J-Speaks: Spurs Raise No. 21 To the AT&T Center Rafters

In the history of the San Antonio Spurs, they have had the No. 1 overall pick on two occasions and overall have had selected in the Top Three on three occasions. The first time they selected at No. 1 was back in 1987 when they took David “The Admiral” Robinson back in 1987 out of the Naval Academy. From his first year until retirement, the Spurs were a perennial playoff participant and a 50-plus regular season win team. The championships did not come until they selected at No. 1 10 years later selecting forward Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest University. In the years that followed, the Spurs won five NBA titles with the first coming in 1999 and in the second year of Robinson and Duncan playing together. Back on Sunday night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX, the paid the highest honor to the man also known as “The Big Fundamental” that aided in taking the team over the top in the NBA.

Following the Spurs’ 113-100 win versus the New Orleans Pelicans (9-20) back on Dec. 18, the team retired Duncan’s No. 21, which made him the eighth Spur to have their number raised to the rafters of the AT&T Center.

He joined No. 00 guard Johnny Moore (1980-88; 1989-90); guard Avery Johnson (1991-2001), who hit the game-winning shot in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks to capture the Spurs’ first title back in 1999; current NBA analyst for ESPN, No. 12 forward/guard Bruce Bowen (2001-09), who number was unretired on July 9, 2015 and reissued to newest addition LaMarcus Aldridge with Bowen’s blessing; No. 32 forward Sean Elliott (1989-93; 1994-01), the No. 3 overall pick in the 1989 draft who was the starting small forward on that 1999 title team, who now works alongside Bill Land as the team’s color analyst for FOX Sports Southwest; No. 44 Hall of Famer George “Ice Man” Gervin (1974-85), who played with the team when they were in the American Basketball Association before joining the NBA starting in the 1976-77 campaign and No. 50 Robinson (1989-03).

Among those on hand for the ceremony were Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich, Duncan’s only coach in his 19-year career with the Spurs; Robinson; Spurs’ general manager R.C. Buford; Duncan’s head coach when he was at Wake Forest David Odom; his former Spurs teammates Bowen, Robinson, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Also on hand were Duncan’s two older sisters Cheryl and Tricia were on hand; his girlfriend television personality and former contestant on CBS’s “The Amazing Race” Vanessa Macias and his two children daughter Sydney and son Draven from his first marriage to Amy Sherrill.

This was a special way to honor a one of a kind athlete, who for the entirety of his career did most of his talking with his play on the court. Led a quiet life off the court, to the point that he managed to get married and build a family without pressures from the press.

Duncan not only played his entire career for one team in the Spurs, which is remarkable in of itself, but he played for just one coach in Gregg Popovich, which is even more remarkable.

Before the start of the festivities, a video was played on the big board in the middle of the AT&T Center where many of Duncan’s teammates past and present, Coach Popovich, Buford and Hall of Famer George “The Ice Man” Gervin expressed their feelings about the 1998 Rookie of the Year; two-time NBA regular season MVP; 15-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA selection; 15-time All-NBA Defensive Team selection and the 2003 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year as well as Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.

Former Spurs’ guard Antonio Daniels, who was part of that first title team in 1999 and played for the Spurs from 1998-2002 and is an NBA analyst for FOX Sports today called Duncan, “the best teammate in professional sports history.”

“He put us on a level along with David where we were a championship contender every year,” Johnson said of Duncan. “You can imagine getting ready to play against a Tim Duncan Spurs team where you have to plan and scout on how to defend Tim Duncan. I mean he had the foot work. The hands. The drop steps. The timing. He had the I.Q. of guard on the team.”

Elliott, who served as the Master of Ceremonies for the postgame ceremony said how great it was to play with another front court player who loved playing the game and how he took all the physical tools from his size and ability, which many players in the league have. What separated Duncan from the pack was that he had the work ethic and the passion from practice to game action to be great.

“He had all the ingredients and they came together perfectly and on top of that he’s a great individual to be around,” Elliott said. “He made it better for us because we all want to be around guys that are nice guys and it always helps your team when your star is that way.”

Elliott also gave a fitting introduction to the postgame ceremony when he said, “Tonight we celebrate and show our appreciation for not only one of the greatest Spurs players, but also one of the greatest players to ever player in the rich and storied NBA.”

Robinson concurred those remarks by his former teammate and fellow Rookie when they entered the league back in the 1989-90 season with the Spurs when he mentioned in the video tribute that Duncan’s achievements can be matched with anyone of the greats in NBA history, but it was how he conducted his business as a person and as a leader to take the Spurs’ organization and build it into a consistent winner and champion four more times over is something special.

“I think Tim has cemented his legacy in many areas. As a leader. As a player and as a person,” Robinson said.

Perhaps the greatest attribute of this humble and quiet future Hall of Famer came from former Spur and current General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets Sean Marks said is that he was “so inclusive,” like for instance he would bring some of his teammates together in the off-season to work out over the summer.

“Those summer work outs started the culture and brought the team together and so forth and it was easy just to watch him and emulate what he did.” Marks, who played for the Spurs from 2003-06 said. “If the best player on the court is working this hard in August then we’d better be working that hard too.”

Another great attribute of Duncan was how much he enjoyed the success of the rest of his teammates. If you ever watched a Spurs game over the past two decades, you saw how much he would cheer for his guys when they made solid plays on both ends. How he communicated with them on the bench, in practice or even when the cameras could catch them off the court. He made sure that from the starting quintet of that season to the 12^th man on the bench felt that they were all in this together. That is was not just about him, which is a very rare thing in pro sports today.

“Late nights on the road. During The Finals, we would just kind of hang out a little bit,” Bowen, who played for the Spurs from 2001-09 said. “A lot of times we would share that moment. That’s when I really got a chance to see how vested he was towards everyone. He gets joy out of other people’s success and that’s hard in this day in age. In this game, where it is so much about me, me, me, T.D. is very comfortable with who he is.”

The best example of what Bowen just mentioned came when the Spurs swept the Cavs in the 2007 Finals to garner their fourth title in franchise history and All-Star guard Tony Parker was named Finals MVP and one of the first Spurs to congratulate him on the stage was Duncan. Right there in that moment showed the greatest attribute of “The Big Fundamental.” He showed that same kind of love to Kawhi Leonard when he won the 2014 Finals MVP when the Spurs beat the Heat in The Finals that year 4-1.

The success of what many consider one of the best trios, referred to today as the “Big Three” of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker was due to what they learned from Duncan in terms of putting the hard work in practice and in the off-season, but in their first couple of years in the league, they also learned a lot about the mental aspect of what it takes to be great in the NBA.

Ginobili talked during the ceremony how Popovich put him and Parker through a lot of as he said, “mental test.” On days when those mental test were tough to handle, it was Duncan that was there for them with a simple gesture like a pat on the head or a hug to let them know that if you can get through this, it will make you a better player, which it did and we have seen the results of the kind of players they have become.

