The sports world mourns the loss of PGA Tour player
PAYNE STEWART and his friends and agents, Leader Enterprises
Founder ROBERT FRALEY and President VAN ARDAN, after all
three were killed yesterday, along with possibly three
others, in a tragic plane crash that occurred shortly after
the group's departure from Orlando for a scheduled flight to
Dallas. In Boston, Jim McCabe writes that "countless golf
fans ... respected Stewart for his determined style of play,
his candor, and his willingness to stand out from the crowd"
(BOSTON GLOBE, 10/26). Stewart "left behind one of the most
colorful careers in the annals of golf" (BOSTON HERALD,
10/26). Fellow golfer Tom Kite said, "Payne was the life of
the party" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/26).
EVENT A GO: With Stewart's sudden death, the PGA Tour
canceled today's pro-am competition at the Tour Championship
in Houston (PGA Tour). In Houston, Eddie Sefko writes that
the Tour Championship scheduled for this week will "go on."
PGA Tour Chief of Operations Henry Hughes said the event is
set to begin as scheduled on Thursday, but may be delayed on
Friday due to a possible memorial service for Stewart.
Hughes: "We would begin the tournament on Thursday if
possible and if the service was scheduled for Thursday or
Friday, we would make the necessary adjustments." The Tour
likely would have to make up the missed date with 27 or 36
holes being played on another day. Event Founder Jack Burke
Jr. said that canceling the event "would have been
inappropriate for anybody who truly wants to honor Stewart's
memory" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/26). ESPN's Steve Levy
reported that when play does take place during this week's
Tour Championship, "a different kind of dress code should be
in effect. Appropriate attire for all participants:
knickers" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 10/25). In Detroit, Vartan
Kupelian writes that the Tour Championship trophy should be
named in honor of Stewart. Kupelian: "His final trip to a
golf tournament should be remembered, even if he never
arrived" (DETROIT NEWS, 10/26).
NEWS COVERAGE: In Boston, Howard Manly reports that the
"rush to be first in reporting yesterday's deadly plane
crash prompted Fox News Channel to retract a report" that
Stewart was one of the casualties before it was confirmed.
Fox News Channel placed the unconfirmed report on its Web
site, "leading other news outlets to report the information
without official confirmation." Fox Sports News Producer
John Terenzio said his anchors were unable to confirm
Stewart's death until about 2:15pm ET. Before that, Fox
Sports News reported "only that a plane belonging to Stewart
had crashed in South Dakota and that all five people aboard
were dead" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/26). On the Web, CBS
SportsLine posted on its site that Stewart was feared dead
in a plane crash at 1:53pm ET, followed by ESPN.com going
with a report at 2:00pm and CNNSI.com at 2:31pm.
Foxsports.com says it reported news on Stewart between 2:00
and 2:15pm ET (THE DAILY). CBS' "Evening News," ABC's
"World News Tonight" and NBC's "Nightly News" all led with
the crash of Stewart's plane (THE DAILY). ABC's Al Michaels
noted the passing of Fraley and Stewart during the second
quarter of the Falcons-Steelers game, and the net had a
segment on Stewart's life at halftime ("MNF," ABC, 10/25).
FRALEY WELL RESPECTED: Robert Fraley represented Jets
coach BILL PARCELLS, Falcons coach DAN REEVES, Steelers
coach BILL COWHER, golfers LEE JANZEN and PAUL AZINGER, Mets
P OREL HERSHISER and White Sox DH FRANK THOMAS (THE DAILY).
ESPN's Sal Paolantonio interviewed Reeves before the
Falcons-Steelers "MNF" game. Reeves: "All of us are kind of
in shock" ("Monday Night Countdown," 10/25). On CBS
SportsLine, Len Pasquarelli writes that recently, Fraley
"directed his energies almost exclusively to representing
coaches." Most of his NFL player clients were taken over by
former partner Michael Moye (CBS SportsLine, 10/26).
