Don Williams, RIP

Well, hello there. Sorry it's been so long. I was on vacation, then on the road, then working on a big 9/11 anniversary piece.

But I wanted belatedly to share with you some sad news from late last week: Don Williams of Huntington Station, a local sportswriter for nearly a half-century, died at 79 after a brief illness.

Don was a respected Giants and Jets beat writer at both the Long Island Press and the Star-Ledger of Newark until his retirement in the mid-1990s.

He also was somewhat of a mentor of mine, from the time he encouraged me just out of college to the time our paths intersected for a couple of years on the local football beat - me on the Giants, him on the Jets.

Williams' son, Kevin, was a fraternity brother of mine - and a pretty good intramural wide receiver and placekicker - so it was natural for me to write to Don as part of my post-graduation search for gainful employment.

He encouraged me to stick with it, and I did, and here we are.

Condolences to his family from mine.