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HOUSTON -- Craig Sager never once thought about giving up as he battled cancer for more than two years.Man, life is too beautiful, too wonderful, theres just too many things, he said in late August from a hospital bed in Houston. Its not just you. Its your family and kids and all. Fight. Fight until the end. Fight as hard as you can.The end for the beloved TNT broadcaster came Thursday when the man known as much for his outrageous wardrobe as his relationships with the NBAs elite succumbed to an aggressive form of leukemia. Turner Sports announced his death without disclosing details. He was 65 and had worked basketball games for TNT for nearly a quarter-century.There will never be another Craig Sager, Turner President David Levy said. His incredible talent, tireless work ethic and commitment to his craft took him all over the world covering sports.His son, Craig Jr., posted a loving video tribute to his father, tweeting: We packed a lifetime and then some into these 28 years together.Sagers passing brought out condolences from every corner of the NBA and Hall of Famer Larry Bird expressed what many were feeling.He was as identifiable with the NBA as any player or coach, Bird said. The league will not be the same without him.Magic Johnson echoed those sentiments on Twitter.The NBA family lost a legend who changed the way sideline reporters did their job. RIP Craig Sager, Johnson said.It wasnt just the NBA community that mourned his passing , with Vice President Joe Biden and Drake expressing sadness at the loss.Sager had two bone marrow transplants with his son as the donor before undergoing a third one from an anonymous donor four months ago.He announced in April 2014 that he had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, and he missed the playoffs and much of the following season as he underwent the first two transplants. Sager revealed in March 2016 that his leukemia was no longer in remission. He said doctors told him the typical prognosis was three to six months to live.He was overwhelmed by how news of his fight spread and people across the world started talking about the Sager Strong campaign.His battle brought out the soft side of Gregg Popovich, the prickly San Antonio Spurs coach with whom he had many memorable exchanges during in-game interviews.Sager never faulted Popovich for his gruff attitude during those interviews. After learning Sager had died, Popovich spoke somberly for nearly two minutes before a game in Phoenix.If any of us can display half the courage he has to stay on this planet, to live every life as if its his last, wed be well off, Popovich said.Sager sported suits in every color of the rainbow and plenty of shades not found in nature, from teal to fuchsia to magenta. He would match plaid blazers with paisley ties or striped shirts -- all in bold hues.Sometimes lost in the glare of his wardrobe was Sagers relentless nature as a reporter. Every time Popovich would give a terse non-answer, an unfazed Sager would pepper him with another question.Sagers persistence was on display at the start of his career at age 22.Working for a Braves-affiliated AM radio station in Sarasota, Florida, he hopped a flight to Atlanta for a game with Hank Aaron a home run away from breaking Babe Ruths career record. After Aaron hit the homer, Sager sprinted onto the field and wound up chasing Aaron down the third-base line. When Aarons teammates mobbed him at home plate, Sager can be seen in his trench coat in the middle of the scrum.Sager worked as a reporter on the Olympics, Major League Baseball playoffs, the NFL and the NCAA Tournament, among other sports. But he was indelibly connected to the NBA.Craig was as vital to the NBA as the players and coaches, Silver said. Craig earned widespread respect for his insightful reporting and inspired so many most recently with his courage.Sager got to cover his first NBA Finals in 2016 through an unusual arrangement between TNT and ESPN, which invited him to join its coverage. He marked the occasion by wearing a blazer with a royal blue floral print. In an interview with LeBron James after Game 6, the Cavaliers star turned the tables to giddily ask Sager a question: How in the hell do you go 30-plus years without getting a Finals game?A native of Batavia, Illinois, Sager attended Northwestern, where he walked onto the football and basketball teams, and served as the schools Willie the Wildcat mascot for three years.He worked at several TV and radio stations in Florida after college before spending two years in Kansas City. Sager joined CNN in 1981 after handling the networks first live remote report during the 1980 baseball playoffs.Sager was in Dallas for a game in April 2014 when he felt ill and sought treatment from Mavericks team physician Dr. Tarek Souryal, who had previously performed Sagers knee surgery. With a dangerously low hemoglobin count, Sager had six blood transfusions over a 24-hour period before returning to Atlanta. After that came the treatments and his public battle with leukemia.---AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds and AP freelance writer Jose M. Romero contributed to this report. Vans Old Skool Cheap Online . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Cheap Vans Old Skool For Sale . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. http://www.cheapoldskool.us/ ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Cheap Old Skool Wholesale . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. Vans Old Skool Discount . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. MINNEAPOLIS -- Alana Beard the businesswoman will be opening a Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant in Roanoke, Virginia, on Oct. 22 with her good friend, Indiana guard Marissa Coleman.But Beard the basketball player is still hard at work at her hoops job too. On Sunday in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at the Target Center, she made the kind of defensive plays we expect from her, with those Inspector Gadget-like long arms and the quick hands that have flummoxed so many foes.But she made something else that wasnt so expected: a jump shot at the buzzer, which gave Los Angeles a 78-76 victory over Minnesota.Obviously, you want the ball in certain peoples hands, Beard said of the game-ending possession, though she wasnt referring to herself. Then it came to my side, and you gotta take the shot. Theres no time for a pass in that situation.The reality is, the Lynx actually preferred Beard take the shot, if anyone did. Shes not the scorer she once was, and thats not her primary role with the Sparks.Los Angeles needs her defensively and as an emotional leader for the team.She brings so much, said Sparks forward Nneka Ogumike, who was the WNBAs MVP this season. Shes a big part of the glue to this team, on and off the court. For her to have a moment like that is special for her career. Its something shell remember, and well remember.But it also goes to show that she is always in the moment. Thats just how she always is, and she capitalized on it.Beard, 34, is the second-oldest player for the Sparks. She was part of what proved to be a talented WNBA draft class of 2004. Three other players from that draft are playing in this series, all with Minnesota: Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson and Jia Perkins. Phoenixs Diana Taurasi was the No. 1 pick that season, followed by Beard at No. 2 by Washington.Beard played her first six seasons with the Mystics, and she was a pretty big scorer then, averaging 16.2 points for her Washington career. But severe ankle problems sidelined Beard for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Even then, the Duke grad was planning her eventual business career, and she knew she could survive without basketball.She just wasnt ready to do that at that point.Its the love that I have for the game, Beard said about what pushed her to recover and keep playing. But I think one huge motivation was when a doctor told me that I would never play again. And another was the Mystics believing I would never play again.I kept going. It was hard at times; Im not going to lie. But you just never know where life will take you, and Ive developed a mindset of staying open to anything.When Beard went cross-country to join the Sparks in 2012, she understood her role would change in regard to offense. But she has remained a fierce and feared defender, along with being a mentor for younger players.Nobody wants to be guarded by her, teammate Kristi Toliver said. Luckily, shes always on my team in practice.Beard dealt with plantar fasciitis last year and was limited to 14 ggames in the regular season.dddddddddddd But this year, she has started every game and been an invaluable resource to second-year guard Chelsea Gray, who also went to Duke.Beard and Gray, who turned 24 on Saturday, played a decade apart for the Blue Devils and for different coaches. But Beard reached out while Gray was still in college, including giving her encouragement when Gray went through knee injuries that hampered her Duke career.She emailed me and we texted a few times then, said Gray, who was drafted by Connecticut in 2015 but came to Los Angeles in an April trade. And from the first day I was here, she was in my ear and was happy I was with the Sparks.Gray has become a more important part of the Los Angeles offense, especially in the past month. She played 30 minutes on Sunday off the bench, scoring 12 points. But it was the last of her four assists that will stand out.The Sparks and Lynx had been battling all game, just as expected. In the fourth quarter, Los Angeles made some very big defensive stops, including two consecutive forced turnovers by Beard on a blocked shot and a steal in the last 2 minutes, 20 seconds of the game.After a layup by Minnesotas Maya Moore with 24.7 seconds left tied the score at 76, the Sparks put the ball in Grays hands to orchestrate the final shot. The top option was Toliver, who finished tied with Ogwumike with a game-high 19 points. The Lynx defense had that covered, though, and Gray was left with one choice: passing to Beard on the right side, in front of the Sparks bench, and just inside the arc.Moore left Beard alone to help on defense, which was understandable when you consider the Sparks other scoring threats. Moore adjusted and tried to contest Beards shot. But Beard swished it, and she fell down after she followed through, soon to be covered with overjoyed teammates.Womens basketball fans might go back in their memory vaults to a somewhat similar shot that Beards Duke teammate Jessica Foley hit to beat UConn in Hartford, Connecticut, during Beards senior season in 2004. That one was a 3-pointer, but a lot else about Sundays shot was the same, including Foley falling down as the ball went through the net.I was probably the first one to get to her, Beard said of that celebration. In this case, Chelsea was the first one to get to me.Beard has been a pro basketball player for 13 years, counting her injured period, but this is her first time appearing in the WNBA Finals. She knows that the Sparks still have a lot of work to do to try to win the title, but shes grateful to at least have the chance.Im happy to be healthy now, Beard said. This is the best Ive felt in maybe five or six years, and you can see it with the way I move. That last shot, that play, is a great example of who weve been all season, just the resilience. These are the moments you kind of live for. ' ' '