Just read some awful news. Randy Starkman wasn't just one of my favourite sports journalists in Canada, he was also a friend of mine after I started emailing with him to chat about international sports. Passed away today at 51:
http://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics/article/116...
When I was in Vancouver for the Olympics Randy invited me to hang out, have a few beers and chat about the games from his fairly insider perspective following a couple of years of emailing. He was often really harsh with his criticisms, often focused on the international sporting political elites (ie. presidents of international sports federations), and was probably the strongest media supporter of Canadian international athletes.
I was looking forward to drinks with him on a patio in Toronto this summer. This is a big loss for Canadian athletes.