Terribly saddened to hear of the passing of Kaye Cowher, the wife of former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher. Kaye was 54. Died Friday of skin cancer. Kaye and her twin sister Faye played basketball at North Carolina State while I was at the University of Maryland and sports editor of the newspaper there. NC State and Maryland were keen rivals. Kaye and Faye then took their act to the New York Stars of one of the first women's professional basketball leagues. They played for the Stars at Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y., when I worked in Westchester County and covered the league. Later, I would visit with Kaye at NFL meetings and talk about those days playing basketball before sparse crowds. Sometimes if you wanted to know what was going on in the NFL, it was better to inquire of the wives than the husbands. She is survived by Bill and three daughters. Memorial services are Monday in North Carolina. "Kaye was the rock we could all lean on in tough times," Bill said in a statement. "She was looked up to by so many people." Amen to that. Amen.