AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State defensive end Mitchell Meyers has had a lot more on his mind than just football over the past 18 months.Finally cancer-free, he is hoping to be much more than just an inspiration to the Cyclones in 2016.Meyers, who was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma in February 2015, wasnt cleared to fully rejoin his teammates until fall camp. But Meyers fight to beat cancer was such a stirring tale that his fellow Cyclones recently named him a captain.Iowa State (3-9 in 2015) is also expecting big things on the field from Meyers, a senior who on Monday officially regained his starting status for Saturdays opener against Northern Iowa.Ive actually been thinking about this. ... If you were to tell me Id get cancer two years ago, I would have never believed you. And if you were to tell me that Im in the position Im in now six months ago, I definitely wouldnt have believed you, Meyers said. Right now Im in a really good position to succeed.Meyers first broke out for Iowa State as a freshman in 2013, playing in all 12 games. He moved into the starting lineup as an interior lineman as a sophomore, and he was expected to be one of the key defenders for the Cyclones in 2015.But during winter workouts that season, Meyers noticed that his neck was unusually sore. Doctors diagnosed him with cancer, and Meyers was forced to put football on hold.Though Meyers couldnt practice with his teammates, he never missed a workout while battling his disease in both Iowa and his home state of Texas for most of 2015. During that time, the coach who recruited him, Paul Rhoads, was fired. Meyers wasnt even able to meet new coach Matt Campbell until the middle of spring practice, which he sat out as part of his recovery.Meyers earned the immediate respect of Campbell, who first got to know Meyers on the phone as he went through treatment.This young man that had this upbeat spirit about himself going through this, and it can put you in your place really fast. Tough days come, and are they really that tough? Heres what this guy is going through, Campbell said. Mitchells last words to me [on the phone] were, Im coming back to play. Im not coming back to be just a story.Meyers said Monday that, despite having to learn a new system and build his body back to where it was before he got sick, the muscle memory he built up playing football has helped.He didnt start fall camp atop the depth chart, but as Campbell and his coaches watched Meyers go through workouts, they realized that they not only had a starter on their hands but also one that had the toughness and character the new staff wants for its program.One of the best stories in college football, Campbell said.Meyers acknowledges that he might never be the player that he was before he got sick, though he also said that he feels as good as he has ever felt heading into a season.He will play his final season wearing No. 58, which Iowa State hands to the lineman who best embodies the spirit of beloved former line coach Curtis Bray. Bray was 43 when he died in 2014 of a pulmonary embolism.Battling cancer is a lot like playing football. Obviously the implications are a lot bigger battling cancer, but you learn a lot about mental toughness playing football, Meyers said. It helped me a lot to get through what I went through, and vice versa. Cheap Oklahoma City Thunder Jerseys China . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys China . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. http://www.cheapbasketballchina.com/cheap-portland-trail-blazers-jerseys-china_474r.html . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Cheap Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys China . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. Cheap Dallas Mavericks Jerseys China . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. My story isnt particularly special. Sometime around 1988 or 89, my mother took me and my sister out of school on a Friday afternoon to go to a Cubs game. My parents were never big sports fans -- still arent -- but someone gave my mom tickets, so she thought she would treat us to a ballgame. It was the only Cubs game I went to as a kid.I never shared Cracker Jacks with a grandparent or learned how to keep score from my dad. There are no photos of me in a high chair decked out head-to-toe in Cubs gear. That spring day, I didnt know the players names or even all the rules, but from then on I was a Cubs fan, and Wrigley Field would forever be the standard by which Id judge all baseball stadiums. (If youre wondering how the rest are faring -- theyve all paled in comparison.)My fandom grew organically, without the urging of family or friends, until I was officially hooked. I discovered that sports were as fun to watch as they were to play, and that loyalty to a team was a powerful feeling. Now, here I am, living and dying with every pitch, traveling across time zones to watch my team make history.There are thousands of others with stories far better than mine. Many people shared photos and memories on social media this weekend after the Cubs clinched the NLCS?against the Los Angeles Dodgers. I reached out to a few to ask about their stories.Theres 41-year-old Michelle Vitellaro, who learned to love the game through her grandfather, Ted Zielen. He was one of the famed Andy Frain ushers who patrolled the aisles of Wrigley in their signature blue and gold uniforms. Vitellaro spent the summers of 1982 and 83 hanging out with her grandpa and sitting on the dugout, where she developed her first crush, on power hitter Dave Kingman. Years after Zielens death in 1983, she followed in his footsteps, taking a job at Wrigley Field, where shed eventually meet her husband. On Friday, she placed a W flag at Zielens grave in anticipation of Saturdays big game.Katie Day, 31, also fell in love with the Cubs while watching with her grandfather. Dan Schlesinger attended the teams most recent Worldd Series, in 1945, and passed away with a Cubs hat on his head in 2010.ddddddddddddDays brother wore that hat when the Cubs clinched the series against the Dodgers. The next morning, ?Day went to her grandfathers grave to share flowers, a National League championship flag and the news of their win. Heres what she posted:Sunday also found Maria Vala, 52, visiting the resting place of a loved one. She brought Old Style beers to share with her father, Giannino Vala, who passed in 1998. She reminisced about summer days when hed come home from work midday, taking extra-long lunch breaks so they could watch Cubs games together.Illinois State Representative Sara Feigenholtz, 59, brought an old black-and-white photo of her father, Bernard Pep Feigenholtz, to Wrigley Field on Sunday morning. The man responsible for her love of the Cubs died in 1965, but she wanted to take him on a victory lap of the Friendly Confines so he could witness the magic.All of us Cubs fans witnessing the magic of the teams first World Series appearance in 71 years know how lucky we are. When we settle in to watch Game 1 on Tuesday night, we know well also be watching on behalf of all the players and fans who have come and gone before us.Cubs play-by-play man Len Kasper joined my podcast this week and talked about how being a fan of the Cubs feels different than any other fandom because of the through line that connects us.The great thing for [Cubs fans] is that it does mean more than just watching your team play, said Kasper. It means your great-grandparents, your grandparents, your kids -- everything that is involved. It just touches every part of your life.The only connection todays Cubs players have to the players of the past is the Chicago on their chests, but the fans who have experienced a century-plus of disappointment are one and the same. When the team finally wins it all, Northsiders will celebrate not just for themselves, but for anyone who has ever loved the Cubs. ' ' '