Pat has asked theSeahawksto release further information.. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Aschoff was initially hospitalized with multifocal pneumonia, and died of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare immune system syndrome. Coffins of the victims of last Sunday's shipwreck are lined up at the local sports hall in Crotone, southern Italy, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. At one point in 2012, Saunders planned to take his life by jumping off the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York, as he described in his book. His ass was too vain." Jeff Dickerson, ESPN's Chicago Bears reporter, died at 44 years old on Tuesday from complications with colon cancer, the media outlet announced. A lung biopsy performed after the reporter's death found that, "Unbeknownst to us, Edward had stage 4, non-Hodgkins lymphoma in his lungs. And one of his best moments off the air came when a producer suggested he change a reference on his NBA show from Omega Psi Phi, the fraternity of Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal, to something more universal, like Animal House. It's this ineffable way Stuart had of welcoming you to the party, bringing you into his confidence, making sure you were having a good time. He never slipped. Bonnie Bernstein: 1995-1998, 2006-present ( SportsCenter correspondent, Wednesday Night Baseball, College Football, NFL, substitute host for NFL Live and Jim Rome is Burning, co-host The Michael Kay Show on 1050 ESPN Radio, New York) Georgie Bingham 2007-present (co-host of SportsCenter for ESPN non-domestic market and Soccernet SportsCenter) We are mourning his loss. Which non-quarterback group will define each top-25 team's season? Walters joined ABC News in 1976, becoming the first female anchor on an evening news program. A loyal life friend to me. "That's what I love about him," says Kolber. Cari is an American broadcast journalist who has worked as an anchor for ESPN's flagship program, SportsCenter, and as the host of ESPN2's First Take. (CNN) - Edward Aschoff, a college football reporter for ESPN, died Tuesday on his 34th birthday, according to ESPN. to "As cool as the other side of the pillow" to "He must be the bus driver cuz he was takin' him to school. Once he returned to ESPN, Saunders struggled at times. Clayton began his career at the Pittsburgh Press covering the Steelers, before moving to Seattle to cover the Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune in the mid 1980s. It was a crazy idea to consider at the time, but Mees took a chance and applied for a job. That's partly why he starred in so many "This is 'SportsCenter'" commercials, alongside Tiger, Kobe, Keyshawn, LeBron, Mr. Met and Chad Johnson, who rejected Stuart's idea for a touchdown celebration with "Boo-No! "But he was the best-dressed guy on the course.". It was always a trip doing a 'SportsCenter' with Stuart. Suzy Kolber, the ESPN anchor who also began at ESPN2, says, "Stuart called me his TV wife, but we really were like a family, trying to launch this brand-new network and spending all this time together. 1. Over the years, he entertained us, and in the end, he inspired us -- with courage and love. Sinai for research. 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. A memorable and original voice over the past two decades, Scott was known for his colorful. I remember being jarred, and when I asked him about it, he thought I was making fun of him. (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 . 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. [vemba-video id=media/2019/12/25/espn-reporter-edward-aschoff-dies-orig-llr.cnn], VIDEO: ESPN reporter Edward Aschoff dies on his 34th birthday. John Clayton, one of the most prominent national NFL reporters who worked at ESPN for over 20 years, died on Friday. It's a hot, stifling night. Behind the scenes, no one knew, including his co-workers and management at ESPN, that John Saunders battled life-long depression. When I realized I could do it, that I could jump from the bridge, I got scared. Barbara Walters, the trailblazing television news broadcaster and longtime ABC News anchor and correspondent who shattered the glass ceiling and became a dominant force in an industry once dominated by men, died Friday. Mees told police her husband did not know how to swim. didn't you see the tongue wagging shorts baggy "JD was one of the most. After graduating in 1987 with a degree in speech communication, Stuart was hired by WPDE-TV in Florence, South Carolina. For full obituary and coverage from Legacy.com, click . Once I finally looked over the edge, I saw a drop of about 140 feet, equivalent to a 14-story skyscraper. "Ever since he used that catchphrase on the air for the first time, and we looked at each other and said, 'What the hell is that? Then along came the Apollo astronauts, like Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick, Rich Eisen and Stuart. Smith, a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., studied at Jackson State University and began his career at the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. ", "Yes, he brought hip-hop into the conversation," says Harris, "but I would go further than that. "John was a pioneer as an NFL insider but also one of the kindest men you could ever work with,'' said Seth Markman, vice president and executive producer at ESPN. Edward Aschoff's fiancee shares the full story of his untimely death. "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.' It was the Wild West of sports coverage. He died from a hit-and-run incident in which Buster Murdaugh was engaged in 2015. Stuart's role in "The Nutcracker" was not unlike one of the roles he played at ESPN. He loved hockey and started playing it at a young age. 