How do you honor the man who had a profound impact on your career path, yet never met? The man who made waking up early for school more fun than a Gronk Spike and bonded a father and a son better than stickum. Oh by the way, this person also had some sway in where you may be spending the best four years of your life. And, when all is said and done, he may actually get his way.

How do you pay a fitting tribute to the icon that was and is Stuart Scott?

The answer: you better recognize.

Stuart Scott, for those who lived under a rock until now, was cooler than the other side of the pillow. As small kid watching “SportsCenter,” he was the guy you paid more attention to when he talked because you knew he spoke with more speed than an Oregon Ducks offense on Red Bull and with more grace than a gazelle ballet recital. Sometimes, you didn’t even have a clue as to what he was saying because you were too busy laughing at what he had just said the previous highlight. Can I get a witness from the congregation?

But, Stuart Scott was so much more than a sportscaster.

To a generation of aspiring broadcasters (including a very short RayBan-wearing one), Stuart represented the pinnacle of the profession. A Yankee fan with an intense dislike of Derek Jeter would be easier to find than a kid who, at one point, didn’t want to be like Stuart. Heck, to make it more fair, I’d even spot you a Red Sox fan. You still couldn’t do it. And you still couldn’t find someone whose life Stu hadn’t impacted. Its your world, Stu. The rest of us just payin’ rent.

Stuart Scott was and is strength. He beat cancer. Then he decided to go out and beat it again. And when he got it a third time, he beat it again, but not in that boring scientific way. He beat cancer by living his life the way Tom Brady picks apart defenses; with eloquence, style, and more power than Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Stuart was good at taking his own advice, “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” Cancer 0 Stu 3. He must be the bus driver ’cause he was takin’ him to school.

When you watch as much “SportsCenter” as I do, you tend to soak up more than a ShamWow. You learn what a cover two defense is, how to beat the shift, and what the perfect pick and roll looks like. When you watch a Stuart Scott “SportsCenter,” you learn about life. You see what toughness is, how to make every second of the day your own, and how one life can outshine even the brightest superstars. Like a man smoking at a gas station, he was about to blow up.

Life is short (something I also learned this from Stu). So, go hug your brother, sister, or really anyone who matters to you and tell them how much you love them. Tell them how much they mean to you. Make a difference. Change a life. Fight everyday. Like gravy on a biscuit, its all good.

Life is fleeting. If you aren’t living it like Stuart Scott, then you are doing it wrong. I ain’t mad at ya. Got nothin’ but love for ya.

Thanks for everything pal. You changed my life. Always wished I could have met you and told you in person.

Boo-Yow!