Tennis icon Bud Collins dies at 86

[joeybee12]

Bud Collins, who wrote his way into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, died on Friday. He was 86.

Famous for his deep love of the game, and for his colorful and sometimes outlandish mode of dress, Collins was a writer for the Boston Globe and, beginning in 1968, an analyst for CBS and NBC. He helped popularize an under-the-radar sport for the emerging Baby Boomer generation.

In 2015, the United States Tennis Association named the sprawling press center at its US Open site in his honor. The inscription on the plaque reads: "Journalist, Commentator, Historian, Mentor, Friend."

"Through his writing, his television work, his constant promotion of the game, no one did more to grow the sport of tennis than Bud Collins," said Vince Doria, who worked closely with Collins for more than 20 years, first as sports editor at The Boston Globe and later as Senior Vice President for News at ESPN. "The world will always view him in that light. But those who knew him best will remember that no one had a better friend than Bud Collins. And no one had more friends than Bud Collins."

http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/14901637/hall-fame-tennis-journalist-bud-collins-dies-86

Sometimes he drove me nuts listening to him, but it was clear he loved the game and he knew his stuff. RIP

[bigwillq]

1. RIP

[DinahMoeHum]

2. A tweet from Martina. . .

https://twitter.com/Martina/status/705819067840655360


Farewell, Bud. Miss your voice on Wimbledon broadcasts.

[TBF]

3. Big Sharapova announcement tomorrow -

maybe she is going to give up screaming Or possibly she's decided she really can't outlast Serena so she may as well throw in the towel. She's 28 now - time flies.