RIP Nick Charles

nicely-done obit from bob raissman: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/2011/06/25/2011-06-25_nick_charles_former_cnn_sportscaster__top_boxing_voice_dies_at_64_from_incurable.html

 

R.I.P. Nick Charles.

He and Fred Hickman were far superior to Sportscenter and were a great team. My kids used to stay up to watch "Play of the Day." I was sad to see it end. I think CNN Sports Tonight is the prelude to my disgust with ESPN and what it's become.

And I agree that we should spend more effort trying to kill cancer than f--- away billions in foreign hellholes.

 

I worked with Nick for 5 years at CNN and Turner. I feel like I know him well. I smile when I say that because anyone who's worked with him knows what a character he was. I have some great memories. He was a funny guy and a great conversationalist. He knew about music, wine, food, travel... it was so much fun to talk about things outside of sports.

Nick came to my wedding with his then-GF/now wife Cory. After the ceremony, he told me he loved the music, which was a big relief. I'd hired a string quartet but got only a string trio. One string had gotten into a fender bender on the way to the wedding. If it sounded ok to Nick, I knew it was good. He was a big fan of classical music and had great taste.

Some people aren't aware that besides boxing, Nick's other favorite sport was hockey. He LOVED it.

Nick knew I grew up in the South and didn't know shit about hockey. He used to get annoyed with me for editing his NHL highlights too tight. "You haven't shown how the play developed," he would tell me.

He was none too pleased when I was assigned to help him write a special the day Gretzky retired.

I'll never forget him walking across the newsroom after I took my first pass at a few lead-ins.... script and red pen in hand, saying, "____, this isn't half bad!" That was a major sense of accomplishment for me. In less than 24 hours, he and I crash-wrote a damn fine hour-long special on Wayne Gretzky's entire career.

This is so sad. I knew it was coming, but I still feel punched in the stomach.

I know Nick was deluged with support, e-mails, calls and visits in the last couple of months. I think the stories that were done on him gave people the opportunity to tell him how much they loved and appreciated him.

 

R.I.P. to a man who with Hickman gave the summing up of the day in sports gravitas and perspective. Then again, ESPN had that with Mees, Lea and Gardner. So along with the passing of a good man, we should mourn what's been lost in sports coverage.

 

Yes, yes, yes.

 

I remember watching Nick Charles growing up. Where we were overseas, we finally got some half-decent programming and the military installation used to give us Jim Huber, Fred Hickman and ... Nick Charles.

Charles' personality and generally good humor shone in broadcasts in which he was involved. Sports lost a very good professional and, from the sound of things, humanity lost a great asset.

RIP, good sir. Best to his family.

 

___, that wasn't half bad. It wasn't in any way bad. It was beautiful, it gave us splendid insight -- and maybe the best part is, you showed how the play developed.

RIP from a loyal viewer, Nick.

 

One of the obits said "Sports Tonight" beat "SportsCenter" in the ratings back when they were competing. Wish there were still the alternative.

 

Nice recollections, Luggy

 

I noticed that ESPN ran his death on the ticker this morning. I was mildly shocked that they would acknowledge that there was any other sports newscasts other than SportsCenter, even going back 25+ years.

 

There's no competition anymore; they can afford to be magnaminous