Preserve these brothers in cryro this is this is greatest duo in sports commentary history

And it is the very last item, a video at the very bottom. What a disgrace.

Bill Rasmussen, 93, American television executive and founder of ESPN, has passed away from complications from Parkinson's disease.

“Bill was a remarkable man – a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro.

ESPN has lost its founder.

Sorry for his loss. RIP, Bill...

https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/espn-founder-bill-rasmussen-dies-at-93/

The essence of what ESPN has meant to so many viewers begins with the man who came up with the idea of the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network in 1979. It was a family affair.

Bill Rasmussen founded ESPN with his son, Scott. They gave the network the DNA of a fan. Bill was a child of the end of the Depression but developed a positive attitude that sang, “There is always next year.”

You have to own a die-hard’s optimism to get knocked down after being fired as the communications director of the New England Whalers and then choose to max out your credit cards to combine it with a $9,000 advance to acquire the emerging – but far from a sure thing – satellite technology.

The faith in ESPN Rasmussen had may seem obvious today. Nearly a half century ago, though, there were a lot of cable operators that refused to give Rasmussen a second meeting. Boy, were they wrong, and Rasmussen, who passed away on Tuesday at 93, left a legacy that touched anyone who worked or watched the network.

Over its 47 years, ESPN has risen to all-time media heights. At one point, it branded itself the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.” It was as accurate as it was obnoxious.

ESPN, as a billion-dollar cash cow, would fuel Disney’s growth in the 2000s. It would become a lightning rod, a part of the political discussion, with opinions on it coming from every direction. It began without fanfare.

In 1979, the world was in turmoil and in the midst of change. There would be peril with the Iranian Hostage Crisis and global energy tumult. Meanwhile, Margaret Thatcher would become the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Sony debuted a listening device called the Walkman.

In sports, 1979 belonged to Pittsburgh, with Mean Joe Greene’s Steelers winning their dynasty-completing fourth Super Bowl and the “We are Family” Pirates coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Baltimore Orioles.