Sloans qualified to battle tough odds

By now the fight is full-on for Bobbye Sloan. The Jazz coach's wife is undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer. That's a daunting prospect.

On the other hand, this is Bobbye Sloan.

She showed typical character by holding a press conference, Thursday, to explain her condition. Never one to sidestep difficult issues, she handled the proceedings with dignity, candor and even humor. She didn't sugarcoat the situation but didn't despair, either.

Both she and husband Jerry are dealing with the problem in their usual style: They're facing it head on.

Bobbye could have been forgiven had she chosen to keep her illness quiet. She did her share by becoming an activist for prevention of breast cancer after dealing with that issue several years ago. She even appeared on "Oprah" to discuss cancer awareness. She was warm, articulate and convincing.

It would have been understandable if she had decided to sit this one out. But that's not her way. Seeing the Sloans in this situation illustrates why the Jazz have continued to win, even after losing two superstars. In the Sloan way, you do your best with the situation and make no excuses, whether it's basketball or real life.

"It hasn't been easy," she said of her latest cancer concern, "because we really thought we had this all licked in the past. But we're just gonna start again."

The outpouring of support for Bobbye isn't just because she's the wife of a famous coach. It's also because she is herself — likable, friendly, candid, positive and, of course, strong. It's only a public issue because she's married to the coach. But her reaction would have been the same were she married to a convenience store clerk.

Courage is courage, in any arena.

While Jerry is widely regarded as a tough guy, Bobbye has been known to laugh at that characterization. She still considers him the raw-boned kid who dropped out of a high school class because he was too bashful to look her way. She's still the laughing freshman class president who teased him and made him blush.

Together they always made me smile. After her first battle with cancer, Bobbye began traveling more with the team. During the playoffs I would see them walking together on the streets or grounds near the team hotel, staying fit, loving life, never feeling sorry for themselves.

Through the first cancer scare, I never heard a word of self-pity. Bobbye was upbeat and energetic, more concerned about making people aware than of her own problems. And she won.