The Tipoff (Jan. 2015)
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BASKETBALL T IMES Visit: www.usbwa.com VOLUME 52, NO. 2 January 2015 Remembering Bryan Burwell with his stories As it usually goes in our business, where one press at a group of four people box and media room blends in with the next, I can’t who are sitting at a table say I remember the exact moment I met Bryan Burwell. and one of the guys imme- I recall encountering him once, back when the Ea- diately stands up and gives gles played at the Vet. To make the on-air atmosphere Burwell a hug. Dana O’Neil more authentic, the radio folks insisted on taking out It’s Charles Barkley. the windows, so we are all freezing and kvetching Barkley tells the maitre d about it. that we’re with him and to ESPN.com Except, of course, Bryan. bring us menus and what- He greeted me then as he always did – with a hug, ever we want. Burwell President a smile, and a “Well hello, young lady.” gives the maitre d this “I That was Bryan Burwell. told you so” look, and the When Bryan died, too suddenly and too early, I guy scurries away. asked people to send memories about him. They are, as From Bob Ryan of the you’ll read, funny and heartfelt, but they also followed Boston Globe: you could see his face light up when he described the a common thread – how much Bryan loved his job. I go back 30-plus years when he was in NYC cov- potential rewards to these students, and you could feel We could all talk about what a gifted writer he was, ering the Knicks. We were part of a group that played a his resolve in reminding the rest of us that the USBWA and the grace he exuded on television - even after that lot of basketball during the NBA playoffs. Did many a needed fresh energy to survive. medium became more about shouting than intellect. Sports Reporters show with him. He was always mea- From former USBWA president Kirk Wessler, of But Bryan’s real gift to journalism, his real gift to sured, a common sense voice of reason. the Peoria Journal-Star: all of us, is the enthusiasm and joy he brought with him The last time I saw him was in Bristol not all that We’re at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, when some to work each day. long ago. He was discoursing on an important topic: mid-level shift manager walks into the media work- From Yahoo’s Graham Watson, who worked with namely that too many people falsely label a benign room about 7:45, less than an hour after the Illinois- Bryan at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Cookout” a “Barbecue,” which he thought was sacri- Mizzou game ended, and announces we all have to be (From the 2006 Final Four in Indianapolis) It was legious. Throwing hamburgers or a hot dog on a grill, gone in 45 minutes. I get the guy to call his supervisor, really late, and Burwell and I are starving. We ascended he said, was a long way from having an honest-to-God who comes down and we’re going at it in the hallway. the escalator that attaches the arena to the Westin and Barbecue, which is truly culinary art. The super tries to tell me this is the way things always happened upon Shula’s Steakhouse. We walked up and From Pat Forde, of Yahoo Sports: go there, that even the MVC tournament is out of the the maitre d told us they were closed, no longer serv- The thing I liked and respected about Bryan was building by such-and-such time. I say, “Really? I cover ing food. Then Burwell takes a quick glance inside the his enthusiasm for the assignment, whatever it was. He that every year and we’ve never been run out of here restaurant and sees someone he knows. He grabs my worked in a pro sports town, but every time I saw him before we’re done.” He says, “Well the Blues …” Bur- arm (now remember, at the point I’m a pretty timid 26 at the Missouri Valley tournament, he was totally into well overhears this and he comes out. The super looks year old) and he rushes me past the maitre’ d and into it. He wasn’t half-stepping it; he knew the storylines at him like, “I know you!” And Bryan quietly says, the restaurant. Of course the guy follows us, protesting, and the teams and the personalities. That was about the “That’s bull. When the Blues are playing, we’re here while Burwell is basically waving him away. We stop 50th most important thing for him to cover in a year, till we’re done.” And the guy backed off. but he covered it like it From Kansas City