RIP Bryan Burwell

First time I ever heard the name was because of some controversial story he had written for the NY Daily News, I believe. Wish I could remember the story and what the fuss was about.

 

Wow.

Bryan will be greatly missed by his profession.

Damn.

And, yes, fuck cancer.

 

This is a stunning loss. I remember when he was on Inside the NFL.

 

From Posnanski's FB page:

Let me tell you one Bryan Burwell story. This was in Boise, Idaho -- we were there for Missouri tournament basketball -- and like always Bryan was in the mood to talk about stuff. In my life as a sportswriter, there have always been wonderful people in the press box, people who make me instantly happy. Two of those people, though, stand out because of the joy and enthusiasm they always exude. One is Bob Ryan. And the other was Bryan Burwell.

We started talking about baseball, specifically pitcher wins. Bryan loved pitcher wins as a statistic and didn't like that they were being discounted by so many of the younger baseball writers. He talked for a while about Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax and how wins defined them. He talked about how it was a pitcher's job to win games.

He talked for a while about this in the joyous, passionate, determined way he had of speaking ... Bryan would get rolling and you didn't want him to stop. Finally he paused, and he looked at me, and I said: "Well, actually, I don't like the pitcher win statistic much. I don't think pitchers win games."

And -- I'll never forget this -- he smiled happily and rolled up his sleeves, said, "All right, now we're talking, let's get it on." And we happily argued for a half hour about pitcher wins.

That was the Bryan Burwell I loved, the one all of us loved, a man who thrilled in a good sports argument, cherished worthy fights that went beyond sports, respected opposing opinions and never understood why disagreements had to stand between friends. We disagreed more than once, and every time we argued I felt like we walked away better friends. It was this magical thing about Bryan.

Bryan died of cancer at age 59. I think of his family, his wife Dawn, his daughter Victoria. And I miss him already.

 

Didn't always run his stuff, but did enjoy it. RIP. Eff cancer.

Some Twitter tributes via Sherman Report: http://www.shermanreport.com/rip-bryan-burwell-a-pros-pro-who-broke-barriers-for-african-american-journalists/

 

One of the giants in daily journalism ... Rest in peace, Mr. Burwell

 

A perfect way to honor a native son of D.C. Thanks for the post Moddy.

 

I wasn't there but I understand it was a beautiful service for the late great Bryan Burwell. Among those in attendance were David Aldridge, J.A. Adande, Bill Rhoden, Stephen A. Smith, Ron Thomas, Steve Wyche, Mike Claiborne, Tony Wyllie, Ray Richardson, Larry Fitzgerald, Sr., Ted Crews from the Kansas City Chiefs, and Rams head coach Jeff Fisher who came on a game day. Many of his personal and professional friends, and of course his loving family, paid their respects to a great guy. I'm sure his wife Dawn, and daughter Victoria, appreciated the well-wishers. RIP.

 

From the Post-Dispatch:

Sports columnists Bryan Burwell, formerly of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution have been selected for the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame.

Burwell will be enshrined posthumously. He passed away from cancer on Dec. 4, 2014.

A past president of the USBWA in 2010-11, Burwell is the first African-American to be elected to the USBWA Hall of Fame.

 

OUTSTANDING NEWS!!!!!!!

 

It was a year ago today that Bryan Burwell died.

It's been a year since we lost Bryan Burwell : Sports