传奇色彩

Richard+Sandomir

Craig Sager， Colorful N.B.A. Sideline Reporter， Dies at 65.

克雷格·萨格尔永远是NBA赛场边最传奇的色彩。

Craig Sager， an exuberant sideline reporter for National Basketball Association television broadcasts who was as well known for his outlandishly garish outfits as for the questions he asked coaches and players， died on Thursday in Atlanta. He was 65.

克雷格·薩格尔是一个精力充沛的NBA电视广播记者，他花哨的外套和对教练、球员的提问一样出名。周四，他在亚特兰大去世，享年65岁。

The cause was leukemia， according to a spokesman for Turner Sports. After receiving the diagnosis in 2014， Mr. Sager continued to work occasionally during what became a highly public illness. He received blood transfusions to be strong enough to travel to some games， and returned to a hospital after others.

特纳体育的发言人表示，萨格尔因白血病去世。2014年确诊患上白血病后，在这段广为人知的过程中，萨格尔仍坚持工作。他接受了骨髓移植，身体恢复到足以前往客场参加比赛。有时报道完比赛后，他还需要回医院接受治疗。

He last appeared in a game broadcast in June and canceled plans to work for NBC at the Summer Olympics in Brazil in August to continue treatment.

萨格尔最后一次在赛场上工作是六月。八月，他取消了原定为NBC工作、前往巴西报道奥运会的计划，而是接受进一步治疗。

Mr. Sager brought deep knowledge of basketball and a fun-loving spirit to his work. He was known for working behind the scenes to find news that he could use in his on-air reports or give to announcing colleagues like Marv Albert and Reggie Miller.

萨格尔不仅拥有丰富的篮球知识，他还给自己的工作带去了快乐的精神。他以幕后工作闻名，他总是寻找可以在采访报道时用上的新闻，或者将找到的新闻交给同事玛丽·阿尔伯特和雷吉·米勒使用。

“He was always hovering around the benches，” Mr. Albert said in a recent telephone interview. “And players told him things.”

“他总是出没于板凳附近。”近日接受电话采访时阿尔伯特表示，“球员会透露给他内幕。”

But his journalism competed for attention with his psychedelic wardrobe. He strode the sideline of N.B.A. arenas in lilac， orange， banana yellow， black and lime green outfits — some in medleys of colors arrayed in stripes， plaids， swirls and other patterns that resembled Rorschach tests. He abhorred repeating any combinations.

引人注目的不仅是他的记者工作，还包括夸张的穿着。他穿着淡紫色、橙色、香蕉黄、黑色和淡绿色的西装出现在NBA场边——有些是各种颜色混杂的条状、格子状、漩涡状的图案，看上去就像罗夏测验一样。他不喜欢重复的搭配。

“My clothes reflect who I am，” he wrote in “Living Out Loud： Sports， Cancer and the Things Worth Fighting For，” his autobiography， which was published in November. “I believe that life should be fun and so should your clothes.”

“我的衣服反映了我的性格。”他在11月出版的自传《快意生活：体育、癌症和值得奋斗的事》中这样写道，“我认为人生应当是快乐的，所以衣服也是。”

His ensembles set him apart from other sideline reporters， who are usually bit players on sports broadcasts， typically given no more than one or two minutes to question sweaty athletes and cranky coaches between quarters， at halftime or after games.

穿衣打扮让他区别于其他场边记者，他们通常只有一到两分钟时间，在节间休息、半场休息和赛后采访大汗淋漓的球员和脾气暴躁的主教练。

But Mr. Sager， with questions as well planned as his ensembles， became a favorite of players and coaches， not to mention the fans in the seats， as he walked into an arena in his sartorial splendor.

但萨格尔对采访问题的准备和他对服装的挑选同样精心，这让他成为球员和教练最爱的记者。坐在现场的球迷也是，他们喜欢看着他穿着华丽的衣服从眼前走过。

“He had a very good relationship with players， but that didnt mean he wouldnt ask tough questions，” Mr. Albert said. “I also thought that the outfits he wore made him underrated.”

“他和球员的关系很好，但这并不等于他不会问难回答的问题。”阿尔伯特说，“我还觉得他的穿着导致他被低估了。”

As his illness progressed， Mr. Sager had three bone marrow transplants， two from his older son， Craig II.

随着病情不断发展，萨格尔接受了三次骨髓移植，其中两次来自自己的大儿子萨格尔二世。

On Mr. Sagers return from a long hospital stay， his condition prompted Gregg Popovich， the San Antonio Spurs coach who is notoriously terse when responding to sideline reporters， to show rare warmth to Mr. Sager.

结束漫长的住院治疗回到赛场后，面对场边记者提问一向言简意赅的马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇，也少见地向萨格尔发出了温暖的信息。

“This is the first time Ive enjoyed doing this ridiculous interview were required to do，” Mr. Popovich said， “and thats because youre here and youre back with us.” Then he added， “Now ask me a couple of inane questions.”

“这是我第一次这么享受我们必须接受的这种荒谬的采访。”波波维奇表示，“那是因为你在这里，你回来了。”他接着表示，“好了，快问我几个无聊的问题吧。”

In June， Mr. Sager， who worked for TNT， was asked to be a sideline reporter at Game 6 of the N.B.A. finals on ABC， a rare invitation from a rival network. He scheduled the assignment — his first during a finals —between an eight-day course of chemotherapy at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and a Fathers Day outing in Florida.