“He’s a great leader on and off the court,” Parker, who been with the Spurs since being drafted in 2001 said. “He cares so much. It’s very rare that you have superstars that’s so unselfish because he didn’t care who scores, who pass, who rebounds. He just wanted to win. When you have your main guy being like that, everybody has to follow.” 

The greatest beneficiaries of what Duncan has meant to the Spurs are Buford Coach Popovich, who mentioned something that happens between the entire coaching about how he feels about the former No. 1 overall pick.

“When I go to dinner with the other coaches, before the meal comes we raise our glass and say thank you Tim,” Popovich said.

In true Popovich fashion before he spoke, he turned the microphone over to the guy who introduced the basketball world to Duncan and that was his college coach at Wake Forest David Odom, who was the head coach of the Demon Deacons from 1989-2001 and coach Duncan from 1993-97.

Odom, who received a call 22 years ago from Duncan about coming to Wake Forest and earning his degree. In his first game as a collegiate, Duncan had zero points, three rebounds and one block in a loss to a NCAA Division II team from Alaska. Odom said to Duncan after it was over, “Timmy what gives?”

Duncan’s answer, “Coach. I’m leaving a lot of room for growth.”

Duncan grew for sure and the answer to that phone call in the words of Odom, “Changed our fortunes as a university at Wake Forest. He was the right player for our team at the time and I would submit to him and I think he would agree that Wake Forest was the right school for him at the time.”

He became a great collegiate player and earned his degree, in four years and Odom in his office got a phone call from Popovich and said that the Spurs were going to draft Duncan in the opening round.

“That in my mind was a fortuitist phone call and decision that he made to keep this franchise moving and move it upwards in of a notch,” Odom said. “That decision that Coach Popovich and his staff R.C. made to draft Tim Duncan No. 1 proved to be the right decision for the Spurs as a franchise, but just as important, it turned out to be the right decision for Tim as a player. Because he got a chance to play for the best coach in all of basketball.”

That player that Popovich and Buford drafted raised the standard for the Spurs organization from top to bottom and made them a champion.

“He set such a high bar for himself that I think it just held us to a standard that was challenging, but it was real because he was engaging himself so much,” Buford said.

When Popovich spoke after Odom to the audience, he said how we all should be thank Coach Odom as he put, “Delivering a product to San Antonio that was already baked in the oven. We didn’t have to do much because of what Coach Odom did at Wake Forest and that’s not an exaggeration. That’s the truth. Timmy was very, very ready to go when he got here.”

When they first met each other in the Virgin Islands back in 1997, Popovich learned very quickly who he was, but what he did not mention was that everyone drives on the other side of the road, which brought a nice chuckle from the audience.

Popovich said that they hung on the beach for a few days going swimming and talking and none of the talk was about hoops and from that moment he knew that he had a special player in the fold.

Coach Popovich said that Duncan was a strange player who had a love for all things carrot cake, which he brought to his room whenever the Spurs were on the road at 2 or 3 p.m. for 20 years.

In the first practices, Duncan wore his shorts backwards, which Popovich said reminds him of one of his players now.

The other difference Popovich pointed out is that when Duncan first arrived, communicating with him was like mental telepathy because he did not speak much. He would say something to him in practice and Duncan would stare at Popovich.

“I realized that he understood everything I was saying. Probably agreed with about half of it, but he’s so respectful that he wouldn’t say anything until later,” Popovich said. “He won’t do it in front of the team and sometimes I’d be merciless.”

That is something Popovich was very thankful for because it allowed him to coach the team. By his superstar player taking some constructive criticism now and then, everyone else as Popovich said, “can shut the hell up and fall in line and that man did that for me. He allowed me to coach.”

Popovich closed by giving one of the greatest compliments one can give about another person. He said to audience to the memory of Tim Duncan’s parents that, “That man right there is exactly the same person now as he was when walked in the door.”

Popovich capped the moment by giving the player that allowed him to coach the way he did back then and how he does now a hug heard around San Antonio, TX.  

The other great thing about Duncan’s career is that he came into one of the best situations that one can come into. He had Robinson alongside of him to start his career. He had a chance to learn from the very best and he took every lesson and word from the eventual Hall of Famer and 1995 NBA MVP to heart and not only did they form a great tandem on the court, but an amazing bond, friendship and a level of respect for one another that is very rare. On top of that, he continued the foundation of an organization that began with “The Ice Man.”  

“I’m the roots of the tree. David Robinson is the trunk of the tree and Tim Duncan is the branches and the flowers of the tree and here you got a beautiful tree that’s been around a longtime man,” the Hall of Famer said. “It’s sprouting nothing but beautiful flowers.”

The best way to symbolize what Tim Duncan has meant to the Spurs, without him there are no five titles in San Antonio. Before he came along, the Spurs going back to the 1990s were a 50-plus win team under the guidance of Larry Brown, John Lucas and Bob Hill before Popovich, but made only one appearance in the Western Conference Finals in 1995 where they lost the eventual champion Houston Rockets in six games. In the career of Tim Duncan, the Spurs made it to the Conference Finals and won five titles.

“No Tim, no championships,” Popovich said.

“I think that the key,” Gervin said. “Your whole goal is to put a team on the floor that understand that the objective is to win.”  

In the middle of all that winning and joy was Duncan and he brought everyone along for the ride including another gem found in the draft in the early 2000s who became an All-Star Manu Ginobili from Argentina.

“I think the most unique and remarkable thing about him was just the quality of player he was on the court and how he wanted to be recognized as a player and about getting your team to the situation that you dream of,” Ginobili said. “I like his way of being absolutely the best, without just having to say it. Just people notice.”

He was more than just his statistics, which were an impressive 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game on 54.9 percent from the field in 19 regular seasons and 20.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks on 50.1 percent shooting in the playoffs. Tim Duncan played the game with a focus, joy confidence and humility that earned him respect from not just his teammates, coaches for the and the fan base, but from opposing coaches, players, and other organizations, not to mention the NBA community.

He had an empathy to where he made every Spur that he took the court with welcome, but he held them to a high standard of being ready to play and bring their best to the court win, lose or draw. He let his game on the court do all the talking for him and we all heard it loud and clear.

Tim Duncan set a standard of excellence both on and off the court and even with every accolade that earned, he never let that get in the way of the team and what was important to the entire group. Winning and playing cohesively together.

He demonstrated that at Winston Salem, NC where he is revered to this day by those at Wake Forest University and with the San Antonio Spurs and he thanked all of them, in a quick speech that lasted more than 30 seconds and he did it wearing suit, but not a tie.

“To all of you in here. The fans. All of San Antonio. Thank you,” Duncan said. The love and support is overwhelming, especially over the last couple of weeks. “Just an amazing response and just an overwhelming amount of love these guys for what I meant to them and it doesn’t even explain how much they meant to me because I got so much more from you guys. From my teammates. From these guys, over here than they can explain that they got from me.” 

