RIP, Stan
After a 16-month battle with lung cancer, Pittsburgh sports broadcasting legend Stan Savran died yesterday at the age of 76.
Stan was so much more than just a colleague to those of us that were lucky enough to work with him at some point in our careers, though. He was a mentor, a role model, and a fine example of how striving for excellence in a field that some people still view as cutthroat or dog-eat-dog didn’t have to strip you of your dignity, class, or human decency.
As a producer in my late 20s still trying to find a firm foot hold in the sports talk radio business, I was gifted the best possible situation: Working with the newly reunited Stan Savran and Guy Junker at 1250ESPN. Every day was a learning experience, and didn’t involve being berated or treated as “less than,” even though both Stan & Guy could have routinely put me in my place if they really wanted to.
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Instead, they treated me the way people are supposed to treat others: With care and respect. Not because they “had to,” or because they felt obligated to. Instead, it was because it was simply in their DNA to do so.
When Stan had his heart surgery, I watched him battle through pain and discomfort to get back on the air as quickly as possible. It was inspiring to watch someone who had such a sense of happiness about their job. When the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII, I was lucky enough to do a live postgame show with him and the excitement we each had was an indication of the pure, unadulterated joy that Stan carried with him in getting to cover any and every kind of sporting event.
Again, I was a producer; a part-time on-air host. He could’ve put me in my place and attempted to domineer and control the show. Instead, he welcomed the second voice, there to provide a differing perspective than his own.
A month and a half later, my daughter was born. One of the first gifts we received was from Stan. We joked with Ava as she got a little older that when we went to PNC Park or PPG Paints Arena for a game and we walked past Stan’s set for the pregame shows on AT& T SportsNet, she should yell “Hi, Uncle Stan!” She did once or twice, and whether she did or not, every time we walked by and said hello, Stan would stop, wave as if we were a long, lost friend he hadn’t seen in years, and talk to Ava with a genuine interest in what she had to say.
Nothing about these stories is any different than what you’d hear anyone else share with you about Stan, though.
He didn’t reserve being kind for some people on some days. Again, it was just in his nature.
Stan Savran will be terribly missed. Not just by me, or by you, but by every person he encountered along the way. And by every person he treated with genuine respect and care.
Which just so happened to be, well… everyone.
Rest in peace, Stan. We will always “love the show.”
Edzo Says The Pens Have a $7 Million Issue To Solve
On the most recent episode of “Fifth Avenue Faceoff,” I was lucky enough to be joined by Stanley Cup Champion, Former Penguins Head Coach, and color analyst for the NHL on TNT, Eddie Olczyk.
Edzo didn’t just share stories about the days he spent in Pittsburgh, though. We discussed What Kyle Dubas’s priorities should be for this offseason, how long he thinks Sidney Crosby will continue to play, what teams can learn from this season’s Stanley Cup Final competitors, Vegas and Florida, and why he thinks one linemate in particular is so crucial to Crosby’s success.
With free agency looming on July 1, just days after the conclusion of the 2023 NHL Draft and the wheeling & dealing and jockeying that can happen there, the next three weeks is massive for Dubas and the Penguins.
One valuable point Olczyk made in regards to the Florida Panthers and the way the Penguins finished – or maybe more accurately, didn’t finish – down the stretch, is the Matthew Tkachuk effect may have never become a thing.
Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final is tonight, just after 8pmET in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights lead, 3-1.
I Am the Smartest Man Alive!
Just your friendly neighbor in #Bettsburgh stacking up some cash for you.
Bouncing Back Continues
Since the final series of their dreadful month of May, the Pirates have won three of four series, going 8-4 overall.
Do you trust them to win each of their next three series, as well? Or would 5-4 in the next nine do it for you?