The New York Times:

Muhammad Ali, the three-time world heavyweight boxing champion who helped define his turbulent times as the most charismatic and controversial sports figure of the 20th century, died on Friday. He was 74.

Ali was the most thrilling if not the best heavyweight ever, carrying into the ring a physically lyrical, unorthodox boxing style that fused speed, agility and power more seamlessly than that of any fighter before him.

Ali was as polarizing a superstar as the sports world has ever produced — both admired and vilified in the 1960s and ’70s for his religious, political and social stances.

When I heard the news that he was sick and in the hospital, I knew it was just a matter of time. He was an amazing man in so many ways who lived a life that was full and full of controversy but you got the impression he wouldn’t have it any other way. I met Ali at a Macworld Expo in the late 1990s. I don’t have many heroes in my life but he was definitely one of them. I was in awe of the man and I’m never in awe of other human beings. I had tears in my eyes (just as I do now writing this) as I told him how honored I was to meet him. He didn’t speak but did that familiar boxer’s thing of lightly tapping me on the jaw with his fist. I wish I had a picture of that moment.