My grandpa passed away last night. It wasn’t due to COVID-19 but, because of it, we probably won’t be able to properly celebrate him for a while. He was a Navy veteran, fantastic family man, die-hard college basketball fan, and a legitimate hero. I learned so much from him.

You think I’m exaggerating about the hero part? He helped save so many people during a shooting at IBM in Maryland in 1982 by wrestling with the gunman, giving people time to leave the floor.

He is a Villanova grad. He introduced me to the “real basketball they play in the Big East” and lectured me about the perfect game that won Nova the 1985 title.

He took great pride in me being wrong about Nova in 2016, too, a story I told a few days ago: https://bustingbrackets.com/2020/04/01/ncaa-basketball-evaluating-bold-predictions-2019-20-season/

He also lived in Maryland for roughly 50 years and was a big Terps fan. And he made sure I knew that the refs always rigged games in Duke’s favor

He had six kids, 20 grandkids, and nine great-grandkids (so far). I’m still realizing he taught me things I didn’t know he did.

I’m gonna miss him.