ESPN opens broadcast with tribute to Associate Producer

MELBOURNE, Australia – ESPN opened its Tuesday broadcast with a tribute to Ted Brown, a graphics producer on the tennis crew. Brown died unexpectedly Sunday after suffering a heart attack in his Melbourne hotel room. He was 36 years old. He and his wife had a two-year-old son.

Announcer Chris Fowler described Brown as a hard worker loved by all of his colleagues. Brown also worked on ABC College Football Primetime, and college basketball crews. "So you've seen and appreciated Ted's work even if you didn't realize it," Fowler said. On behalf of the entire network, he offered his condolences to Ted's wife, Erinn, and their son.

"Ted was immensely well liked, he was a complete professional, and when confronted with something like this, Ted would have tried to get on with his job as best he could," Fowler said. "And that's what we will do, but Ted Brown is in our hearts and in our minds today."