Sad news in the world of broadcasting and play-by-play. Bob Ahrens passed away. If you see his name trending today, it's because his selfless leadership and guidance at @wfuvsports for more than 2 decades helped shape the lives of hundreds of young men and women that patrolled the halls of WFUV as members of the Sports Department. Many of these folks are well-known names & voices both in and out of sportscasting around NYC and beyond: Ryan Ruocco Tony Reali Spero Dedes Emmanuel Berbari Dan D'Uva Andrew Bogusch Justin Shackil Mike Watts Mike Yam Tom Winter Connell McShane Those are just a few. For each one of the names listed above, there are many others in the broadcasting business, both on and off the air, and today the tributes are pouring out with a little bit of sadness but a whole lot of love. My time at WFUV preceded Bob's. He started in 1997, a couple of years after I graduated, but I was able to know Bob thanks to the many interns he helped send my way at various broadcasting stops, and they were all excellent young men & women who worked hard, were very professional, and always prepared. Spero Dedes was the first of many! He taught from the Marty Glickman PxP playbook, so for all of those that didn't learn from Marty directly, they still benefitted from many of the words of wisdom that we were taught. Even more so, Bob was a fierce advocate for his students, and as a result, the scope of the opportunities provided at WFUV far exceeded what we learned. Some of those opportunities included: Full season media credentials at ALL of the NYC area pro sports teams. Good luck finding post-game scrum footage WITHOUT a WFUV microphone flag. Annual trips to Cooperstown for the MLB Hall-of-Fame player induction ceremonies. Super Bowl radio row access. Media access at all of the pro drafts that afforded media access. Feature programming that included interviews with legends such as Vin Scully Bob had to fight for much of that access. He also wasn't just a mentor, he was a father/grandfather figure, who remained connected with them long after they graduated. I personally saw their love for Bob about a decade ago, when the station celebrated One-on-One's 40th anniversary at the Pine Tavern restaurant in the Bronx. Bob was also celebrated as part of the event with various in-person and video tributes. If you have any time today, seek out the various tributes and stories celebrating Bob Ahrens today online. A true legend in the industry. #lovesportscasting #inthebooth