This actually broke yesterday, but I didn't get anything up about it at the time. Former Sonics head coach (and current Denver Nuggets HC) George Karl has been diagnosed with neck and throat cancer.

The intense coach, already a prostate cancer survivor, began six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy yesterday.



Karl, 59, coached the Sonics from 1992-98, during the team's heyday with the likes of Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Detlef Schremf and Nate McMillan. During his tenure the Sonics played in one NBA Finals, while winning 384 games, an average of 58 each year (he coached only half of the 1991-92 season). It was the most wins of any period in his 21-year head coaching career.

The strongest statement were not from Karl himself, but from his current team.

"A situation like that, it's real life," guard Chauncey Billups said. "You take the basketball out of it. You take work out of it. None of us can really be selfish and say, 'Hey, we're going to miss George if he doesn't coach some of the games.' We've got to take all that out of it. Your heart just goes out to him and his family. All we can really do is pray for him."

Karl expects to continue coaching the Nuggets throughout his treatment, as much as his pain and fatigue will allow. He said he fully plans to be ready for the playoff run starting in mid-April.