Coffin Corner

Steve Sabol, who gave ESPN something to air between midget wrestling and funny car racing, has died of brain cancer at the age of 69. Sabol was a founding member of NFL Films, starting as a cameraman when his father Ed scored the filming rights for the 1962 NFL Championship. In the days when ESPN was struggling to fill their 24 hours, NFL Films became their production company, using the Voice of God, John Facenda, dramatic music, slo-mo replays, and multi-angle camera shots to make a 3-0 Chargers-Lions snoozefest in 1975 seem as climactic as D-Day – a perfect partner for the worldwide leader in prefabricated sporting events. Sabol won 35 Emmys for writing, cinematography, editing, directing and producing – more categories than anyone in history – of NFL Films’ total of 107, and helped launch the NFL Network.