Information, Statistics and quotations are courtesy of the Tim Duncan Retirement Ceremony from You Tube, published Dec. 19, 2016; www.nba.com/games/20161218/NOPSAS#/video; 7/11/16 piece by www.heavy.com, “Vanessa Macias, Tim Duncan’s Girlfriend:5 Facts You Need to Know” and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Duncan.   

J-Speaks: The Low, High and Low of DeMarcus Cousins

Here are three words to describe Kings All-Star center and Olympic Gold Medalist DeMarcus Cousins. Talented, skilled, and strong, which is good. Here are three other words to describe Cousins. Volatile, indiscipline and selfish, which is bad. All of that and then some were put on display throughout this week both on and off the court.  

Earlier this week, an article done by ESPN.com written by Marc Spears stated that the Kings fined Cousins $50,000 by the Sacramento Kings for his recent run-in with a beat writer that covers the Kings from the Sacramento Bee, which was reported back on Tuesday. The team did say that he will not be suspended.

The tirade that the third leading scorer in the NBA at 29.3 and 11^th leading rebounder at 10.8 per game had with the Bee’s Andy Furillo stems from a column published from this past weekend, which refereed to the arrest of Cousins’ younger brother Jaleel back in May.

The column also addressed an incident at a nightclub in New York City earlier this month, which resulted in Cousins and his teammate Matt Barnes being sued over an alleged assault of a woman in the club.

In a statement released by the Kings, Cousins apologized in a statement, where he said, “There is a time, place, and manner to say everything, and I chose the wrong ones,” Cousins said. “Like most people, I am fiercely protective of my friends and family, and I let my emotions get the best of me in this situation. I understand my actions were inexcusable and I commit to upholding the professional standards of the Kings and the NBA. I apologize to my teammates, fans and the Kings organization for my behavior and the ensuing distraction and look forward to moving on and focusing on basketball.”

The Kings also issued a statement in response to that incident saying, “The Kings have a clear set of standards of conduct expected of our entire organization. As a result of negative interactions with certain members of the media that were not corrected after verbal warnings, we have decided to impose a substantial fine. If this behavior is repeated again we will be forced to consider further discipline.”

First year head coach of the Kings Dave Joerger back on Monday called the actions of Cousins “excessive,” backed his star player by saying he does not think the Bee was being fair in their reporting in regards to cousins.

“I think we dealt with it and the more you talk about it, the bigger it exasperates itself,” Joerger said prior the Kings home tilt versus the struggling the Portland Trail Blazers back on Tuesday evening at the Golden 1 Center. “I said what I had to say on it, moved on. DeMarcus had to say what he had to say on it we roll on.”

With all that Cousins went through this week, let alone what he has gone through in his time in his career in Sacramento, he responded in a major way against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday night with what Comcast SportsNet California (CSN) play-by-play commentator Grant Napear the best game he ever played.

Cousins scored 17 of his 55 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Kings (11-17) to a 126-121 come from behind win versus the Trail Blazers (13-17). Cousins, who fell one point short of his career-high also had 13 rebounds going 17 for 28 from the field, including 5 for 8 for three-point range and 16 for 17 from the free throw line.

While what Cousins did in the fourth quarter, especially scoring wise. It was what took place in the closing moments of the fourth that overshadowed that stellar scoring performance.

In the closing minute of the fourth, Cousins after scoring and getting fouled by Trail Blazers’ center Mason Plumlee, Cousins was given his second technical foul by lead referee Brain Forte and ejected from the game after spitting his mouthpiece in the direction of the Trail Blazers’ bench after making the shot.

In disbelief, Cousins ran into the tunnel towards the Kings’ dressing room, but after Forte, Pat Fraher and Haywoode Workman conferred with each other and concluded that Cousins did not throw his mouthpiece out of his mouth towards the bench of Portland.

In the most unusual of circumstances, Cousins was called back to the court and completed the three-point play that gave the Kings a 122-119 lead with 35 seconds left in the game and the eventual win.

Despite his great performance, Cousins was very upset at how he continues to get mistreated by NBA game officials and said as much with Kings’ sideline reporter for CSN Kayte Christensen after the victory.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s obvious what’s being done out here. It’s a nightly basis,” Cousins said to Christensen. “I hope the world can see now what’s really going on out here because it’s getting ridiculous. It’s really ridiculous.”

On the situation with his mouthpiece coming out of his mouth by accident, Cousins said to Christensen, “Yes! Yes man! This is ridiculous man. Ridiculous.

He then also made a statement about the Trail Blazers game plan was for the likes of their front court people like Plumlee, who had a career-high of 25 points on 10 for 13 shooting with 13 rebounds, five assists and two block shots to be physical with him and the Kings team as a whole by saying, “That was light man. I know what their game scheme is every night. Their hyping up their big man over there. He thinks he’s a stopper. It’s not happening. I brought him back to reality tonight.”

Cousins seemed to calm down during his media session in the locker room with reporters. He was smiling and calm calling the media, “friends,” and that he missed them.

When asked about the fine, Cousins responded by raising his right thumb up and smiled

This week was a microcosm into what Cousins has been for his entire six-year career with the Kings. He has incredible talent and an amazing gift to score and rebound, but the inability to control his emotions and that has led him to be called for 103 technical fouls, including eight this season, which is the most by a player in the league since 2010-11.

That inability to take his disdain for bad calls in a game or the inability to deal with difficult questions by the press has led to the perception by others that he is out of control and that he could finish his career with being just another player that put-up eye popping numbers, but did nothing meaningful like win championships.

It has also put the Kings organization in a serious dilemma a year from now where he could walk away in free agency and join another team, something that NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley talked about on Sirius XM NBA Radio on dealing with Cousins on Wednesday.

“I wouldn’t trade for him because you’re going to have to give up a lot to get him and I think it’s too late in his career for him to change and I think he’s going to get you fired,” Barkley said. “So, would you give him another $125 million dollars? At that point, you not going to do anything with him. If you haven’t been able to control him when he’s been making his good money, you give him a max deal of $25, $30 million dollars a year, you really think you’re going to be able to tell him anything then?”

As Isiah Thomas, two-time champion with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990 stated though on the American Express Halftime Report of the Milwaukee Bucks versus Cleveland Cavaliers contest on Wednesday, Barkley turned his reputation around from where it was back in the early 1990s and became a Hall of Famer.  

Sekou Smith concurred that Cousins does have time to repair the perception many have of him of his inability to keep his emotions in check for a lengthy period to turn the Kings into a winning organization. While he is putting up great numbers that arguably make him one of the very best front court players in the NBA, but he is not doing the things necessary to become that player that can lead his team to the postseason year in and year out.

“Even on the court, for him to be as great a player as he is, but not to impact his teammates and not make the Kings better. That’s tough, because you got to look at him,” Smith said.

Thomas said Cousins is going to have to decide does he want to win championships in his career or does just want to make a lot of money in his career?

