NEED TO KNOW
-
Al Michaels got emotional in a tribute to Dan Hicks
-
Hicks, 64, died after an acute illness, his wife Hannah Storm announced on Thursday, Nov. 12
-
Hicks worked for NBC for 34 years, covering golf and Olympic events including swimming and alpine skiing
Al Michaels shared an emotional tribute to Dan Hicks during Thursday Night Football.
The broadcaster took a moment to honor the NBC sportscaster, whose death at the age of 64 was announced on Thursday, Nov. 12 by his wife Hannah Storm.
Advertisement
“All of us in the sports broadcasting business were shocked to learn this morning of the passing of Dan Hicks,” Michaels, 82, said. “Dan joined NBC Sports in 1992, provided captions to so many iconic moments in golf, tennis and Notre Dame football, and he and Rowdy Gaines turned the calling of swimming at multiple Olympics into an art form.”
Michaels continued, his voice breaking, “He was genial. He was compassionate. Great company. Had a world-class sense of humor. And on this very rough day for so many of us, we send our love to Hannah [Storm] and your three daughters. Wishing you strength and comfort.”
Hannah Storm and husband Dan Hicks at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Hot Pink Party in May 2025.
Credit: Santiago Felipe/Getty
Hicks died “following an acute illness,” Storm shared in a social media post early on Thursday.
Advertisement
“He was a devoted husband of over 30 years, loving father to our three daughters, and cherished friend to so many,” the ESPN broadcaster, 64, wrote. “His loss is immeasurable.”
Storm continued: “Dan was truly one of a kind and, quite simply, the person everyone wanted to be around. When he walked into a room, he brought the energy, the laughter and the people together. He was endlessly kind, thoughtful and funny, and he made everyone feel like they mattered.”
Hicks — who maintained a busy work schedule yet made time to root on one of his daughters in the Chicago Marathon last month before his unexpected death — was set to call this weekend’s Notre Dame game, something he had done for seven seasons.
Jason Benetti, NBC’s Sunday Night Baseball play-by-play voice, will step in alongside analyst Jason Garrett for the game against Boston College on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Advertisement
Among the many who shared tributes to Hicks on Thursday was swimmer Michael Phelps.
The late broadcaster called all 28 of Phelps’ Olympic medal-winning races from 2004 through 2016, according to NBC Sports.
Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE’s free sports newsletter — sign up now!
“This one hurts,” Phelps, 41, wrote on Instagram. “Really don’t even know what to say right now. There are certain voices in sports that you hear and instantly know who it is…. Dan had one of those voices. A voice that so many of us grew up listening to, a voice that brought some of the biggest moments in sports to life…. And for me, a voice that will forever be part of my story. But he was so much more than that to me. He was a friend.”
Advertisement
Phelps added, “Dan, thank you for the friendship, the memories, and everything you did for me and our sport. Gonna miss you, my friend.”
Read the original article on People
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
