Award-winning journalist Mortensen dead at age 72
Chris Mortensen, the award-winning journalist who covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN, died Sunday morning. He was 72.
ESPN confirmed Mortensen’s death on Sunday. There was no immediate word on the cause or place of death.
“Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hardworking teammate,” ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “He covered the NFL with extraordinary skill and passion, and was at the top of his field for decades. He will truly be missed by colleagues and fans, and our hearts and thoughts are with his loved ones.”
Mortensen announced in 2016 that he he had been diagnosed with Stage IV throat cancer. Even while undergoing treatment, he was the first to confirm the retirement of Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.
“We lost a true legend,” Manning said in a social media post. “Mort was the best in the business and I cherished our friendship. I trusted him with my announcement to sign with the Broncos and with the news of my retirement. I will miss him dearly and my thoughts and prayers are with Micki & his family. Rest in peace, Mort.”
Mortensen announced his retirement after the NFL draft last year so that he could “focus on my health, family and faith.”
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said during the end of coverage at the NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday that Mortensen texted him to ask how he thought Spencer Rattler would do during the quarterback workouts in Indianapolis.
“He’s just one of the sweetest souls you will have ever met, and he loved his sport,” Jeremiah said. “That’s why when we found out about this, the last thing I want to do is come out here. But, man, he would punch me in the face if we didn’t do this and have fun and enjoy this great game that he loved so much.”
Mortensen joined ESPN in 1991, and for years helped shape the network’s coverage as the NFL exploded into year-round coverage. Besides appearing on myriad network shows, he also wrote for ESPN.com.
He received the Dick McCann Award from the Professional Football Writers of America in 2016. It was renamed to the Bill Nunn Jr. Award in 2021 and is presented yearly during the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies to the reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution through their coverage of the game.
Mortensen also worked for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from 1983-89. He covered the Atlanta Falcons from 198586 and the league from 1985-89. He left for The National in 1989 and worked there for nearly two years.
He was an NFL columnist for The Sporting News and a contributing writer for Sport magazine. He was also a consultant for CBS’ “The NFL Today” in 1990.
“I join the immeasurable number of hearts across the nation, in journalism and the sports community, as we mourn Chris Mortensen. I’m grateful to have had the privilege of knowing Chris through his incredible work beginning at his days at the Atlanta Journal Constitution and like so many, being blessed by his professional excellence and personal grace through the many years that have followed,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement. “I considered Chris a personal hero of my mine and it is truly hard to imagine sports journalism without him. His ability to take on life’s obstacles with grit and determination was always truly inspiring and his enormous impact on so many, me included, will live on through this work and unwavering friendships.”
A native of Torrance, Mortensen attended North Torrance High and El
Chris Mortensen, who was a staple at ESPN for decades, began his journalism career at The Daily Breeze in 1969.
Camino College. He served two years in the Army before he began his journalism career at The Daily Breeze in 1969.
“An absolutely devastating day. Mort was one of the greatest reporters in sports history, and an even better man,” said ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter on social media. “Mort was the very best. He will be forever missed and remembered.”
He is survived by his wife, Micki, and son, Alex.
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK
NBA
Favorite
at Lakers at Milwaukee at Minnesota at Utah at Sacramento at Brooklyn
College Basketball
Favorite
at FGCU
Duke at Kennesaw St N Carolina C Se Louisiana Nicholls St at Howard S Carolina St at Norfolk St N Colorado Lamar at McNeese at Southern at Grambling Jackson St E Washington at Montana Weber St at Baylor at Portland St
NHL
Favorite
Florida at Toronto at Philadelphia Vegas at Colorado at Calgary
Line (O/U)
1 (2391⁄2) Oklahoma City 41⁄2 (229) Clippers 141⁄2 (2121⁄2) Portland 71⁄2 (2411⁄2) Washington 7 (2291⁄2) Chicago 81⁄2 (212) Memphis
Line
4 Queens 51⁄2 at NC State 3 Jacksonville 41⁄2 at Morgan St 41⁄2 at Incarnate Word 11⁄2 at N’western St 41⁄2 Delaware St 71⁄2 at Coppin St 121⁄2 MD-E Shore 41⁄2 at N Arizona 41⁄2 at Texas A&M-Com 271⁄2 Houston Christian 101⁄2 Florida A&M 51⁄2 Bethune-C 31⁄2 at Prairie View A&M 81⁄2 at Sacramento St 71⁄2 Idaho St 21⁄2 at Montana St 61⁄2 Texas 51⁄2 Idaho
Line
-122/+102 at NY Rangers -134/+112 Boston -134/+112 St. Louis -184/+152 at Columbus -450/+340 Chicago -128/+106 Seattle
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Portland Galaxy
St. Louis City Salt Lake Minnesota Dallas
LAFC
Kansas City Vancouver Houston Austin Seattle Colorado
San Jose
W
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
L
0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 2
Underdog
Underdog
Underdog
T Pts GF GA
