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Kansas analyst Matt Lubick, a longtime college football assistant coach, has been diagnosed with leukemia, he told ESPN this week.

Lubick checked into a hospital in the Denver area earlier this week, and the staff of cancer specialists has begun testing to determine the best course of treatment. He is being treated by the cancer specialists at the Anschutz Center for Advanced Medicine, which is part of the University of Colorado Cancer Center in Aurora.

“The texts and support mean more than you can know,” said Lubick, who spoke with emotion about hearing from former colleagues and players. “It’s been spiritually uplifting and energized me. There’s a purpose to this and I’ve gotten some meaning through the suffering. It’s humbling to know you’ve impacted people’s lives.”

Lubick’s role as an analyst is a remote one, and he has continued to break down opposing defenses and meet via Zoom with the Kansas staff. On Tuesday, for example, he Zoomed with the Kansas offensive staff from the hospital and gave his third-down thoughts after analyzing Oklahoma State, Kansas’ opponent this week.

“That was rewarding,” he said. “You don’t have to work during this stuff. I do it for therapy. The Kansas staff being so loving and caring and supportive has given me strength and given me purpose. It’s been therapeutic for me to keep mind off stuff.”

Lubick credited coach Lance Leipold, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and the Kansas staff for their support, and said he appreciates the opportunity to work during his treatment.

“Matt has made great contributions to our offensive success in this analyst role, and that’s helped this program in ways that many people haven’t seen,” Leipold said. “His courage, faith and passion to want to contribute to this program while he’s battling this has really been remarkable. Our prayers are with him.”

Lubick got hired by Kansas in July 2022, and his job has primarily been away from campus. He went to Lawrence this summer for camp.

Lubick ran the Boston Marathon in April and after a 16-mile run in late August didn’t feel well and went to the doctor, in part because he didn’t want to lose any days of training. He soon found out his white blood cell count was so low that when he returned home he wasn’t allowed to be around people because of the risk.

That led to further tests and the eventual diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia. The official diagnosis came last week and Lubick said he moved into the hospital in the Denver area Sunday.

Lubick had already spoken to former Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano, who shared his own journey in battling leukemia, which he was diagnosed with in 2012 and has since raised money and awareness to fight cancer. Lubick said conversations such as that one helped him prepare for the diagnosis.

“I was crushed, but I knew what to do and I was prepared,” he said. “I’m grateful for the profession. You have to be prepared and deal with adversity. Life challenges are opportunities to grow. That’s what I’ve been telling my players for the last 20 years, and now I have to live my advice.”

Lubick is a former offensive coordinator and assistant coach, most recently at Nebraska, Washington and Oregon.

He has also coached at Duke, Arizona State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, San Jose State, Cal State Northridge and Colorado State. He started his career as a student assistant at Colorado State, where his father, Sonny Lubick, was head coach from 1993 through 2007.

Along that path he has touched thousands of players and staff members, and he said he spends an hour or two each night returning messages from everyone.

“It shows how important friends and family and relationships are in a tough times, it’s really hard to put into words,” he said. “When someone tells me how much they love me, I get a little bit emotional. One of the things about coaching, it’s a relationship business. Rekindling those and knowing how meaningful they are. That’s been huge.”

Lubick said he hopes to raise cancer awareness and help others by speaking about his battle with leukemia.

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.

Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York YankeesAaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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