Detroit Lions fans are lucky to have an outstanding group of beat writers that report a lot of great information and provide a lot of great insight. Unfortunately, fans lost one of the best beat writers in the business today when MLive.com's Tom Kowalski passed away at the age of 51.

Kowalski, 51, was found unresponsive at his home and was taken to DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township in Oakland County, where he was pronounced dead.

Kowalski's death comes as a huge shock. It's tough for me to even put into words how surprising it is considering he was just on TV on Saturday before the Lions game and he just posted a new story this morning.

Like I said, he was one of the best in the business, and I don't know if this blog would be where it's at today without all of the great information and insight he provided over the years. He will certainly be missed.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Kowalski's friends and family.

UPDATE: Lions president Tom Lewand and Lions center Dominic Raiola released statements on this news.