Mike Kahn dies

Mike Kahn was always happy to see you and almost always happy at whatever it was he was doing. I have long envied his enthusiasm, back to when we were both breaking in in Cincinnati, and I think it fairly gleamed in his finished product. May the road rise up to meet him.

 

Andrue:

We both had two favorite subjects when talking to each other on subjects other than work.

Golf.

And our kids' latest youth or high school athletic achievements or where they were leading.

Obviously, we talked a lot about swimming.

It was a privilege to have known your father.

 

Oh my, it's dusty in here.

Having lived in an opposite corner of the country I had not heard of Mike Kahn and did not know the history behind SportsLine. But without hesitation I can testify to what a shockwave-like impact his work has had on the industry.

My thoughts are with Mike's family and friends. Thanks to those of you who have shared your stories.

 

Just heard about Mike's passing in an e-mail from a mutual friend. Awful news to get.

I knew Mike on the NBA beat beginning in 1987 and he was always one of my favorites. Hanging with him in the hospitality suites during the NBA All-Star Game or Finals was a great treat.

Last time I saw him was just over two years ago at the Packers-Seahawks Monday night game in the snow -- the one his former colleague wrote about in the column linked above.

Andrue and family, I'm so truly sorry for your loss. Your father was an outstanding man in and outside of the business.

 

Amen to that, Tony. Wetzel summed it up well. He will be missed.

 

Wow… what a couple of great pieces by King (Pete Wevurski) and Dan Wetzel, and some other very cool things from folks describing Mike. And the response from Andy is just stunning. Reading this is very moving. He’s got some great friends, and had an incredible influence on lots of folks (waaaay on me, too).

Here’s what I have to say about Mike Kahn…

He loved to bitch and moan. Loved it. We’d kinda laugh about it, that Kahnman wouldn’t be happy if he didn’t have something to complain about. But he wouldn’t just complain, he’d complain with a purpose. He’d complain with enthusiasm. He’d complain because he loved complaining – just like he loved everything he was doing. And if he was complaining at that particular moment, that son of a gun was gonna get everything out of that complaint. And he did.

If that is upsetting to anyone’s sensibilities or comes across as disrespectful, I’m sorry, that’s not my intent. And if you’re feeling that way reading this, it just means I didn’t express myself very well, or you didn’t know Mike very well, and either way, I’m sorry for that, too.

Thing is, Mike complained the same way he reported, the same way he wrote, the same way he ate, the same way he bugged the suits for a better budget, the same way he talked about rock ’n’ roll, the same way he drove (yikes!), the same way he talked about his family, the same way he promoted the Proctor District in Tacoma (“the best-kept secret in the Northwest”), and the way he he did everything else: With all he had. And it was all great stuff.

And that, boys and girls (in addition to us just being so overwhelmingly sad and feeling cheated that he's gone) is why Mike’s passing is so upsetting to all of us. Mike Kahn did not waste his life pussyfooting around, or acting cool, or doing what somebody else would do: He went for it. He went for it the way we all kinda wish we could go for it.

And sometimes he was a little over the top, and we’d kinda chuckle and nod knowingly (that’s Mike)… but put it this way: He danced his ass off while most of the rest of the world would shuffle along and say “nah, I don’t really dance.”

While many of us were in press boxes making sure we didn’t embarrass ourselves by showing too much enthusiasm or getting too loud, or generally lose that “pro cool” and showing that nothing surprises us, Kahn was generally going nuts.
“What’s he DOING?!”
“How can that NOT be a flag?!”
“WHAT an INCREDIBLE catch!”
“Can you BELIEVE this game?!”
“THIS is why I love the NBA… these guys are such incredible athletes!”

Certainly we can’t have press boxes full of Mike Kahns. Jeez, what a mess that would be. And (at least until recent years) there’d be no food left by halftime. But he sure as hell made going to a game more fun for everybody around him. And then when it was time to write, he’d piss me off by playing his keyboard like Rick Wakeman or Keith Emerson (if you don’t know, ask your dad or one of Mike’s contemporaries), and be done and ready to leave while I was still piecing together my angle.

He’d have been a great play-by-play guy, because watching a game with him was getting a constant earful of play-by-play … but with more insight and opinion and true-to-life passion for the moment than anyone I have ever been around. Really, he was kind of a play-by-play guy for all of life: You want to know what he thinks? Just ask. If you didn’t want to know, he might tell you anyway. Always fun, and always with feeling. Always worth listening to. Always Mike.

The guy was INTO it. And by “it,” I mean “whatever that he turned his attention to at that particular moment.” For real. Like when he’d describe the pancakes at Old Milwaukee, or the hash browns (hash browns!) at the old Sunriser… I’d kinda feel cheated because, well, I never felt that way about pancakes or hash browns.

And when we gather for his memorial service on Tuesday, somebody is going to say, “Mike sure lived his life to the fullest.” And every last one of us will say, “Amen.”
If you’d like to read more about Mike…

The wordsmith John McGrath in the Tacoma paper:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/columnists/mcgrath/story/572254.html

His blood brothers Bart and JC on Seahawks.com:
http://www.seahawks.com/news/articles/article-1/the-unbreakable-circle/e98f964d-3166-47c4-ae53-3f4af6f8def2

http://www.seahawks.com/news/articles/article-1/insider-mike-kahn-dies-at-54/5e112c4c-0eb5-415e-a88b-ef63e4190f73

Jim Moore in the PI:
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/go2blog/archives/157430.asp

 

i've known Mike since he was the indianapolis bureau for the Ft. Wayne News Sentinel. I still find it devastating to read all of the above and know what a wonderful man we lost, a proud family man and dedicated worker. I can attest that instance of Mike demanding a holding call as I witnessed his passion sitting beside him in press boxes for years. I recall late nights at Hershel's deli in Troy after Pistons' playoff games in the 80's discussing life and loves over corned beef at 2 a.m. I always told Mike I wished I could muster his passion for life and the games. he lived fully, did what he wanted and loved doing it while never forgetting who he was and what he really was here for, true to his family and his faith. I still read the email I received from Mike after the surgery with how optimistic he was and I can still hear him losing himself in the games and in his daily rounds. we'll all miss him

 

Great post, Don.

 

Very sad to hear the news about Mike's passing.

I got to meet Mike briefly during a short stay at Sportsline in Fort Lauderdale when Mike was running editoral there back in the late 90s.

I went with Mike to an Orioles spring training game. We wanted to get some quotes from Cal Ripken. Mike introduced himself to Ripken at the batting cage. Ripken was polite, but told Mike he would talk to him after he got his swings in. Fine, no problem.

About 15 minutes later, Ripken started walking away from the cage. Mike caught up to him and reminded him of the interview request. Ripken was polite again, but he told Mike to go through his agent if he wanted an interview.

We thought Ripken was a dick, this was spring training after all, but we didn't think that much of it. The following day one of the advertising managers at Sportsline called Mike and myself into his office and told us he had received a complaint from Cal Ripken. He said Ripken complained that we were hassling him! He wanted to know what happened.

Mike went nuts and justifiably so. We had done no such thing. Ripken was a bigger prick that we could have imagined. Sportsline management believed Mike so nothing happened.

Even though I had contact with Mike for just a brief period, I thought he was funny and a great guy.

Can't say the same thing for Ripken.

RIP Mike. Best to your family.