A sheathed pen, a muted voice for the NBA Finals

SACRAMENTO, California—Grantland Rice, Damon Runyon, Red Smith, Jim Murray and now Frank Deford.

Sports journalists, pundits and fans alike are, sure to find room for Deford in their mythical Mount Rushmore of American sports reporting icons.

Deford, the long-time philosopher of sports, passed away over the weekend. The cause of his death is said to be pneumonia.

The lead of his obituary in the New York Times said it all:

“Frank Deford, who mined the sports world for human stories and told them with literary grace over six decades in Sports Illustrated, a shelf of books and many years of radio and television commentary, died on Sunday at his home in Key West, Fla. He was 78.”

In a Philippine milieu, Deford would have fitted in the company of our country’s sportswriting and broadcasting legends—the likes of Tony Siddayao, Teddy Benigno, Joe Cantada and Willie Hernandez, among an illustrious few.

A six-time Sportswriter of the Year, Deford was also a National Magazine Award recipient. He was a member of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame.

He was the first American sportswriter ever to be bestowed the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony in 2013. The 44th US president was moved by Deford for “transforming how we think about sports.”

“A dedicated writer and storyteller, Mr. Deford has offered a consistent, compelling voice in print and on radio, reaching beyond scores and statistics to reveal the humanity woven into the games we love,” Obama said at the time.

Deford retired on May 3 after 37 years on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition.” His demise came a few days before the NBA Finals he would have relished reporting with his elegant prose and lyrical voice style.

By the time you read this, first blood will have been drawn in this year’s best-of-seven NBA championship—a rematch between the Golden State Warriors and current champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

Although they are the defending champions, the Cavaliers are heavy underdogs.

Since the NBA started its championship format in 1947, there have been 14 rematches in the title round, notes the Sacramento Bee, the Pulitzer Prize winning daily here.

The Bee reports that this year is unique in the annals of the world’s premier basketball league. It is the first time in NBA history that two teams are meeting in the title round in three consecutive seasons.

The Cavaliers won last year to hand Cleveland its first professional sports title since the Browns captured the national football title in 1964.

The Warriors won the previous year for their first championship since 1975.