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 6 4 3 4 3 3 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 3 2 1 3 2 3 4 2 1 3 2 2 5 5
PGA TOUR - COGNIZANT CLASSIC
At PGA National Resort (The Champion) Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Purse: $9 million
Yardage: 7,147; Par 71
Partial final round
Suspended due to darkness
Erik van Rooyen ......... 66-71-70-63—270 -14 Keith Mitchell ........... 68-70-69-65—272 -12 Tyson Alexander ...... 68-70-69-66—273 -11 Doug Ghim ................. 68-72-67-66—273 -11 Byeong Hun An .......... 67-71-71-65—274 -10 Sam Ryder ................. 66-68-74-66—274 -10 Zach Johnson ............ 71-68-69-66—274 -10 Matt Fitzpatrick ........ 70-67-70-67—274 -10 Rory McIlroy .............. 67-67-72-68—274 -10 Chris Kirk ..................... 67-70-73-65—275 -9 Beau Hossler ............... 69-70-71-65—275 -9 Chan Kim ..................... 69-71-68-67—275 -9 Tom Hoge .................... 70-69-68-68—275 -9 RyanFox ...................... 69-68-74-65—276-8 Lucas Glover ................ 68-71-70-67—276 -8 Chris Gotterup ............ 70-69-70-69—276 -8 Chesson Hadley .......... 65-72-70-69—276 -8 Jimmy Stanger ............ 69-71-67-69—276 -8 Chad Ramey ................. 64-72-70-70—276 -8 Corey Conners ............. 69-71-71-66—277 -7 Jospeh Bramlett ......... 68-69-71-69—277 -7 Maverick McNealy ...... 70-70-67-70—277 -7
LEADERBOARD
Austin Eckroat ................................ -15 Erik van Rooyen .............................. -14 Jake Knapp ...................................... -13 Keith Mitchell ................................. -12 Billy Horschel .................................. -12 Alex Noren ....................................... -12 Shane Lowry ................................... -12 Tyson Alexander ............................ -11 Doug Ghim ....................................... -11 Garrick Higgo .................................. -11 Cameron Young .............................. -11 Nico Echavarria .............................. -11 Kevin Yu ........................................... -11 Martin Laird .................................... -11 David Skinns ................................... -11
At Royal Greens Golf Club KAEC, Saudi Arabia Purse:
Yardage:
Final round
$20 million
7,048;
Par:
70
Score
Thru
7 18 15 18 17 12
5 18 18 17 16 13 8 7 5
Joaquin Niemann ........... 63-64-66—193 -17 Louis Oosthuizen ........... 64-66-67—197 -13 Charl Schwartzel .......... 63-66-68—197 -13 Bryson Dechambeau ..... 63-73-62—198 -12 Jon Rahm ......................... 62-69-68—199 -11 Charles Howell III ........... 67-69-64—200 -10 Anirban Lahiri ................. 68-67-65—200 -10 Talor Gooch ..................... 65-68-67—200 -10 Phil Mickelson ................ 65-68-67—200 -10 Adrian Meronk ................ 62-69-69—200 -10
Jason Kokrak .................. 68-62-70—200 -10 Brooks Koepka ................ 69-66-66—201 -9 Abraham Ancer ................ 68-63-70—201 -9 Matthew Jones ................ 70-66-66—202 -8 Sergio Garcia .................... 67-71-65—203 -7 Carlos Ortiz ...................... 69-69-65—203 -7 David Puig ......................... 68-68-67—203 -7 Tyrrell Hatton .................. 65-69-69—203 -7 Dean Burmester ............... 67-67-69—203 -7 Kevin Na ............................. 66-66-71—203 -7 Branden Grace ................. 67-65-71—203 -7 Pat Perez .......................... 68-69-67—204 -6 Sebastian Munoz ............ 67-68-69—204 -6 Cameron Tringale ........... 68-66-70—204 -6 Brendan Steele ................ 65-69-70—204 -6 Lucas Herbert .................. 65-66-73—204 -6 Danny Lee ......................... 72-69-64—205 -5 Dustin Johnson ................. 66-72-67—205 -5 Sam Horsfield .................. 68-70-68—206 -4 Paul Casey ........................ 69-68-69—206 -4 Graeme McDowell .......... 72-69-66—207 -3 Mito Pereira ..................... 70-69-68—207 -3 Kieran Vincent .................. 70-67-70—207 -3 Richard Bland ................... 68-69-70—207 -3 Henrik Stenson ................. 68-69-70—207 -3 Jinichiro Kozuma .............. 65-70-72—207 -3 Peter Uihlein ...................... 67-71-70—208 -2 Harold Varner III .............. 68-69-71—208 -2 Thomas Pieters ................ 70-67-71—208 -2 Patrick Reed ...................... 65-70-73—208 -2 Scott Vincent .................... 67-75-67—209 -1 Andy Ogletree .................. 71-69-69—209 -1 Cameron Smith ................ 69-70-70—209 -1 Marc Leishman ................. 72-66-71—209 -1
Also
Bubba Watson ................. 74-66-71—211 +1 Lee Westwood ................. 69-70-74—213 +3
LPGA - HSBC WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
At The New Tanjong Sentosa Island, Singapore Purse:
Yardage:
Final round
$1.8 million
6,775;
Par:
72
Hannah Green ............ 74-67-67-67—275 -13 Celine Boutier ........... 73-64-72-67—276 -12 Nasa Hataoka ............. 71-69-70-69—279 -9 Brooke Henderson ..... 75-66-70-68—279 -9 Mi Hyang Lee .............. 73-69-70-67—279 -9 Yuna Nishimura .......... 71-73-69-66—279 -9 Andrea Lee ................... 70-72-67-71—280 -8 Allisen Corpuz ............. 71-72-71-67—281 -7 Ayaka Furue ................. 71-67-68-75—281 -7 Jin Young Ko ................. 71-73-66-71—281 -7 SarahSchmelzel ......... 68-72-71-70—281-7 Patty Tavatanakit ...... 73-68-73-67—281 -7 Pajaree Anannarukarn .. 73-72-68-69—282 -6 Peiyun Chien ............... 72-68-70-72—282 -6 Linn Grant .................... 69-73-71-69—282 -6 Ruoning Yin ................. 71-72-69-70—282 -6 Hye Jin Choi ................. 71-70-69-73—283 -5 Sei Young Kim ............. 77-67-69-70—283 -5 Madelene Sagstrom...71-68-74-70—283 -5 Yuka Saso .................... 74-75-68-66—283 -5 Aditi Ashok .................. 72-69-73-70—284 -4