Espn Pioneer Mees Dies In Pool Accident

SOUTHINGTON, Conn. - Tom Mees, an original anchor on ESPN's "SportsCenter," drowned in his next-door neighbor's pool, where he had been watching his two daughters.

His wife told police he couldn't swim. At first, police said Mees tried to save his 4-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, but later said they could not confirm that account. The state medical examiner ruled today that the death was a drowning accident.

Mees, 46, and his two daughters, Gabrielle and Lauren, 8, were the only ones at the pool yesterday, authorities said.

Mees was the anchor of "SportsCenter" from ESPN's inception in 1979 until 1993. Since then, he had been the lead announcer for the NHL on ESPN2. In a tribute to Mees after a "SportsCenter" segment, anchor Keith Olbermann said, "Nothing and no one here will ever be the same without him."