Chadwick, Big John, and Demetreus

Three deaths occurred over the last few days that impacted me and many, many, many others. The first was the passing of actor Chadwick Boseman at only 43 years old from colon cancer. Since my oldest son was born in 2011, I have seen only a handful of non-kids movies in the theater. I also only recently started using streaming services, and even then, I tend to watch shows much more than movies. In addition, I'm one of the only 10 people in America who haven't watched many Marvel movies. I write all this because I've only seen Boseman appear in one film, 42. Still, Boseman played legendary figures in American history in the 20th century in Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and Thurgood Marshall. I challenge you to find any actor who played three such important and diverse people in their career, let alone in just a few years.

Boseman really looked like a baseball player in 42, which isn't easy to do. It's difficult to find actors who can act but also look like professional athletes. Then, to be able to sing and dance like James Brown and to be as stately as Thurgood Marshall. So much talent. And all this doesn't include Black Panther, which is a role that will be remembered for years. Such a tragic loss at such a young age. While there isn't a silver lining in Boseman's death, I'm sure that I'm not the only one looking into getting a colonoscopy because of his passing.

Growing up in Pittsburgh in the 80s and early 90s, when someone talks about basketball, it was about college and more specifically the Big East conference. Sure, everyone knew of the Lakers and Celtics, but I'd much rather watch Pitt play Georgetown or Syracuse or St. John's. Because of my Pitt fandom, I disliked Georgetown. They were the bullies of the conference led by their tall and intimidating coach John Thompson. Here is a list of people more recognizable and known in Washington DC in the 80s and 90s than John Thompson:

No one. Mayor Marion Berry, Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, and Super Bowl Champion John Riggins might have been as well known, but if you're walking down the street, people would recognize John Thompson, simply due to his height, before any of the others. I definitely didn't appreciate Thompson until I moved to Northern Virginia. He doesn't get the credit for being an incredibly intelligent coach but on matters beyond the basketball court too.

Back to the Big East, I loved those Pitt teams during that era. On the 1987-1988 team, Charles Smith was the leading scorer, Jerome Lane was one of the best rebounders in the country and famous for shattering a glass backboard in a nationally televised game, and everyone knew point guard Sean Miller since every game seemed to feature a clip of him as a young child dribbling a basketball for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. However, my favorite player was  Demetreus Gore. I thought he had a cool name, but he also seemed to be the backbone of the team as he could score, pass, play defense, and do anything needed to win. When I did the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament a decade ago, I named one of the regions for Gore. He died from a heart attack at only 54.

RIP.

Photos by Presley Ann/Patrick McMullan via Getty, ESPN's 30 for 30, and Pitt athletics