Original ABC Wide World of Sports announcer Bill Flemming, also known for broadcasting college football, golf, and Olympic events, died last Friday of prostate cancer. He was 80.

Before sports fans were watching televised football games all weekend long -- and then watching on-going highlights on ESPN -- they were listening to Fleming's Sunday afternoon run-down of the previous day's games. He offered fans a glimpse into matches from other regions, and he traveled all over these same regions if it meant capturing a story. He announced 11 Olympics and more than 600 Wide World of Sports events. He once shuttled from hurling in Ireland to car racing in Santa Monica, California, to a parachuting contest in Bavaria, all in just one month.

Named Norman Flemming on the day he was born in 1926, this man grew up in the Chicago area, moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan as a high school student, and was a member of Ann Arbor High School's state championship football team in 1943. He was also co-captain of the basketball team. He came by athletics naturally. Speech, his eventual college major, was another love. In 1949, he won a campus-wide speech contest and landed the grand prize: a summer job at WUOM, the campus radio station. He worked his way up to sports director. And then his career took off.

Breast cancer survivor Catherine West was married to her husband, Jason, in a very public ceremony in May. The couple beat out 450 other couples battling in the ESPN Marriage Madness competition and celebrated with sports fans everywhere their beautiful union, inspired not only by their love for one another but also by the one-year anniversary of Catherine's double mastectomy for breast cancer.

What fans didn't know at the time of the wedding was that Catherine knew in her heart something was very wrong. And just after she returned from her Indianapolis 500 honeymoon, Catherine learned her breast cancer had returned.

The 37-year-old from Jupiter, Florida underwent three more surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation and is happy to report her treatment is complete. She is also certain breast cancer came to her life -- twice -- so she could make a difference.

"This happened to me so I could help other people,'" said West, who volunteers her time for the West Palm Beach Race for the Cure, a 5K walk and run sponsored by Susan G. Komen For The Cure.

I told my six-year-old son today that on Friday, we will attend a University of Florida gymnastics meet. Not such a big deal in and of itself but the fact that the entire meet is dedicated to the battle against breast cancer is what makes my announcement to Joey so important. You see, Joey has been my faithful companion ever since I was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. He has been my link to all things simple. He has been my rock, my inspiration, my motivation to fight for my life.

I told Joey this sports event is a celebration of people with breast cancer, like me. And I told him everyone must wear pink, a color he knows well when it's twisted in ribbon formation. I eagerly awaited Joey's reaction to the whole pink thing, not because he has an aversion to pink but because his absolute favorite color is orange and he tends to choose this fabric selection whenever possible. But without hesitation, Joey was completely accepting of making a pink fashion statement.

I told Joey we would make shirts so we could be as pink as possible on Friday. So we bought white t-shirts and two shades of pink dye, and we will soon tie-dye our shirts for the festive occasion where both University of Florida and University of Kentucky gymnasts will wear pink leotards -- in different shades -- and where the fans will make donations to the local American Cancer Society.

Joey asked me while we shopped for our t-shirt supplies if lots of people have cancer.

"Yes," I told him, recalling a fact I had just learned -- 8.9 million Americans alive today have a history of cancer. "Lots of people have cancer."

I am not sure what this means to Joey. But I suspect his comprehension of the disease is limited to pink ribbons, bald heads, and periodic celebrations. If only cancer were that simple.

Cancer is not simple. But Joey helps me face each day with simplicity. And I can't wait to simply make a few t-shirts with him and then pack the place pink in honor of all the women who every day face the complexities of a fierce opponent.

I'm not a big sports fan. But everyone in my family is, and I live in Gainesville, Florida -- home of the Florida Gators -- so by default, I've come to know a bit about sports. And I tend to get caught up in the orange and blue spirit that lives in this town. It's contagious.

I am thrilled that the Gator football team beat Ohio State Monday night, earning the 2007 National Championship title. But I am even more thrilled that one player -- safety Reggie Nelson -- gets to claim this victory, for himself and for his mother, who passed away on December 21 after a three-year battle with breast cancer.

It must have been a bittersweet win for Nelson, who talked with his mom on the phone prior to each of his games. She was his biggest fan and one of his toughest coaches. She cheered him on and offered critiques all the same.

But there was no phone call Monday night -- before Nelson's biggest game ever. But his mom was surely present to witness the wonder and glory of her son. And Nelson surely made every move on that field in honor of her.

"My mom's my life and my best friend," he said prior to her death. "Everything I do is because of her. She's always in my mind."