“Right now it appears that he wants to play and make money in this league, which is okay. A lot of players are doing that” Thomas said on Wednesday. “But if he wants to get to the level where he’s a champion and play on a championship team, then your personality and who you are as a person. Your whole personhood has to change to be on a championship team and to play for a champion.”

Thomas also said that the one thing that will make him change is that if he is just playing for money and for stats, that the money is taken from him

“Because I guarantee you if you take away the money, then guys will change. We all do,” Thomas said. It is one thing to be a great individual on a team, it is another thing to be a great individual player and be a distraction and somebody the opponent does not respect. That is the situation that Cousins finds himself in. A great player who can fill up a box score and is amazingly skilled that has made a couple of All-Star teams and even as mentioned earlier won an Olympic Gold medal for Team USA in Rio earlier this summer. He has yet though led the Kings into the postseason and has shown his frustration at the smallest thing in a game, which has led to a few ejections and a dislike from the opposition like from the Trail Blazers reserve forward/center Meyers Leonard, who has history with Cousins dating back to a preseason title between the Kings and Trail Blazers in 2015 did not hold back his feelings of Cousins during his postgame interview.

“He deserves to be out of the game for what he did,” Leonard who battled foul trouble the entire night and did not score and had just one rebound and two assists in 19 minutes. “He’s a very skilled player, had a very good game. But his antics are over the top. He’s disrespectful. Out of line. The list of words could go on. I can’t respect someone like that.”

This is the perception that Cousins must change at some point. If he does not, he will be just another player who had a good career stats wise and all he had to show for it was just numbers and no titles or just a chance at one. It is all up to him.

Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy of www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/recap?gameid=400899870; 12/20/16 www.espn.com article, “Kings Fine DeMarcus Cousins $50K For Tirade Vs. Columnist, Per Report,” by Marc Spears; 12/20/16 7 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Tas Melas, J.E. Skeets, Leigh Ellis and Trey Kerby; 12/21/16 usatoday.com article “Meyers Leonard On DeMarcus Cousins: ‘I Can’t Respect Someone Like That,” by AJ Neuharth-Keusch; 12/21/16 American Express Halftime Report on NBATV’s contest between the Milwaukee Bucks versus Cleveland Cavaliers with Vince Cellini, Sekou Smith and Isiah Thomas and the 12/21/16 5:30 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “The Starters,” with Tas Melas, J.E. Skeets, Leigh Ellis and Trey Kerby.

J-Speaks: The Proud Farewell To A Great Father, Friend and Sideline Reporter

Last Thursday, the NBA world, the journalism industry and the Turner Sports family lost the Emmy Award-winning Craig Sager after a brave two-year battle against acute myeloid leukemia. His two-year battle inspired the sports world and all of America to be brave and to live life like he did. He was never afraid to be himself and he was that with his out of this world wardrobe as he was with his amazing ability to ask tough questions to players and coaches of all pro sports. That same spirit and respect was on display at his funeral on Tuesday that featured a lot of laughter and tears.

Among those in attendance for the late 65-year-old Sager’s funeral at Mount Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta, GA were San Antonio Spurs’ head coach; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver members of the Turner Sports television and NBATV family family like Reggie Miller, David Aldridge, Marv Albert, Lewis Johnson, Kevin Harlan, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Mike Fratello and former color analyst, now with ESPN Hall of Famer Hubie Brown.

Among those who spoke at the service were Sager’s children Krista, Kacy and Craig Sager II and his friend since childhood John Clark.

“When I think of what drew the three of us Craig as kindergarteners is really the same qualities that enabled each of you to draw to him and consider him your friend,” Clark said to the audience.

“Simply. He lived each day as an adventure. In his ESPY speech, Craig said, ‘He chose to live life. Full of fun. Full of love. The glass was never half empty. Always half full. That was Sag at age five and at age 65.”

Krista talked about how her father talked about how each day was not a normal day with him. That each day and each outfit that he dawned as she said to the audience was, “absolutely outrageous.”

The outfit that she wore to the funeral was one that her own dad would be proud of. It was a jacket with ruffled colors that a certain someone gave to her for Christmas in 2015.

“It’s not the normal attire just like Randy and normally not in rainbow colored French jackets,” she said.

Krista also said that she will never forget the times that she shared with her father, like the time when he had the day off and they were both in Miami, FL and on a whim got on a plane and flew to the Bahamas.

“Didn’t discuss it. Just went right ahead,” She said. “There was never a plan with dad. He just wanted to make every single day the best it could possibly be.”

Kacy talked about how her father was a great dad, but he was an even better wing man. She described that when she started to date, her go-to first date move was to ask the guy she was dating to a game with her and Mr. Sager to see if he could hang.

“My sophomore year at Georgia Tech, I was dating a football player and we met my dad at a [Atlanta] Braves’ game,” Kacy said. “He asked him what position he played and when he told him he was a linebacker my dad asked, ‘Oh. Have you tackled my daughter yet?’

That a nice laugh and chuckle from the audience and from that laugh, they knew that answer was Sager in every sense of the word.

Craig II, who the whole country saw when he interviewed Popovich in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs versus the Dallas Mavericks a couple of years ago also expressed his feelings about his father.

“We’re so proud of him and our incredible life together will always be our life story,” Sager II said. “So I will never forget that you never gave in. We will continue making the most out of life as our lives demand the most out of us. We will live our lives full of love and full of fun. It’s the only way we know how. Thank you dad and go Cubs!”

To put the last part of what Sager, Jr. said about his father into perspective, at the end of the procession, they played ,”Go Cubs. Go!”

The great measure of a person’s life is how they are remembered when they pass on. Craig Sager, Sr. was more than just a great sideline reporter for Turner Sports. He was more than just an amazing father to his five kids. More than an amazing husband to his wife Stacey. Craig Sager was a gentleman who always took life by the horns. He was great at his job. He had the respect of those that he interviewed, worked with and competed against when interviewing players at the end of games in the locker room.

When he was at Northwestern, he was the school’s mascot Willie the Wildcat, which he was for the next three years as a collegian and he entertained us for many years with his colorful wardrobe and his amazing reporting.

How great of a colleague was he? Anyone that you talk to about Sager, no one had a negative word to say about the man, even those that contended with him for interviews with players and coaches during the postgame. To put that into perspective, when it came time to talk to Popovich after games over the years, especially after a tough loss, it was Sager who would be the first to jump in and had the rest of the press breathing a sigh of relief when that happened on many occasions.

Craig Sager had the kind of support that most never get in a lifetime and he got that in spades from those he worked with as mentioned earlier, with many of them at his funeral on Tuesday.

“It really reminds of what my father, there’s two things you got to live for in life.” NBATV analyst Kevin McHale, a three-time champion with the Boston Celtics back in the 1980s said on the early Wednesday morning edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia Motors. “Live a life that makes your creator pleased. And secondly, when it’s your time… have him say that you were a good man and I tell you what, everyone there said Craig Sager was a good man and I never heard anybody say a bad thing about him. So Craig lived a life. He was a spiritual guy and he lived a life where people said he was a good man. At the end of the day, that’s been a life well lived.”

