On Thursday, CBS’s coverage of March Madness began on a solemn note with a tribute to the late Greg Gumbel, the network’s former anchor for the NCAA Tournament who recently passed away due to cancer. Ernie Johnson sat in the seat Gumbel once occupied, joined by Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.
The segment began with music from the Rolling Stones, Gumbel’s favorite band, before Johnson spoke candidly on the void that he leaves behind, per Dime on Bluesky.
“Nobody loved the Stones more than Greg Gumbel, and a year ago at this time, we were waiting on a friend to return,” Johnson began. “We knew he was missing March Madness — an event in which his name is synonymous — for personal reasons. Just after Christmas, we learned that cancer had taken his life — and we were crushed. A void was left that will never be filled. We wear his pin on our jackets, and we carry his memory in our hearts.”
Kellogg also spoke about what an impact Gumbel had on the lives of himself and others.
“He was so good at what he did, and he was good to the people he did it with and for — you, the viewers, was who he sought to serve,” said Kellogg. “And doing that with class, with competence, with consistency, with gentleness and kindness, he lifted all of us, who had the privilege of being in the orbit of his colleagueship and friendship. And while I’m sad, I’m extremely grateful to have known Greg as a colleague, as a friend, because he made everybody not only better, but he made everybody feel good.”
Gumbel had missed coverage of the 2024 NCAA tournament due to personal matters, and he died shortly after Christmas last year at the age of 78. Coverage of the event will not be the same without him.
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