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. Sometimes neither one of us knew who the other was talking about, but it worked. By Variety and Phil Helsel. His marriage to Kimberly Scott, the mother of their daughters, came to an end. BRISTOL, Conn. -- Richard Durrett, a veteran reporter who covered Dallas-area sports for ESPN, has died. At the time of his death, Mees was just 46. Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin has signed an eight-year extension with an $8.7 million average annual value, the team announced Wednesday. We'd be waiting for a game to end, and he'd close his eyes. "Stuart spent three hours at our house that day, in pain and hardly able to stand, but he did it. ESPN's Linda Cohn Makes Millions Annually and Has a Substantial Net Worth On August 14, 1996, Tom Mees and his two young daughters headed next door to the neighbor's house for some fun in the sun at the swimming pool. 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." At least 67 people, including 14 minors, died when . ", She says that the clarity "has helped me knowing that his passing was inevitable, and Im at least grateful he didnt have to go through the painful treatment and drawn out process of battling the disease," jokingly noting, "He wouldnt have wanted to go out like that. (CNN) The death of ESPN reporter Edward Aschoff on his 34th birthday was puzzling to many: How could pneumonia kill a young person who had been in good health? ", Eisen was there at the birth of his fame. "When he went to ESPN, Stuart didn't change his style -- and there was some resistance. That part hasnt changed much in 2012, as we get set to present our 50,000thSportsCenter. They had entertaining chemistry in the nerd vs. jock genre. So, with that in mind, and with the help of his colleagues, here are the Top 10 roles Stuart played for ESPN: Competitor. He loved his work, he loved his daughters, he loved being Stu.". He made an. Soul, period.". He later covered the Indiana Pacers for the Indianapolis . He spent the next six months in therapy relearning how to walk, talk, read, and write. There werent any examples to follow. Ted S. Warren/AP File Photo. Reporter Jeff Dickerson, who covered the Chicago Bears for two decades during his tenure at ESPN, died Tuesday from complications from colon cancer. Initial reports indicated Mees had jumped into the pool to save one of his daughters. ", Stuart was born in Chicago, but he, along with two sisters and a brother, spent his formative years in North Carolina, where their father was a postal inspector who always had time to play after work. Sports writer and commentator Frank Deford, who won awards for his work with Sports Illustrated magazine and NPR, has died at 78. So I told my supervisors at ESPN that I was in the hospital for my diabetes, which gave me more incentive to get out soon before I had to blow my cover.. ESPN anchor Stuart Scott died Sunday morning after a lengthy battle with cancer. Oh what a trail they blazed. Soccer Play-By-Play Voice. 'Who has the most triples of all time?' General. Nobody could ever say he didn't work hard, or labor over his "SportsCenter" lead-ins. "Stuart was playing like it was the seventh game of the NBA Finals, and he's guarding me like I'm Michael Jordan. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Bay Area weather: After thunderstorms and hail, snow could be on the way this weekend, ESPN reporters sudden death at 34: The surprise that autopsy revealed. "SportsCenter" anchor Jay Crawford. Says Ramsey, "You knew the second he walked in the door that it was a pit stop, and that he was gonna be this big star somewhere someday. 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 . I'm trying to fight it the best I can. What will the Buffalo Bills do without defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier? He also hosted the popular Sunday morning sports roundtable show called the Sports Reporters since 2001. And he took Nicholas aside and just sat down with him and described his moving away as a kid, losing his best friend as a 10-year-old boy and how he handled it. practically DRAGGING teammates to 1-nc2a 2-gold is that GOD? "He was like a ball of fire walking in the door," says ESPN senior vice president Mark Gross, a coordinating producer at the time. If the senders did leave a name and address, Stuart would answer and ask them to tell him what the problem really was. Obama's father died at the age of 48, around the time Obama was 21. ", In a telling piece in The New York Times in March, Richard Sandomir spent the day with Stuart as he worked out at a martial arts studio in West Hartford, Conn. At one point, he lifted up his EVERYDAY I FIGHT shirt to reveal the scar from his abdominal surgeries. John Madden, Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster, dies at 85, Rush Limbaugh, voice of American conservatism, has died. And