Drew Sharp, 56, died last Friday morning at his Bloomfield Hills home. He was a Detroit Free Press columnist since 1999.
Sharp, a Detroit native, finished his studies at the Detroit Catholic Central in 1978 and the University of Michigan in 1982. In 1983, he decided to join the Free Press. Prior to that, he used to cover high school, college and pro beats. He was before the beat writer for Michigan State and the Detroit Pistons.
"Drew's life was the Free Press," Karen, his wife, said. "He loved the people there. He loved his job more than anything. He always considered himself very lucky to have such a good career."
He received promotion to become a full-time columnist to replace Charlie Vincent, who was retiring then in January 1999.
After being considered as a columnist, Sharp said, "A columnist's role isn't to blindly lead cheers. Nor is it a blank check to slam individuals solely because you have been given a club. But there is a responsibility to raise questions and express doubts. There should be a commitment to deflate the smug and arrogant because, after all, this is only sports -- a useful diversion and an increasingly influential business, but hardly irreplaceable in our everyday lives.
"A columnist hopes readers come away with a better understanding of what motivates his vision of sports today. He hopes they understand that the objective is to stir their emotions, make them laugh, cry, shout or swear, but most important, make them think."
Detroit Free Press said that Sharp was popular for his acerbic wit and for being touch on the teams he covered, tagging him as 'The Great Boodini' by many readers.
Another Detroit Free Press columnist, Mitch Albom, said: "Drew was my colleague for more years that I can remember. This news was a complete shock, and heartbreaking knowing how much Drew was loved by his family and friends."
"Drew Sharp loved writing about our beloved Detroit sports. He was a powerful voice, with big opinions," executive editor of the Detroit Free Press Robert Huschka said. "He was a longtime member of the Free Press family -- and he will be greatly missed."
"I've known Drew for 20 years - his generosity and friendship will be missed and forever remembered," said Kevin Bull, Detroit Free Press sports director. "He loved everything about this business. He loved what he did."
According to Fox 2 Detroit, Sharp died from hypertensive cardiovascular disease and was pronounced dead at 7:07 a.m.
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