CRAIG SAGER
The other night, (July 20) Milwaukee crowned its first NBA champion in fifty years when the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns 105–98, to capture the NBA Finals, 4–2.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was intergalactic.
Chris Paul was devastated.
And all I could think about was that Craig Sager, in his resplendent glory, should have been there to cover it.
Of course, he was not.
Longtime Turner Sports broadcaster Sager, died at the age of 65, nearly 5 years ago (December 15, 2016).
Acute myeloid leukemia claimed him, following a very long battle.
After his initial diagnosis, Sager, who worked for Turner for more than 30 years, missed the 2014 and 2015 NBA playoffs and part of the 2014-’15 regular season, as well as the 2015 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
During the 2014 NBA playoffs, Sager’s son, Craig Jr., did a sideline interview with Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich.
The elder Sager’s interviews with Popovich had become a signature thing — amusing banter tossed back and forth — and must-see TV of sorts.
“You did a great job,” Pop complimented the kid, “but I’d rather have your dad standing here.”
“Craig, we miss you, you’ve been an important part of all of this for a long time doing a great job.
We want your fanny back on the court, and I promise I’ll be nice.”
In the wake of his passing, Popovich offered this:
“A day like this, basketball has to take a back seat, as we all think about somebody who was very unique, very special…”
Echoed Larry Bird, “He was as identifiable with the NBA as any player or coach. The league will not be the same without him.”
Born on June 29, 1951 in Batavia, IL, Sager graduated from Northwestern in 1973 with a degree in speech.
And with a run as the school mascot, Willie the Wildcat.
He made his bones early, at 22, when he caught up to Hank Aaron as the Hammer was rounding third and heading to home plate, after hitting his record-breaking 715th bomb.
The youthful, trenchcoat-clad Sager was in the middle of the on-field scrum, thrusting a mike into Aaron’s face, as the world watched in awe.
Asked years later what he thought might have happened had he tried to interview Aaron the same way, Sager told Yahoo! Sports, rather bluntly, “I’d be shot.”
He later worked for CNN, handling the network’s first live remote report from the 1980 MLB playoffs.
He co-anchored CNN Sports Tonight and anchored College Football Scoreboard in the 1980s.
Although Sager covered everything, it seems — college football, the NFL, the World Series, the Goodwill Games, the Pan Am Games, World Cup Soccer, golf, tennis, and the Winter and Summer Olympics — the NBA was it for him.
Players and fellow broadcasters rallied fiercely around him during his fight.
Reporters began using the hashtag #SidelineForSager and dressed in colorful garb to show their support.
In April 2016, then-Rockets center Dwight Howard and his D12 Foundation held a blood drive to honor him.
At the 2016 ESPYS when he was presented with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award, Sager was humbled.
“Whatever I might’ve imagined a terminal diagnosis would do to my spirit, it’s summoned quite the opposite — the greatest appreciation for life itself.
So I will never give up.
And I will never give in.
I will continue to keep fighting, sucking the marrow out of life, as life sucks the marrow out of me.
I will live my life full of love and full of fun.
It’s the only way I know how.”
Exceptional strength and a relentlessly positive energy, inspiring millions.
Craig Sager was not perfect.
Who is?
His kids from his first marriage have squawked publicly about being left out of his will.
‘It’s their evil stepmother,’ they say.
His affinity for having fun and trademarking his colorful wardrobe has become the stuff of legend.
Bottom line?
He was a reporter and a good one.
One of the best.
He gathered information and told stories like no other.
He never had a bad day.
To me, there’s something to be said for that.
And maybe, that’s good enough.
[Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in July 2021.]