here comes Uncle Drosselmeyer, and I thought, 'That man looks a lot like Stuart Scott,' and it was -- he was there for his girls. "Well, that's who Stuart is. I'll never forget when one person went up to Stuart and me and said, 'Hey, wow, Stuart Scott!' I wanted to provide an update about Edwards passing that may help people in processing it and making a little more sense of what happened. John was family to me. He went out and did a piece on the rodeo, and he nailed it just like he would nail the NBA Finals for ESPN. NBA and Men's College Basketball Analyst. Dickerson is survived by his 11-year-old son, Parker, and parents, George and Sandy Dickerson. To this day no one knows exactly what happened. ", Celebrity. The sports network said Aschoff died after "a brief illness," and called the reporter's death "devastating" in a statement. As SportsCenter approaches its 50,000th episode, Chris Berman honors the memory of former SC colleague Tom Mees http://t.co/povJ9ztJ. There were a few downs mixed in with the ups, though. but the THING that makes "best ever" SING I made my way through the first layer of obstruction and got close enough to see the river below. Our friendship was special. BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) ESPN college football reporter Edward Aschoff, known for his outgoing and friendly personality, dapper dress and great love of sports, has died. He died Thursday at the age of 79. He had first gone to the emergency room three weeks earlier for flu-like symptoms and tweeted on Dec. 4 about having pneumonia. God bless whoever it was who thought to rearrange the bedding at ESPN. He would easily take Stuart Scott, dad, over Stuart Scott, 'SportsCenter' anchor. On a personal level, John was incredibly generous to me when I succeeded him as the Seahawks beat reporter at the Tacoma News Tribune many years ago. A special man. For years, he and Rich Eisen would do just that on the 1 a.m. "SportsCenter," a show that made its way to the next day's water cooler thanks to their chemistry -- and repeated viewings. You try to bring out the best in yourself so you can bring out the best in the person next to you. Fellow anchor Chris Berman remembered Mees years later as ESPN celebrated its 50,000th SportsCenter. He was 49 years old. But I was still too embarrassed to let them know I was dealing with serious depression, he writes in his book. A renowned baseball reporter and familiar face on ESPN's. "The soldiers kept coming up to thank us, and we're like, 'No, we're here to thank you.' On that day Mees wife Michelle, was alerted to the situation by one of her daughters. I turned around, got back in my car, and drove off, heading for home.. We use cookies. 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. This undated photo provided by ESPN images shows ESPN college football reporter Edward Aschoff. The ESPN reporter who died on his 34th birthday last month didn't realize it, but he had stage 4 cancer. Olivia Harlan Dekker. And he continued to do "SportsCenter." He . "He bulldozed the envelope.". And he sat there for my kid. He was 67. McClure died at his home near Atlanta, Georgia, this week, ESPN announced on Thursday. "But then I reminded myself, 'Hello, who are you talking about here? The sports . She is a regular contributor to ESPN's "The Jump" and NBA Today, where she serves as a co-host alongside Michael Wilbon. "Pedro was an elite. "That movie was made two decades ago, and black fraternities have been around since 1906. CBS Sports journalist Grant Wahl -- one of the most respected soccer reporters in the country -- died while covering the World Cup, his brother announced Friday. "It has helped me knowing that his passing was inevitable, and Im at least grateful he didnt have to go through the painful treatment and drawn out process of battling the disease,'' she wrote. He brought so much to the party, and he will continue to do so, through the people he inspired, and the language that he liberated, and the audience that will remember him. ", Ten years later, Levy watched a different kind of warrior go to work. Every day, Legacy publishes tributes to people from all walks of life. He was one of the early advocates for the NCAA Ice Hockey on ESPN and was influential in the growth of the Frozen Four, the NCAA Hockeys championship tournament. Michelle and I offer our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and colleagues," the president said. Get breaking news alerts& today's headlines inyour inbox. Patrick remembers an epic basketball game at the YMCA. 