Pancreatic Cancer

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said after the team's 24-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns today that he was giving the game ball to WBAL radio broadcaster Ron Smith, who retired last week as he is battling pancreatic cancer. Harbaugh said Smith spoke to the team Friday before it left for Cleveland. Smith announced on-air last week that he is in home hospice and will no longer be appearing on air. "The decision has been made by me to stop appearing on the radio show," Smith said just before the start of his show, which begins at 9 a.m., according to The Sun's Z on TV blog . "I'm retiring," Smith said, according to the blog.

Radio host Ron Smith will be honored later this month with a posthumous induction into the Maryland DC Delaware Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. The Maryland-District of Columbia-Delaware Broadcasters Association decided to present WBAL's longtime “Voice of Reason” with the tribute at their annual convention April 22 in Ellicott City. The organization called him “passionate,” “curious” and “a force on radio and television.” “Ron was thoughtful - never just accepting the word of a spokesperson or a headline,” the organization said in a release, adding that he “relentlessly pursued and sought to tell the truth.” Smith died in 2011 of pancreatic cancer, captivating listeners with his fight against the disease until just weeks before his death.

Harold W. Ezell, 61, the co-author of California's controversial Proposition 187 and a vocal advocate of immigration reform, died of liver cancer Tuesday in Newport Beach, Calif. He helped draft Proposition 187, which sought to eliminate publicly funded education and most health care services to undocumented immigrants. The measure passed in November 1994 but was later ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge.John R. Williams, 88, who helped propel Republicans to statewide power and was the first Arizona governor to serve a four-year term, died Monday in Phoenix.

Archbishop Spalding football coach Mike Whittles, whose inspirational 16-month battle with pancreatic cancer touched many far beyond the Severn school's community, died of the disease Thursday. He was 58. Diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer on Feb. 22, 2011, Whittles continued to coach the Cavaliers, remaining upbeat and confident that he could beat it. "This is the day that I knew was inevitable but didn't want to face," Spalding athletic director and long-time Whittles friend Lee Dove said.

Luciano Pavarotti, the Italian tenor who has enjoyed enormous popularity worldwide for more then three decades, underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer within the past week and has canceled all remaining 2006 concerts. In a statement yesterday to the Associated Press, Pavarotti's manager, Terri Robson, described the 70-year-old singer as "recovering well" at a New York hospital that she declined to identify. "A malignant pancreatic mass" was removed during surgery, Robson said, adding that "Pavarotti remains under the care of a team of doctors in New York and will undergo a course of treatment over the coming months.

Ron Smith's recent column concerning his cancer diagnosis was perhaps his most powerful ("Death, I do not fear you; I am just not ready to go," Oct. 21). When I read his doctor's quote, "Fate has something else in store for you," I immediately thought it wasn't the pancreatic cancer. I believe God granted a 20-plus year extension of his life so that he might have a positive impact on the lives of others. From the outpouring of love, it is evident that he has used that time well.

Alex Lowe, 40, regarded by some as the world's best mountain climber, was killed by an avalanche Tuesday as he scouted routes on the upper slopes of Tibet's 26,291-foot Shishapangma, the world's 14th-highest peak.A.L. Owens,68, who wrote dozens of country music hits, died Monday from a heart attack in Nashville, Tenn.Amalia Rodrigues,79, the Portuguese singer whose passionate performances of the country's brooding "fado" music took her to worldwide fame, died Wednesday in Lisbon, Portugal.

Lord Lewin, 78, the former British defense chief who masterminded Britain's defeat of Argentina in the Falklands Islands war in 1982, died Saturday of stomach cancer. Lord Lewin is widely regarded as persuading former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to order the sinking of the Argentine cruiser Belgrano during the 1982 conflict.The Rev. John Osteen, 77, f ounder of one of the largest and most diverse churches in Houston and a popular television pastor, died Saturday in Houston of a heart attack.

This is not an obituary for Ron Smith ("WBAL's Smith reveals he has pancreatic cancer," Oct. 18), but after hearing Les Kingsolving gush about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his show this week I once again recognized Mr. Smith's contribution to talk radio discourse. His is one of the few voices of on-air dissent against America's all-but-unconditional support for Israel. A rare bird, indeed, especially among conservatives like himself. I'd like to say he's doing some good in this regard.

John deKoven Alsop, 84, a former state lawmaker who was known as one of Connecticut's most influential and colorful Republican politicians, died Thursday in Old Saybrook, Conn. He was a direct descendant of President James Monroe and the grandnephew of President Theodore Roosevelt. His brothers Joseph and Stewart Alsop gained fame as newspaper columnists. Mr. Alsop served two terms in the General Assembly in the late 1940s. He helped push through three desegregation bills submitted by the Connecticut NAACP at the end of the 1949 legislative session, outlawing racial discrimination in the National Guard, public accommodations and public housing projects.