, and you can't see him without him taking out his phone and showing you a video of Taelor or Sydni singing or dancing or playing soccer. I'll never forget when one person went up to Stuart and me and said, 'Hey, wow, Stuart Scott!' Ted S. Warren/AP File Photo. I'll also personally remember how he loved and cared for his beloved wife Pat as she has battled multiple sclerosis. He is 'the other side of pillow,' the man who made sportscasting cool. "There was the Mercury program, which gave us Chris Berman and Bob Ley, great pilots who went up there without teleprompters or whatever. On August 14, 1996, Tom Mees and his two young daughters headed next door to the neighbors house for some fun in the sun at the swimming pool. All of this combined is what led to his very rapid decline those last few days, and ultimately his passing.. CNN notes many had expressed surprise that Aschoff, who was young and seemingly in good health, would die of pneumonia, and Berteau adds, "I also wanted to provide this update because he would have wanted everyone to know that something way bigger than pneumonia took him down." Even I encouraged him to maybe take a more traditional approach, but he had a strong conviction about who he wanted to be, and the voice he wanted to project, and clearly, he was right, and we were wrong. Obama's father died at the age of 48, around the time Obama was 21. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! But they are only one aspect of his legacy. XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? He started giving me advice and I in turn would talk to my wife. He continued hosting college football coverage on ABC and was there on the stage to talk with Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban when their teams won national titles. Our condolences to his wife Pat, and to his friends and family. He defied convention and criticism to help bring this network into a new century. John Saunders was a proud Canadian. Jeff Dickerson, who covered the Chicago Bears for ESPN, died on Tuesday from complications of colon cancer at the age of 44. Joined ESPN The Magazine as a founding editor in 1998. And as cocky and brash as he was, he liked nothing better than to sing a good duet every night. For six years, Mees covered the local sports scene. The coroner later said Saunders died of a combination of an enlarged heart, complications from his diabetes, and dysautonomia, which affects the automated nervous system that regulates breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate. Clayton also wrote for several outlets, including the Washington Post, in recent years after his long stint at ESPN, and had been the sideline reporter for the Seahawks radio network for five seasons. The Seahawks also confirmed the news and expressed their condolences. On August 10, 2016, John Saunders collapsed on his bathroom floor and died. FILE - Soccer legend Pele, of Brazil, feeds French soccer legend Just Fontaine, left, with a soccer ball cake Sunday, July 5, 1998 in Paris.French soccer great Just Fontaine, whose 1958 record of 13 goals scored during a World Cup still stands, has . '", The person most responsible for bringing Stuart to Bristol was Al Jaffe, ESPN's vice president for talent, who was looking for sportscasters who might appeal to a younger audience for ESPN2. He was 67. On December 5, a few days after his pneumonia diagnosis, he tweeted: Anyone ever had multifocal (bilateral) pneumonia in their early 30s as someone who never gets sick and has a very good immune system? It was a crazy idea to consider at the time, but Mees took a chance and applied for a job. There's so much information and analytical stuff, it's phenomenal.''. If the senders did leave a name and address, Stuart would answer and ask them to tell him what the problem really was. Stuart would bring you a beer and introduce you to Tiger or Michael or Peyton. This undated photo provided by ESPN images shows ESPN college football reporter Edward Aschoff. In 2009, unbeknownst to anyone at the sports network, he checked into the Westchester Medical Psychiatric Ward at Mt. Steele reportedly sent an apology to ESPN, according to sports reporter John Ourand. His ability never slipped, and the audience at home couldn't tell what Stuart was dealing with. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.". Dickerson died Tuesday at age 44. There were a few downs mixed in with the ups, though. Twenty years ago, Stu helped usher in a new way to talk about our favorite teams and the day's best plays. Stuart Scott, the ESPN anchor and reporter whose catchphrases became part of the American popular sports vernacular for the past two decades, died Sunday morning after a lengthy battle with. All of this combined is what led to his very rapid decline those last few days, and ultimately his passing. "SportsCenter" anchor Jay Harris, who grew up watching -- and hoping to be -- Stuart, says, "Think about that phrase, 'As cool as the other side of the pillow.' When it comes to females who blazed a trail in the male-dominated world of sports journalism, the name Jeannie Morris rarely gets mentioned. He was 34 . He did not shy away from the fact that he was a black man, and that allowed the rest of us who came along to just be ourselves. He was also a mainstay during ESPNs coverage of the biggest sporting events like the college football national championship, where he would stand on the stage under the falling confetti and interview the winning coach and players. He was disarming in other ways, as well. Yes, there was an Ebony and Ivory theme to their show, but more importantly, they were two young sports nuts playing off one another for the benefit of other young sports nuts. ESPN issued a statement, . Aschoff was initially hospitalized with multifocal pneumonia, and died of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare immune system syndrome. Also wrote for Time, Sports Illustrated, the Fort Lauderdale News and The Evening Sun in Norwich, NY.