Thanks, Nick, for the Memories

Last week, CNN.com ran a story detailing the story of former sports anchor Nick Charles' battle with bladder cancer. He was diagnosed nearly two years ago, and while, as of this month, he has exceeded the life expectancy quote that he received upon diagnosis, he has stopped treatment, and it appears that it just a matter of time until he passes away.

As some of us surely remember (and some of us likely do not), Charles was one half of the main hosting duo during the heyday of CNN Sports Tonight, which once rivaled ESPN's SportsCenter as the place to go for a sports round-up show. While SportsCenter quickly rose to prominence after its debut in 1979, that rise did not happen without facing some challengers, and perhaps its stiffest competition came in the late 1980s and early 1990s from CNN Sports Tonight, which aired on CNN from 1980 through 2001. Over the years, Sports Tonight featured a number of hosts, including folks like Dan Hicks, Gary Miller, and Hannah Storm, who would become known later for their work on networks such as NBC and ESPN. Craig Sager, who stayed in the same corporate fold by moving on to TBS and TNT, also appeared on the show. And can anyone out there who saw the show forget the inimitable Van Earl Wright?

The main hosts of the show at the height of its run, though, were Fred Hickman (who would later go to ESPN himself) and Nick Charles. And, though I disliked that CNN's hosts tended to give away results before playing highlights, in the late 1980s and early 1990s I grew to like Sports Tonight over SportsCenter. I don't think I was alone, and indeed, I think it's arguable that the moderate success of Sports Tonight pushed SportsCenter toward bettering its broadcast to produce "The Big Show" with Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann in what might have been SportsCenter's finest time as well.

In the meantime, I have many fond memories at home with my dad and in the lounge at my college dorm watching Hickman and Charles, especially as they gave the "play of the day" each day. I don't know if there's any possibility out there that Nick will get to read this post, but in case he does (and even if he doesn't), I'd like to say thanks, Nick, for the memories. May you always know that you played a significant role in the development of this sports fan/sports studies scholar.