Bill McCartney diagnosed with Alzheimer's
Per a press release by his children, Coach Mac has been diagnosed with late onset dementia/Alzheimer's. The former Michigan assistant coach led Colorado to a share of the 1990 national title. He also coached high school football and basketball at Holy Redeemer in Detroit and Divine Child in Dearborn.
Just finished reading the great HTTV article about his Six Penny defense. Definitely sad news.
August 1st, 2016 at 12:52 PM ^
Always had a solid QB, WR, and RB's.
August 1st, 2016 at 12:54 PM ^
I, too, just finished the HTTV McCartney piece. Loved it. Perhaps my favorite HTTV article yet. I'm so glad to have Coach Mac's memories of this era documented, especially knowing that he's struggling with Alzheimer's.
August 1st, 2016 at 12:55 PM ^
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August 1st, 2016 at 12:59 PM ^
I felt like he came off as a total buffoon in the 30 For 30, but that's just me.
Unfortunate news.
work on it....
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The whole Promise Keepers thing ....his daughter got pregnant with then QB Sal Aunese who subsequently died from cancer ... with the Nebraska fans and all their "class" hanging the SAL IS DEAD, GO BIG RED banner over I-80 into Lincoln.
Mac's grandson ..Sal's son is currently on the CU roster and carrying on the legacy, but the Mac era in Boulder ended oddly and he definitley took a turn with the PK thing.
I haven't much appreciated anything he's had to add publicly to civic life in Colorado, ever, but he was a pretty great football coach. Alzheimer's is horrible.
I worked for a short time for a company run by an active Promise Keeper in Boulder back in 96-97 or so and the dude was weird. He overhead me and another worker mocking PK as a "cult" for crying men and was not cool about it. I left that job for many reasons, but that PK vibe was part of it.
August 1st, 2016 at 12:57 PM ^
Definitely sad news. Fun fact: my dad attended Holy Redeemer when Mac was the football and basketball coach there.
Check out the 30 for 30 about him if you haven't seen it.
Coconut oil can help some. He should try it.
We can only hope his treating physicians are reading college football blog message boards in search of something that will work.
The benefits are not well known. Sorry for trying to help people live.
who has a loved one afflicted will try it.
Coconut oil is a saturated fat --- so it has its negatives --- but there's a fair amount of anecdotal evidence as to its benefits w/ Alzheimer's.
We tried it w/ my father (had ALZ for 8 years) after we got the doctor's OK, and from my/my Mom's experience it did seem to have some marginal benefits.
Take it FWIW.
Coconut oil is high in saturated fats but that's not the whole part of the story. Coconut oil is made up of mostly medium chain fatty acids which have a number of health benefits.
The saturated fats you're thinking of are of the long chain type which are readily stored as fat in the body.
Not that his actually physicians aren't giving him the best sceintific treatment they can. I read some early research in an actually medical journal about the CBD and its positive effects on alzheimer's. Interestingly it seems to help, might be the first drug that comes from weed successfully.
Sad news that is official here too now but many of my highly-connected CU friends say it has been pretty well known within the inner circles of the program.
Maybe there will be some mention around the Sept 17th game to honor or mark Mac's accomplishments/ties with both schools..
Great idea! McCartney's Monsters are synomous with Bo Schembechler teams. I know that when he left for CU, a fairly large amount of Michigan fans started started keeping tabs on CU, and were happy for his 1990 Championship.
I actually finished the McCartney article over breakfast this morning, and my kids actually pointed at some of the photos and asked who the people were, including him.
I think McCartney was the only high school coach Bo ever hired, so talk about standing out enough to be chosen for those staffs. He has his own coaching branch on the Bo tree, which includes names like Gary Barnett, RIck Neuheisel, Les Miles (who also coached under Bo and Mo, of course) and even Jim Caldwell, oddly enough.
Very sad news indeed.
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Alzheimer's is cruel and cold-hearted. Not to get political, but (IMO) I wish there was more of a national concerted effort to beat this disease.
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I can still hear Bob Ufer's voice over the radio screaming at and about McCartney's Monsters. Can't wait to see this year's defense!!
Yeah, part of the reasoning behind getting this article out this year was to have a tribute to Mac, and get his Michigan memories down before they're gone.
He's been dealing with memory issues for some time now but fortunately it's come along slowly.
Detroit's own Charles Johnson (CJ) and QB of the CU National Title team was saying that those in the know (as I mentioned too) have known about the alzheimers for a bit over a year now, so you know there was something to the timing of the press release, just ahead of football season.
And fwiw, CU fans have always been relatively pro-Michigan for the most part. Aside from the Hail Mary play ...and in 1996 after the failed Hail Mary at Folsom, many said the M fans were the "best visiting fans' to ever come to Boulder.
I was there ...we were classy!! :)
Here is the family statement:
“We would like to share the news that our father, Coach Bill McCartney has been diagnosed with late-onset Dementia/Alzheimer’s. We (his family) have been noticing memory issues for the past few years and he was recently diagnosed. He is receiving treatment and we are hoping this slows the progression of the disease. He is still the same Coach Mac – biking, golfing, supporting the Buffs and being an active member of his Church.
“We are making this public to ask for your understanding and patience as we know he frequently runs into fans, friends and former players. This is a frustrating and confusing disease, and if he appears disconnected or unknowing, please don’t take it personally.