Just got the word from a friend of mine that Charlie Rizzo has lost his 10+ year battle with cancer. He came to Rice in the Spring of '98 I believe. To say that he was a character would be an understatement. His first coaching remarks to me are not repeatable here and were absolutely not in accordance with Coach Hatfield's beliefs on language. But dang, he was funny. I still remember Dan Dawson turning to Coach Hinshaw after Coach Rizzo let loose a nice string of coaching adjectives at spring practice and saying, "I'm not sure he's gonna fit in around here." We all smiled and laughed and went back to work. Truth is... he fit in just fine. Thank you for your service to our country, Coach Rizzo. And most of all, I'm glad I got to play for you and know you. R.I.P.

Here's a link to an article on Charlie in his hometown newspaper, the Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal: http://www.news-journalonline.com/sports...dies-at-72

Here is a link to the online obituary and guestbook:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/Ch...0185717997