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THE DAILY OKLAHOMAN
Page 5-D
Thu, 30 Nov 2000
'Sports Animal' battling cancer

Morning show sportscaster taking latest hurdle in stride

by Mel Bracht

Dan Lutz has worked hard to overcome handicaps in developing a
career as a radio sportscaster. Now he's battling for his life.
Lutz, part of the "Morning Animals" (5:45 to 9 a.m. weekdays) on
the Sports Animal radio network, has been off the air since he was
diagnosed with cancer Nov. 17. He was realeased Monday from
Southwest Medical Center where he had been hospitalized.

"I have cancer of the esophagus, stomach, lymph nodes and left
lung," Lutz said. "Other than that, I'm fine." Lutz, 35, said he had one round of chemotherapy and is undergoing regular radiation treatments. He said he hasn't asked his doctors for projections on his longevity.

"I specifically didn't want to know," he said. "I want to live
every day just as another day and not as a day off the calendar."
On the "Morning Animals," Lutz is often the brunt of jokes from
colleagues Mike Steely, Curtis Fitzpatrick and Jay Lynch ("Lump")
on everything from his eating habits to personal hygiene. Lutz said
he hopes that doesn't change when he returns.

"Our whole objective is to entertain people," he said. "That
won't change when I come back. I'm still here. I plan to be here. I
don't want a pity party."

Lutz doesn't take the wisecracks personally. He knows it's part
of the show's schtick. "Mike and the guys, they do it out of love," he said. "There isn't a sweeter guy in the world than Mike Steely."

Chris Baker, operations manager for the Sports Animal and three
other Citadel Communications stations, said he hoped Lutz would
return to the show Monday. "The doctors made him promise that he wouldn't come back this week," Baker said. "We're going to assist him every way that we can."

Lutz, a North Dakota native, is accustomed to health battles. Born with cerebral palsy, he's been restricted to a wheelchair the past three years, and the disease also has given him a slight speech impediment.

L utz, who lives with his sister, Debbie, and her daughter, Brooke, in Oklahoma City, joined WWLS-AM 640 in 1990 as a board operator. He impressed management with his vast sports knowledge and gradually worked his way onto the air. In recent years, he co-hosted an afternoon show, "The King & His Court," with Mark Rodgers before moving to the mornings.