Ralph Wiley died today.

Ralph, you were quite simply a great writer, great thinker and a great man.

See you in the clearing beyond R-Dubb. All of us who know are inconsolable tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like that river I've been running ever since
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
Cos I don't know what's out there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

And then I go to see my brother
And I ask him to help me please
And he just winds up knockin' me
Back down on my knees

There were times when I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
Cos I don't know what's out there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Edited on Tuesday evening. . .

I'm going to leave Ralph Wiley up there for a few days. He was a fantastic writer of sports and really, a kind of critical race theory all his own, though I don't want to restrict him to that. His book, Serenity is just about the best book of non-fiction I've read, his SI article on the Mancini -- Duk Koo Kim death in the ring was as moving as anything I've read.

His writing was equal parts sports and commentary on the human condition. He had more in common with Henry Louis Gates than Mike Lupica.

I was fortunate enough to have an e-mail correspondence with him and am honored to have gotten a brief mention in his Anti-Trash-Talk Nation column.

So, if you like good writing, a great mind, or care at all to have a better understanding of what it means to human, amble on over to Espn.com and go to the page2 section, check his obit, the tributes and his archives. I would start with


The Truth of Tyson

Wiley was at his best talking boxing.

Anyway, I ain't got time or inclination to talk about nothing else.

So I'll leave up Ralph, and the song I dedicate to him (which is by Sam Cooke, who Ralph reminded me of)

and leave you with the opening line of Ralph's last column

All a man's got is the integrity of his work.

In that case, Ralph Wiley had everything.

Trash out