Good Sport

Hot on the heels of Dr. Ruth, we had a visit from another highly regarded broadcaster today--sports writer/commentator Frank Deford. The event was being held by WFCR, the NPR affiliate in Amherst, Massachusetts, and Deford was their special guest speaker for the evening. 

Strictly a Sharpshooter! Frank Deford at Norman Rockwell Museum.
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.

Although I'm not a huge sports fan myself, I always enjoy listening to Deford's commentary that airs every Wednesday on NPR's Morning Edition. He has a great style in his delivery, and his segments frequently address the world of ethics in sports--something that is a true concern in this age of steroids and big moneyed sports franchises. 

Deford obviously has a love for the game--he joined Sports Illustrated back in 1962 (he's now their senior correspondent), serves as a regular correspondent for HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, and has read over 1500 segments on NPR. He recently released an autobiography of his life as a sportswriter, titled Over Time, which he was signing during the Museum event-- I picked up a copy, which he graciously signed for me (including some words of encouragement on my upcoming nuptials). 

Deford is a tall man--not quite what I pictured when I hear him on the radio (that's usually the case with radio personalities!). Yet he certainly has a grace about him, which also comes through in his radio announcing. We walked to the new Norman Rockwell Museum exhibition called Norman Rockwell: Sports, and I did my best to try and interest him in doing a feature on some of Rockwell's iconic sports imagery (I would love to hear his take on it). Like Rockwell, here is a guy who can really draw you in with his storytelling--there is an honest and pure gift there... at age 73, I'm sure he has seen a lot, and it is nice to have an elder commentator add his viewpoint to current sports discussions... frankly, I think it is sorely needed. As I have grown older I appreciate the value of sports--from health to dealing with adversity, to the idea of teamwork--I know that Deford also gets it--that this is (and should be) the heart of sports' appeal.

Nice to meet off the radio, and I wish his beloved Baltimore Orioles the best of luck this season.


Related Links:


www.frankdefordbook.com


www.npr.org/series/4499275/sweetness-and-light

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/writers/frank_deford/archive/index.html