College football broadcasting roundtable; best of 2013

10g. William Taaffe was a pioneer in this space, a gifted writer and reporter who won a National Headliners Award for best national magazine column for his

Brent Musburger (right) and Kirk Herbstreit (left) are a great team even when visited by odd guests / ESPN

ESPN's Beth Mowins (left) possesses an impressive range of versatility in the broadcast booth :: Porter Binks/SI

10g. William Taaffe was a pioneer in this space, a gifted writer and reporter who won a National Headliners Award for best national magazine column for his work covering the sports media as a Sports Illustrated staffer in the 1980s. He was also a staff editor at the New York Times sports desk for more than seven years. I learned today that Taaffe passed away at age 70 on Dec. 12. He will be missed by many at SI and beyond. Here's a piece Taaffe wrote on Dick Vitale in May 1984.