So, 2016 continues to be a real kick in the ass. We lost another long time legend last night, Craig Sager.
HEY 2016, STOP TAKING GREAT PEOPLE FROM US! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, JESUS CHRIST!
I have been an NBA fan pretty much my entire life. From childhood, to teenage years, to college life, and now adulthood, I have watched the NBA. The one constant, besides the teams, throughout all this watching of games, has been Craig Sager. As long as I can remember, he was always there, on the sideline, ready to give some great insight and do a wonderful coach interview.
I remember watching, the first time I was a T'Wolves fan, all the great interviews between Sager and Kevin Garnett. Garnett was one of the first people to give Sager a "hard time" about his clothing, which I will touch on in a moment. You could tell right off the bat that Garnett, who is a known recluse when it comes to reporters, had a great rapport with Sager. That was when I instantly became a fan of Sager's. The fact that he could get Garnett to open up like he did, meant to me, that he must be a special reporter and person. He never seemed like so many other reporters that just wanted a story, hot take or something that people would talk about in the national media the next day. He was a guy that just genuinely loved what he was doing, and he loved NBA basketball.
There is no reporter, except for Howard Cosell, that got the same kind of love and respect that Craig Sager got from pro athletes and his peers. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Chris Berman, Tim Kurkjan, Buster Olney, they all wish that they had the gift that Craig Sager had. Sager was one of a kind.
This was even true when it came to his clothes, told you I'd get to it. He, I do not know how long ago, started to wear these very loud and colorful jackets on the sideline. The first time I saw one of these it blew my mind. I thought, what in the hell is he doing, but the more he wore them, and he wore a ton of them, the more I, not only accepted, but liked them. I looked forward to seeing what kind of sport coat he would be wearing while covering a game. It became something that everyone that watched the NBA talked about. I would go over to friends houses, talk about the game, but we also talked about Sager's coat. It was always a topic of conversation. This was just another one of his ways of standing out from the crowd. He truly was one of a kind.
The more I read yesterday, after his death was announced, the more I found out that the colorful jackets had meaning. It made Sager and the person he was interviewing stand out. He wore them because he liked them, not just as a fashion statement. He continued to wear them because so many people talked about it. The colorful sport coat became just another great thing that added to his awesomeness.
His reporting didn't just start and stop with the NBA either. He covered baseball for a long time. In fact, if you look back at videos of Hank Aaron hitting his 715th home run, and I just found this out yesterday, you can see Sager on the field with a tape recorder in hand, ready to interview Aaron. He was always prepared, no matter how big the situation. He also covered the Olympics for NBC. He was the absolute best part of NBC's coverage of the Olympics. For the most part, NBC stinks with their Olympic stuff, but not Craig Sager. He was worth watching. He was always good. He was always giving out the right information. He owned the Olympic coverage.
When Craig Sager was diagnosed with leukemia over a year ago, I, amongst many other people, hoped that it could be cured. At one point, it even looked like his cancer was in remission. But, it unfortunately came back, and it was a death sentence. Even with this sentence being handed down to him, Sager handled it as only he could. He never stopped smiling. He even continued to work. He did his first NBA Finals last year, and it was one of the coolest moments in sports history to see him cover a great Finals matchup. He was extremely sick, but you would never know it from the way he handled himself. He had his sport coat, his knowledge, and his trademark smile while doing sideline interviews. Seeing this actually gave me hope that he may be getting better. I mean, my own mother overcame cancer, so I thought that Sager could too.
But, even though we all knew it was coming, the news of his death yesterday shook me to my core. I was absolutely shocked when my phone buzzed with the news that Sager had passed away at the age of 65. That is way too young for someone that was filled with, and lived his life, to its full potential. I have loved all the tributes that have been coming out since yesterday. I feel awful for Rachel Nichols, who is an excellent NBA reporter for ESPN, one of the few good people there, because she was a colleague of his, and she had to announce his death on live TV. That was a tough, heart breaking watch. The guys on TNT last night celebrated his life. That was incredible. They told stories and talked about all the good times they had with Sager. It was a celebration of his life. The pre-game warm up shirts that the Bucks and Warriors wore last night were great. I'm sure most teams will start doing the same thing. Greg Poppovich's, I do not know if it was pre-game or post game press conference, where he only talked about the greatness that was Craig Sager, was absolutely touching and phenomenal. I have been moved by what I've seen for the last 16 hours.
Craig Sager was one of a kind, and he will be missed so much. He has been in my life as long as I can remember. He is my version of Howard Cosell, only I think that Craig Sager was better at his job. I will miss him so much, and that was very prevalent when I watched some games last night, and he wasn't there. It is going to be quite strange for a long time not seeing him on the sideline. Hopefully we get someone that can be 1/4 as great as he was, but there will never, ever be another person like Craig Sager. Never. Rest In Peace.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.
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