What made the late, great John Saunders special was his ability to read people and find out what made them tick, says his friend Gerry Matalon. What made him truly unique in the cutthroat world of sports TV was his willingness to mentor less-experienced colleagues.
With great sadness, ESPN on Wednesday announced the death of the 61-year old anchor, play-by-play announcer and host of "The Sports Reporters." During Saunders' long career at the network, Matalon was one of his closest friends. Saunders had an unerring ability to go straight to the human heart, the former ESPN executive recalled in a telephone interview Wednesday night.