Life of Fitz | A Cancer Warrior's Conversations about Life

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend and former media colleague Dani Welniak in Kansas City. Welniak is a graduate of the Oklahoma State sports journalism program who started her news career in Dodge City, Kansas, covering high school sports for Catch It Kansas. After two years, she moved up to Wichita’s main station, KWCH 12, before moving to Kansas City in 2016 to join KCTV5, where she became the Sports Director in 2017. For the past six years, Welniak has reported at KCTV5 in Kansas City, recently serving as the station’s Sports Director and host of The Locker Room Show on KSMO-TV. Welniak is also a former professional women's football player, the sideline analyst for the Chiefs Radio Network from 2016 through 2019 and she recently was a member of the first all-female TV broadcast team for an NCAA FBS bowl game. On June 26, 2022, she was introduced as the new Executive Director of Communications for the Kansas City Current, the new professional women's soccer franchise, which is owned by Angie and Chris Long, as well as Brittany Mahomes. The Current recently released new renderings for the first stadium purpose-built for a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team. As part of a 50-year lease agreement with Port KC, the stadium will be built on a 7.08-acre site on the east end of the park in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

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Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend and former media colleague Dani Welniak in Kansas City. Welniak is a graduate of the Oklahoma State sports journalism program who started her news career in Dodge City, Kansas, covering high school sports for Catch It Kansas. After two years, she moved up to Wichita’s main station, KWCH 12, before moving to Kansas City in 2016 to join KCTV5, where she became the Sports Director in 2017. For the past six years, Welniak has reported at KCTV5 in Kansas City, recently serving as the station’s Sports Director and host of The Locker Room Show on KSMO-TV. Welniak is also a former professional women's football player, the sideline analyst for the Chiefs Radio Network from 2016 through 2019 and she recently was a member of the first all-female TV broadcast team for an NCAA FBS bowl game. On June 26, 2022, she was introduced as the new Executive Director of Communications for the Kansas City Current, the new professional women's soccer franchise, which is owned by Angie and Chris Long, as well as Brittany Mahomes. The Current recently released new renderings for the first stadium purpose-built for a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team. As part of a 50-year lease agreement with Port KC, the stadium will be built on a 7.08-acre site on the east end of the park in Kansas City, Missouri.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State quarterback Brian Kavanagh, who played for the Wildcats in Fitz's first days of covering Kansas State athletics full-time. Kavanagh came to K-State in 1991 from Naperville, Ill., to play for Coach Bill Snyder, and he is believed to be the first college football player to use an NCAA rule loophole that is now known as "grayshirting." He played for the Wildcats starting in 1993, K-State's first bowl appearance under Snyder and the school's first bowl victory at the Copper Bowl, and then stepped in for starter Matt Miller at the 1995 Holiday Bowl when Miller suffered a concussion. Kavanagh completed 18 of 24 passes and threw for four touchdowns in K-State's 54-21 victory over Colorado State, a performance that earned him a spot in the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame. He then went on to lead the Wildcats to a 9-3 record and a berth in the Cotton Bowl as the Wildcats' starter in 1996, his senior season. He now lives in Salina, Kansas, where he and his wife raised four children, the youngest of which, Parker, is set to be a walk-on quarterback for the Wildcats beginning with the 2022 season.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State quarterback Brian Kavanagh, who played for the Wildcats in Fitz's first days of covering Kansas State athletics full-time. Kavanagh came to K-State in 1991 from Naperville, Ill., to play for Coach Bill Snyder, and he is believed to be the first college football player to use an NCAA rule loophole that is now known as "grayshirting." He played for the Wildcats starting in 1993, K-State's first bowl appearance under Snyder and the school's first bowl victory at the Copper Bowl, and then stepped in for starter Matt Miller at the 1995 Holiday Bowl when Miller suffered a concussion. Kavanagh completed 18 of 24 passes and threw for four touchdowns in K-State's 54-21 victory over Colorado State, a performance that earned him a spot in the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame. He then went on to lead the Wildcats to a 9-3 record and a berth in the Cotton Bowl as the Wildcats' starter in 1996, his senior season. He now lives in Salina, Kansas, where he and his wife raised four children, the youngest of which, Parker, is set to be a walk-on quarterback for the Wildcats beginning with the 2022 season.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald speaking with Kansas State associate head football coach Van Malone about his life, hopes for the upcoming season, his philosophies on coaching and lift, his own podcast "Leaders Lead & Winners Win," which he also launched in 2020 during the pandemic, his recent TedX Talk and his ongoing journey to becoming a head coach. Malone, 51, has worked his way through the coaching ranks and in 2019 was named K-State's cornerbacks coach under Coach Chris Klieman and then after one season, he was elevated to associate head coach for Klieman's Wildcats, which are coming off an eight-win season and a victory over LSU in the Texas Bowl.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald speaking with Kansas State associate head football coach Van Malone about his life, hopes for the upcoming season, his philosophies on coaching and lift, his own podcast "Leaders Lead & Winners Win," which he also launched in 2020 during the pandemic, his recent TedX Talk and his ongoing journey to becoming a head coach. Malone, 51, has worked his way through the coaching ranks and in 2019 was named K-State's cornerbacks coach under Coach Chris Klieman and then after one season, he was elevated to associate head coach for Klieman's Wildcats, which are coming off an eight-win season and a victory over LSU in the Texas Bowl.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend Marty Miller, brother of former Kansas State quarterback and assistant coach, Matt Miller. On January 8, 2022, Matthew Lee Miller died peacefully at the age of 49 at the Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, after an 18-month battle against prostate cancer. Matt Miller was a guest on last season's Life of Fitz, during which he shared his message about men's health and making sure men 45 and older regularly ask their doctor to check their PSA score, the strongest indicator of problems with the prostate. As you may know, Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, but he was declared in remission last December after more than four years of treatment and monitoring. Les Miller, the father of Marty and Matt, died on January 5 shortly before Matt's passing last holiday season. Les Miller was a longtime player personnel director in the NFL, including stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. Marty Miller has been a West Coast scout with the Jacksonville Jaguars for nearly 20 years, working out of Boise, Idaho.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

This edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling his friend Marty Miller, brother of former Kansas State quarterback and assistant coach, Matt Miller. On January 8, 2022, Matthew Lee Miller died peacefully at the age of 49 at the Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, after an 18-month battle against prostate cancer. Matt Miller was a guest on last season's Life of Fitz, during which he shared his message about men's health and making sure men 45 and older regularly ask their doctor to check their PSA score, the strongest indicator of problems with the prostate. As you may know, Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, but he was declared in remission last December after more than four years of treatment and monitoring. Les Miller, the father of Marty and Matt, died on January 5 shortly before Matt's passing last holiday season. Les Miller was a longtime player personnel director in the NFL, including stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. Marty Miller has been a West Coast scout with the Jacksonville Jaguars for nearly 20 years, working out of Boise, Idaho.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for nearly 25 years. Fitz also has stage four prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is healthy and in remission, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

This special edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State and NFL receiver Jordy Nelson. After 10 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and one with the Oakland Raiders, Nelson retired from the NFL following the 2019 season, returning to Kansas with his wife and two sons to help tend the family farm in Riley County, Kansas. The K-State Ring of Honor member at Bill Snyder Family Stadium is holding a charity softball game on Sept. 12 at the stadium to benefit Young Life Manhattan and to help fun a K-State football scholarship intended to be given to a walk-on. Nelson was a non-scholarship walk on to the K-State program in 2003 out of Riley County High School, just outside of Manhattan.

Held in conjunction with the Wildcats' home opener against Southern Illinois on September 11, the Jordy Nelson Legends Classic Softball Game will feature several K-State legends, including Kevin Lockett, David Allen, Michael Bishop, Jon McGraw, Jaime Mendez, Martin Gramatica and Kendra Wecker. Full rosters featuring Wildcats from numerous sports will be announced later this summer. Proceeds for the event go to Manhattan Young Life and will also fund a K-State football scholarship reserved for a walk-on. Gates open at 10 a.m., followed by a sponsor game at 11 a.m., and a home run derby at noon. First pitch for the seven-inning Jordy Nelson Legends Classic Softball Game will be at 1 p.m.

More Details on the Jordy Nelson Legends Classic Softball Game came be found here, and tickets are now on sale.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz

This special edition of the Life of Fitz podcast features host Tim Fitzgerald calling former Kansas State and NFL receiver Jordy Nelson. After 10 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and one with the Oakland Raiders, Nelson retired from the NFL following the 2019 season, returning to Kansas with his wife and two sons to help tend the family farm in Riley County, Kansas. The K-State Ring of Honor member at Bill Snyder Family Stadium is holding a charity softball game on Sept. 12 at the stadium to benefit Young Life Manhattan and to help fun a K-State football scholarship intended to be given to a walk-on. Nelson was a non-scholarship walk on to the K-State program in 2003 out of Riley County High School, just outside of Manhattan.

Held in conjunction with the Wildcats' home opener against Southern Illinois on September 11, the Jordy Nelson Legends Classic Softball Game will feature several K-State legends, including Kevin Lockett, David Allen, Michael Bishop, Jon McGraw, Jaime Mendez, Martin Gramatica and Kendra Wecker. Full rosters featuring Wildcats from numerous sports will be announced later this summer. Proceeds for the event go to Manhattan Young Life and will also fund a K-State football scholarship reserved for a walk-on. Gates open at 10 a.m., followed by a sponsor game at 11 a.m., and a home run derby at noon. First pitch for the seven-inning Jordy Nelson Legends Classic Softball Game will be at 1 p.m.

More Details on the Jordy Nelson Legends Classic Softball Game came be found here, and tickets are now on sale.

***

Tim Fitzgerald is a sports journalist who writes, does TV, radio and is a long-time podcaster. He has served as publisher of GoPowercat.com, a website that focuses on Kansas State sports, for more than 20 years. Fitz also has stage 4 prostate cancer, so during the initial stages of the pandemic, his doctors have advised him to stay home and lay low. Now, Fitz is fully vaccinated and rejoining society, but his podcast lives on. Welcome to his life and the Life of Fitz podcast.

Sign up for GoPowercat VIP access and get your first month for just $1!

Want the latest Kansas State headlines sent to your inbox? Click to sign up for GoPowercat's daily newsletter! 

Make sure you subscribe to Life of Fitz at your favorite podcast provider, including Apple, Spotify or Amazon.

Follow @LifeofFitz