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Gazette sportswriter loses battle with cancer

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John McPoland

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Gazette files

Gazette sportswriter John McPoland sings 'On Wisconsin' in Courthouse Park after the Badgers defeated his Iowa State Cyclones in 1991. McPoland, a 19-year member of the Gazette staff, lost a battle with cancer late Saturday night.

John McPoland surprised no one when he spoke openly and honestly about the deadly cancer that started in his throat and moved to his liver.

The boisterous McPoland was known for sharing his opinions on topics ranging from sports to movies to politics. He opined in his sports column in the Gazette, and he jousted good-naturedly with colleagues and friends.

McPoland initially talked only with family and acquaintances about his cancer, but he opened the conversation to thousands more when he started a blog on the Gazette's Web site, gazettextra.com, in January.

He titled the column "Fighting Words: One man's battle against cancer," and he finished his entries with the words "Everybody keep fighting."

On Saturday, McPoland lost the fight. He died at age 47 at his parents' home in Dubuque, Iowa, where he had gone 10 days earlier to spend his waning days.

McPoland was diagnosed with esophageal cancer Dec. 18, 2007. The cancer had moved to his liver and was inoperable. His doctors gave him 15 months. He made it 21.

In his blog, McPoland was brutally honest about his diagnosis, his family history of cancer, his struggles and his small victories. He didn't want sympathy. He hoped to educate people about the disease. He succeeded.

His final entry, posted Friday, generated more than 100 comments. He opened it with the sentence: "I'm not afraid of dying, but I'm afraid I'm dying, folks."

Many people who read his blog and commented never met him personally. The following response was typical of the comments after his final posting:

"You inspire me to be a better person. You've become a beacon of hope, courage and strength for others with cancer... Most importantly, you inspire the community to be a better place."

McPoland was a smart man who backed his opinions with knowledge and experience.

"As a student of many things, John had an opinion on just about everything, and he never shied away from sharing it," said Jim Leute, the Gazette's business reporter. "He didn't push it, though, and he welcomed opinions that differed."

McPoland's encyclopedic brain dazzled those who knew him.

Sportswriter John Barry, one of McPoland's closest friends, recalls watching the game-show "Jeopardy" with McPoland shortly after they met. McPoland correctly answered all but one or two questions. Floored by the display, Barry checked the TV guide, convinced that McPoland had seen an earlier broadcast of the show.

It hadn't been on before.

"He was probably the smartest man I ever met," said Dave von Falkenstein, another close friend from the Gazette.

McPoland grew up in Dubuque and went off to college at Iowa State in Ames. He worked at three small Iowa papers before joining the Gazette as its Sunday sports editor in 1990. He was a big man back then, and his size and opinions made an impression from the start.

He initially wrote a Sunday column, in which he never hesitated to take a stand, criticize a sports figure or offer a prediction. In 1991, when his beloved Iowa State came to Camp Randall to play Wisconsin in football, McPoland predicted that the Cyclones would beat the Badgers. If they didn't, he vowed to sing "On Wisconsin" in the courthouse amphitheater at noon the next Monday.

Wisconsin blocked a late extra point by Iowa State to preserve a 7-6 win, and McPoland kept his promise, displaying his marginal singing voice to the cheers and heckles of dozens of Badger fans.

Despite being from Iowa, McPoland adopted the Badgers, Packers, Brewers and Bucks as if they were his home state teams. He traveled to New Orleans and San Diego to cover the Packers in their two Super Bowls in the late 1990s, and he went to Pasadena for the Badgers' Rose Bowl win over UCLA in 1994.

In his 19 years at the Gazette, McPoland covered hundreds of high school and college contests and dozens of auto races, and he designed and pulled together thousands of sports pages. His outbursts as deadline approached and troubles surfaced were legendary.

His work for the Gazette's parent company, Bliss Communications, extended into the radio booth at WCLO-AM, where he was a regular guest host on "The Stan Milam Show." There, he often showed his acumen in politics, which he honed as a longtime member of the Gazette's editorial board.

Of his many passions, poker and auto racing were at the top. He was a regular at poker games around the area, and he matched his skills with hardcore players in Las Vegas.

McPoland liked all types of auto racing, but he loved NASCAR. He traveled to Bristol, Daytona and other spots on the NASCAR circuit to catch races. He went to Richmond, Va., early last month with his brother to see his final race. McPoland was especially proud of his collection of die cast miniature cars, which filled a wall in the basement of his south side house.

McPoland was heavy for much of his life, topping out at close to 400 pounds in his early years in Janesville. In 2000, he was diagnosed with diabetes, and he drastically changed his lifestyle and eating habits. He stopped drinking alcohol and began riding a stationary bike every day. He hopped on the bike for nearly 900 consecutive days and lost more than 150 pounds.

While McPoland's cancer diagnosis was stunning, it was nothing new to his family.

"If your last name is McPoland and you grew up as a North Ender on Jackson Street in Dubuque, Iowa, you will get cancer," he wrote in his second blog entry.

His father, his sister and three brothers all have or have had cancer. His father had two different cancers simultaneously, while one brother battled two different cancers 18 years apart.

"The McPoland family has an unbeaten record against cancer. If I can win my fight, we can keep our record perfect," he wrote in another blog.

It wasn't to be, but McPoland wouldn't go down without a fight. He stayed upbeat and positive, and he worked his regular shifts at the Gazette as often as the chemotherapy and effects of his illness would let him.

McPoland, single all his life, adopted a terrier from the humane society in June, and Tally provided companionship and enrichment for McPoland in his final months. He often brought her to the newsroom, and his devoted dog slept at his feet as he worked at his computer.

McPoland not only threw himself into his battle with cancer. He worked to educate others, and he helped raise money in August's Relay for Life in Janesville. Sitting in for Milam on WCLO, he devoted an entire show to cancer the day of the relay, and listeners dropped almost $900 into a collection box in the building's lobby. That night, he dressed as "Lady Marmalade" and vamped around the relay site, trying to win the title of "Mr. Relay" by raising the most money.

"He was definitely the most flirtatious of the Mr. Relays," said Gazette reporter and relay teammate Stacy Vogel. "He wore a fuzzy boa that he swung around and used to 'catch' people to make them give him money, and there were a few scandalous moments involving the socks he had stuffed down his chest."

As many cancer patients do, McPoland bonded with the nurses and staff at Mercy Hospital's cancer center. He called the women his angels. They appreciated him and his spirit, as well.

"Thank you for sharing your journey so openly," his doctor, Dena Green, wrote after his final blog. "It has helped so many others to accept and cope with their circumstances. I will remember you in a special place in my heart, and I promise to keep fighting."

McPoland worked his last shift at the Gazette on Saturday, Sept. 19. He gave it his best, but he was weak and faded fast. A co-worker took him to the hospital. It was the beginning of the end. His doctor advised that the fight was futile, and it was time for the last stage.

The next Wednesday, his family took him home to Dubuque, where he spent his last days in a hospital bed in the front room of the house where he grew up.

Before McPoland died Saturday, his sister read him the comments from readers on his final blog, praising him for his candor, thanking him for his inspiration.

The man who many will remember for voicing his thoughts loudly and passionately couldn't speak. But he smiled.