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. Dylan Lyons, a Spectrum News 13 reporter, was killed on Feb. 22 when a gunman opened fire on him and photojournalist Jesse Walden who was critically injured as they sat in their car in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Orlando. "John was the PFWA's 19th president (1999-2000) and the organization's 2007 Bill Nunn Jr. Award recipient. In 1994, when ESPN celebrated its 15th anniversary, Mees, Berman, and Ley were the only three originalSportsCenteranchors still working at the network. He first started feeling flu-like symptoms while covering the Ohio State-Michigan game on Nov. 30, and two days later he went to the emergency room. He moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to begin a more expanded national role that included television coverage. He has been a regular contributor for TODAY.com since 2011, producing news stories and features across the trending, pop culture, sports, parents, pets, health, style, food and TMRW verticals. #MLB #Baseball #sports #retire #retirement #Philadelphia #Phillies #Pennsylvania #ESPN #canada #toronto #ontario @PhilliesNation pic.twitter.com/1N4WeyR0mp. "After his passing, the hospital received the final results from his lung biopsy. Thats the way it was back in the 1980s here at ESPN. And yet, when the red light came on, when he was on camera, you had no idea. His wife Pat and sister Amy were at his side and communicated earlier he passed peacefully after a brief illness, his longtime ESPN colleague Chris Mortensen tweeted. When she arrived next door, she discovered her husband lying on the bottom of the pool. However, like most college athletes, once his playing days were over, Saunders turned to plan B. Most recently, he worked for the Seattle Sports 710 radio station for the past 14 years. Edward Aschoff's fiancee, Katy Berteau, took to Twitter to explain the sequence of events . John Saunders was a proud Canadian. That wasn't the Stuart Scott that I worked with for so many years. "There was the Mercury program, which gave us Chris Berman and Bob Ley, great pilots who went up there without teleprompters or whatever. 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. "I never found him without a statistic to back up what he was saying," says Patrick. '', "Long before he became an ESPN icon, John might have been the best news-breaking team beat reporter of his generation, the type who could sit on a story for months and then break it before others had any clue what was going on,'' said The Athletic's Mike Sando, a longtime friend of Clayton's. I go back out on the floor, say, 'Give me the damn ball,' Stuart D's me up, make the shot, walk off the floor and go to the emergency room because I chipped a vertebrae. In 1987, when ESPN signed a contract with the NHL, Mees took on the responsibility of host for NHL broadcasts. ", There were times in the last few years when his friends worried that he was working too hard. ", "John Clayton, one of the first 'Insiders,' helped bring fans closer to the game they loved," Goodell said in a statement. He spent 20 minutes sitting there with Nicholas, helping him feel better. He was 67 years old. 5 min read John Clayton was an ESPN mainstay. Once he got into the show, you just forgot about everything, and it was just Stuart Scott doin' 'SportsCenter,' havin' fun. Saunders stood up too quickly, blacked out, fell backward on the tile floor, and hit his head. 25 views, 1 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from West cameroon state news: She die for lack of care in the Buea general hospital. Doctors began treating him for a presumed diagnosis of HLH. He bounced around to several different Canadian television stations in the late 1970s, and then in 1982, he moved to the United States where he took a job as a sports anchor at a Baltimore television station. VIDEO: ESPN reporter Edward Aschoff dies on his 34th birthday Aschoff died on December 24 with a diagnosis of pneumonia and a rare disease known as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. I am heartbroken, NFL analyst and former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury said. Clayton is survived by his wife, Pat, and sister, Amy. He inspired his colleagues with his talent, his work ethic, his personality and his devotion to his daughters. He was pursuing a nursing degree to become a doctor at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College. We talked regularly. The Seahawks also confirmed the news and expressed their condolences. John Saunders, the sports anchor whose baritone voice was a fixture on ESPN programming for 30 years, has died, the network announced Wednesday. In those early days, as ESPN would lose, then regain its contract with the NHL, Mees served as the main NHL host during the season, while anchoring the SportsCenter desk during the offseason. Clayton worked for the. He is 'the other side of pillow,' the man who made sportscasting cool. About a quarter of cases are passed down through families, and the rest come from infections, a weakened immune system or cancer. ESPN college football reporter Ed Aschoff died Tuesday at age 34, the company announced. into MORE than GREAT! A ton of work with everyone rolling up their sleeves. I am heartbroken. I drive to the hoop, he undercuts me, I fall on my back and nearly pass out. Some of his best moments on the air came when he adopted the persona of a preacher: "Can I get a witness from the congregation?!" "The number of NFL execs and coaches that I've heard from have expressed an overwhelming theme of great respect and a sense of deep loss and shock,'' said Mortensen. (Read more cancer stories.). He was a terrific journalist, producer, friend, husband and father. "It is with a. This is Stuart and he's not going to let this moment get away.' 