Basketball not exactly life or death
Game 3 of the Jazz-Rockets series Thursday night at EnergySolutions Arena is important to everyone involved -- the players, the coaches, the organizations, the fans.
But life-and-death?
Meet Lacy Banks.
Lacy is a long-time sports writer at the Chicago Sun-Times. He covered the Bulls for years and spent many spring days in Utah, chronicling the Michael Jordan-John Stockton-Karl Malone NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998
In an e-mail to me this week, Lacy wrote: "I always loved visiting Salt Lake City and Tabernacle Square."
Temple Square? Tabernacle Square? You get the idea.
A few weeks ago, Lacy wrote a piece for his newspaper on the plight of patients in Illinois who are waiting for organ transplants.
Lacy knows first-hand. Despite successful triple-bypass surgery seven years ago, congestive heart disease has left him needing a transplant. Unfortunately, he was also recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, which at least temporarily eliminates any chance of him getting a new heart.
Always a man of incredible faith, Lacy told his readers, "I'm depending upon prayer, a miracle and the skill of my doctors to stop the spread of my cancer and repair my heart. I have so much to still live for as I approach the end of my Sun-Times career, which will reach 36 years in August."
Lacy and his wife will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary in July. They have three children and five grandchildren.
"Regardless of what God decides to do," Lacy wrote, "I won't be shortchanged. And I sure won't complain. I've already been blessed with treasure beyond measure."
I have not been a close friend of Lacy's over the years. We are acquaintances, actually. Peers. Guys who have done the same job for different papers for a long time.
Still, when I heard of Lacy's plight from the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell, who is president of our Pro Basketball Writers Association, and then read Lacy's own words, I decided to email and offer a speck of support.
He responded so eloquently and with such spirit that I wanted to share parts of his email, which includes mention of his personal connections to Utah, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, Houston coach Rick Adelman and former Bulls coach Dick Motta.
Dear Steve,
And how is my beloved Battle-Hymn-Of-The-Republic, Come-Come-Ye-Saints, O'-Danny-Boy Mormon Tabernacle choir? That choir was the honey of my boyhood. I spent -- and still spend -- many delicious moments listening to its recordings. No choir thrills my soul so endearingly as does the Mormon Tabernacle. . . .
Thank you for your kind words and your greetings from Jerry, whom I covered in his playing days as Mr. Bull -- both he and Rick Adelman. Hope Jerry wins Coach of the Year. He is most deserving and long, long overdue. Jerry was always kind to me while Dick Motta was occasionally the devil in disguise when I wrote something he did not like. ...
Yes, I am a man of faith -- the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And why shouldn't we be? That's a no-brainer because without faith, it is impossible to please God. ...
May the Good Lord bless and keep you ’til we meet again.
Amen, Lacy.
-- Steve Luhm
But life-and-death?
Meet Lacy Banks.
Lacy is a long-time sports writer at the Chicago Sun-Times. He covered the Bulls for years and spent many spring days in Utah, chronicling the Michael Jordan-John Stockton-Karl Malone NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998
In an e-mail to me this week, Lacy wrote: "I always loved visiting Salt Lake City and Tabernacle Square."
Temple Square? Tabernacle Square? You get the idea.
A few weeks ago, Lacy wrote a piece for his newspaper on the plight of patients in Illinois who are waiting for organ transplants.
Lacy knows first-hand. Despite successful triple-bypass surgery seven years ago, congestive heart disease has left him needing a transplant. Unfortunately, he was also recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, which at least temporarily eliminates any chance of him getting a new heart.
Always a man of incredible faith, Lacy told his readers, "I'm depending upon prayer, a miracle and the skill of my doctors to stop the spread of my cancer and repair my heart. I have so much to still live for as I approach the end of my Sun-Times career, which will reach 36 years in August."
Lacy and his wife will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary in July. They have three children and five grandchildren.
"Regardless of what God decides to do," Lacy wrote, "I won't be shortchanged. And I sure won't complain. I've already been blessed with treasure beyond measure."
I have not been a close friend of Lacy's over the years. We are acquaintances, actually. Peers. Guys who have done the same job for different papers for a long time.
Still, when I heard of Lacy's plight from the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell, who is president of our Pro Basketball Writers Association, and then read Lacy's own words, I decided to email and offer a speck of support.
He responded so eloquently and with such spirit that I wanted to share parts of his email, which includes mention of his personal connections to Utah, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, Houston coach Rick Adelman and former Bulls coach Dick Motta.
Dear Steve,
And how is my beloved Battle-Hymn-Of-The-Republic, Come-Come-Ye-Saints, O'-Danny-Boy Mormon Tabernacle choir? That choir was the honey of my boyhood. I spent -- and still spend -- many delicious moments listening to its recordings. No choir thrills my soul so endearingly as does the Mormon Tabernacle. . . .
Thank you for your kind words and your greetings from Jerry, whom I covered in his playing days as Mr. Bull -- both he and Rick Adelman. Hope Jerry wins Coach of the Year. He is most deserving and long, long overdue. Jerry was always kind to me while Dick Motta was occasionally the devil in disguise when I wrote something he did not like. ...
Yes, I am a man of faith -- the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And why shouldn't we be? That's a no-brainer because without faith, it is impossible to please God. ...
May the Good Lord bless and keep you ’til we meet again.
Amen, Lacy.
-- Steve Luhm
10:39 AM
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2 Comments:
Great article Steve. Thanks for helping to keep things in perspective.
I agree Kelly, great article.
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