What does it mean to be "the voice of the Blue Jays"? Well, consider this:
Cal Ripken's famous streak of 2,632 consecutive games - 16 years without taking the day off - is the longest of any player in baseball history. Tom Cheek was the Blue Jays' radio announcer when the franchise was inaugurated in 1977. From that day forward, Cheek called 4,306 consecutive regular season games, plus 41 more in the postseason. That's over 30 years - and Tom has been a class act every step of the way.
That remarkable blue-collar record was snapped last Thursday because of the unexpected death of his father Tom Cheek Sr., at the age of 86. Now comes darker news still for the Jays' long-time announcer:
After feeling under the weather on Friday, June 11, Tom was taken for a series of tests that revealed a brain tumor. CHEEK, who turned 65 yesterday, underwent surgery on June 13 to remove the tumor. The procedure was not a complete success and further treatments will be necessary. Tom is resting comfortably with his wife, Shirley and family.
The only good news in all of this is that the tumour appears to be benign thus far. There's a thread at the excellent baseball blog The Batter's Box where people can wish Tom Cheek well. Even if you aren't a Toronto fan, or even a baseball fan, this is a gentleman whose record and example are worthy of recognition.
Isn't it just like the press to present the fact that the tumor was benign as "the only good news." Heck, that seems like a more-than-half-full glass to me. Certainly good-enough news to deserve a toast.
Yeah, sure, OK. Baseball, blah, blah, blah. But did you catch that Pistons/Lala game? At one stage the Pistons were up by 28 points, until they started celebrating and hugging one another with around 5 minutes still on the clock. Had it not been for a significant dropoff in their offensive focus, and a lesser dropoff in defense, the game would have been a complete blowout. But coasting to a 12 point victory is still incredible!
Larry Brown's coaching performance was a tour de force!
Anyway, sorry to butt in on the baseball stuff. Very glad Tom's tumor probably isn't malignant.