When I was a kid growing up in SoCal, I begged my parents for years to get cable TV so that I could actually watch the Lakers’ home games on Prime Ticket.1
My folks finally decided to give in during the summer of 1991 — just in time for Magic’s retirement. But it was about that time when I learned that there were two cable channels called TNT and TBS that showed a lot of NBA games, and that they had this eccentrically-attired sideline reporter by the name of Craig Sager. He wore weird suits and was kinda… weird. But he’s been reporting since I started watching the NBA.
I just got out of giving my last final exam and hit up a spot I frequent to eat and drink to celebrate the end of a fantastic semester… only to see the sad news of Craig Sager’s passing. If there’s anything I take away from his journey, it’s that he did it his way – and everyone respected him for it.
RIP, Craig.
- We were otherwise limited to just watching the road games on KCAL channel 9. [↩]