Nelson did not speak to the media between the time of his mother's death and his match-up with Ohio State. According to the BCS contract, all players must be made available to the media during media day. But the University of Florida struck an agreement with the BCS to waive the clause for Nelson so he could begin to heal from his loss, without the stress of the Arizona media frenzy.

It's been a difficult time for Nelson who is now speaking out about his mom.

"A person never gets over losing his mother," Nelson said on the field Monday night, as confetti fluttered on the national champs. "I'm a Momma's boy at heart. All I wanted was to make her proud."

Previous posts about Reggie Nelson and his mom are as follows:
Florida Gator Reggie Nelson loses mom to breast cancer
Florida Gator would trade football for family

Over the years, here is an on-going conversation I have with my family physician:

Doctor: What kind of exercise are you doing?

My reply: I have three kids and a house to keep clean. I think that is all the exercise I need.

Doctor then rolls his eyes.

End of conversation.

I am 5-foot, 7-inches, weigh 120 pounds and am on the go from 5:30 AM to about 10 PM each night. Aside from work as an artist and writer, which requires that I sit at a drafting table or in front of the computer (which is not prolonged sitting -- I am up and down, up and down -- because as every parent knows, somebody always needs something or something needs to be done) I am in movement.

I am physically able to climb down riverbanks and over river boulders when we go fishing, and I can hike up any hill with the best of them. I do not worry that I am out of shape. I know I am not physically inactive. You can bet I will be taking a copy of this latest research with me to my next visit to see the doctor. He asks the same exercise question each time, only this time, I have data to back up my claim that I am indeed getting a very good form of exercise.

According to researchers, when it comes to the best workout, cleaning the house outranks playing a sport as a better form of exercise and "far more cancer protective." They state "that moderate forms of physical activity, such as housework, may be more important than less frequent but more intense recreational physical activity in reducing breast cancer risk."

The women in the study spent an average of 16 to 17 hours a week cooking, cleaning and doing the laundry, and the researchers found housework cut breast cancer risk by 30 percent among the pre-menopausal women and 20 percent among the post-menopausal women. The study focused on women and breast cancer, but there is no reason to believe that these findings will not translate into cancer prevention for all cancers, and for men as well, as exercise is known to offer protection against the development of cancer. And in weighing in for the guys, men do housework too.
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New York Yankees legend and sports broadcaster Bobby Murcer will undergo surgery today at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston for a brain tumor, according to a New York Daily News published report. Murcer, who is 60, had been experiencing headaches and a lack of energy. The tumor was found during an MRI performed on Christmas eve.

Murcer is quoted by the newspaper as saying, "I'm feeling OK and we're just going to have to see what this surgery will bring. I'm hopeful that everything will turn out OK and I'm thankful to have so many friends who are rooting for me."

Murcer played professional baseball for 17 seasons. According to Wikipedia's profile, "A shortstop in the minor leagues, Murcer was slated to be the Yankees' third baseman but ended up being the center fielder following in the footsteps of Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. Almost anyone would suffer in comparison to those members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, but Murcer did well enough during the years the Yankees finished in the second division to become one of the team's most popular players of that era."

Murcer played for the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, and the Chicago Cubs before returning to play for the Yankees again. He retired and became a sports broadcaster for the Yankees, going on to win three Emmy Awards for live sports coverage.

We have heard it all. Performance enhancing drugs. The cancer drug treatment effect. Now it's having only one testicle that separates the winners from the losers. All possible reasons why Lance Armstrong became the seven-time Tour de France champion he became, according to the skeptics who keep throwing spurious suggestions to the media that the wins could not have been legitimately won.

I say, give Armstrong his due, as he is quite simply, the seven-time Tour de France champion, for no other reason that he is a supreme athlete who single-mindedly focused on his sport and ultimately gave what it took to win.

In Lance Armstrong: can cancer be performance-enhancing?, Robin Parisotto cites a recently published article that suggests Armstrong's ability to accomplish what most mere mortals only dream of, is due to the fact the man raced with only one testicle -- that the surgical removal of a testicle is performance-enhancing enough to make you an athletic champion. Parisotto goes into the long version of why the authors believe one testicle could give an athlete an advantage -- red blood cells, hormone ratios, and testosterone levels.

Parisotto ends with, "You can just see it now; some sick-minded male athletes now thinking that with only one testicle they can up their performance. Sorry, but I believe that two balls are still better than one."

