HoopsHype.com Rumors

Craig Sager was the sideline reporter for TNT during the Miami Heat – Milwaukee Bucks series that wrapped up on Sunday in Milwaukee. It appears that on Friday April 26th – Game 3 was Thursday – Sager was found passed out in a Milwaukee hotel lobby by @2smidget2quit and her friends. They of course crowded around the flamboyant sideline reporter and his garish sweater for some pictures. It appear that jaw-dropping sweaters are Sager’s go-to look off the court. The Big Lead

Media, Craig Sager 

That Craig Sager is mainly known for his on-air outfits really misses the big picture. Sure, Sager's sartorial idiosyncrasies go way back, to at least an interview in 1974 to become a weatherman in Tampa in what would be his first job in TV. "I wore a blue, white and yellow suit I got from Goodwill," Sager tells USA TODAY Sports. "I got the job but they said I couldn't wear that (on-air) because their cameras couldn't focus on it. Of course, camera technology is much better today." USA Today Sports

Media, Craig Sager 

Sager has five children including two with wife Stacy, who was a Luvabulls Chicago Bulls dancer. Daughter Riley, 8, helps dad pick out his on-air ties — "and she likes purples and pinks." And no, he doesn't wear his TV clothes off-air. "Of course not. That's my game uniform." And those uniforms occasionally draw criticism. He says he had to take off his "double-silk silver and black" jacket mid-game at the 2001 NBA All-Star game because "it was too reflective" for TV. Plus, TNT's Charles Barkley had said it made him look like "a pimp." NBA star Kevin Garnett once told Sager he should simply "burn" everything he was wearing, including his shoes. (That'd be painful: Sager, not Turner, pays for his on-air threads.) But Sager, whose college education included serving as Northwestern's mascot and whose travels have taken him to more than 250 Hooter's bars as well as to Pamplona to run with the bulls, says he's not planning on toning down his outfits. "It'd be dull. I'd find that very boring. It wouldn't feel right." USA Today Sports

Media, Craig Sager 

Still, with a captive NBA TV audience watching on Saturday, Sager had to ask. "In the heat of the regular season, obviously, tempers fly and there's a lot of heated arguments," Sager said. "One time during the year, you and Kevin Garnett got into it. As his teammate right now, have you been sharing lockers, sharing stories, getting along with one another?" Melo immediately turned to call Garnett over. "I just want to make sure everything's cool with you guys," Sager told Garnett. "C'mon, man. C'mon, man. C'mon, man," Garnett replied, taking a long hard look at Sager's predictably garish and colorful outfit. "You gonna come in here with that outfit on and ask that type of question." Yahoo! Sports

Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, Craig Sager 

As Anthony laughed and Garnett tried to walk away, Sager responded in kind. "Speaking of outfits, why are you tucking in your pants [into your socks]?" he asked. "Man, me tucking in socks is nothing compared to this right here," Garnett answered. "What is this, aqua?" Anthony asked, touching Sager's jacket. "Yeah, or turquoise," Sager responded. "What was the influence today? What was your motivation for wearing this today?" Garnett asked. "To wake up," Sager said, eliciting loud laughter from both Melo and KG. "What kind of answer is that?" Garnett asked. Yahoo! Sports

Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, Craig Sager 

Craig Sager reported this early in Thursday night’s TNT telecast, as seen in the video clip above. “Pau Gasol and I talked to before the game,” Sager said. “He is not at all happy with the decision. He says I have never been a role player in my life. I don’t like it right now. I said, what about the possibility that maybe your time with the Lakers could be coming to an end at the All-Star break or the trade deadline? He said it certainly looks like a possibility to me.” NBCSports.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Trade, Pau Gasol, Craig Sager 

He said he was stretching before the game when he was approached by a reporter from NBC. "Well, Craig Sager came to me before the game, chasing me," said Gasol. "He was telling me that [the trade for Howard] was official. He wanted to get some thoughts while I'm stretching before the Olympic semifinal. And I tell him, 'Look, I'm trying to focus here.' So I had to give him a little something so that he could go away and allow me to stretch." SI.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol, Craig Sager 

Jeff Zillgitt: Pau Gasol talked to Kobe Bryant in London last night but Craig Sager told Gasol trade was official while Gasol was stretching before ESP-RUS Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Craig Sager 

Jeff Zillgitt: Said Gasol when Sager wanted a comment: "Look I'm trying to focus here. ... So I had to give him a little something so he could go away." Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol, Craig Sager 

In the first quarter, the TNT announcers appeared a bit nervous after Kendrick Perkins stared them down in reaction to their criticism from Game 2. Sideline reporter Craig Sager later noted that Perkins had watched the Game 2 tape, and he wasn't happy with their comments. Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kendrick Perkins, Media, Referees, Craig Sager 

Trey Kerby: This is great -- the best of Phil Jackson vs. Craig Sager: http://youtu.be/1sXm9YmNs0w Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Media, Craig Sager 

In case you missed it, Cousins dominated the Rookie Challenge. Clearly, he was the best player on the floor, scoring 33 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and adding three steals to lead the rookies to a second consecutive win. And then things got weird. Craig Sager trashing DeMarcus Cousins in front of a nationally televised audience? Craig Sager? Really? Shame on you and shame on TNT for employing you. What’s worse is Sager was right about one thing. John Wall should have shared the award with his close friend and college teammate because this was a sham. Really, Wall should have handed the award to Cousins and apologized for the horrible injustice perpetrated by the voters. Sure, Wall had 12 points and 22 assists but many of those assists were to Cousins and those last two points for Wall came off an absolutely spectacular off the backboard pass from none other than DeMarcus Cousins. Cowbellkingdom.com

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, All-Star, Craig Sager