Lil Wayne Mourns Barry Melrose, ESPN NHL Analyst Who Died at 70

Q: What hidden bond connected a rap icon like Lil Wayne to a legendary hockey broadcaster?

The bond was ESPN’s hockey coverage—especially Linda Cohn and Barry Melrose’s role in making the sport accessible to mainstream viewers like Lil Wayne. Wayne has long been an avid ESPN watcher, and he has said Cohn’s passion for hockey helped draw him into the sport. In a retirement tribute to Cohn, he explained that her enthusiasm “made me get into it,” even though he was already better known as a football and basketball fan. That matters because Melrose was, for decades, ESPN’s signature hockey voice alongside personalities such as Cohn, Steve Levy and John Buccigross. So Wayne’s emotional tribute to Melrose was not random celebrity mourning. It reflected a genuine fan connection built through years of watching ESPN, where Melrose’s blunt analysis, charisma and unmistakable style made him the face of hockey for many American viewers outside the sport’s traditional base. Wayne’s message also directly acknowledged that ESPN circle, offering condolences to “Bucci, Levy, Ms Linda,” which underscored that his connection to Melrose ran through the network’s hockey family. In short, the hidden bond was a shared ESPN relationship and Wayne’s real attachment to hockey as introduced and sustained by broadcasters like Cohn and Melrose.

3 articles · Updated · Bleacher Report · Sep 10

Lil Wayne said Barry Melrose's death left him in tears, calling the former NHL coach and ESPN analyst a "legend" in a tribute posted on X Thursday.
70-year-old Melrose died Wednesday, ESPN announcer Steve Levy said after hearing from Melrose's wife, Cindy, three years after Melrose disclosed his Parkinson's disease diagnosis.
ESPN figures including Levy, John Buccigross, Linda Cohn and Mike Golic joined the tributes, along with Fox Sports host Jason Smith.
Melrose played six NHL seasons, then coached Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final before becoming one of ESPN's best-known hockey voices from 1995 until retiring in 2023.