Armstrong will be the first to tell you that cancer changed his life, by making him stronger in attitude and mental focus. This might be what those who are not familiar with the inner landscape of cancer are missing. It is a huge point to make, as surviving cancer often strengthens the resolve, focus and determination of many cancer patients in priorities of life important to them. It becomes you against cancer, a formidable obstacle to overcome, and it is all about winning. If anything enhanced an already outstanding natural talent, perhaps this is what gave Armstrong the added advantage that earns him the place of elite champion in his sport.

That cancer did change him by making him stronger in mind and spirit, and that he has gone on to create the LiveStrong Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer survivors on the same extraordinary level of success as winning the Tour de France might be compared to, seems far more likely the logical explanation for why he has been able to accomplish both athletic and altruistic feats of excellence.

First Descents strives to become the leader in innovative camps supporting young adults with cancer. Using Kayaking, extreme sports and professional athletes, First Descents offers young adults with cancer outdoor experiences that will forever change their lives.

Each camp session is limited to fifteen campers per session, ensuring individualized care and medical attention. All meals, accommodations and camp activities are provided to campers free of charge.

Contributions to First Descents can be made in memory of a loved on or in honor of a birthday, anniversary or special occasion of a family member or friend. Also, First Descents would appreciate any donated equipment that is in relatively new and working condition.

Every donation to First Descents helps to provide a cost-free camp experience for a young adult cancer survivor.

On October 23, seven-time Tour de France winner and testicular cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, with attend a day-long meeting in Lexington, Kentucky as a member of the President's Cancer Panel to discuss the promotion of healthy lifestyles in reducing cancer risks. The President's Cancer Panel was created by the National Cancer Act over thirty years ago to monitor and evaluate all aspects of the National Cancer Program. The Panel identifies and conducts inquiry into concerns and emerging issues in cancer-related science and cancer care. Members of the Panel include Armstrong; Dr. LaSalle Leffall; Margaret L. Kripke, Ph.D.; and Abby B. Sandler, Ph.D.

Dr. LaSalle Leffall is the Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery, Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC, and Chairman of the Board of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Margaret L. Kripke, Ph.D., is Professor of Immunology and Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Abby B. Sandler, Ph.D., Chief, Institute Review Office (IRO), National Cancer Institute (NCI), became Executive Secretary of the President's Cancer Panel in January of 2005.

The meeting in Kentucky will focus on recommendations related to tobacco and exposure to indoor smoke. Researchers and experts will attend the meeting to join the discussions.

To learn more, Assessing Progress, Advancing Change 2005-2006 Annual Report President's Cancer Panel is a 133-page report available as a PDF document.

I just ran three miles on my treadmill. I have never been the athletic one in my family. My sister is the one who was born with the athletic streak -- she played softball and lettered in tennis after giving the sport a try with no previous experience and may have helped her high school basketball team win a state championship if it weren't for the major knee injury she suffered just before the big game. I, on the other hand, was born with a streak that has something to do with hair, nails, and lots of shoes. I was never interested in sports, gym shorts, or sweating -- which is what makes running three miles a big deal for me.

I wish I had started running long ago -- because I really like it. I like the loud music that pumps through my MP3 player and the change in my cadence as each new song begins. I like the motivation of knowing I'm pushing my body and accomplishing a physical challenge. I like that my endurance improves with each mile I travel. I like the mental release and the thoughts that run through my head and the cleansing effect I get from running. And I like sweating.

It's possible running would not have appealed to me long ago, even if I had given it a try -- because times were different long ago. I was healthy. I was happy. And I had no reason to marvel at the possibilities of my body. Without a natural impulse for physical fitness and challenge, I was completely satisfied with the status quo. But now I have an acquired impulse -- because cancer has threatened the very body I once took for granted. And I want it to be strong. I want it to be healthy. I want it to stand up to any possible threat. So I run. And when I am not running, I look forward to running.

In just a few weeks, I will run in the 5K Making Strides for Breast Cancer event with my athletic sister. I will run by her side. With my loud music for motivation. With the inspiration that I am making a difference for my body and for women everywhere. With my gym shorts on. And a ball cap covering my hair. With sweat dripping down my face. I can't imagine a better feeling.

With over 30 celebrities including actor Cheech Marin, NFL MVP John Elway, World Series of Poker Champion Mel Judah, Hall of Fame Philly Mike Schmidt, Cock Blocker Clothing creator Mark James is raising money for the Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3Day Breast Cancer Foundation fundraiser by holding an eBay auction of celebrity-autographed Cock Blocker Clothing items. The auction is live now and will run through October 1, 2006 8PM (PST).

