Jim McKay

Within the last few days, not only have we lost Jim McKay, but also Charlie Jones, and Tim Russert.

I'm more of a sports fan, than a political junkie, so while I'm aware of Russert's work, I only watched Meet The Press rarely.

Jones was a longtime announcer for AFC -- and prior to that, AFL games -- on NBC. He'd usually be doing a late game from the west coast. Whenever you heard Charlie Jones doing a game, you knew it was usually a late Sunday afternoon from San Diego, Denver, Oakland, or Seattle.

It was good to hear Charlie's voice in the fall, because it almost always was accompanied by the wonderful smell of Sunday dinner filling the air as well.

Here's a little clip of Charlie opening a 1983 playoff game on NBC.

As for McKay, he was simply one of the most important sportscasters of the last 50 years. And, over the course of a fateful day in Munich during the 1972 olympics, delivered the news of one of the most unforgettable stories, ever.

There's an interview with McKay, conducted in 1998, in which he recaps his career in thorough fashion. In this part, he chronicles the events in Munich.

McKay passed away on the day of The Belmont Stakes, an event he anchored many times.

He also was the host of many U.S. Opens, when the golf event was carried on ABC. As Tiger and Phil battle it out at Torrey Pines, keep McKay in mind.

Jones and Russert, too.