Ron Drogo, (spnited), RIP

Yeah, ditto this. I'm not sorry to be late though, given that it means keeping this thread and his memory alive.

I'll always remember the night at the Perfect Pint.

Until we meet again...

 

Couldn't help a melancholy smile during the Indians game. Vin Mazzaro, I'm sure the CLE outing folks will remember, was one of Ron's favorite NJ-area high school athletes. Talked about him a lot, as Mazzaro was with the A's.

RIP Ron.

 

Big bump ... because a) the following needs to be noted on this forum; b) the other day I was venting with the news editor about some dimwit parent and she suggested I write a column about it, and I found myself saying "we are not the story, we are the storytellers:"

http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/varsityaces/comments/ben_malone_wins_ron_drogo_award/

 

Thanks for posting that link. Ron's sister Linda posted news of the award being named for him on Ron's Facebook page a few weeks ago, and I meant to mention something about it here and then I forgot about it (this is what happens when we get old, right, Ron?).

If ever there was a fitting tribute to a sports journalist, this is it. Ron was an unusual guy. He had a considerable newspaper career away from high schools, covering the NBA champion Knicks when he was either in his very late teens or very early 20s, and he spent a looong time in MLB pressboxes and editing pro sports, as well. He never lost interest in local sports, though, and it was a natural fit for him to go back to it. It was something he enjoyed when it was his job and when it wasn't.

It's also true that he knew/loved track. Millrose Games, Penn Relays ... pretty much Ron's high holy days.

I don't want to go on and on. Feb. 21 will be a year since his death and no doubt this thread will double then. I know I will have some things to add then.

 

Ditto. I'll add watching the Mets crumble wasn't the same without his remarks.

 

And I will surely think of Ron when Kurt Warner is inducted in the Hall of Fame.

I miss him every time that subject comes up.

 

We need more Cowbell?

 

Sorry, my mistake earlier today -- Feb. 20 will be the anniversary of Ron's death, not the 21st. I found out about him shortly after midnight Feb. 21. I had been at a rock concert at a large club (a few thousand people) and it was the loudest experience of my life -- half my hearing seemed to be shot, although a night's sleep would bring me back to normal. As I drove home with my wife (who had worn earplugs), I acknowleged to her that maybe I was getting too old for this. A few minutes after we got home, I found out about Ron and felt far, far, far older as I started this thread.

 

Was thinking about Ron this week and in particular his family and hoping the holiday season wasn't too difficult for them. Hard to believe it's been 10 months already. I'll never forget the moment I saw Frank's thread here. I was watching Dumb & Dumber (Ron: "That movie's about you, isn't it dickhead?") and laughing like hell one second and barely able to breathe the next.

It has been comforting to re-read this thread and everyone's warm recollections of Ron, though.

This dickhead misses you, buddy.

 

I hear ya BYH ... I only knew Ron from this place and take it as a badge of honor that our last cross words may have been about Cliff Lee during the 2010 World Series, but I look back at this thread too, and every now and then a classic SportsJournalists.com thread will pop up with some bit of spnited wisdom I can call on when I need it ... oh hell, let's save it for later.

 

Bumping again. The first anniversary of his death is about five days away now. It seems that a lot more time has passed. I didn't know about the award named for him; the kid who won it is more honored than he knows. And going back through the early pages of the thread, I saw that one of his final posts confirmed he indeed knew fun with the quote function, darn him.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/2996503/

 

Really wasn't ready for this yet, dools. I thought about it today, then filed it away and thought "I'll deal with it on Monday."