Former New York Knick, Vancouver Grizzly Portland Trail Blazer and Seattle Supersonic guard and current NBATV analyst Greg Anthony concurred those sentiments by saying Mr. Sager was, “as good a person to work with and be around as I ever met. As you get older in life if you realize what is really important, and it’s about the relationships that your able to foster over your life. He touched a lot of people throughout his life. It just wasn’t once he was diagnosed with cancer. It was throughout the course of his entire life.”

Throughout the league on Tuesday, that respect and loved was said with an exclamation point as all the commentators for each NBA squad in action dawned attire in memory of Sager from Mike Breen and Walt “Clyde” Frazier of the Knicks; Sara Kustok, sideline reporter for the Brooklyn Nets; FOX Sports Wisconsin’s Sophia Minnaert and Telly Hughes for the Milwaukee Bucks; FOX Sports Southeast commentators for the Charlotte Hornets Eric Collins and Stephanie Ready; Spectrum Sports sideline reporter for the Los Angeles Laker Mike Trudell; FOX Sports Indiana sideline reporter for the Indiana Pacers Jeremiah Johnson and FOX Sports Florida sideline reporter for the Orlando Magic Dante Marchitelli.

The greatest honor for Sager on this day came from his longtime colleague at Turner Sports Ernie Johnson, who delivered an eloquent poem expressing his fond respect and love for Sager and a timeline of his life from beginning to brave and heroic end.  

“And so here we gather on this December morning. Five days having passed since word came with no warning. Our buddy, our brother, our friend for so long had left us to  ponder this thing ‘Sager Strong.’ He stood out as a new born. His blanket magenta, with hints of turquoise, lavender and a touch of burnt sienna. Some babies had rattles and toys of their own. Craig had a loud suit and a new microphone. He went to Northwestern honing his skills where Wildcat football had few wins or thrills. Those fall days in Evanston [IL] can be rather chilly when your dressed as a mascot freezing your willie. Craig would have loved that line. He got his big break working in Sarasota [FL]. Late me share with you this true antidote. The date Apr. 8 back in [19]74. Hank Aaron was knocking on the great Babe Ruth’s door. Craig made the trip north to watch 715 and he did something none of us had ever seen. When Aaron connected on Al Dowling’s pitch, Craig ran down on the field that son of a gun. The crowds going nuts as Hank circles the bases and there at home plate amid all those faces is a guy in a trench coat that is not made to order. Yeah that Sags with his Radio Shack tape recorder. You knew then and there that move which took guts that great things awaited, no ifs, ands or butts. He took his talents to KC and then he moved again, when stardom took hold as he hit CNN. A studio host and a roving reporter, he covered the country from border to border. Years at TBS followed and then TNT where his wardrobe some nights was must not see TV. A paisley tie featuring diamonds was keen. A kangaroo blazer jumped off the screen. A handwoven belt from the bark of a willow and shoes fashioned from a diseased armadillo. But don’t think for a moment it was just about style. If that is your thinking, your off by a mile. He prepped for each game with meticulous flair. A pro’s pro does that when he goes on the air. And that is why when Craig’s cancer fight became known that there was so much love and respect being shown. Because coaches and players all know they arrived when they stand next to Craig and the interviews live. They loved his work ethic, when the truth at days end they viewed Craig as a colleague and above all a friend. He asked the tough questions when it had to be done. Somehow the subject would say, ‘that was fun.’ Now working with Craig here’s one thing you should know. Did the man ever sleep? I do not believe so. He’d go running each day and do research at night until he once went to Hooters and had a Bud Light. The golf course was always for Craig a favorite destination. He took $10 million off his friends by estimation. He won the Carmel Classic every year. Was undefeated, and afterwards in disbelief he would say, ‘You think I cheated.’ I really truly do believe that no man enjoyed life more. That laugh, that smile, that joy we saw when he walked in the door and how he worshiped Stacey. How he loved the sound of dad. How he knew the job was one everybody wished they had. That vibrant thankful part of Craig was never lost or hidden. Even when his illness laid him low and I’m not kidding. You’d visit him and hope to cheer him up or lift his spirit. He’d express his hopeful outlook and make you glad that you could hear it. There were countless chemo hours. Many a sleepless night that marked this unreal ending, awe inspiring cancer fighting. Then there was the profound impact that Craig, Jr. had. Not once, but twice this faithful son gave life to his dad. In honesty, we weren’t surprised that Craig returned to work. For all of us to see him on the sideline was a perk. To see him interviewing Pop, Kyle or Doc, Sags was back and using every second of the clock. And how that must have felt to hear the roar of fans league wide who cheered his courage and took selfies standing by his side. I watched him work a playoff game, fly home and right away have chemo, board a flight, and hit the sidelines the very next day. In each NBA city, there were t-shirts, there were signs as admiration freely flowed, arenas became shrines. Truly was miraculous was his will. His fight, his grit. Its as if he said, ‘Your cancer hu? I don’t give a darn.’ The man that we reflect on today was just a treasure. The number of folks who he inspired, there’s no way to measure. At the ESPYs when they got that honored named for Jimmy V in a room of marquee players, Craig is the guy they came to see. He delivered the most eloquent and heartfelt speech that night. He displayed that in our darkest times one man can be a light. The line we’ll all remember cut through sorrow like a knife. ‘Time,’ Craig said with passion, ‘is simply how you live your life.’ And so, all amid the tears and memories we cherish now. We say farewell to our friend Sags and make this humble vow. There’s no way to gage the days we have. No way to know how long, but know this Craig we’ll do our best to live them ‘Sager Strong.’”

Information and quotations are courtesy of 12/20/16 www.nba.com article/video of “Craig Sager Remembered For Love of Family, Sports and Flashy Coats;” 12/21/16 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia Motors with Casey Stern, Kevin McHale and Greg Anthony and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Sager.

J-Speaks: High Honor Received And NBA All-Time Chart Climb of LeBron James

Cleveland Cavaliers’ perennial All-Star forward LeBron James has had a remarkable career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) that can be described in three words. Consistent, versatile, and durable. That is how he has won four NBA regular season MVP Awards; been a three-time NBA champion, including leading the Cavs to their first overcoming a 3-1 series deficit against the Golden State Warriors this past June; a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2012 and 2016) 12-time All-Star and two-time All-Star Game MVP; 12-time All-NBA selection (10-time First-Team; two-time Second-Team selection); Rookie of the Year (2004) and a three-time Finals MVP. James climb another couple of step up the NBA charts earlier this month and received a very high honor for the second time in his eventual Hall of Fame career.

By scoring on a driving layup with 6:58 left in the Cavaliers 114-84 win over the Miami Heat (9-20) back on Dec. 9, James moved passed Hall of Famer of the then Washington Bullets Elvin Hayes into ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, where he currently has scored at that moment 27,408 points. He was removed from the game close to a minute later and received a resounding applause from those in attendance at the Quicken Loans Arena.

