When I started attending university in 2002, I began listening to the FAN 590, in particular Prime Time Sports, in a vain attempt to become smarter about stuff (Hi Bobcat). Radio host Bob McCown would have different co-hosts on the show like Stephen Brunt, Jeff Blair, and one writer from way down in Buffalo named Jim Kelley (No, not the quarterback). What surprised me, although he was an accomplished "hockey guy", was his knowledge of most if not all topics discussed on the show; Jim Kelley was knowledgeable, opinionated reporter and columnist who never shied away from controversy (ie. The off-ice incident with Dominic Hasek in 1997), and always stood behind what he wrote and said.
For the past eight years, I always looked forward to hearing Prime Time Sports and took extra delight in hearing what Jim Kelley had to say when he would co-host some weeks, and then on Wednesday afternoons from his home in Buffalo. I remember once years ago when Bob McCown went down sick during a show, and Kelley filled in mid-show! Jim Kelley never missed a beat, and the show went on without a hitch. I thought Sportsnet hit the jackpot when they gave him a column on their website, and I found his hockey writings to be "top corner" stuff.
Hockey was not his life, however, because his commitment to family and his values remained close to his heart. In an unforgiving profession of beat writing with long hours, long flights, and long trips away from home, Jim Kelley's dedication to family remained paramount as the quality of time spent meant more than its quantity. It was during the ride to work with my Dad I found out Mr. Kelley passed away today at the age of sixty-one, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
With the passing of the coach Pat Burns last week, I didn't write anything because of other commitments and that I didn't know enough about the late Mr. Burns to write something of substance. Nevertheless, Jim Kelley wrote a thoughtful piece about the man before he, too, would pass away. Although I never had a chance to meet him, I tried to emulate him in my writing and could never quite get it right; I suppose this way of writing will have to do...
Thank you, Jim Kelley, for what you meant to this do nothing writer north of Buffalo. My thoughts and prayers go out to Jim Kelley's family and friends.
For a more fitting tribute, please tune in to Sportsnet.ca.