Supporting breast cancer research is personal for James of Cock Blocker Clothing, whose mother survives her own diagnosis of breast cancer. He wants to help other women who are going through the same struggles as his mother in contributing to something that can make a positive difference.

In addition to the celebrity-autographed Cock Blocker Clothing online eBay auction, James will be participating in Philadelphia's Breast Cancer 3Day fundraiser, where participants will walk 60 miles in three days, with each participant raising at least $10,000 dollars for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

To help with the cause, you can bid on celebrity-autographed Cock Blocker Clothing during the eBay auction, or donate directly to the 3Day event. The Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3Day Walk will take place on October 4 through the 6th.

"Please remember, all of us have the power to change lives and contribute to society," states James. Visit to learn more about the Cock Blocker Clothing fight against breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins on October 1 -- still 19 days away -- and already pink products, which already have quite a public presence, are out in full force. I've seen pink socks, pink umbrellas, pink sports bottles, pink coolers, pink shirts, and my favorite -- pink M&M'S®.

The M&M'S® brand proudly supports the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and will donate 35 cents from each 14 ounce bag and 50 cents from each 21.3 ounce bag sold. A minimum of $250,000 will be donated to assist in eradicating breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. Funds will support the advancement of research, education, screening, and treatment. What a sweet deal.

Pink M&M'S® will be available on retailer shelves during September, October, and November.

If you haven't tried fishing, it is one of the most relaxing, and at the same time, exciting ways to spend a day. If I want to find a center of calm and peace in my life, fishing is a guaranteed remedy to the hustle and bustle of an often too-busy lifestyle. Water is soothing, and nature has a way of resetting your internal clock to a slower more natural rhythm.

National Baseball Hall of Famer Boston Red Sox Wade Boggs and television's Addictive Fishing host Captain Blair Wiggins first met through the Pediatric Cancer Foundation (PCF). On November 10-12, with other celebrities and fishermen, both will take part in the Ninth Annual Mercury Grand Slam Celebrity Fishing Tournament as part of Reel In The Cure to raise money for childhood cancers.

In the meantime, on September 3rd, you can catch Boggs on the Addictive Fishing show on the FOX Sports Net (FSN) channel as he attempts to reel in the biggest redfish off Florida's Space Coast. Maybe you have to be as big a fan of fishing as we are to truly appreciate the excitement of watching a show about fishing. It's not the same as fishing, but it comes close. According to the press release, Wiggins is credited with bringing outdoor sports programming to a whole new level with Addictive Fishing.

A ninth Hole in the Wall camp is in the works -- thanks to actor Paul Newman who started the first camp for critically-ill children in Connecticut in 1988. Hole in the Wall camps host thousands of children for free and are now scattered all over the map -- in California, New York, France, and other locations. And one will soon open in Israel.

Each Hole in the Wall camp is a separate entity with its own distinct personality and name -- like The Victory Junction Gang in Randleman, NC and Camp Boggy Creek in Eustis, Florida. All camps share a common goal of building self-esteem and restoring joy in the lives of seriously-ill kids. And typical camp activities -- for kids whose diagnoses range from cancer to muscular dystrophy -- include rope climbing, face painting, horseback riding, swimming, and sports. It's a typical camp where children can enjoy childhood, without compromising their medical needs, due to state-of-the-art medical care.

Newman makes periodic visits to the camps and only partially funds the camps that mostly survive on their own through charitable contributions. He clearly loves the camps that have served more than 100,000 kids from 34 states and 31 countries and says he wants the camps to be the legacy he one day is remembered for. And what a legacy it will be.

On Darren Clarke's blog, he states, that in case you missed the BBC interview, he is quitting golf to go home to support and care for his wife who is battling breast cancer. Heather, his wife, is struggling a lot these days against a cancer attempting to defeat her.

"There are more important things in my life than golf and it's now time for me to be at home to continue helping Heather with her battle."

Heather has been battling breast cancer that has spread to her bones and liver. They have two sons, and while Clarke is a competitive athlete, his first priorities and heart are with his wife.

At the beginning of the year, he wrote in his blog, "I'll sign off for this year by wishing every one of you a very prosperous, happy and successful 2006. These last 12 months have been difficult to say the least, but when I have been able to get out on the course there have been enough signs to convince me that there are good times ahead. It was no coincidence that my late flourish to the season coincided with an improvement in Heather's condition and hopefully that trend will continue next year."

Now Clarke says it is time to go home.

08.13.2006 UPDATE: Darren Clarke has lost wife after long struggle with breast cancer.