On that night, James who moved passed Hall of Famer and two-time champion with the Houston Rockets Hakeem Olajuwon on the all-time scoring list earlier this season had 27 points on 12 for 22 from the field with eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

“My motivation is for the love of the game and the process,” James said to FOX Sports Cavs’ sideline reporter Allie Clifton.

“It’s not even the individuals I’m going against. It’s not the team I’m going against. It’s about the process and my love for the game. I try to be consistent every single night for my team and they know what they’re going to get out of me. That’s defending. That’s rebounding. That’s passing. Trying to put the ball in the hole a little bit as well. Just try to stay consistent and if I can do that, then I’ve done my job.

Along with becoming the ninth best scorer in NBA history, James is now second among active players with at least 23,000 points scored in his career. He only trails Dallas Mavericks’ forward Dirk Nowitzki, who has scored 29,552 points.

Trailing Nowitzki and James are Los Angeles Clippers forward/guard Paul Pierce (26.341 points); Memphis Grizzlies guard/forward Vince Carter (24,147 points) and New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (23,048 points).

Just 24 hours later, James reached another in the Cavs’ 116-105 win versus the Charlotte Hornets (16-13) back on Dec. 10 recording the 7,000 assists of his career in a 44-point, 10 assists, nine rebound performance, going 17 for 24 from the field, including 5 for 10 from three-point range with three steals.

James also became the first player in NBA history to score 27,000-plus points, grab 7,000-plus rebounds (7,235) and dish out 7,000-plus assists (7,014). This was also the 31^st game of James’ career he fell short of a triple-double, which he has three so far this season and 45 in his career, which is seventh in NBA history.

“Obviously, I know we came off that six-day three game road trip. First game back yesterday was very tough on us and I knew this was going to be a tough game,” James, who scored the last 17 straight points in the final period said to Clifton after the Cavs’ fourth win in succession back on Dec. 10.

“As the leader of the team, it’s mind over matter and just tried to press the tempo. Not tell myself I’m tired and gout and try to do my job.”

In the Cavs’ fifth win in a row versus the surging Memphis Grizzlies (18-12) 103-86, James finished with 23 points, eight assists, six boards and three steals, which left him two points shy of moving past the late great Hall of Famer Moses Malone into eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

In the most fitting of ways in the 114-108 overtime win on Tuesday night at the Milwaukee Bucks (13-13), James, who sat out the back-end of the back-to-back loss at the Grizzlies 93-85 back on Dec. 14 moved passed Malone into seventh place by scoring his first bucket of the night on an offensive put back on a three-point miss from J.R. Smith in the deep left corner at the 9:15 mark of the opening period. James finished the evening with 34 points going 12 for 25 from the field, including 5 for 9 from three-point range with 12 rebounds and seven assists.

In anticipation of passing one of the great scorers and one of the best rebounders in the game’s history, James, who now has scored 27,442 points in his eventual Hall of Fame career had a chance to reflect on a moment he and Malone, who also came into the NBA right out of high school shared before his first pro game 14 years ago.

“My Rookie year. My first game in Sacramento. Came to my hotel room in Sacramento. We ate pregame meal and just talked about what it’s like to be a Rookie in the league,” James said to reporters on the morning of the game.

“Called Uncle Mo every time. Because he was just there in the beginning for me. To see his name there and to see me with the notion of what could happen tonight is just very special.”

Looking at James’ pro career, while he has scored a lot of points in the league, he has always been a pass first guy. Always about seeing his teammates succeed before getting all the accolades on his own.

To put that into perspective, he is averaging a career-high nine assists (9.0) this season, which is just 0.4 higher than the 8.6 he averaged back in the 2009-10 NBA campaign.

“The number one thing that I can say that I’ve been with some great teammates,” James said to Clifton. “They’ve made those shots. I don’t get the assists without those guys making the shots. I just try to put the ball where all they got to do is catch and finish. Catch and shoot…It’s an unbelievable accomplishment and I give the credit to my teammates and the coaching I’ve had over the years that allowed me to do what I do best.”

Those great teammates James is talking about that he has now are All-Stars Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert to name a few and they all came to the forefront these last two victories of their five-game winning streak as James rose the NBA charts.

In the Cavs’ win versus the Heat, Love had his 15^th double-double of the season with a game-high of 28 points along with 15 rebounds. Irving had 23 points on 9 for 15 shooting and Shumpert had 10 points off the bench.

Versus the Hornets, Love had 22 points, six boards and three steals, Thompson had his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Irving struggled going 4 for 13 from the field with 11 points and five assists, but Shumpert picked up the slack 16 points and five boards off the bench going 4 for 6 from three-point range.

James’ performance by leading the Cavs’ to their first ever NBA title last June, along with the start they have been off to this season is among the many reasons he was selected as Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year for 2016.

The 2016 Finals MVP was officially presented with the award at a ceremony in New York City, NY this past Monday night and this coming Monday, James will be on the Dec. 19 SI issue for SOTY, marking the 26^th time in his career he will be featured on the front cover of Sports Illustrated, with the story done by Lee Jenkins. His 26^th cover is third most behind Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and the late great Muhammad Ali.  

James was introduced by Hip-Hop icon, and founder of the full-service entertainment company ROC NATION Jay-Z with and introduction that only he could deliver that combined James’ amazing basketball career with his life off the court.

“He’s a dedicated family man who married his childhood sweetheart Savannah [Brinson]. Has three lovely children. The son who honors and worships his mother Gloria [Marie James]. The friend who put his posse in position. I know. We know where we come from. We do understand where we come from. The only difference between us and someone who has their MBA from Wharton, Sloan, Berkley [University of California, Berkley] or Stanford is opportunity. LeBron James has provided his friends with that opportunity and as we witness their development and that we looking up at the scoreboard, very few. Very few business men are better than Maverick Carter, Rich Paul, Randy Mims and all the rest of the posse.”

A lot that intro was not just a celebration and respect to James, who saw that his friends from childhood helped him to build his brand and image to where it is today, it was a dig at Knicks’ president Phil Jackson, who earlier this month threw some major shade at James and his friends when he called them a posse.

Essentially Jackson called Paul, James’ agent of Klutch Sports and Carter and Mims, who formed agent and sports-marketing company LRMR, which takes care of James’ marketing a bunch of individuals who just there to be along for the ride in an ESPN interview back in November.

James as expected did not take it well and responded with his words and his play when the Cavs beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on national television 126-94 back on Dec. 7 on ESPN. James had 25 points, going 7 for 10 from the field and 10 for 14 from the charity stripe with six boards, seven assists and two block shots. Irving led the way with 28 points on 9 for 17 shooting, including 4 for 6 from long range with six assists. Love had 21 points, while Shumpert had 14 points off the pine, connecting on 4 for 6 from three-point territory.

