R.I.P. Dan Cook

Nothing strange here. Just noting the passing of legendary sportscaster Dan Cook, as reported by the Express-News.

Dan Cook, a San Antonio legend whose career as a sports columnist and broadcaster spanned more than a half-century, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 81.

Insightful, humorous, colorful and brutally honest, Cook spent 57 years in the newspaper business — 51 of those at the San Antonio Express-News — interviewing sports’ greatest legends, from Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey to Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Paul “Bear” Bryant and Tom Landry.

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In addition to print journalism, Cook worked as a sportscaster at KENS-TV for 44 years, from 1956-2000. It was there in 1978 that Cook uttered the famous phrase, “The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings,” which is listed in Bartlett’s “Familiar Quotations.” He later said he first used the phrase in a column about two years before.

Requiescat in pace, Cook.

UPDATE: You know, after watching some old video of Dan Cook, it amazes me how much his style of speaking is similar to Hank Hill's. I wonder if Mike Judge found any inspiration there, or if it is just a Texas coincidence.