Beano Cook passes away at the age of 81

[ImTellinTim]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ok-dies-at-81/

I always thought he was entertaining. RIP

[gerg1234]

Agreed. The memory that stands out most with me was his love for Ron Powlus.

[ImTellinTim]

Quote: Originally Posted by gerg1234

Agreed. The memory that stands out most with me was his love for Ron Powlus.

Pitt love fests and Big Ten hate are what I'll remember him most for.

[sportznut02]

I don`t think Beno had a lot of knowledge about today`s game and players. However he was a great historian for College Football. He was a good story teller of College Football`s past.

I always really enjoyed Beano`s weekly podcast on ESPN with Ivan Maisel.

[sportznut02]

Cook will always be remembered for his sense of humor. Over his ESPN years, he gave many memorable quips, such as:

• I’d like to do the last scoreboard show and then go. I don’t want to die in the middle of the football season. I have to know who’s No. 1 in the last polls. (1988)
• The three things that mean the most to me in life are my parents, Casablanca and college football – not necessarily in that order. (1987)
• You only have to bat a thousand in two things – flying and heart transplants. Everything else you can go four for five. (1988)
• You’ll never have a 16-team playoff in college football. The most that could happen would be four teams in the next century. But after that, I’m dead, so who cares? (1992)
• Colleges spend more money on the promotion of the Heisman than the Pentagon spends on toilets. (1990)
• Argentina invaded the Falklands because they had ESPN and the Argentines wanted to get the late scores. (1986)
• ESPN is like your family, it’s always there. The networks are like your mother-in-law. They are there on the weekends. (1988)
• When they list the great thinks of the 20^th Century, they’ll say, penicillin, Sophia Loren, jet travel and ESPN. (1992)
• Known for his fear of flying, he would often point out that the first word you see at an airport is “terminal.”

[buckeyefan78]

Quote: Originally Posted by ImTellinTim

Pitt love fests and Big Ten hate are what I'll remember him most for.

His hatred for the Big Ten was due to his morbid disdain for Penn State and specifically Joe Paterno. PSU was always seen (both fairly and unfairly) as the main obstacle to an Eastern League which eventually relegated Pitt to insignificance on the national scene over the last 30 years. When Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1990 Cook took it upon himself to carry his hatred over to PSU's new conference.

[Watson]

"Dracula and LSU football are at their best after the sun goes down."


He was a little ahead of me, but for everything wrong with ESPN, he was there when ESPN began to break the barriers and create the sports world we live in now.

[kaipo07]

Quote: Originally Posted by WatsonTiger

"Dracula and LSU football are at their best after the sun goes down." He was a little ahead of me, but for everything wrong with ESPN, he was there when ESPN began to break the barriers and create the sports world we live in now.

Beano was classic. But break what barriers?