The Artie Lange Show - Chris Mortensen (Phone)
Longtime NFL writer and TV analyst Chris Mortensen, who has been with ESPN since 1991, is taking a sabbatical from the network to battle cancer.
"More than a week ago, I was diagnosed with a Stage IV throat cancer," Mortensen said in a statement on Friday. "My focus shifted significantly to gathering information about the specifics of this cancer. The initial diagnosis was confirmed Friday and there is another test remaining that will determine the best possible treatment plan that will commence in the very immediate future.
"Consequently, with the support and encouragement from ESPN president John Skipper and many others at ESPN, I am temporarily stepping away from my normal NFL coverage duties to better engage this opportunity to fight the good fight that is projected to affect almost 1.7 million Americans with new cases in 2016.
"I have many inspirational examples of men, women and children who have faced this very fight. We all know somebody, right? I also have the love and prayers of my wife Micki, my family, my friends, colleagues and, most of all, my faith that serve as sources of tremendous strength. I have a peace about this and look forward to the battle."
Mortensen, 64, has covered the NFL forSport Magazine, The Sporting News, The National Sports Daily and Atlanta-Journal Constitution, covering every Super Bowl since 1979 and winning several awards throughout his career. Since joining ESPN he has been a fixture on the network"s wide swath of NFL coverage Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, SportsCenter, NFL Live, NFL Insiders and other shows as a league insider and analyst.
"Our thoughts are with Chris and his family as he faces this challenge," Skipper said. "He is an extremely respected colleague, who has the complete support of his entire ESPN family. We wish him strength and hope in the battle ahead and look forward to his return whenever he chooses."
In January, Mortensen"s initial report on 11 of the 12 b***s inspected by league officials after the AFC championship game became the smoking gun of sorts for deflate-gate, even though the league-commissioned Wells report refuted this reporting. As a result, Mortensen became something of an enemy of New England Patriots, although he discussed his reporting on Boston radio and the NFL never set the record straight publicly on Mortensen"s information.
Joining Mortensen in his fight is his wife, Micki, and two children. His son, Alex, played college football at Arkansas and served a graduate assistant for the national championship-winning Alabama Crimson Tide football team this past season.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
- Sports & Recreation
- American Football
- Chris Mortensen
- ESPN
- NFL
- throat cancer
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNFC2rEVeC3VFMoAMwQswOLsJdy82w&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&ei=EyedVujUEIKV3QGOioTICA&url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/espn-nfl-analyst-chris-mortensen-diagnosed-with-throat-cancer-204645850.html
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