John Saunders, one of the familiar on-air faces of ESPN for nearly 30 years, has died. He was 61.Saunders hosted studio and play-by-play programming. He covered college football, basketball and the NHL for the network, in addition to anchoring SportsCenter. He was also host of The Sports Reporters.This tragic news brings us unspeakable sorrow, Saunders family said in a statement. John was the patriarch of our family, and we cant believe he is gone. We are sincerely touched by the outpouring of support and sadness, which is a reflection of the character and integrity that defined him.While we dont yet have all the specifics, John wasnt feeling well physically in recent days and sadly, he was unresponsive earlier this morning. We appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers for our cherished father, husband, brother and uncle.Born in Canada, Saunders was an all-star defenseman in the junior hockey leagues of Montreal. He played at Western Michigan and Ryerson Polytechnical in Toronto before becoming one of the most prominent broadcasters of his time.Saunders was a founding member of The V Foundation for Cancer Research and served on its board of directors.John was an extraordinary talent and his friendly, informative style has been a warm welcome to sports fans for decades, John Skipper, ESPN president and Disney Media Networks co-chairman, said in a statement. His wide range of accomplishments across numerous sports and championship events is among the most impressive this industry has ever seen.More importantly, John was a beloved and devoted family man who cared deeply about people and causes, as evidenced by his long-standing efforts as a passionate board member for The V Foundation for Cancer Research.He was one of the most significant and influential members of the ESPN family, as a colleague and mentor, and he will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this extremely difficult time.Saunders joined ESPN in December 1986 to anchor SportsCenter. He also became a regular voice on college basketball and the WNBA and hosted ESPNs coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs from 1993 to 2004. He also worked on coverage of the World Series and Major League Baseballs All-Star Game.We are deeply saddened by the passing of John Saunders, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. As the studio host of NBA Shootaround, a play-by-play announcer for nationally televised NBA and WNBA games and one of the?Toronto Raptors first?television voices, John was a vital member of the NBA family for more than two decades and was a friendly and familiar face to our players and fans.His achievements in journalism are matched only by his commitment to his community, particularly his service as a founding member of the V Foundation.Dick Vitale, a longtime colleague of Saunders, said his friend represented everything that was good in a human being.He was all about family and helping people, Vitale said. He was as good as it gets, and he had deep loyalty and love for others. His work with The V Foundation was so special. He loved Jimmy V and poured his heart and soul into the cause. He was always willing to share and give, and he played a vital role in the success of helping so many. I cant believe this stunning and horrible news. He will be forever in our thoughts.Chris Berman, who worked with Saunders during his entire 30 years at ESPN, said it was easy for anyone to relate to his former colleague.John Saunders was our friend, and he was your friend. You were immediately comfortable with John in 30 seconds, Berman said. I was fortunate enough to be comfortable with him for 30 years. We knew him for his understated demeanor and understated smile, but we also knew him for his firm commitment to getting things right and treating people right. John was old school, even Old World. Maybe because he was Canadian. Maybe because he was John.Professionally he was always willing to be out of the limelight, but make no mistake, with John Saunders, you knew you were in special company. His mark on ESPN is indelible. His mark on all of us even more so.Other on-air colleagues of Saunders at ESPN took to social media to express their sorrow.Western Michigan honored Saunders as well, as did retired NBA star Kobe Bryant.Saunders survivors include his wife, Wanda, and daughters Aleah and Jenna. Cheap Jerseys From China . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Cheap Jerseys USA ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. http://www.cheapjerseysgoodquality.com/ . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Cheap Jerseys Free Shpping .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Caroline Wozniacki eliminated eighth-seeded American Madison Keys and ?Angelique Kerber took care of two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova as half of the womens quarterfinal draw was set at the US Open during Sunday play.Wozniackis 6-3, 6-4 win over Keys stretched her deepest run at a Grand Slam tournament in two years.Wozniacki is a two-time runner-up at Flushing Meadows, but she is unseeded and ranked only 74th after a season filled with injuries and poor results.I know it sounds bad, but honestly, at this point Im like, I really dont care what my ranking is, Wozniacki said. Because if Im not in the top five, I feel like its not where I want to be, so at that point, whether Im 20 in the world or 100 in the world, it doesnt matter because Im going to play the same people anyway.The main thing is that when Im on court I have to believe in myself. Thats what I care about, that I know that I can do it. I know I can beat anyone. I think it just sucks for some of the other players who have to play me early.She hadnt won a match at a major in 2016 until arriving in New York. She lost in the US Open finals in 2009 against Kim Clijsters and in 2014 against Serena Williams.With Kerber making the quarters, Williams will need to advance to the final to retain the No. 1 ranking.On Sunday, Wozniacki made only seven unforced errors, 26 fewer than Keys.Wozniacki will next play Anastasija Sevastova, who posted her second big upset of the tournament by beating 13th-seeded Johanna Konta 6-4, 7-5 to become the first Latvian woman to make the final eight at a Grand Slam since Larisa Savchenko in 1994.I still cannot believe it, she said. Mentally Im spent. Totally spent. But its amazing.Sevastovas previous best showing at a major was the round of 16 in the 2011 Australian Open. But after a series of injuries that drained the fun out of tennis, she retired in 2013.During her break of nearly two years, Sevastova took classes in Austria in leisure management -- studyying accounting and marketing in hopes of perhaps going into sports management.ddddddddddddWhen her health improved, she came out of retirement at the start of last season, never expecting shed be making a deep run at a Grand Slam so soon.Shes more mature, both mentally and physically, Sevastova said. And it also helped that I saw that there is life without tennis.As in her second-round upset of third-seeded Garbine Muguruza, Sevastova wobbled under the pressure at first, failing to serve out the match. But as in that victory over the French Open champ, she finally closed out the win with a service break.Sevastova broke Konta seven times in 11 service games.In the end I just stop thinking and I just try to play tennis, Sevastova said.In the evening match, Angelique Kerber beat two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova 6-3, 7-5.Kerber, the tournaments second-seeded player, was content to run Kvitova around the court and wait for her to make mistakes.The Australian Open champ had only eight winners, but that was just fine in light of Kvitovas 43 unforced errors. She also had seven double faults -- the last on match point.Kerber will face off against seventh-seeded Roberta Vinci, last years US Open runner-up, who beat 99th-ranked Lesia Tsurenko 7-6 (5), 6-2.Vinci has never reached the quarters at any of the other three Grand Slams, but she has now done it four times at Flushing Meadows.She made her first major final here last year at age 32, stunning Serena Williams in the semis to thwart the Americans Grand Slam bid.Vinci has been bothered by an injured left Achilles tendon and struggled physically at times Sunday.Exhausted after the match, she had tears in her eyes. The 27-year-old Tsurenko had never been past the third round at a major before this tournament.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '