Memphis Grizzlies play-by-play announcer Don Poier, whose enthusiastic and humorous delivery reflected passion and love for his job and for life, was found dead early Friday afternoon in his Denver hotel room.

Poier, 53, who spoke on Thursday night to a group of Grizzlies' sponsors who made the trip to Denver for Friday night's game against the Nuggets, apparently had a heart attack in his hotel room at the Westin Tabor Center.

"This is a dark, dark day for all of us," said Andy Dolich, the Grizzlies' president of business operations, who was in Denver with the team. "You can't grasp the enormous loss to all of us personally and professionally. The tragic part is we won't have that magnificent voice describing what this team is doing as it continues to climb."

Poier, who had spent more than 20 years as a regional announcer on Pacific 10 Conference football and basketball telecasts, had been with the team since its inception in Vancouver in 1995 as the radio play-by-play voice. This year, he switched to TV and did radio when the Grizzlies weren't scheduled for local TV, as was the case Friday night.

Poier also provided the play-by-play voice for EA Sports' NBA Live series for several years before EA brought Marv Albert and Mike Fratello, the current Grizzlies head coach, into the fold.