Myles Brand Dies of Cancer

[blazindw]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=4478889

[SupaDave]

Dang! I didn't even know! This has been one crazy year.

[ChicagoCrazy84]

Cancer claims another. It's getting to the point where we're all going to get cancer when and if we live long enough.

RIP Myles.

[DukieInKansas]

Condolences to his family and friends.

[BD80]

Sometimes a Duke degree is all its cracked up to be:


The passing of NCAA president Myles Brand caught me a bit off-guard. I knew how ill he was and how serious a battle pancreatic cancer is, but somehow I did not process that he was indeed a sick man for whom the end was so near.

His fight was punctuated by dignity and toughness. This was a man who continued to go to work during this terrible disease, shifting the focus from his illness to his work. Brand was a man of uncommon intelligence and a common touch. While reasonable minds may disagree over his views and policies, Brand was never disagreeable. He was a man of thoughtful judgment and principle, and he listened and thought carefully before he spoke. In just six years, he brought a much clearer direction to the too-often directionless NCAA bureaucracy and became a true leader in what could easily have been a figurehead position.

Perhaps the most poignant tribute to Brand would be contemplative silence. Because when the question of who can successfully succeed Brand is asked, contemplative silence will meet that query.

Jay Bilas

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