There is a press conference scheduled for 9:30 Utah time, so it's going on right now...He might be gonzo, as his wife recently had breast cancer surgery. There is no coach in the NBA I respect more than Jerry Sloan. He's made the transition post Stockton/Malone seamlessly. Of course, this could mean the Jazz drop out of playoff contention, so it's not all bad.
Thanks for the info. Keep us updated. If he really does take the rest of the season off to be with his wife during this time. I really respect that decision. Family is most important.
According to jazzfanz.com, he isn't retiring.... However, his wife's breast cancer has metastasized to her pancreas. I think he wanted to retire, but she actually convinced him to continue coaching
Once again, real life puts basketball into perspective. Hate the Jazz on the court but off court, we're all human beings.
Man, that's horrible. There were times in the past when I blamed Sloan for Flopton and Karla's antics but I gained respect for what he has done with that team. People aren't BSing about his coaching abilities. He's a good one. I hope his wife can recover, but when cancer gets into the pancreas, that's pretty bad. Maybe inoperable?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1703398 SALT LAKE CITY -- The wife of Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan will start treatment Friday for a malignant tumor found in her pancreas, Bobbye Sloan said Thursday. Coach Jerry Sloan said he did not plan to resign, but might miss a game here or there to be with his wife. Bobbye Sloan has battled cancer in the past, and has been ill the past few weeks with flu-like symptoms. Jerry Sloan missed Monday's game against Dallas to be with his wife. "I told him he can't take the fun of those games away from me," Bobbye Sloan said during a hastily arranged news conference Thursday morning at the team's training center. "I have to have something good and positive to look forward to." Jazz owner Larry Miller said Sloan has the latitude to do what he needs to take care of his family. "He needs to attend to Bobbye and the family and himself first," Miller said. Miller also asked the media to give the Sloans privacy as she begins chemotherapy to battle the tumor. Bobbye Sloan, who grew up with Jerry in southern Illinois, was treated for breast cancer five years ago. Hired in 1988 by the Jazz, Sloan is in his 16th year with the team. He's the longest tenured head coach with the same team in professional sports, and has the sixth-best winning percentage in NBA history (62.7 percent). Bobbye Sloan defeated breast cancer in the 1990s and is a beloved figure in the community. The couple didn't hide the battle from the public, which endeared them to fans. OK, so this is a new cancer and is not metastatic. From what I've heard, though, pancreatic cancer is pretty much a death sentence...
I believe that's true. I knew someone in town who had it; there's some treatments they can try with chemo, but you can't operate, and this cancer can lead to death *very* quickly.
I lost a friend to pancreatic cancer last summer. My understnding is pancreatic cancer is virtually undetectable until it's too late is is nearly 100% fatal and very quick.
I had an Anatomy Professor in medical school who always would say, "If you open me and it's cancer of the pancreas, just close." It was eerie that he always would say that and years later he died of pancreatic cancer. Houston Native
No he hasn't won Coach of the Year. I'm sad to hear about his wife's illness. I have seen people dying from Pancreatic Cancer even after surgery.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Jerry Sloan plans on coaching the Utah Jazz while his wife undergoes treatment for pancreatic cancer. Sloan said he will miss Friday night's game at Denver and others to be with his wife. On Friday, the Sloans will discuss treatment options with an oncologist for a malignant tumor found in Bobbye Sloan's pancreas. Bobbye Sloan, 60, who was treated for breast cancer six years ago, has been ill the past few weeks with flu-like symptoms. Jerry Sloan missed Monday's game against Dallas to be with his wife. But Bobbye Sloan said Thursday she wouldn't let him step down from the team because of her illness. ``I told him he can't take the fun of those games away from me,'' she said. ``I won't get up here any more and cry, and I'm just going to fight it as much as I can and he's going to go on with his job ... whether he wants to or not.'' Jazz owner Larry Miller said Sloan has the latitude to do what he needs to take care of his family. Hired in 1988 by the Jazz, Sloan is in his 16th year with the team and is the longest-tenured head coach with the same team in professional sports. He has the sixth-best winning percentage in NBA history (62.7 percent). This season, the Utah is 18-16, 5 1/2 games behind Midwest Division-leading San Antonio.
all the best to jerry and his wife although I hated the jazz during all those years too off the court issues are a separate world away from on the court issues.
