We’ve all lost someone to cancer. It is a perpetual, all-encompassing disease that practically embodies our perception of Death, and one that has taken the lives of countless human beings and affected the lives of countless more. But if ALF’s ass-whipping of Lymphoma has shown us anything, it’s that nothing, not even cancer, can triumph over the power of human will.
Legendary sports personality and Sportscenter anchor Stuart Scott received the heartbreaking diagnosis seven years ago. Seven years. And last night, he received the Jimmy V Perseverance Award, named after college basketball coach and broadcaster Jimmy Valvano, at the 2014 ESPYs.
His speech was nothing short of beautiful, the kind of speech that I can do no justice in describing with simple adjectives, no matter how monosyllabic and pretentious they would be. You could almost feel the Nokia Center settle with the gravitas of Scott’s trademark voice as he sang the praises of his co-workers, his friends and family — everyone who helped him when he needed it most. Having spent 7 of the past 10 days laid up in the hospital with kidney failure and liver complications (among other ailments), undergoing 4 surgeries in the process, Stuart was unsure if he’d even be able to make it to the ESPYs to accept his award.
“I couldn’t fight,” Stuart lamented. “But the doctors and nurses could. The people that I loved…they could fight.”
But Scott did make it. He persevered and will surely continue to persevere because that’s just the kind of guy he is. He won’t be defeated by his greatest foe. He’ll go down, sure, but not out. In the words of Valvano, Scott will never give up. And his words will surely pull at the heartstrings of anyone who has ever done the same, or seen someone who has. Because in the end, cancer may defeat you, but it will never win.
“When you die, it doesn’t mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” – Stuart Scott
We’ve all lost someone to cancer. It is a perpetual, all-encompassing disease that practically embodies our perception of Death, and one that has taken the lives of countless human beings and affected the lives of countless more. But if ALF’s ass-whipping of Lymphoma has shown us anything, it’s that nothing, not even cancer, can triumph over the power of human will.
Legendary sports personality and Sportscenter anchor Stuart Scott received the heartbreaking diagnosis seven years ago. Seven years. And last night, he received the Jimmy V Perseverance Award, named after college basketball coach and broadcaster Jimmy Valvano, at the 2014 ESPYs.
His speech was nothing short of beautiful, the kind of speech that I can do no justice in describing with simple adjectives, no matter how monosyllabic and pretentious they would be. You could almost feel the Nokia Center settle with the gravitas of Scott’s trademark voice as he sang the praises of his co-workers, his friends and family — everyone who helped him when he needed it most. Having spent 7 of the past 10 days laid up in the hospital with kidney failure and liver complications (among other ailments), undergoing 4 surgeries in the process, Stuart was unsure if he’d even be able to make it to the ESPYs to accept his award.
“I couldn’t fight,” Stuart lamented. “But the doctors and nurses could. The people that I loved…they could fight.”
But Scott did make it. He persevered and will surely continue to persevere because that’s just the kind of guy he is. He won’t be defeated by his greatest foe. He’ll go down, sure, but not out. In the words of Valvano, Scott will never give up. And his words will surely pull at the heartstrings of anyone who has ever done the same, or seen someone who has. Because in the end, cancer may defeat you, but it will never win.
“When you die, it doesn’t mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” – Stuart Scott
I won’t pretend to be an expert on the Ukraine situation, and I cite that I just referred to an ever-developing international crisis and seemingly inevitable civil war as “The Ukraine situation” as proof of that. I do know, however, that it is never a good sign when you country’s average Parliamentary session for peace ends in the same fashion as a Polish Team-MMA Fight. But that’s just what happened in Kiev, Ukraine earlier today, as communist and nationalist parties clashed over accusations that the latter had resorted to extremist tactics in their seizing of several buildings in Eastern Ukraine earlier this week.
It all started when communist Petro Symonenko (the man at the rostrum) took aim at the nationals, stating, “You are today doing everything to intimidate people. You arrest people, start fighting people who have a different point of view.” It was a harsh accusation to say the least, so clearly, the best move the nationalist Svoboda deputies could make to shed this notion would be to violently pull Symonenko away from the podium and kick and punch him repeatedly. And that’s what they did.
As if the situation wasn’t ironic enough already, you should probably know that the man hurling accusations of extremist tactics at the nationalists (Symonenko) just so happens to be a member of the very same party who supported ousted President Viktor Yanukovich after more than 100 protesters were shot dead by police snipers in Kiev less than two months ago.
So yeah, this Jerry Springer-esque madness just went down at the Ukraine Parliament, and it isn’t even the first time it’s happened. To that point: I’m not saying I’d respect Obama more if I knew he was packing a solid right hook, but yes I would respect him more.
I won’t pretend to be an expert on the Ukraine situation, and I cite that I just referred to an ever-developing international crisis and seemingly inevitable civil war as “The Ukraine situation” as proof of that. I do know, however, that it is never a good sign when you country’s average Parliamentary session for peace ends in the same fashion as a Polish Team-MMA Fight. But that’s just what happened in Kiev, Ukraine earlier today, as communist and nationalist parties clashed over accusations that the latter had resorted to extremist tactics in their seizing of several buildings in Eastern Ukraine earlier this week.
It all started when communist Petro Symonenko (the man at the rostrum) took aim at the nationals, stating, “You are today doing everything to intimidate people. You arrest people, start fighting people who have a different point of view.” It was a harsh accusation to say the least, so clearly, the best move the nationalist Svoboda deputies could make to shed this notion would be to violently pull Symonenko away from the podium and kick and punch him repeatedly. And that’s what they did.
As if the situation wasn’t ironic enough already, you should probably know that the man hurling accusations of extremist tactics at the nationalists (Symonenko) just so happens to be a member of the very same party who supported ousted President Viktor Yanukovich after more than 100 protesters were shot dead by police snipers in Kiev less than two months ago.
So yeah, this Jerry Springer-esque madness just went down at the Ukraine Parliament, and it isn’t even the first time it’s happened. To that point: I’m not saying I’d respect Obama more if I knew he was packing a solid right hook, but yes I would respect him more.