RIP Rod Beaton

[Colton]

This sucks more than I can express. Enjoyed some fine times with Rod on the road - including one great night in Atlanta where a good buddy of mine called the hotel and somehow got connected to Rod's room. They talked for about half an hour - never mind that they'd never met.

Rod gets off the phone and calls me and says, "We're going out to eat tonight with your buddy Rick."

"You know Rick?"

"No but he just got connected to my room and he seems like a great guy."

The three of us went out and tore into ribs, steak and lots of beer at some joint in Buckhead. A fine night I remember well 18 years later.

RIP to one of the very, very, very good ones.

(and I may have told that sorry before - but I don't apologize)

Great story, Moddy! Very much needed on this sad day.

RIP, Mr. Beaton.

 

[shockey]

rip, rod. i'm saddened, obviously, but also strangely buoyed by thinking rod's in the press box in heaven readying for another stanley cup final. and as i believe helene elliott put it on facebook, he's being greeted by all the players whacking their sticks on the ice to welcome him aboard. :'(

 

[espnguy]

Rod was a very special individual in that no matter who you were, big or small in the business, there was one character trait that he displayed above all else: he listened to you, really listened. That always impressed me the most about him. Other people in this business, when they "listen" to you, they're oftentimes merely being phony or tolerant or secretly wishing they were somewhere else or talking to someone else. Not Rod. He made you feel that you not only were his friend, but that everything you said -- every opinion, idea, suggestion, criticism or plaudit -- was something meaningful. He once told me, "if it's something meaningful and important enough for you to say, then it's meaningful and important enough for me to listen to you."

Best damn hockey and baseball writer I ever knew. He didn't deserve the hand fate dealt him, but at least we can all smile, knowing he's in a much better place, is out of pain and finally able to rest in peace.

 

[ballwriter]

When I was starting out as a baseball writer in the late 1980s at a suburban, he couldn't have been nicer to me. I remember being almost too intimidated to answer the first time he said hello to me, yet I quickly found him to be a wonderful man and someone I was thankful to have as a friend for so many years. RIP, Rod.

 

[Drip]

There are not many competing journalists who would help you in a pinch, Rod would.
There are not many competing journalists who ALWAYS would speak to nearly everyone, Rod did.
Rod Beaton was a friend. He taught this dummy how to be a better reporter, writer and friend. I am truly saddened by his death.
Oh, one more thing; Thank you for everything Rod.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

RIP, Rod. Best to Maria and the family.

Parkinson's is an awful, awful disease. Don't even want to think about the other complications that made what was already a tough situation even moreso.

The positive stories told on his behalf on this thread are priceless. Apparently, only the good die young. Again, RIP Rod and all the best to his family.

 

[Bristol Insider]

Heard about this while attending a MLB game Wednesday. Appropriate since that's where I met Rod when I was a young columnist. He gave me his # and said call him anytime if I needed anything. Great guy. Godspeed, my friend.

 

[BarryMeisel]

I worked the NHL beat at the NY Daily News in the mid to late '80s, and often hung out with Rod.

He was a great guy to talk to, a fun guy to be with, and he turned me on to the Bar-B-Barn in Montreal.

My condolences to his family, friends, and anyone who was touched by this wonderful man.

Barry

 

[Bruhman]

Nice obit by the WaPo...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/rod-beaton-usa-today-sportswriter-dies-at-59/2011/07/16/gIQAUPfqII_story.html