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| ESPN's Stuart Scott dies at Age 49 |
Stuart Orlando Scott[2] (July 19, 1965 – January 4, 2015) was an American sportscaster and anchor on ESPN, most notably on the network's SportsCenter.
Early life and career
Born in Chicago, Illinois to O. Ray and Jacqueline Scott, Stuart spent his formative years in North Carolina.[3] Scott had two sisters—Susan and Synthia—and one brother, Stephen.[3] He attended Mount Tabor High School for 9th and 10th grade and then completed his last two years at Richard J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina.[3] He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and was part of the on-air talent at the student-run radio station WXYC.[3] While at UNC, he also played wide receiver and defensive back on the club football team.[3] He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication.[3] In 2001, he gave the commencement address at UNC where he implored graduates to celebrate diversity and recognize the power of communication.[4]
Following graduation, Scott worked as a reporter at WPDE-TV in Florence, South Carolina, from 1988–1990 and at WRAL-TV 5 in Raleigh, North Carolina, from 1990–1993. He worked at WESH, an NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida, from 1993–1995.
ESPN
Scott joined ESPN2 at the network's launch in 1993 as the host of SportsNight.[5] He worked for ESPN as an anchor for SportsCenter episodes as well as National Football League and National Basketball Association programming. Scott appeared in each issue of ESPN the Magazine, with his 'Holla' column. In his work at ESPN, he interviewed top professional athletes such as Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, as well as two American Presidents: then-Senator Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.[6]
Style
At SportsCenter Scott was frequently teamed with fellow anchor Rich Eisen. He became well known for his use of unique catch phrases, following in the SportsCenter tradition begun by Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, such as "holla at a playa when you see him in the street!", "call him butter, he's on a roll", "Boo Yah!", and "as cool as the other side of the pillow".[7] In 1999 he was parodied on Saturday Night Live by Tim Meadows.[8]
Past television shows
Scott at ESPN The Weekend, 2008
Besides SportsCenter, Scott was the host of a number of television shows. His NFL work included NFL Matchup, NFL Live, NFL PrimeTime, and NFL Countdown, while his NBA work included hosting the NBA Finals and NBA Fastbreak. He hosted a number of ESPN game and reality shows, including Stump the Schwab, Teammates, and Dream Job, and hosted David Blaine's Drowned Alive special. He hosted a special and only broadcast episode of America's Funniest Home Videos called AFV: The Sports Edition.[6]
Personal life
Scott was married to Kimberly Scott from 1993 to 2007.[9][10] They had two daughters together, Taelor and Sydni. Scott lived in Avon, Connecticut.[3] At the time of his death, Scott was in a relationship with Kristin Spodobalski.[11]
Eye injury
Scott was injured when hit in the face by a football during a New York Jets mini-camp on April 3, 2002, while filming a special for ESPN, a blow which damaged his cornea.[12] He received surgery but afterwards suffered from ptosis, or drooping of the eyelid.[13]
Appendectomy and cancer
Scott had an emergency appendectomy in Pittsburgh after becoming ill while covering the Pittsburgh Steelers–Miami Dolphins Monday Night Football game on November 26, 2007. The surgeons discovered a malignancy that required an additional surgery to remove possibly cancerous tissue. He returned a month later and continued on-air broadcasting during recommended preventive chemotherapy. ESPN President George Bodenheimer said "Stuart is approaching this fight with the same passion and energy we see on air ... He knows he has our full support and we look forward to the day where this is all behind him."[14]
The cancer returned in 2010.[15] Scott went into remission in early 2012, but he was again diagnosed with cancer on January 14, 2013.[16]
Scott was honored at the ESPYS on July 16, 2014, with the Jimmy V Award for his ongoing fight against cancer. He shared that he had four surgeries in seven days in the week prior to his appearance, when he was suffering from liver complications and kidney failure.[3]
Death
Stuart died the morning of January 4, 2015.[17] ESPN announced: "Stuart Scott, a dedicated family man and one of ESPN’s signature SportsCenter anchors, has died after a courageous and inspiring battle with appendix cancer.[1] He was 49."[18] He is survived by his two daughters, both his parents, both his sisters and his only brother, and his wife Kimberly for whom they have been married since 1993.[1] President Obama said:
I will miss Stuart Scott. Twenty years ago, Stu helped usher in a new way to talk about our favorite teams and the day’s best plays. 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. Over the years, he entertained us, and in the end, he inspired us – with courage and love. Michelle and I offer our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and colleagues.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Scott