Dr. Z suffers strokes

[Small Town Guy]

Damn. He apparently suffered them a week ago, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/11/30/week13/index.html

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

Best wishes to one of my absolute favourites.

 

[21]

Terrible news. Terrible. Not just the best of our time, the best of any time.

And as much grief as we give PK here, that is a classy and wonderful and well-deserved tribute.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

Damn.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

As someone who has lost two family members to strokes in the last year, having one right after the other is a bad, bad sign...

My prayers to his family... He is one of the best NFL writers ever...

 

[Dave Kindred]

A classic, should be Required Reading for anybody pretending to know football, Zimmerman's first book: "A Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football."

A classic, the man himself. Pure passion at whatever he did: interviews, pork chops, wine, all those colored pens making those dizzying zig-zag lines....

 

[Hustle]

I'll be praying for him as well.

Only in my wildest dreams could I pretend to be 1/10th as knowledgeable about football or wine.

 

[Roob]

Dr. Z is one of a kind. greatest storyteller ever. I called him a couple years ago to ask one question about the AFL-NFL merger, and 40 minutes later he was still going strong.

Here's hoping he's back soon, with his stopwatch out to time the national anthem singer ... then grumbling, "Jesus, two minutes, 18 seconds - longest one since Week 3 of 2006."

Get well, Paul

 

[Huggy]

Huge fan of Dr. Z, his columns and power rankings are always entertaining and a lesson in football history at the same time. There can’t be anyone alive who has seen as much football as him.

Good job by PK. Get well soon, Dr. Z!

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

As someone who has lost two family members to strokes in the last year, having one right after the other is a bad, bad sign...

My prayers to his family... He is one of the best NFL writers ever...

Given his longevity, and his national interest and presence, he has to be the preeminent chronicler of the pro game. He was writing his memoirs, let's hope he gets to finish them.

 

[PopeDirkBenedict]

Definitely echo the comments that PK did a terrific job with that tribute. Dr. Z's stuff is must read.

 

[hockeybeat]

Terrible news. Hopefully he makes a full recovery.

 

[Diabeetus]

He's one of the writers that really drew me in to football. Hope he's back and on his feet soon. Get well Dr. Z!

 

[Small Town Guy]

I love his off-field stuff as well, specifically the yearly announcer ratings. From last year's half-star review of the Monday Night crew:

The guests that are brought in are absolute abominations, with poor Tirico valiantly pleading to be allowed to squeeze in a brief mention of what's going on down on the field in between Russell Crowe's yacking about his rugby team, or Drew Carey telling us about his love of Cleveland -- that's the city, not the team. How about Vince Vaughn giving us his whole spiel as the Broncos, down by three, are fighting to send the Packers game into OT? Or Deanna Favre, presenting us with Brett Favre clutter, his "impish qualities," that went, nonstop, from 7:15 left in the first half 'til the two-minute warning?

And in Bristol, the ESPN guys smile at the incredible naiveté of one small voice in New Jersey that doesn't have a clue about how money is made via network TV.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

Been an idol of mine since I was a little kid. Maybe the biggest influence on me as a journalist, especially in the attitude I try to bring to my work. And I know I'm not alone. His work defines greatness for me, and I think every beat jockey strives to be as meticulous as him.

Devastating. Heartbreaking. A punch in the gut. A shot to the heart.

Motherf%$#er. Damn. Please, please get well, Dr. Z.

I can't get the e-mail link in King's article to work. Can someone please post it or PM me?

 

[Diabeetus]

It's the lead of PK's Monday Morning Quarterback on si.com right now, Piotr.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

It's the lead of PK's Monday Morning Quarterback on si.com right now, Piotr.

Finally got it, thanks. I hate how Macs don't let you just run your mouse over it and display the address without clicking on it.

And it's just siwriters@simail. Thanks, Peter King, for providing the catchall e-mail.

 

[forever_town]

I can still remember how he led stories of the New York Giants Super Bowl win over Buffalo and Washington's Super Bowl win over Buffalo to this day.

No one is as must-read on football as Dr. Z is. Nobody.

I pray he recovers fast.

 

[imjustagirl]

Terrible news to wake up to. I hope his recovery goes as smoothly as his tales do.

 

[PopeDirkBenedict]

If was in charge of NFL Films, I would fervently pray for a full recovery and go over to his house with a camera and get hours of tape of him telling stories and recalling old memories.