He was a 'Thriller'

I know we're generally a sports blog, but I wanted to take a second to pay tribute to maybe greatest musician of my generation.

All the legal issues aside, Michael Jackson, who tied Thursday at the age of 50, was an entertainer like no other. I know he hasn't given us anything musically in the past 15 years or so, but his catalog of music - from his younger days with the Jackson 5 through the late 1990s - still sounds as fresh today was it did when it was recorded.

Jackson was starting to explode as a solo artist around the same time I solved the cable remote and could change the channel to MTV. I grew up with his songs and, up until a few years ago, still had the "Thriller" tape in a box of old junk. Those were the days. Then again, maybe I'll go out and buy a copy of the "Thriller" CD just for old time's sake?