Marcus Cannon Update

Last spring, I wrote about the New England Patriots taking a chance on a young man with cancer. Marcus Cannon was diagnosed with an aggressive form of NHL; he was projected to be a 2nd round draft pick, and the Pats picked him in the 5th round.

Last week, the NFL announced that Cannon had begun practicing with the Patriots. His chemo ended in June, and he took some time to rebuild his strength and make sure he was healthy. It's a nice story. As the NFL.com piece says, "So often, the only players in the spotlight are those who star on the field or create tumultuous Twitter drama. But Cannon's fight to get back to a simple practice required something from within that few of us ever will know."

The Boston Herald also ran a couple of pieces (a little more in-depth) about Cannon's comeback. One kind of gives the facts of his return. For the other, Karen Guregian wrote a nice column about the impact that Cannon's return has had on his teammates and on fans in general.

It's certainly cause for celebration. Of course, it would have been even more cause for celebration if he was a cornerback instead of a guard, given the way Pittsburgh picked apart the Pats secondary on Sunday. But, then again, Green-Ellis needed some help, too, so maybe Cannon can open up some holes for him soon .

One more article from that edition of the Herald that's worth mentioning:  a piece about the "troubling trend" of the increase in cases of NHL. It appeared on the sports page because of Cannon -- plus former Patriot Joe Andruzzi and Sox ace Jon Lester -- having NHL. It's a short article, and doesn't give a more than the absolute basics in describing what NHL is. But at least it gives correct information for what it does provide. So they get a thumbs up for that.

I hope Cannon ends up making some impact, and proving to be an inspiration for NHL and other cancer patients. Good luck, Marcus.