Longtime Turner Sports personality JIM HUBER died yesterday at the age of 67 after being "diagnosed with acute leukemia" last week, according to Ryan Ballengee of GOLFCHANNEL.com. Huber woke up Christmas morning "with a cough" and was hospitalized and subsequently diagnosed last Wednesday. He began his career as a newspaper writer before joining CNN and TBS in '84. Huber "produced award-winning documentaries and co-anchored CNN's flagship sports program 'Sports Tonight.'" He also hosted "Pro Golf Weekly" and "The Sporting Life." He moved to Turner Sports full-time in '00 and "divided time between coverage of golf and the NBA," including serving as the "essayist for Turner's golf coverage" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 1/2). In Augusta, Scott Michaux writes Huber "was a rarity in the sports journalism business, a man who succeeded in every medium and was liked by all." He was "so good at telling those stories and humanizing sports figures of all walks that the phrase 'Let's Huber-ize it' became a term at CNN." Michaux: "He always set the right tone with his kind-hearted and generous spirit. When CNN needed a voice to provide immediate perspective on the Centennial Olympic Park bombing during the 1996 Olympics, it called on Huber in the middle of the night to turn out a two-minute think piece. It earned him a national Sports Emmy." Huber also published three books, including "Four Days in July," which detailed TOM WATSON's attempt to win the '09 British Open (AUGUSTA CHRONICLE, 1/3). Golf Channel’s Gary Williams said, “There are a lot of people who are very good at what they do in front of a camera. There are not many people who stand in front of a camera and it resonates through the lens onto your television and you know they love what they do. Jim Huber had a love affair with his job and with the game of golf” ("Morning Drive," Golf Channel, 1/3).
TWITTER REAX: Huber's passing drew many remembrances on Twitter from his colleagues. The Golf Channel's Gary Williams wrote, "Golf lost a friend and lover of the game with the passing of Jim Huber. He wrote like a man who was not making a living but living his dream." ESPN's Mark Jones wrote, "He was an outstanding essayist and a magnanimous person. All young broadcasters need to study his work on how to write." PGATour.com's Brian Wacker wrote, "His elegant prose was the kind of stuff I always tuned in for. Enjoyed it and his work. A big loss." The National Post's Bruce Arthur wrote, "A kind man with a distinguished body of work, and a voice to remember." Golfer and ESPN analyst Paul Azinger wrote, "He was as trusted and liked as anyone in the business."