Star columnist Vahe Gregorian, was the most important. who worked along Bryan for more than a decade: Because it was that day. A few weeks ago, I had the incredible fortune to It’s a fun job and I never get to see Bryan one last time. His wife, Dawn, ushered saw him fail to have fun me down the stairs where he was sitting. Neither of us doing it. knew quite what to say as I walked toward him, trying From ex-USBWA not to seem despondent. Then he just started crying, president Lenox Rawl- or maybe I was first, and I leaned in to hug him up a ings: minute. During Bryan’s time And that was enough of the sappy stuff. as president, I was most A Mizzou football game was on in the background, impressed by his pas- and we had a lot of catching up and laughing to do. He sion for helping young was eager to get the “preseason” of testing behind so folks understand what he could begin the “regular-season” grind of treatment. they faced if they want- Bryan could drink only water by then, and at one ed to take up our line of point Dawn came down the stairs and offered Perrier work. He was encourag- for a change of pace. Bryan took a few sips as she was ing yet candid about the walking back up the stairs. possibilities, and he was And then he called her back, almost giddily thank- downright blunt about ful and excited about how good the Perrier tasted. the practicalities of en- To the end, that was him: always cheerful, always tering the field during the same person, always the optimist. such economic and jour- A person you were always happy to see coming Bryan Burwell (far left), with Jimmer Fredette and Oscar Robertson. nalistic convulsions. But and so hated to see leave. BASKETBALL T IMES The United States Basketball Writers Association USBWA has treasured 803 Wildview Lane; St. Louis, Mo. 63021 Visit us at: www.usbwa.com 314-795-6821 relationship with Oscar The USBWA has PRESIDENT – Dana O’Neil, espn.com; enjoyed a long and C: 215-313-3425; [email protected] rewarding relationship FIRST VICE PRESIDENT – Pat Forde, Yahoo! with perhaps the greatest Sports; H: 502-253-9761; C: 502-472-91633; college basketball player Joe Mitch [email protected] of all time – two-time THIRD VICE PRESIDENT – Ed Graney, Las USBWA player of the year USBWA Vegas Review-Journal; C: 702-524-3553; Oscar Robertson. [email protected] My friendship with Executive Director THIRD VICE PRESIDENT – Vahe Gregorian, Oscar goes back some Kansas City Star, C: 816-799-6041; vgregorian@ 35 years ago to the mid- kcstar.com 1970s. Oscar was a color analyst on the Metro EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – Joe Mitch, Conference game-of-the-week telecasts. I served as In addition to the player-of-the-year trophy, the H: 636-227-9113; C: 314-795-6821; assistance commissioner of the Metro for media relations. USBWA’s Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award, the [email protected] When the USBWA decided to name its national Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award and the WEBMASTER – Ted Gangi, C: 214-909-9314; player-of- the-year award after a former player or coach, Wayman Tisdale Humanitarian Award are also presented [email protected] the organization looked no further than to Oscar to put at the dinner in Oklahoma City. BOARD MEMBERS his name on the award. The Iba Award is named after legendary Olympic DISTRICT I – Matt Vautour, Daily Hampshire After all, Oscar is a national treasure. He was voted and Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) coach Gazette, [email protected] the greatest player in the 20th Century in all of basketball. Henry Iba, who won 655 games in his career and led the DISTRICT II – Nicole Auerbach, USA Today, He was the USBWA’s first national player of the year in Aggies to NCAA championships in 1945 and 1946. He O: 703-854-5317; C: 908-672-2840; 1959 and was coming off a 1958 season in which he was also coached the U.S. Olympic team to gold medals in [email protected] named a consensus All-American at Cincinnati. 1964 and 1968 and a silver medal in 1972. DISTRICT III – Laura Keeley, Raleigh News & The USBWA named the award the Oscar Robertson The Tisdale Award for the freshman of the year, first Observer; C: 724-816-7401; Trophy in 1998, and in the 17 years since then the awarded in 2011, is named in honor of the late Wayman [email protected] Robertson Trophy has become one of the nation’s most Tisdale.