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I had an honor tonight that I wish I never had.  Finding a way to commemorate a man who gave so much to so many over the course of his 85 years in this world isn’t an easy task.  Doing so in less than a  minute is darn near impossible.  I was asked to write the script that was read before the moment of silence dedicated to Wizards Chairman Abe Pollin at tonight’s game at Verizon Center, after Mr. Pollin’s passing this afternoon.  With a heavy heart, this is what I wrote and what was read…

Ladies and gentlemen…earlier today, the Washington Wizards family, Washington, DC and the entire world of sports lost one of its finest.  The patriarch of what he fondly called ‘The Capital Centre Family’, Mr. Abe Pollin, passed away at the age of 85.  A man that will forever be remembered as the owner of the Washington Wizards and Verizon Center, Pollin also formerly owned and operated the Washington Capitals, the Washington Mystics, and the Capital Centre, among other successful business ventures.  Along with his wife Irene, through 46 years of ownership of the franchise as the longest tenured owners in the NBA, the Pollins were at the center of it all as the NBA exploded in growth from a small, regional league to a worldwide phenomenon.  Mr. Pollin reached the pinnacle of his profession with the Washington Bullets World Championship in 1978, but for all that he accomplished in sports, his accomplishments in life were even greater.  It’s only fitting that during this week of Thanksgiving, we give thanks to a man that never stopped sharing his thanks for all of the blessings that this world afforded him.  Please join us in a long moment of silence for a great sportsman, businessman and philanthropist, without whom we wouldn’t be assembled in this grand venue tonight; Mr. Abe Pollin.

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