I either hadn't heard or had forgotten that Dowis was died. When I read the message from Conan, I thought "Oh, that's a shame." Dowis was an incredible player.
There was no jabbing at Dowis or making fun of an alcohol problem that he may or may not have had. It was merely the news.
Max Hall had a drug issue.
Fortunately, it didn't kill him.
If he had died from a drug-related issue and someone mentioned, "Hey, Max Hall died from a drug-related issue" that wouldn't necessarily be a "rip."