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Craig Sager was a king who dressed like a court jester and mixed with royalty and commoners alike.He also was a reporter. Lets not forget that.It will get lost amid all the tributes and colorful video now that he succumbed to cancer, but Sager could gather information and tell stories with the best of them.We were both covering an NBA playoff game in Denver in 2012, when a woman wandered onto the court while the ball was in play. By the time I made my way from my seat down to the court level to poke around and learn more, Sager had already spoken to police and arena personnel and had all of the details and background. Then Sager, being Sager, proceeded to share everything he knew with me. He had provided his update on air, so he was willing to help out another reporter working for another company.Id like to think this was because of our Northwestern bond (he was class of 1973; I was 1992), but he probably would have done it for anybody. He saw everyone who was in and around the league as part of the NBA family. That included the fans, for whom he always took time to take pictures and talk NBA.Ive known him for much of the time Ive been covering the NBA. To have gone to big games over the past 2? decades was to have spent time with Sager. It doesnt feel like our friendship evolved over that time, because it seemed like he was as warm and friendly with me from the beginning as he was so many years and job changes (for me) later.But outside of Sagers wife and children, his colleagues at Turner Sports were closest to him, and they are feeling his loss in ways the rest of us cant imagine.He never had a bad day, Turner Sports Vice President of Talent Relations Tara August said via text message. He once drove me around the ropes in a golf cart at the PGA Championship and told me the entire story of how he fell in love with Stacy on their first date and slept on her couch until she fell in love with him. He always had a story.August doles out the assignments for Turners on-air talent. She bosses around the likes of Charles Barkley and Shaquille ONeal, gets them to move at her whim in a way that a generation of NBA big men failed to do. (Shaq jokingly calls her She-del Castro.) Their obedience often comes with a lot of grumbling. That wasnt the case with Sager.I loved him very much. He was always great to me, August said. Never complained about working a game, no matter how big or small.For one game, we at ESPN called Sager a colleague. Turner loaned him to the Mouse to give him the chance to work Game 6 of the NBA Finals in June.?We should elevate Sagers performance alongside LeBrons when we look back on the 2016 Finals. The reason Sager couldnt work the earlier games -- the guaranteed games -- was because he was getting eight days of chemotherapy treatment in Houston. He came back from eight days of poisonous IVs to do his job when it was an optional assignment. In the ranking of gutsy Finals performances, Im going with Sager grabbing the mic first, Willis Reed limping out of the tunnel second.To see that man ... , said Doris Burke, ESPNs sideline reporter for the series who gladly shared duties with Sager for this special event, with those marks on his face -- lesions, whatever they were -- to know he had to be in extraordinary pain, and to fight through that and to want to be a part of an NBA game. ...If that doesnt tell you about the passion and the drive he had for what he did, I dont know what could.It makes those of us who do NBA sideline reporting more appreciative of what we do. But his mere existence was a little intimidating, because we knew wed never match up to him. Only Sager was getting a hug and a love ya from Pop.Burke had long admired Sagers work from afar and had a unique understanding of how good he was from having done the same job herself.He had such great love for the game of basketball that it allowed him to pull off the outlandish clothing and giant personality, while still commanding the utmost respect from every player and every coach, Burke said. I dont know if people understand how hard that is to do. Theres only one person that I know thats been able to do it, and thats him.When she walked around Quicken Loans Arena with Sager, it reminded Burke of entering an NBA building with Hubie Brown. There was a similar reverence from everyone they came across. Then she saw Sager go to work in the pregame meetings with the coaches.It probably shouldnt have surprised me, but he took it so seriously, Burke said. He embraced the opportunity to work a Finals game. He went into work mode, but it was really cool for me to watch him in work mode. My man started firing questions, and they were all on point. For somebody I had watched work for so long and who I had admired for so long, it was an incredibly special chance to watch him do the behind-the-scenes work.Ive been fortunate enough to see the non-work side of Sager as well. You could usually find him at the bar following the game. Or the night before the game.?One of my enduring memories of Sager comes from after the 2008 All-Star Game in New Orleans. Sunday night had turned into Monday morning, and I had an early flight looming. We crossed paths on Canal Street, chatted a bit, and then I called it a night, while Sager, 19 years my elder, marched off into the French Quarter to see what awaited.Thats the way I prefer to think of him now. Not departed, but moving on, in search of another adventure, in search of another story. Custom Ozzie Smith Jersey . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. 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LOS ANGELES -- After beating up on mostly lesser competition, things are about to get serious for No. 11 UCLA.The Bruins play at No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday before facing Michigan and Ohio State, a challenging start to December after they cruised past UC Riverside 98-56 to close out the first month of the season undefeated.UCLAs 8-0 start is its best since coach Steve Alfords first season in Westwood three years ago.Weve done a phenomenal job through eight games of sharing the ball and helping each other score, Alford said.Isaac Hamilton scored 27 points, tying his career-high with seven 3-pointers, and freshman T.J. Leaf added 18 points and 10 rebounds for UCLA.Aaron Holiday had 18 points and Thomas Welsh had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Lonzo Ball, the nations assist leader, set a freshman game assist record with 13 for the Bruins, who were coming off winning the title at last weeks Wooden Legacy. They hit nine of their 13 3-point attempts in the second half.Three games in four days, finals are starting and Kentucky looming on the weekend, this isnt an easy game no matter who were playing, Alford said. I liked our guys mindset. Thats all we talked about the last 48 hours. Once again, this team did a really great job of coming out and having a great mindset.Secean Johnson scored 17 points despite foul trouble and Chance Murray added 13 points for the Highlanders (1-4). Freshman Dikymbe Martin was held to five points after scoring 15 against Utah last week.They can score so easy, they put so much pressure on your offense, Highlanders coach Dennis Cutts said. You just cant match their offensive potency.Five of UCLAs first six baskets in the second half were 3-pointers and Hamilton hit four of them, extending the Bruins lead to 59-35.Hamiltons sixth 3-pointer launched them on a 13-0 run that included another 3 from him and made it 69-35.When the ball moves like that, youre bound to hit shots like that, he said.Ball set up his teammates with several nifty passes. He and Leaf teamed up three times in the second half. Ball dunked off Leafs alley-oop pass and on the Bruins next possession he set Leaf up for a dunk. Ball fed Leaf for another dunk later in the half that made it 85-42.Guys were hitting shots and I was getting them the ball, Ball said. Everything was clicking.The Bruins put the game away in the first half when they shot 58 percent and opened with a 23-9 run.The Highlanders defended better and ouutscored the Bruins 16-8 to close to 31-25.dddddddddddd.UCLA ran off 11 unanswered points, including Balls first points of the game on consecutive baskets, and led 42-27 at halftime.BIG PICTUREUC Riverside: The Highlanders have just one win in their first five games, but they have played some good competition. They lost road games to Portland (16 points), UNLV (12 points) and Utah (18 points) before losing to the Bruins. Their lone win came against Fresno Pacific. Last year, they won 14 games, second-most in the Division I history of the program under fourth-year coach Cutts, who has things on the upswing.UCLA: The Bruins have beat up some easy competition on their way to an undefeated start. That all changes Saturday when they face No. 1 Kentucky on the road. The game will be a barometer of where they stand against the nations best.POLL IMPLICATIONSUnless the Bruins can duplicate their upset of top-ranked Kentucky a year ago, they figure to drop a spot or two in the rankings with a loss at Rupp Arena on Saturday.BALL ROLLINGBall broke Pooh Richardsons freshman game assist record of 12, set against Washington State on Jan. 11, 1986. The school record of 16 was set by Earl Watson. For the first time in eight games, Ball didnt score in double figures. He took just three shots.I just take what the game gives me, he said.TIP-INSUC Riverside: The Highlanders fell to 0-5 all-time against the Bruins. ... Martin was averaging a team-best 12.5 points and came in leading the team in several other categories.UCLA: The Bruins ranking matches their best since Feb. 9, 2009. ... They are one of two undefeated Pac-12 teams. ... G Prince Ali, who had right knee surgery in July, could return by late December. ... F Alex Olesinski has missed eight games so far with a stress reaction in his left foot.UP NEXTUC Riverside: Visits Santa Clara on Dec. 13, capping a stretch of three straight road games.UCLA: Plays Kentucky on Saturday for the third consecutive season. The Wildcats have been the nations top-ranked team in each of the meetings. The Bruins upset them 87-77 last year at Pauley Pavilion for the schools first win over a No. 1 team since 2003. In 2014, the Wildcats won in Chicago by 39 points.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . ' ' '