I live in NC and this catches me by suprise as well. But then I guess it shouldn't knowing what I know about Sam. A guy who made Zach Thomas look tall but had the preverbial heart of a lion, yet never really wanted the attention to be focused on him even when he was sick.
""He's definitely the best coach I ever had," Panthers linebacker Will Witherspoon said. "I got to talk to him the last couple of weeks and I knew that he wasn't doing well, but he never wanted to bring that up."
The man was a class act and really embodied the undersized player who's giant heart refused to let something like size stop him from living his dream. He attacked his cancer the same way he did running backs.....head on.
"Originally given just a few months to live, Mills battled the cancer and didn't miss a single game that season. He scheduled treatment for off days to cut down on his time away from the team, and he often had to coach from the press box that year to preserve his strength."
Mills embodied the words of Jimmy Valvono "Never give up....never, ever give up". All the way to the end this man was a warrior, a hero, a dad, and just to damn young to die.
""Although it can be said that he left his imprint on the NFL as a player, it is his legacy as a human being that serves as an example for all of us to follow," said Bill Kuharich, Kansas City's vice president of pro personnel, who was with Mills with the Stars and Saints."
We've gotta beat cancer...it's really pissing me off!!!
God bless your Family Sam.