washingtonpost.com: Howard Cosell Dies at 77

Howard Cosell, who was one of the first network television sports announcers to, in his own words, "tell it like it is," died yesterday morning at New York University's Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City. He was 77. A grandson, Justin Cohane, said Cosell died of a heart embolism, according to the Associated Press. Cosell had been in ill health since he was diagnosed with cancer in 1991. In recent years, he had suffered a series of strokes that weakened his heart, limited his mobility and confined him to his apartment on Manhattan's East Side. A lawyer by training, Cosell was arguably the best-known and most controversial sports broadcaster in the history of the medium, attacking the hottest subjects and helping attract a huge audience to ABC's "Monday Night Football." He was a lightning rod for criticism. From the early 1960s, when he first began to attract national attention, until his bitter departure from ABC television in 1985, Cosell frequently tackled the toughest issue

Howard Cosell, who was one of the first network television sports announcers to, in his own words, "tell it like it is," died yesterday morning at New York University's Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City. He was 77. A grandson, Justin Cohane, said Cosell died of a heart embolism, according to the Associated Press. Cosell had been in ill health since he was diagnosed with cancer in 1991. In recent years, he had suffered a series of strokes that weakened his heart, limited his mobility and confined him to his apartment on Manhattan's East Side. A lawyer by training, Cosell was arguably