trocc

Norm Van Lier dies at 61



Red Kerr passes away at 76

i heard about Norm at about 2:30 this afternoon and hollered out loud in the office when i read it. he wasn't in the studio last night, either. fuck. i got to meet Norm once. he was the same guy as you see here. shit.

about 15 minutes ago i heard about Johnny Kerr. about 3 weeks ago the Bulls held a ceremony for him at halftime that was... well, amazing and definitely overdue. i hadn't seen Red in about 4 months and he looked seriously frail. they wheeled him out to half court and he even boldly took the mic at one point. i had tears welling in my eyes then - and now? hell. boy do i miss him on the telecasts - even if he was a (relatively quiet) homer. even if he sometimes made not-so-subtle lewd remarks about the LuvaBulls. even if he sometimes spent a whole possession with a lollipop in his mouth. he was all Bulls through all of it.

Norm was a shock. I was watching him rant about "48 minutes of intensity" this same week, when the Bulls crumbled in the 4th against the frickin Pacers. now he's gone.

Johnny, I guess I knew was coming. but the same day? the same fucking day?

after the exchange on live tv after Red's halftime ceremony where Norm says he felt 'hurt' by not being invited to Johnny's official halftime activities, but rather had to come over from the studio to watch from the stands? eerie, sad, all sorts of things there.

what a fucked up day to be a Chicago Bulls fan. thanks for listening to a sad man rant.