SulliView

When Buffalo News sports reporter and columnist Allen Wilson first got sick last July, one of the people on his mind was Modie Cox.   Allen had done the reporting for a story on Cox, a former local basketball star who had his share of knocks and is now a motivational speaker helping kids turn their lives around. The photos had even been shot.  But he hadn't had a chance to write it. 

Lying in bed in the emergency room at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, waiting to be admitted to a room, Allen asked his wife, Lisa, who is the News' executive sports editor, to get in touch with Cox. 

"He just said, 'please call Modie and tell him I'm sorry I didn't get to that story," Lisa recalled Monday. A few days later, diagnosed with acute leukemia, Allen moved to Roswell Park Cancer Institute; he was in and out of Roswell for months, and passed away last December.  He is much missed in the community and on the News staff.

 Lisa never forgot Allen's desire to get a piece about Modie Cox into The News.  Today, with the help of senior sports columnist Jerry Sullivan, that wish finally comes to fruition.  Here is Jerry's column.

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