六月，作为TNT雇员的萨格尔得到邀请，在总决赛第六場中成为ABC的场边记者，这种由竞争对手电视台发出的邀请极为罕见。在休斯敦安德森癌症中心八天的化疗以及前往佛罗里达和家人一起过父亲节之间，萨格尔安排好了自己的行程——那也是他第一次在上赛季总决赛工作。

Not surprisingly， he purchased a new outfit for the game.不出意料，为了那场比赛，他买了一套新衣服。

“I cant bring out something Ive already worn，” he said in an interview with The New York Times. “I want to make sure I dont look down. I want people to say， ‘Man， he looks good.”

“我不能穿以前穿过的衣服。”接受《纽约时报》财富时他说，“我想确保自己有一个好状态。我希望人们说，老天，他看着真不错。”

After the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 6， Mr. Sager interviewed the Cavaliers star LeBron James. After answering several questions， Mr. James reversed roles with Mr. Sager and asked： “How in the hell did you go 30-plus years without getting a finals game？ That dont make no sense.”

当骑士在第六场击败勇士后，萨格尔采访了骑士球星勒布朗·詹姆斯。回答完几个问题后，詹姆斯和萨格尔互换了角色，他问萨格尔：“你怎么可能干了30多年却没采访过总决赛？这没道理啊。”

Mr. Sager smiled and said， “Thanks a lot for entertaining me.”萨格尔笑着说：“谢谢你让我开心。”

Craig Graham Sager was born on June 29， 1951， in Batavia， Ill. His father， Al， was an advertising and public-relations executive； his mother， Coral， was an avid golfer who held a pilots license.

克雷格·格拉汉姆-萨格尔1951年6月29日出生在伊利诺伊州巴塔威亚。他的父亲阿尔是一名广告兼公关管理人员；他的母亲卡罗尔酷爱高尔夫球，还拥有飞行员执照。

Mr. Sager attended Northwestern University， where， after trying out for the football team and playing for the freshman basketball team， he stepped into one of his earliest outrageous guises： Willie the Wildcat， the universitys mascot.

萨格尔后来进入西北大学，他参加了美式足球队试训，大一那年还成为学校篮球队的一员。那是他第一次穿上夸张的衣服：学校吉祥物“野猫威利”。

After Northwesterns football team upset Ohio State， Mr. Sager taunted the losing players while still in costume. In response， he wrote， members of the Ohio State marching band “began to push me and poke me with their flagpoles.”

当西北大学美式足球队爆冷战胜俄亥俄州大后，穿着吉祥物戏装他嘲讽了输掉比赛的一方。萨格尔写道，作为回应，俄亥俄州大乐队成员“开始推搡我，用旗杆戳我”。

After graduation he became a reporter for a radio station in Sarasota， Fla. On one assignment he leapt onto the field at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium after Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run to surpass Babe Ruth as baseballs home run king. Wearing a trench coat， Mr. Sager， then 23， caught up to Mr. Aaron at home plate， amid a scrum of fans， reporters and relatives， to briefly interview him.

毕业后，萨格尔来到佛罗里达的萨拉索塔，成为电台记者。让他一举成名的工作，是在汉克·亚伦在亚特兰大-富尔顿郡体育场打出职业生涯第715记本垒打、超越贝比·鲁斯成为棒球本垒打之王时的财富工作。那年23岁的萨格穿着大衣，在球迷、记者和亲属涌进场内的混乱局面下，在本垒上对亚伦短暂的采访。

Three years later， while covering the Belmont Stakes， Mr. Sager slept in Seattle Slews stable the night before the thoroughbred won the Triple Crown. Before leaving to take the horse for a morning walk， Mr. Sager wrote， he scooped up a piece of Seattle Slews excrement and preserved it for the next 39 years as a fragment of history.

三年后，采訪贝尔蒙特赛马锦标赛时，在纯种马西雅图斯卢赢下三冠王前，萨格尔曾睡在它的马厩里。萨格写道，赛马早上被带出前，他铲起一块马粪，将其作为历史的一块碎片，保留了39年。

Mr. Sager also worked at TV stations in Florida and Kansas City， Mo.， before joining CNN in 1981. In 1990 he moved to Turner Sports， where， besides the N.B.A.， he covered golf， the National Football League， college football and basketball， and Major League Baseball.

1981年加入CNN前，萨格尔也在佛罗里达和密苏里州堪萨斯城的电视台工作过。1990年，他加入特纳体育。除了NBA，他还报道高尔夫、NFL、大学足球和篮球以及MLB。

Mr. Sager is survived by his son Craig as well as another son， Ryan； his daughters， Kacy， Krista and Riley Sager； his second wife， Stacy； and a sister， Candy Menzemer.

除了萨格尔二世外，萨格尔还有一个儿子莱恩，以及女儿凯西、克里斯塔及莱·萨格尔。他的第二任妻子名叫斯黛西，他还有一个妹妹坎迪·门泽莫儿。

Mr. Sagers positive attitude and consuming desire to return to the sideline won him the Jimmy V Perseverance Award — named for Jim Valvano， the former North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator who died of bone cancer in 1993 — at the ESPY Awards show in July.

萨格尔积极的态度和希望重回工作岗位的欲望，为他在7月的 ESPY颁奖典礼上赢得了吉米·V坚韧奖。这个奖项以前北卡州大篮球主教练、ESPN解说员吉米·瓦尔瓦诺命名，瓦尔瓦诺1993年因骨癌去世。

Wearing a floral print jacket， he said in his acceptance speech：“Whatever I might have imagined a terminal diagnosis would do to my spirit， it summoned quite the opposite — the greatest appreciation for life itself. So I will never give up， and I will never give in.”

穿著印着花朵的外套，他在获奖致辞中这样说道：“无论我怎样想象绝症会对我的精神产生怎样的打击，我最终想到的东西恰好与之相反——我对生活本身有了更多的感激。所以我永远不会放弃，永远不会屈服。”