It was tough getting fired by the NBA. I really didn't know where I was going, until [ESPN] called me. I said, "Hey, 'ESPN?' Never heard of it. It sounds like a disease." Now I have that same disease as a sports fanatic. All this sports madness we didn't have years ago, now I'm very blessed and fortunate to be part of it.

Life is simple. Make good decisions and good things happen. Make bad decisions and bad things happen.

Life has good and bad times. And to get through them you have to battle. Life is not all smooth. I've had my bumps and bruises, like anybody, but I've always tried to look at life like a glass that's half full.

Really, UCLA's a great place as well, but they don't have the kind of environment they have here. The fans here have a passion.

It is time for everyone to sit down -the NCAA, the NBA, the players union and the coaching fraternity-and come up with suitable solutions to these problems.

Gowdy had a love affair with the microphone and the fans had a love affair with him. American sports fans truly lost an icon, a legend who never felt he was bigger than anyone else. He had that humility that made him special, and he made everyone feel like they were so important.

One day to see that headline, not that someone won a basketball championship, but to see that a cure for cancer has been found, will be a great day for mankind.