ESPN.com - GEN - The Gipper: Reagan long linked to sports - Ronald Reagan died today. Ernie and I had to stop watching the CNN coverage since we kept making horribly inappropriate jokes. Reagan was president of the United States from 1981 - 1988. He also made movies with monkeys. That makes him okay in my book. He plunged the United States into an economic downturn with an attempt at "trickle-down economics," and with the help of Mikhail Gorbachev, thawed the Cold War, bringing peace to the world. Am I giving him too much credit? Probably. For both things. Regardless of whether or not I agree with his politics or the Republican Party, he was, to me, a good person. And in the end, that's all we can really hope to be.

Win one for the Gipper, people.