DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Jun 7, 2008 14:25:03 GMT -5
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Nevada Hoya
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Post by Nevada Hoya on Jun 7, 2008 14:41:51 GMT -5
I believe Jim was Jesuit educated at Loyola of Baltimore. A sad passing to those of us, who grew up with WWS and cherished the Olympics.
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hifigator
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Post by hifigator on Jun 9, 2008 14:30:36 GMT -5
Well said Nevada. To a generation he was one of a small handful who fully embodied sports and fuled our interests in sports. Curt Gowdy on American Sportsman, Jim Mackay on Wide World of Sports, Vin Sculley on assorted baseball and Howard Cossell on major sporting events WERE sports. In the days before ESPN, the internet and even cable in general, our exposure to sports were these guys. Someone on the local show said that Jim Mackay on WWS, "got him to watch and enjoy sports he never would have watched." In particular he mentioned the World Figure Skating Championships with Peggy Fleming back in the day and the World Skiing Championships with Jean-Claude Keelie (sp?) as being evens that he watched and enjoyed pretty much exclusively because of WWS. That host brought back memories, because I could say the very same thing.
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Elvado
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Post by Elvado on Jun 11, 2008 15:08:17 GMT -5
McKay was also blessed with a wonderful sense of self and perspective. He was earnest and appreciative of all competitors, be they world-class skiers, skaters, runners, swimmers, orl og rollers.
Arguably, he was the soundtrack of America's sporting weekends for a generation.
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hoyarooter
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Post by hoyarooter on Jun 11, 2008 19:56:17 GMT -5
I always thought of McKay as the anti-Howard Cossell. And that was a very good thing.
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Post by AustinHoya03 on Jun 15, 2008 16:44:08 GMT -5
I always thought of McKay as the anti-Howard Cossell. And that was a very good thing. An interesting tidbit in George Vecsey's column in today's Sunday Times echoes your thoughts: “I remember one of those great old hotels in Louisville,” Ebersol said, talking about a Kentucky Derby assignment. Cosell was in the lobby, holding court with hordes of fans. When McKay wandered by, Cosell acted as if he were under siege, saying, “Jimmy, you can’t believe what it’s like,” and McKay replied, “Howard, have you considered your room?” Ebersol said that Cosell was, for once, speechless. “I never saw McKay court attention,” Ebersol said. www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/sports/15vecsey.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |
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