There are a lot of big egos among sportswriters these days. They tend to lose sight of the fact that they are not bigger than the story they are supposed to be covering.

They are not like Larry Ward.

All Larry Ward did for several decades was do his job and do it well, doing it in a matter-of-fact way and getting it right.

He did it for the old Phoenix Gazette, then as a freelance writer for The Arizona Republic and the East Valley Tribune and later the Ahwatukee Foothills News. He covered auto racing at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix and at Phoenix International Raceway.

For the latter part of his career, he covered high school sports in Ahwatukee at Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista. Everything under the sun, until he retired recently.

Mountain Pointe honored him on Friday night by naming him an honorary captain for its game against Mesa Desert Ridge and allowing him to participate in the pregame coin toss. Some members of the student section were given photo cutouts of Larry to put over their faces.

Told about the cutouts, one Valley writer said, “Is it Halloween already?’’

Larry enjoyed jokes and telling tales as much as the next guy.

But he truly enjoyed covering the high school kids. He made them and their coaches feel good about themselves.

All of us in the writing community enjoyed working with you, Larry, and wish you the best.