“I’m motivated for the love of the game, I’m motivated by the process, I’m motivated knowing that my kids are watching me tonight on national television,” James said after the game. “So, I don’t need much more.”

For LeBron James, it is not about breaking records. It’s not about him or about making himself look great. It is about putting yourself in the best position to be great and hopefully you can bring others that are around you like your teammates and friends who want to be great themselves along for the ride.

Becoming great does not happen overnight. It takes a lot of work. A lot of blood, sweat and tears and making a commitment to never stop getting better. It also takes motivation of seeing someone who did not have the same chances you had, which James touched on in his acceptance speech for SI’s Sportsperson of the Year for the second time in his career, which was presented by Symetra, retirement, benefits, life.

“At the end of the day, I’m not standing up here if you four gentlemen, Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], Jim Brown, Muhammad [Ali], Bill Russell sit at that table in the 1960s and no matter, it wasn’t about you guys. The most four dominant athletes at that time didn’t care what happened to them. They sacrificed everything that could have happened to them. Could have been stripped of everything that they’ve accomplished to that point. Can’t play football no more. Can’t play basketball no more. Can’t fight no more. But their calling and their reason for doing what they had to do was for a night like tonight.”

It was also for someone like James to stand up and speak out and being an active voice speaking out against racial inequality, gun violence, police violence and not to mention helping during the 2016 Presidential campaign for Democratic Candidate, former Secretary of State, and former First Lady Hillary Clinton.  

It has been a banner year for the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft out of Akron, OH by essentially his hometown team. He has received individual accolades. He led his hometown team to their first title in franchise history and the city’s first pro sports title in 52 years and set a new standard for what it takes to be great both in the field of play and off in pro sports. The best part is he is far from finished and what will happen next will are all excited to see.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 12/10/16 8 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Casey Stern, Steve Smith and Dennis Scott; 12/11/16 6 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime, presented by Kia Motors with Kristen Ledlow, David Aldridge and Sam Mitchell; 12/13/16 5:30 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia Motors with Casey Stern, Dennis Scott and Brent Barry; 12/13/16 3:30 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN 2 with presented by Dewar’s with Rachel Nichols, Zach Lowe and Tracy McGrady; 12/21/16 8 p.m. contest between the Cleveland Cavaliers versus Milwaukee Bucks on FOX Sports Ohio, with Fred McLeod, Austin Carr and Allie Clifton; www.espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/cle; www.espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/1966/lebron-james; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James; www.rocnation.com/about and www.si.com/nba/2016/12/12/lebron-james-sportsperson-year-sports-illustrated-cover.

J-Speaks: The Passing Of An Iconic Sitcom Dad

Today in Hollywood, being an all-around entertainer is something that most in the show business world learn to be. It is often essential for one’s career to thrive to be more than just an actor/actress, singer, or songwriter. It was thanks to people like iconic one from Kirkland Lake, Ontario who paved that path. He was a famed entertainer who was best known for playing a suburban father who played an at home psychiatrist for seven seasons. He also was a singer, songwriter, game show host. Most of all he was a devoted father, husband and all around solid person who earned the respect of those he worked with and those who interviewed him. Earlier this week we said goodbye to this iconic figure of entertainment.

This past Tuesday, Alan Thicke, who is well known for his role as the devoted dad, husband, and father on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) sitcom “Growing Pains,” passed away in Burbank, CA. He was 69-years-old and is survived by his third wife model and celebrity host Tanya Callau, who he’s been married since 2005 until his passing and his three children in sons Brennan and famed singer Robin from his first wife actress from National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC’S) “Days of Our Lives,” Gloria Loring and Carter William from his second wife, 1990 Miss World Gina Tolleson.

His second son Robin, a singer and songwriter who rose to international fame from his controversial and popular single “Blurred Lines,” in 2013 that reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 said on Instagram @robinthicke on Tuesday, “My father passed away today. He was the best man I ever knew. The best friend I ever had. Let’s all rejoice and celebrate the joy he brought to every room he was in. We love you Alan Thicke. Thank you for your love. Love, your grateful son.”

In an article in this past Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times, his publicist said that the famed actor collapsed while playing hockey with his 19-year-old son Carter at Pickwick Gardens in Burbank. Loring said that Thicke, “He died the way any Canadian should-playing hockey with his son.”

While no funeral services have been planned, it will likely be a small service near his home in Santa Barbara, CA.

His last television appearance was as a guest star on Netflix follow-up to the ABC sitcom “Full House,” “Fuller House,” where he played the date of Candace Cameron Bure’s character D.J. Fuller during family game night in the Season 2 premiere episode “Mom Interference.”

Hours before his passing, Mr. Thicke took to twitter to comment about “Fuller House” and said, “Season 2 Fuller House looking good. I even like the ones I’m not in!”

For all of us in the public, we came to know Mr. Thicke as the caring, loving, and devoted father Dr. Jason Seaver on “Growing Pains,” which aired from 1985-1992 on ABC.

Thicke’s character was a psychiatrist, who solved everyone’s problems from the patients he saw and a loving father to his television children, Mike, Carol and Ben Seaver, played by Kirk Cameron, Tracy Gold and Jeremy Miller, who solved their problems with a warmth that came through right to the audience. He also played the devoted and caring significant other to his television wife Maggie Seaver, played by Joanna Kerns.

In the first season of the show, Mr. Seaver was moving his practice into his home to become closer to his children while Kerns’ character Mrs. Seaver was going to resume her career as a reporter.

“Alan and I used to say this is a great thing every day,” Kerns said back in 2004 on a mini reunion with herself Thicke, Cameron and Gold on “The Insider.” “It was really a special experience because we loved each other first and we had fun. We laughed every day.”

Kerns showed that same grace to the television husband that became an off-screen friend for life in a poignant tribute earlier this week that had both humor and grace saying, “I used to joke, before I met my real husband…that Alan was my favorite daytime husband. At work, we laughed all day, every day at things Alan would come up with, usually at my expense. It was fun. Alan was fun and we all loved teasing each other.”

She ended her tribute by saying, “…rest in peace and may your angels be youthful, tall, buxom and witty.”

Thicke shared that same sentiment with a little sense of humor, saying back in 2004 that he and Kerns “liked each other I think. Right off the bat she couldn’t keep her hands off me and I had to finally just say, ‘enough.’”

That warmth, love, and care that the 2013 inductee onto Canada’s Walk of Fame portrayed, which seems to be a lost art on the small screens these days earned him the nickname America’s Dad and his character was No. 37 on TV Guide’s ‘50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time,’ which came out back on Jan. 3, 2014. The role also earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 1988 for best performance by an actor in a comedy for musical series.

When asked about the audition process that landed him the part, Thicke said that he believes that it was making out with Kerns. “One good kiss and the rest was history.”

The show was also made into two reunion movies on the small screen, The Growing Pains Movie, which aired back in 2000 and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers four years later.

