Craig Sager
Jun 1, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Television broadcaster Craig Sager sings take me out to the ball game during the seventh inning stretch in a game between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field. David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Craig Sager is among 10 people set to be inducted Tuesday into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. He will be inducted by the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, an organization made up of members of almost every major American media company. Sager is considered as everyone's favorite TNT sideline reporter.

“Sager’s presence has become synonymous with big-time NBA basketball (not to mention with unique style),” the Hall’s announcement reads. “As a sideline reporter for the NBA on TNT for nearly two decades, he has earned the respect of players, coaches, and viewers. He previously hosted Atlanta Hawks telecasts for TBS Superstation and was a reporter on TNT’s NFL pregame, halftime, and postgame from 1990 to ’97.”

Announcer Ian Eagle said that Sager is ahead of his time in many ways. “When the sideline reporter role started it was a lot of very superficial questions and Craig always cut through that and got to the heart of matters in a very direct way, but not in a confrontational way. So he asked tough questions, but because of the dynamic that he formed with players and coaches you never sensed any real drama.”

In this NBA season, Sager has been absent from the sidelines. He has been battling with acute myeloid leukemia. He was first diagnosed in 2014. In August, Sager underwent a third bone-marrow transplant. He got it from an anonymous donor. His son also had provided bone marrow to him the first two times.

During the basketball games at the Rio Olympics in July, Sager was not able to help NBC in the broadcast aspect. He was undergoing treatments for his leukemia. Earlier in the month, he made a memorable appearance at July’s ESPY awards, where he received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.

“Sports is who I am in my soul. I have had the good fortune to witness all of your amazing feats. And I am confident that I will continue to watch those amazing feats,” Sager said at the ESPYs.

Other media figures that await for their induction this year include Verne Lundquist, who recently announced his final SEC game for CBS, and ABC’s Robin Roberts, who has had her own battles with cancer. Veteran baseball analyst Tim McCarver, Steelers owner Dan Rooney and “Monday Night Football” announcer Sean McManus are also among the group.

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