CLEVELAND, Ohio – Austin Carr remembers one of the first things he learned from Fred McLeod.

The two were being paired up on the Cleveland Cavaliers TV broadcast in 2006. McLeod would be the play-by-play man and Carr, the former Cavs player, would be the analyst.

“Pretend the viewers are sitting on the couch," said McLeod. “Then imagine us sitting in the room with them, talking about the game.”

Carr thought of those words when I called him after hearing the 67-year-old McLeod had died suddenly of a heart attack Monday night.

“I still can’t believe it," said Carr. “I talked to him last week. We were going to get together to play golf.”

His voice trailed off for a moment.

“I know he went to the Browns game Sunday with Beth,” said Carr.

Carr was referring to Beth McLeod, Fred’s wife of 28 years. Beth McLeod is a meteorologist for WJW Channel 8 in Cleveland.

The 67-year-old McLeod was excited about the upcoming Cavs season with new coach John Beilein. Of course, Carr and McLeod seemed excited about almost anything having to do with the Cavaliers.

That was their style. They loved the team. They wanted the Cavs to win. They took some of the losses personally.

“Fred had tremendous passion for Cleveland and the Cavs,” said Campy Russell, a former Cavs teammate of Carr in the 1970s.

Russell is a studio TV host for Cavs games with Jeff Phelps.

“Fred loved Cleveland,” said Russell. “He loved the Cavs. It came out almost every time you talked to him, not just on the air. It was genuine, his passion.”

COMING HOME

McLeod broadcast Detroit Pistons games for 22 years before coming to Cleveland. His work in Detroit caught the attention of Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert, a Detroit native.

Gilbert got to know McLeod through the Pistons. He learned McLeod was from Strongsville and still loved Cleveland.

I thought it was unfair when the Cavs replaced a very solid broadcaster in Michael Reghi with McLeod. I never faulted McLeod for that. His dream job was to do play-by-play in his home town.

Once this region oozes into your bloodstream, it’s very hard to live and work somewhere else.

More than once, McLeod told me what a thrill it was to do games with Carr, who was the Cavs’ top draft choice in 1971.

Carr was known as “Mr. Cavalier” before teaming with McLeod, but the broadcaster enhanced the reputation of his partner.

Carr was a shooting guard when he played. In the broadcasts, McLeod served as Carr’s point guard – setting him up. I appreciated McLeod’s willingness to make sure the spotlight remained on his partner when they did the games.

Carr was telling stories about how he’d become emotionally involved doing the games with McLeod, and suddenly the former player would throw an elbow while trying to make a point on the air.

“More than once, I almost knocked him off his chair,” said Carr. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

CAMPY & AUSTIN & FRED

It was Russell who first heard of McLeod’s death. The Cavs had also been trying to reach Carr, but couldn’t find him.

Russell knew Carr worked out every morning, and went to the health club to break the sad news to his former teammate.

“I knew something was wrong when I saw Campy at the gym,” said Carr. “But when he told me about Fred, I couldn’t believe it.”

McLeod was known for working out and being excellent physical condition.

“We never know the time of our hour,” said Russell. “But this is shocking.”

Russell talked about a future golf game with Carr and McLeod.

These men were close friends off the air.

These men also had something else in common: They are nice people who appreciated their jobs and attention from the fans.

“We all are grateful to Cleveland, the Cavaliers and the fans,” said Carr. “That was especially true of Fred. Man, I’m gonna miss him.”