There Never Was and Never Will Be Another Craig Sager

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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Ty's Mount Rushmore of Sports Greats

I was also quite the athlete back in 1760's

Much like my previous Mount Rushmore of Comedians blog I did a few weeks ago, today I'm going to do something similar, but I'm going to talk about my four sports idols. I'm going to do one player from baseball, basketball, football and college football. College basketball, with the lone exception of the Fab five, whom I love, no one single player has left a lasting impression on me. Same with hockey, which I know absolutely nothing about and soccer, which I also know nothing about. I know how to play both sports, but I never really watched hockey or soccer on a regular basis. In fact, I never watched hockey or soccer ever, they just aren't my thing. But, basketball, baseball, football and college football are my thing. I love all four of them and there has definitely been multiple players that have left long lasting impressions on me. It was really tough for me to pick out four single players, but I trudged through and figured it out.

Are you ready? Here it goes. 

Let's start with major league baseball. So, my favorite player of all time is Jackie Robinson, but I never saw him play. I was born in 1982 and all I know about Jackie Robinson is the history and how truly great of a player he was. But I was around and I watched Tony Gwynn play a ton of baseball. I am a Cardinals fan, but I'm a bigger Tony Gwynn fan. He is the best hitter that I have ever watched. His approach at the plate was like no one else. He had 20/10 vision and he could literally see the seams on the ball, making it easy for him to pick what pitch was coming at him. He could spot a 90 mile per hour fast ball as easily as he could spot a 75 mile an hour curveball. He regularly hit .350 to .375 every season he played. He even flirted with .400 many times during his career. You could also mark it down in pen that he would get, at least, 200 hits every season. He was a pretty decent outfielder as well. He was great at tracking fly balls and he had a pretty above average arm. Sure, he played right field, but in the pros, right field is just as tough as any other outfield position. When I got to see Tony Gwynn play live it was always a teaching moment for my father, who was also my little league coach. He had me watch Tony Gwynn more than any other baseball player I can remember. My dad used to tell me how great of a hitter he was and that it was important for me to watch how he played the game. Tony Gwynn was the consummate pro. He never got involved in off field stuff and he was always looked at as a great teammate and a great player. Tony Gwynn is in my personal top ten of all time great baseball players. He doesn't get the credit he deserves, but he is an all time great, no matter what anyone says.

When it comes to basketball, the best player and my favorite player is Charles Barkley. I know this is a departure from the soft spoken and humble Tony Gwynn, but I love Charles Barkley and I've tried to model my game after him since I was 10 years old. He is an undersized, a little overweight power forward that rebounded and scored with the best of them. When he came in the league with the 76ers, when they were actually competent, he got to learn from the great Daryl Dawkins. That was a great mentor for him to have. Then, when he ended up in Phoenix, his career took off. This was when I really started to love the way Barkley played. He was brash, he was arrogant, but he was great. His matchups with the Bulls and Michael Jordan were epic. They would trade points and the games were always close, but he could never get over the hump. That was not for lack of effort, the Bulls were just the better team. Charles Barkley became a legit star when he was in Phoenix. While he was a Sun, that was when he did his whole "I'm not a role model" campaign for Nike. While that commercial made my friends dislike Barkley more than they already did, my love for him grew from there. This was the one time in my life that I can say that I liked the arrogance that an athlete was putting out there, and even though he didn't want to be a role model, he became an even bigger role model to me. I even love him now on his NBA show on TNT. He is the best basketball commentator on the best pre and post game basketball show on TV right now. Not only did I love Barkley as a player, but I like him even more as a TV personality. It gets no better than Charles Barkley for me.

When it comes to NFL football, I'm going to go back to a player with humility and who was/is very humble. The best offensive football player that I have ever watched, and he is one of my all time favorite players, is Barry Sanders. When I was a kid, I was still a Packers fan, but I loved watching Barry Sanders more than any player the Packers threw out there. Barry Sanders was the most athletic and the most graceful athlete, with Bo Jackson maybe being the lone exception and challenger, that I have ever watched. Barry Sanders made a three yard run more exciting than anyone else going for a 90 yard TD run. He would be stopped behind the line for a 6 yard loss, break multiple tackles and make multiple moves, run up field and get 3 yards and it was thrilling. When Sanders was in his prime, he was the Lions offense. Sure, they had Herman Moore and Scott Mitchell, but who really remembers those two guys? That Lions team was all about Barry Sanders. He never had the help he needed, but he made the Lions a perennial playoff team and guided them to at least 10 wins a year. I would stop everything I was doing, be it playing outside or playing video games or playing baseball, basketball or football with my friends, whenever Barry Sanders was on. He was must watch TV. And talk about being a humble pro. He never celebrated or did dances or put the spotlight on himself. He'd get a thirty yard gain and walk back to the huddle and get ready for the next play. He'd score a TD and he'd hand the ball to the officials and high five his teammates. He was the epitome of how to play the game and act like you've been there before. I love Barry Sanders. The day he retired, at the absolute prime of his career, I was shocked. I thought it was a joke or a hoax. He couldn't really be leaving football, he was just about to break the all time rushing record and he was the best in the game. But, he really walked away, never to return. I give him credit now, walking away without any serious injuries and his mind still fully intact, but at the time, I was upset. I felt robbed of seeing, at least, 10 more years of great football from Barry Sanders. But, he did the right thing for himself and his family and I understand that now. Barry Sanders in the greatest running back of all time, in my opinion.

Now, we get to my absolute favorite sport and my absolute, unquestioned favorite player of all time. The sport is college football and the player is Charles Woodson. I've written a whole lot on the site about Woodson, but he is the greatest football player I've ever seen, especially when he was at Michigan. I have a ton of all time favorite Wolverines. Guys like David Harris, Jarret Irons, Anthony Thomas, Tim Biakabutuku, Brian Griese, Marlin Jackson, Mercury Hayes, Tai Streets, I could go on and on and on, but no one is better than Charles Woodson. He was the best. His covering skills are unmatched. Teams purposefully threw away from him because he could pick off anything. Go back and look at that interception he had at Michigan State, the one handed one, it's incredible. While he was a lock down corner, he was also an electrifying kick returner and receiver. He could take a punt to the house at any time, look at the 1996 game against OSU, and he was a great over the middle receiver, look at that 96 OSU game again or earlier that season against PSU. He was just phenomenal. He is also the only primarily defensive player to win the Heisman. The day he won the Heisman, Michigan basketball, led by Louis Bullock and Robert Traylor, upset number one Duke and it was my birthday. It was a great birthday and a great day to be a Wolverines fan. Charles Woodson was also just a good guy. He was a great teammate, a great player and a great representative of Michigan football. He is the best defensive football player that I've ever seen and when he was starring at Michigan, that's when my true love for them really, truly started. Charles Woodson was the catalyst. I love absolutely everything about Charles Woodson. Of the four athletes I've mentioned, Woodson is number one and the first face that would get carved into my personal Mount Rushmore.

So there you have it, my Mount Rushmore of pro and college athletes. There's a lot of other people I could have mentioned, but these are the four that stood out to me. These are the four best, and my favorite, athletes in what I consider the four major sports.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. Do you like reading about Ty's Mount Rushmore of Athletes, well you can listen to him tell his stories on the X Millennial Man. Make sure you give it a listen and rate us on iTunes. When you are done listening, read more from Ty on twitter @tykulik.