Mark Rosen makes his emotional farewell from WCCO TV

Star Tribune photo by Glen Stubbe

There's no crying in baseball. It's a different matter when it comes to saying goodbye to a legendary sportscaster.

Mark Rosen's farewell to WCCO-TV, his home for nearly 50 years, was filled with plenty of heartwarming memories -- and sniffles -- in a commercial-free broadcast Thursday that featured taped testimonials from Jim Nantz, Tom Lehman, Lindsay Whalen, Ron Gardenhire and other big names from the sports world.

But it was the tributes from his colleagues, both past and present, that seemed to touch Rosen the most.

"I really do treasure you people," he said, borrowing a line from the final episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Rosen, who held it together for most of the evening, was most vulnerable in his closing comments during which he saluted his wife, Denise, who is battling brain cancer, and thanked the audience at home.

"I am so grateful, so grateful," he told viewers. "I never took it for granted. You can't if you're going to survive in this business."

Rosen will continue to be a part of the local media scene through his gig on KFAN radio.

Watch Rosen's final broadcast: