Book excerpt: Rod Payne, the former All-American center at the University of Michigan and a Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens, never set out to explain the meaning of life to Steve Rom, a sportswriter and the kind of guy most professional athletes keep at a distance. After Steve was diagnosed with leukemia, however, Rod left his job as co-host of a daily sports radio talk show in Ann Arbor, his first post-football career, to help rally his friend back to health. Steve's future, once again, became clear. So too, however, did the challenges that lay ahead. What ensued was a 10-month battle for survival, one that would ultimately turn these friends into brothers.