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. He was only the second former NFL player to own a team. Prior, he covered the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Pittsburgh Press and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. He suffered an eye injury while trying to catch a pass at a New York Jets mini-camp, necessitating surgery that put him out of work for a few months. "He was that good. '', Clayton received the profession's highest honor, now known as the Bill Nunn Memorial Award, in 2007. This is an aggressive type of cancer that is usually undetectable until it is very advanced," she writes. Hundreds of thousands died due that Malone 'mRNA technology' based gene injection. Police later said that was not the case. 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. I realized that killing myself this way would take more effort than I had anticipated. A Court of Appeal Judge, in Akure, Ondo State, Justice Lokulo-Sodipe has slumped and died. He may have represented new school, but he was decidedly old school when it came to preparation. "We will all miss your words and brilliance @JohnClaytonNFL #RIPJohnClayton," Wilson wrote in a tweet, as he and former colleagues and friends of Clayton took to social media Friday night to offer remembrances. "He stuck out his hand and said, 'One day I look forward to working with you,'" Berman said. 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. Ms Creag, who was among the . Despite his digital critics, Saunders pushed forward. According to ESPN, Dickerson died at the same hospice facility where Caitlin died. ", Friend. "It has helped me knowing that his passing was inevitable, and Im at least grateful he didnt have to go through the painful treatment and drawn out process of battling the disease,'' Katy Berteau wrote about Edward Aschoff's condition. "NBA Countdown" anchor Sage Steele remembers the day last year when her family moved from Connecticut to Arizona to be closer to her show in Los Angeles: "The moving trucks were at my house, and Stuart was there with his girlfriend Kristin to say goodbye to us, and my 10-year-old son Nicholas had to say goodbye to his best friend across the street, and he came back sobbing, sobbing, leaving his best friend in the world. Radio reporter Jeff Dickerson, a beloved and respected figure on the Chicago sports scene, died Tuesday at age 43 after a bout with cancer "Until they plant me, I guess," he told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette in 2018, when asked how long he would keep covering the NFL. 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's a great, great dad," says Ramsey. Also wrote for Time, Sports Illustrated, the Fort Lauderdale News and The Evening Sun in Norwich, NY. The rivers rough gray surface looked more like concrete than water. The best insights from the ultimate insiders, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, ESPNs First Take completely dismisses Rangers, ESPN star calls out Deion Sanders over parent comments, Penny Hardaway slams ESPN analysts unfair joke about Memphis star, ESPN anchor defends himself after misogynistic clip surfaces. Longtime NFL journalist John Clayton died Friday following a short illness. "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 was publishing stories as recently as last week. Unfortunately, their enjoyable afternoon turned deadly in a matter of seconds. Over time, as the network adjusted its coverage, Mees found himself working in different capacities. "I mean his girls mean everything to him. Around long enough to have written about athletes from Hank Aaron to Ben Zobrist and Super Bowls from VII to XLVI. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.". Seattle Sports 710 AM confirmed the news on Twitter. [Later] I said, 'Stu, maybe you were the Swami. Celebrate John Clayton by rewatching his This Is SportsCenter commercial (0:30), Longtime NFL reporter John Clayton dies at 67, The future of the NFL combine: Is there really a chance it could end forever? Unfortunately, their enjoyable afternoon turned deadly in a matter of seconds. He then attended Duquesne University and was hired by the Pittsburgh Press when he was a senior at Duquesne. 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. Heres a look back at one of the original ESPN personalities Tom Mees. Alex Flanagan: (1998-2006), now a reporter for the NFL Network and NBC Sports; Peter Gammons: (1990-2009), MLB reporter for ESPN, now in same capacity for the MLB Network; Hank Goldberg: (1993-2022) Miami-based bureau reporter; died on July 4, 2022; Pedro Gomez: (2003-2021) West Coast based reporter; died on February 7, 2021 From 1979 to 1987, Mees worked exclusively as a lead anchor for the networks nightly highlight news show, SportsCenter. The confines of a studio could not hold Stuart. Thank you Aliss for sharing this pain. He was 44. Stuart said, 'I got it.' He was just one of the first guys to say, 'Hey, I'm going to play golf, wanna come with me? ", His first real ESPN assignments were for "SportsSmash," a short sportscast twice an hour on ESPN2's "SportsNight" program. A former Detroit news anchor died just one day after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, according to reports. Clayton, a native of Braddock, Pennsylvania, began his career in 1972 as a teenager covering the Pittsburgh Steelers in a season that included the "Immaculate Reception.'' ESPN NFL reporter Jeff Dickerson has died aged 44 from complications of colon cancer. "Listen to his lead-ins," says Buccigross. The woman who was set to be Dylan's wife is now asking for help to have his child.