Comment on Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow fighting through muscle disease

"There is nothing more humiliating than falling in front of people," says the longtime Giants broadcaster. A strapping 6-5, 200-pound right-hander, he won 124 games, had a 20-win season in 1986 and pitched over 2,100 innings. Krukow, 62, has kept his condition a secret, but now he's ready to reveal that he's suffering from a degenerative muscle disease called inclusion-body myosotis. IBM causes progressive weakness in the muscles of the wrist and fingers, the front of the thigh, and the muscles that lift the front of the foot. When he got the diagnosis eight years ago, he says, the doctor gave him a medical version of good news/bad news. Difficult problem to faceHow does a person - especially an athlete, used to depending on a strong body - respond to such news? "Being the strong, muscular athlete he was, this was very difficult to face," says Jennifer Krukow, Mike's wife. The low point was in April when he stumbled coming off the team bus in Colorado and took a spill that was so serious he tore the rotator cuff in a shoulder. Lately, the Krukows have focused on the doctor's mantra: IBM is life-altering, not life-threatening. Having said that, everyone stresses that the last thing the perpetually upbeat Krukow wants is a pity party - that's not his style. Krukow has begun to use a golf cart to get out of the ballpark because the press of crowds can be dangerous. [...] eager to playAn avid golfer (a loss of distance on his drives was one reason he suspected he had a problem), he hopes to be able to play again. [...] what Giants fans might not know is that he is also a gifted musician. Giants fans dress as "Gamer Babes" in hopes of getting singled out in the stands and treat "Kruk and Kuip" like old pals.