ESPN Sports Anchor Stuart Scott Has Died Age 49 after Battle with Cancer … However, He Will Always Be “As Cool as the Other Side of the Pillow”

It is a sad day in sports today, ESPN’s Stuart Scott has passed away at the age of 49 …

The longtime ESPN anchor Stuart Scott died Sunday morning after an extended battle with cancer, he was just 49 years old. Scott joined the ESPN in 1993 as the network was ramping up to launch ESPN2. That was just the launching bad for Scott as he steadily grew into one of ESPN’s most well-known, well liked and respected personalities … “Boo-Yah.” I remember the founding of ESPN in 1978, let along the launch of ESPN2 and let me just say Stuart Scott brought an energy and a fun and off the wall perspective to the broadcast that you truly looked forward to watching it. It is not very often that sports highlights were must-see TV, but that is the talent that this man had. Stuart Scott did the best thing that any sports anchor could do, he provided us with an escape from the real world and made sports fun. He talked about the games, plays and highlights like we would with our friends. God bless you Stuart Scott, our prayers go out to your family and friends … thank you … rest in peace.

REST IN PEACE STUART SCOTT

Stuart Scoot was first diagnoses with a rare form of cancer in November 2007. He took the vile disease publicly as he allowed us to share in his battle. So many of us either have been in Scott’s shoes or know some one personally who is. Stuart Scott helped us all deal with cancer in our own lives as he battled his. Scott was a beacon of light and remained so positive in his fight against cancer. One of the greatest lessons Stuart showed us all was to not let cancer paralyze you. He lived his life to the end on his terms and that meant being an ESPN sports anchor and commentator to the best of his ability. Please watch the VIDEO below of Scott’s moving speech, it is one of the best ever. For 7 years Scott battled cancer and kept the attitude that “fighting was winning, not quitting, not saying I have cancer, I can t do anything. ” Scott maintained the only way you lose against cancer is to not fight it and to just lay down and have a pity party for yourself.

His personality was infectious … Rest is peace Stuart Scott, you will forever be “as cool as the other side of the pillow.”

To all who have cancer, have known those who have cancer or currently know some one who is battling cancer, we need to remember the words that Stuart Scott said during his speech after receiving the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPYS on July 16, 2014. Please make sure to watch his acceptance speech below.

“When you die, it does not mean you lose to cancer. You beat cancer in how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live. So live, live, fight like hell. And when you get too tired to fight then lay down and rest and have some body else fight for you. That’s also very important. I can’t do this “don’t give up thing” by myself. I got thousands of people on Twitter and on the streets who encourage me.”

ESPN:

Stuart Scott, a longtime anchor at ESPN, died Sunday morning at the age of 49.

Among the features of the new ESPN studio in Bristol is a wall of catchphrases made famous by on-air talent over the years. An amazing nine of them belong to one man — from his signature “Boo-Yah!” to “As cool as the other side of the pillow” to “He must be the bus driver cuz he was takin’ him to school.”

That man is Stuart Scott, and his contributions to the sports lexicon are writ large. But they are only one aspect of his legacy. When he passed away, he left behind so much more. He inspired his colleagues with his sheer talent, his work ethic and his devotion to his daughters, Taelor, 19, and Sydni, 15. He defied convention and criticism to help bring this network into a new century. He spoke to the very athletes he was talking about with a flair and a style that ESPN president John Skipper says, “changed everything.”

“He didn’t just push the envelope,” says sports radio host and former ESPN anchor Dan Patrick. “He bulldozed it.”

Stuart Scott was honored for his fight against cancer at the 2014 ESPY Awards, where he became the latest recipient of the Jimmy V ESPY Award for Perseverance. The award named for college basketball coach Jim Valvano, whose life was also taken by cancer in 1993, and who gave probably one of the greatest speeches in sports history that speaks to one’s everyday life, “Don’t Give Up, Don’t Ever Give Up”.

Stuart Scott’s Moving ESPYS Speech,

UPDATE I: Remembering Stuart Scott:

Steve Levy, who came to ESPN shortly before Stuart in August 1993 and served as his co-host for the first “SportsCenter” from the new studio last June, put it this way: “I think the audience recognized that when Stuart was on, there was going to be something special. And to his credit, he brought something special every night he was on.”

Tributes to Scott on Twitter, #BooYah