Sager pours heart into NBA’s Valentine’s Day All-Star Game
Craig Sager didn’t get an All-Star Game break. Before joining his Turner Sports colleagues in Toronto to call this weekend’s events, he spent five days at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for his six-month checkup since undergoing a bone marrow transplant as part of his leukemia treatment.
“I got some maintenance,” Sager said earlier this week, rattling off a long list of procedures that included blood work, bone density tests, a biopsy, a blood transfusion and chemotherapy consultations.
So far, he said, all is well. He has regained 23 of the 53 pounds he lost during treatment and feels great. And since he was in Houston, he got to meet with Houston clothier Hank Taghi to coordinate his ensemble for All-Star Saturday and for the AllStar Game itself on Valentine’s Day.
“I wanted something that you look at it and say, ‘Wow. Valentine’s Day,’ ” he said. “So I had a sport coat made that they’re sending to me.”
So are we talking red and white with some hearts on the side?
“Those are some pretty good guesses,” he said.
Fashion concerns aside, Sager said he’s looking for- ward to discussing what he considers a unique NBA season with players and coaches at the break.
“I’ve been going to the All-Star Game since 1988, and I can’t ever remember having so much excitement, so much talk, about the first half of the season as we’ve had this year,” he said. “The Warriors with their record start and San Antonio on their heels and the Eastern Conference … although it’s sad to see certain coaches getting let go, it’s brought attention about the importance of winning and the importance of the regular season, which I’ve never seen more stressed than this year.”
Sager has been assigned to the West AllStars, so he will continue his byplay with Spurs coach GreggPopovich and document Kobe Bryant’s last All-Star Game. Also, his daughter Riley, 11, and son Ryan, 9, will work the All-Star Saturday events as ball kids.
“I’ve given them as- signments,” Sager said. “I told them not to let it interfere with schoolwork, but I want them to memorize every player in the events and what team they play for, and if they need anything, I expect you to know who they are and help them out. I won’t bother them while they’re working, and they won’t bother me while I work, and we’ll talk about it later.”