傳奇色彩

Richard+Sandomir

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

克雷格·薩格爾永遠(yuǎn)是NBA賽場邊最傳奇的色彩。

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·薩格爾是一個精力充沛的NBA電視廣播記者，他花哨的外套和對教練、球員的提問一樣出名。周四，他在亞特蘭大去世，享年65歲。

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.

特納體育的發(fā)言人表示，薩格爾因白血病去世。2014年確診患上白血病后，在這段廣為人知的過程中，薩格爾仍堅(jiān)持工作。他接受了骨髓移植，身體恢復(fù)到足以前往客場參加比賽。有時報(bào)道完比賽后，他還需要回醫(yī)院接受治療。

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.

薩格爾最后一次在賽場上工作是六月。八月，他取消了原定為NBC工作、前往巴西報(bào)道奧運(yùn)會的計(jì)劃，而是接受進(jìn)一步治療。

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.

薩格爾不僅擁有豐富的籃球知識，他還給自己的工作帶去了快樂的精神。他以幕后工作聞名，他總是尋找可以在采訪報(bào)道時用上的新聞，或者將找到的新聞交給同事瑪麗·阿爾伯特和雷吉·米勒使用。

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

“他總是出沒于板凳附近。”近日接受電話采訪時阿爾伯特表示，“球員會透露給他內(nèi)幕?！?/p>

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.

引人注目的不僅是他的記者工作，還包括夸張的穿著。他穿著淡紫色、橙色、香蕉黃、黑色和淡綠色的西裝出現(xiàn)在NBA場邊——有些是各種顏色混雜的條狀、格子狀、漩渦狀的圖案，看上去就像羅夏測驗(yàn)一樣。他不喜歡重復(fù)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月出版的自傳《快意生活：體育、癌癥和值得奮斗的事》中這樣寫道，“我認(rèn)為人生應(yīng)當(dāng)是快樂的，所以衣服也是?！?/p>

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.

穿衣打扮讓他區(qū)別于其他場邊記者，他們通常只有一到兩分鐘時間，在節(jié)間休息、半場休息和賽后采訪大汗淋漓的球員和脾氣暴躁的主教練。

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.

但薩格爾對采訪問題的準(zhǔn)備和他對服裝的挑選同樣精心，這讓他成為球員和教練最愛的記者。坐在現(xiàn)場的球迷也是，他們喜歡看著他穿著華麗的衣服從眼前走過。

“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.”

“他和球員的關(guān)系很好，但這并不等于他不會問難回答的問題?！卑柌卣f，“我還覺得他的穿著導(dǎo)致他被低估了?！?/p>

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

隨著病情不斷發(fā)展，薩格爾接受了三次骨髓移植，其中兩次來自自己的大兒子薩格爾二世。

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.

結(jié)束漫長的住院治療回到賽場后，面對場邊記者提問一向言簡意賅的馬刺主教練格雷格·波波維奇，也少見地向薩格爾發(fā)出了溫暖的信息。

“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.”

“這是我第一次這么享受我們必須接受的這種荒謬的采訪?！辈úňS奇表示，“那是因?yàn)槟阍谶@里，你回來了?！彼又硎?，“好了，快問我?guī)讉€無聊的問題吧。”

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，作為TNT雇員的薩格爾得到邀請，在總決賽第六場中成為ABC的場邊記者，這種由競爭對手電視臺發(fā)出的邀請極為罕見。在休斯敦安德森癌癥中心八天的化療以及前往佛羅里達(dá)和家人一起過父親節(jié)之間，薩格爾安排好了自己的行程——那也是他第一次在上賽季總決賽工作。

Not surprisingly， he purchased a new outfit for the game.不出意料，為了那場比賽，他買了一套新衣服。

“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.”

“我不能穿以前穿過的衣服?！苯邮堋都~約時報(bào)》財(cái)富時他說，“我想確保自己有一個好狀態(tài)。我希望人們說，老天，他看著真不錯?！?/p>

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.”

當(dāng)騎士在第六場擊敗勇士后，薩格爾采訪了騎士球星勒布朗·詹姆斯?；卮鹜陰讉€問題后，詹姆斯和薩格爾互換了角色，他問薩格爾：“你怎么可能干了30多年卻沒采訪過總決賽？這沒道理啊。”

Mr. Sager smiled and said， “Thanks a lot for entertaining me.”薩格爾笑著說：“謝謝你讓我開心?！?/p>

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·格拉漢姆-薩格爾1951年6月29日出生在伊利諾伊州巴塔威亞。他的父親阿爾是一名廣告兼公關(guān)管理人員；他的母親卡羅爾酷愛高爾夫球，還擁有飛行員執(zhí)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.

薩格爾后來進(jìn)入西北大學(xué)，他參加了美式足球隊(duì)試訓(xùn)，大一那年還成為學(xué)校籃球隊(duì)的一員。那是他第一次穿上夸張的衣服：學(xué)校吉祥物“野貓威利”。

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.”

當(dāng)西北大學(xué)美式足球隊(duì)爆冷戰(zhàn)勝俄亥俄州大后，穿著吉祥物戲裝他嘲諷了輸?shù)舯荣惖囊环健Ｋ_格爾寫道，作為回應(yīng)，俄亥俄州大樂隊(duì)成員“開始推搡我，用旗桿戳我”。

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.

畢業(yè)后，薩格爾來到佛羅里達(dá)的薩拉索塔，成為電臺記者。讓他一舉成名的工作，是在漢克·亞倫在亞特蘭大-富爾頓郡體育場打出職業(yè)生涯第715記本壘打、超越貝比·魯斯成為棒球本壘打之王時的財(cái)富工作。那年23歲的薩格穿著大衣，在球迷、記者和親屬涌進(jìn)場內(nèi)的混亂局面下，在本壘上對亞倫短暫的采訪。

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，采訪貝爾蒙特賽馬錦標(biāo)賽時，在純種馬西雅圖斯盧贏下三冠王前，薩格爾曾睡在它的馬廄里。薩格寫道，賽馬早上被帶出前，他鏟起一塊馬糞，將其作為歷史的一塊碎片，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，薩格爾也在佛羅里達(dá)和密蘇里州堪薩斯城的電視臺工作過。1990年，他加入特納體育。除了NBA，他還報(bào)道高爾夫、NFL、大學(xué)足球和籃球以及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.

除了薩格爾二世外，薩格爾還有一個兒子萊恩，以及女兒凱西、克里斯塔及萊·薩格爾。他的第二任妻子名叫斯黛西，他還有一個妹妹坎迪·門澤莫兒。

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.

薩格爾積極的態(tài)度和希望重回工作崗位的欲望，為他在7月的 ESPY頒獎典禮上贏得了吉米·V堅(jiān)韌獎。這個獎項(xiàng)以前北卡州大籃球主教練、ESPN解說員吉米·瓦爾瓦諾命名，瓦爾瓦諾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.”

穿著印著花朵的外套，他在獲獎致辭中這樣說道：“無論我怎樣想象絕癥會對我的精神產(chǎn)生怎樣的打擊，我最終想到的東西恰好與之相反——我對生活本身有了更多的感激。所以我永遠(yuǎn)不會放棄，永遠(yuǎn)不會屈服?！?