While I often disagreed with his opinions, and also thought he, like NPR in general, choose not to be as controversial as necessary, he was a staple of sports commentary over the last thirty years.
http://www.wnyc.org/story/frank-deford-longtime-sports-commentator-for-npr-dies-at-78
http://www.wnyc.org/story/frank-deford-longtime-sports-commentator-for-npr-dies-at-78