ESPN Legend Passes Away at 70

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Publication by EssentiallySports

September 11, 2026 | Edition #705

Hey Athletic Fans,

Sports lost one of its most recognizable voices today. Barry Melrose, the mullet-sporting face of ESPN's hockey coverage for nearly three decades, has passed away at 70, and tributes are already pouring in from across the sports world.

Elsewhere, a wave of stars, including Noah Lyles, are set to miss the World Ultimate Championships while Josh Kerr isn't backing down after a rival’s comments.

All that and more in tonight's edition of Essentially Athletics.






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Do you think Melissa can dominate Gabby at World Ultimate Championships?

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Nawang Tsering conquered one of the toughest tests in endurance running, winning the grueling 122km Silk Route Ultra through Ladakh's high-altitude Himalayan terrain — a course that regularly breaks even seasoned ultra-runners. Watch below 👇


On this day in 1951, Florence Chadwick completes the tougher of the English Channel's two crossings. She swam from Dover to Sangatte in 16 hours and 22 minutes despite thick fog and punishing headwinds.

It makes her the first woman ever to swim the Channel in both directions, having already gone the traditional France-to-England route a year earlier.

At 32, she's already rewriting the record books, and she'll lower her own England-to-France mark twice more before retiring nearly a decade later.


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