There was a time where someone else might have been in that role. Mr. Thicke said to Lara Spencer of ABC’s “Good Morning America” (GMA) during a mini-reunion with the main cast of “Growing Pains,” a couple of years back that when the network was looking for someone to play Mr. Seaver on the show that it came down to him and Bruce Willis. If that would have happened, we would have seen Mr. Thicke in another ABC show, playing opposite another great leading lady Cybill Shepard on “Moonlighting, which” aired on ABC from 1985-1989.

“I guess there would have been a chance that I would have been in ‘Moonlighting’ and Bruce Willis would have been their dad,” Thicke said.

Many other actors and actresses that were making strong names for themselves back in the late 1980s and early 1990s also took to social media to express their feelings about the passing of Mr. Thicke.

“So sad is the passing of Alan Thicke. Such a good husband, father, brother, and friend. He will be deeply missed. Rest in peace dear Alan,” Bob Saget, @bobsaget, who played Danny Tanner on “Full House,” tweeted on Tuesday.

“Alan Thicke was always the nicest and happiest person in the room. Gone way too soon. Rest In Peace,” Alyssa Milano @Alyssa_Milano, who played Samantha Micelli on “Who’s the Boss,” said on twitter on Tuesday.

Bure, whose brother is Kirk Cameron, and who also made an appearance on “Full House” early in the shows run back in the 1980s on her Instagram @candacebure said, “I’m sad beyond words that Alan Thicke passed away. I’ve known him since I was 8 years old and so glad I had the pleasure of working with you again so recently on Fuller House. You were a part of my family and hockey family. You will be greatly missed. My heart hurts.”

Thicke’s talent as mentioned earlier went far beyond being in front of the camera. He was a very talented songwriter, who wrote collaborations with Ms. Loring for other popular sitcoms like “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life,” with Al Burton and Ms. Loring

He also wrote theme songs for many television games shows like “The Wizard of Odds,” which he also sang the vocal introduction; “Celebrity Sweepstakes;” “Animal Crack-Ups, which he co-wrote with his brother Todd Thicke and Gary Pickus and the original them to long-running gameshow “Wheel of Fortune.”

Before “Growing Pains,” Mr. Thicke was on to host his own popular talk show in Canada in the early 1980s called “The Alan Thicke Show,” which then spawned off into a prime-time spinoff called “Prime Cuts,” where it was edited down into highlights from the talk show. Four years later, he signed on to do an American syndicated late-night talk show called “Thicke of the Night,” which ran in 1983-84. From August 2006-2009, Mr. Thicke played a fictional talk show host Rich Ginger on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” on CBS.

During his run on “Growing Pains,” Mr. Thicke co-hosted from 1983-90 the Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade, which is now called the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade with then GMA host and current special correspondent for NBC’s “Today” show Joan Lunden.

Thicke also was the host of the 1988 Miss USA Pageant in El Paso, TX replacing the late great game show host of “The Price Is Right” Bob Barker and the 1988 Miss University Pageant alongside actress Tracy Scoggins in Taipei, Taiwan. He returned as host of the 1989 Miss USA Pageant in Mobile, AL and of the 1989 Miss Universe Pageant in Cancun, Mexico.

Throughout the last two decades, Mr. Thicke has steadily worked acting in movies like “Hollywood North (2003);” “Raising Helen (2004),” and “Childstar (2004);” “Alpha Dog (2006),” and “It’s Not My Fault and I Don’t Care Anyway (2015).”

He also made many appearances on the small screen as a guest on shows like “Murder She Wrote” in 1993; he had a three-episode arc on “Married…with Children” in 1996-97; “7^th Heaven,” in 2001; “My Wife and Kids,” in 2004; “Yes Dear,” “Half and Half” and “Joey,” in 2005; Nickelodeon’s “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide,” in 2007; a five-episode arc on “How I Met Your Mother,” in 2008; Season 2, episode 3 of “Celebrity Wife Swap;” he had his own reality show, “Unusually Thicke,” which ran for 14 episodes in 2014; FOX’s “Scream Queens,” in 2015 and in “Grandfathered” and “This is Us” in 2016.

Mr. Thicke beyond being a great actor, singer, songwriter, and host, he was as many of his peers mentioned on social media, a devoted dad and husband.

The description of the so-called angels that Kerns mentioned in her tribute mirrors the wife that Thicke left behind in his third wife Callau, who is 28 years his senior that he married in 2005.

Two days before her husband’s passing, she posted a sweet moment of them driving on Instagram when the madly in love couple sat down with “The Insider” host Debbie Matenopoulos back in October on Hallmark Channel’s show “Home and Family,” with co-host Marc Stein, their love for each other was as strong as ever.”

Callau talked about how Thicke drew her a big huge bubble bath with candles lit all around bubble bath and bedroom and he had bubbles all to the top of his head, but he was on fire.

It ended with Callau dunking Thicke into the bath to tame the flames that he caught from likely the candles.

That devotion to family helped him author two books, “How to Raise Kids Who Won’t Hate You” and “How Men Have Babies: The Pregnant Father’s Survival Guide.”

In one of his last tweets before his passing, Mr. Thicke gave advice for expecting new fathers that said, “love…then love some more.”

He was also an individual that never let the shine and sparkle of show business go to his head. He respected everyone he came around, and made in that moment they were the only person in the room.

“I grew up watching him and loving him,” GMA anchor Amy Robach said of Mr. Thicke on the Wednesday edition of GMA. The former weekend anchor of NBC’s “Today” also said, “I got a chance to interview him about 10 years ago, and he was just as kind and warm and funny as you wanted him to be.” 

It is hard to imagine that a television star like Alan Thicke did not even see a television until he was seven years old, he said according to a report from the website of “Entertainment Tonight Canada” when he got his star on Canada’s Walk of Fame 13 years ago. He went from being unknown to the biggest star in Canada and then came here to the U.S. and became a star here both on the silver and small screen and in real life to his family. He is someone that will be missed greatly, but will never be forgotten.

“We started in northern Ontario in a small town where I didn’t see a television set until I was seven years old,” Mr. Thicke said back in 2013 at the unveiling of his star. “So, when you take that moment and fast-forward to what I’m experiencing today with my family here and feeling embraced by my country-that’s unique.”

Information and quotations are courtesy of 12/13/16 article from The New York Times, “Alan Thicke, Reassuring Father on ‘Growing Pains’ Dies at 69,” by Christopher Mele and Niraj Chokshi; 12/14/16 6 a.m. edition of WABC 7 “Eyewitness News This Morning,” with Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato, Heather O’Rourke and Bill Evans; 12/14/16 6 a.m. edition of ABC’s “Good Morning America” with Michael Strahan, Amy Robach, Stephanopoulos, report from Chris Conley; 12/15/16 7 p.m. edition of “The Insider,” on WCBS 2 with Louis Aguirre and Debbie Matenopoulos; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Thicke and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlighting_(TV_series).