Sad news today as the man who created "One Shining Moment" and many other campaigns for CBS Sports over the years has left us. We get word from CBS that Doug Towey, the man who started the legendary look at the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament through song has passed away after a long illness. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.
CBS SPORTS FAMILY MOURNS LOSS OF CREATIVE DIRECTOR DOUG TOWEY
Longtime Network Television Executive Responsible for “One Shining Moment” Becoming Iconic Anthem of College Basketball
Longtime network television executive for CBS Sports, Doug Towey, passed away Wednesday morning after a long illness.
Towey, 61, a Long Island native, joined CBS Sports in 1981 as Director, On-Air Promotion, and had served as the Creative Director for CBS Sports, responsible for its promotional campaigns, and on-air “look”; graphics, animation, music and scenic design.
“Words can never express what a kind and warm gentleman Doug was,” said Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports. “His remarkable professional talents aside, there was never a better friend. He left us with a legacy of great memories and many, many shining moments that will live forever. He will be dearly missed by all of his family at CBS.”
“CBS has lost a brilliant colleague and someone who was a large part of our creative soul for almost 30 years,” said George Schweitzer, President, CBS Marketing Group. “We salute his accomplishments, we mourn his passing, and we celebrate his wonderful life. There will always be a piece of Doug's heart in us all.”
Among the many highlights of Towey’s Emmy Award-winning career in television was his direct role in making the song “One Shining Moment” the iconic hallmark anthem of college basketball and CBS Sports’ coverage of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship each March. Folk singer David Barrett penned the song in 1986 and gave it to his high school friend CBS News Chief Investigative Correspondent, and then Sports Illustrated staff writer, Armen Keteyian. Keteyian passed it along to Towey who planned to use it to accompany the Network’s closing highlights of Super Bowl XXI in January 1987. But due to long-running interviews the song never made it to air. A couple of months later, Towey was looking for a way to bring CBS Sports’ NCAA Tournament coverage to a close and decided to use it. “One Shining Moment” made its Final Four debut on March 30, 1987, following Keith Smart’s baseline jumper in the final seconds that gave Indiana a 74-73 victory over Syracuse.
Throughout his over 34-year network television career Towey played a role in the broadcast of virtually every major sporting event in the world including several Olympic Games, Super Bowls, World Series, NBA Finals, NCAA Championships and Final Fours, the Masters®, PGA Championships, U.S. Open Tennis Championships, as well as many other events.
Prior to joining CBS Sports, Towey worked as an Associate Director for ABC Sports from 1975 to 1978. He began working for ABC Sports as part of the first network sports on-air promotion unit in 1978. Towey won an Emmy Award for ABC’s coverage of the 1980 Winter Olympics, as well as multiple Emmy Awards at CBS Sports for promotion, music and graphics. He also won numerous Mobius, Promax and Monitor and Broadcast Design Association awards.
One of CBS Sports’ more memorable and well-known NFL ON CBS promotional campaigns that Towey was responsible for was the “I’m a Big Fan” campaign.
A 1972 communications arts graduate of New York Institute of Technology, Towey began his career at WLIW-TV and WHLI Radio on Long Island, N.Y., as a news reporter. He was born May 30, 1947, in Hempstead, N.Y. and lived in Lloyd Neck, N.Y., with his wife Helen.
He is survived by his wife, three siblings: brother, Denis (Brother Augustine Towey), and sisters Anne Towey and Brenda Romanski, as well as several nieces and nephews.
Calling hours and funeral arrangements are Thursday, March 12 (2:00-5:00 PM and 7:00-9:00 PM) and Friday, March 13 (2:00-5:00 PM and 7:00-9:00 PM) at the M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station, Long Island. A funeral mass will be held at St. Thomas More Church, St. John’s University on Saturday, March 14 at 9:30 AM.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to “The Douglas Towey Memorial Fund,” Niagara University, N.Y. 14109.
We hope you enjoy a couple of "One Shining Moments" in his honor -
In other news from CBS today -
CBS SPORTS TOGETHER WITH CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK BREAK DOWN THE BRACKETS WITH THREE HOURS OF NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW COVERAGE
CBS Sports Broadcasts Exclusive, Live, First-time Announcement of 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Field of 65 on Sunday, March 15
CBS College Sports Network Offers Two-hours of In-Depth Analysis of Field of 65
Following CBS Sports’ Live Bracket Reveal
CBSSports.com Streams CBS Sports’ Selection Show Live
CBS Sports, together with CBS College Sports Network, offers college basketball fans the most comprehensive coverage of Selection Sunday with the exclusive, live, first-time announcement and three hours of in-depth coverage of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship field of 65.
CBS Sports tips-off the madness with the announcement of the pairings for the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 15 (6:00-7:00 PM, ET) during the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW.
Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony and Seth Davis host the NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW live from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg will join Gumbel, Anthony and Davis via satellite from the site of the Big Ten Championship at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. In addition, Mike Slive, Chairman of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee joins them live from Indianapolis, Ind. to discuss the bracket and the committee’s selection process.
Immediately following CBS Sports’ live bracket reveal, CBS College Sports Network takes over with BRACKET BREAKDOWN (7:00-9:00 PM, ET) featuring comprehensive analysis of the field, as well as interviews with players and coaches. CBS College Sports Network’s Adam Zucker and CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson host the show, along with analysts Pete Gillen, Steve Lappas and RPI expert Jerry Palm from their New York studio. BRACKET BREAKDOWN also features CBS Sports’ Gumbel, Anthony and Davis throughout the program.
Additionally, CBS Sports’ coverage of the NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW will be streamed live on NCAA March Madness on Demand available at CBSSports.com and NCAA.com. Viewers will have the option of watching online on either the NCAA March Madness on Demand standard video player or by downloading the new high-quality player, offering an enhanced video experience free of charge. For more information on 2009 NCAA March Madness on Demand, users can visit: ncaa.com/mmod.
Finally, we give you the weekly NBC NHL preview -
RANGERS HOST RIVAL FLYERS IN NHL GAME OF THE WEEK, SUNDAY ON NBC
John Tortorella is the perfect tonic for Sean Avery. -- NBC's McGuire
Flyers-Penguins Flexed Into March 22 Game of the Week”
NEW YORK - March 11, 2009 - The New York Rangers battling for a playoff berth in the tight Eastern Conference, host their fierce rival the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL Game of the Week, Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC, presented in high definition. Mike "Doc" Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) call the action. McGuire will pull double duty, hosting NBC's studio show alongside analyst Mike Milbury on site at Madison Square Garden.
MCGUIRE ON THE RANGERS UNDER JOHN TORTORELLA: "Under Torts the Rangers have improved on the forecheck and also on the power play. He has made them more aggressive in all facets of the game."
MCGUIRE ON THE FLYERS: "Philadelphia has great leadership with Mike Richards and Simon Gagne, a quick strike offense led by Jeff Carter and a brilliant young player in Claude Giroux. The only question mark is in goal. If they sort that out they will be very tough in the playoffs."
MCGUIRE ON SEAN AVERY: "If there's one science experiment that better work for the New York Rangers, it's Sean Avery. John Tortorella is the perfect tonic for Sean Avery. If he's going to salvage his career, it's going to be because of John Tortorella."
MILBURY ON RANGERS NEW ADDITIONS: "It's amazing what a shift in attitude can bring. John Tortorella becomes the coach, Sean Avery's added to the mix and bang you have chemistry."
INTRASTATE RIVALS FLYERS-PENGUINS FLEXED INTO MARCH 22 "GAME OF THE WEEK": The Sunday, March 22 contest between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins has been selected for the "NHL Game of the Week" on NBC. Puck drop at Mellon Arena is at 12:30 p.m. ET.
NBCSPORTS.COM & NHL.COM PRESENT "STAR-CAM": NBCSports.com and NHL.com will offer a "Star-cam" in conjunction with NBC broadcasts, which will follow one player on each team throughout each of his shifts. Following the game, NBCSports.com will present a post-game show with game highlights and highlights from "Star-cam" and "Net-cam," along with analysis from McGuire and Milbury.
FLEX SCHEDULING & CONSISTENT 12:30 PM ET START TIME: For the first time, "Game of the Week" broadcasts have a consistent start time – 12:30 p.m. ET on Sundays (except for April 12, 2 p.m. start time). For the second straight season, the NHL and NBC will utilize flex scheduling and will be able to select from up to four games on Sunday afternoons. Thirteen days prior to the scheduled games (on Mondays), NBC, in conjunction with the NHL, will select one of those games as the "Game of the Week" to be broadcast during the NBC window. The other games will remain available to the teams' regional carrier but will not be televised during NBC's broadcast window.
NBC will also broadcast weekend games throughout the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and up to five Stanley Cup Final games (Games 1, 2, 5, 6 & 7).
REMAINING 2009 NHL GAME OF THE WEEK REGULAR SEASON FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
(All Games Announced At Least 13 Days Prior)
Sunday, March 15, 12:30 p.m. ET
Philadelphia @ New York Rangers
Sunday, March 22, 12:30 p.m. ET
Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
Sunday, April 5, 12:30 p.m. ET
Minnesota @ Detroit
Pittsburgh @ Florida
Atlanta @ Washington
Sunday, April 12, 2 p.m. ET
New York Rangers @ Philadelphia
Detroit @ Chicago
Boston @ New York Islanders
St. Louis @ Colorado
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