50 Craig Sager Quotes From The Iconic Sports Reporter

These Craig Sager quotes will give you a deeper appreciation for the beautiful life you lead.

Craig Sager was a sports reporter who had a zest for life and a passion for happiness. He covered a wide range of sports on CNN, TBS, and TNT up until his death in 2016.

After Craig Sager was diagnosed with leukemia, he inspired many people around the world with his bravery and optimism. If you know someone who has been impacted by cancer, share these inspirational quotes with them to uplift their spirit.

The legacy of Craig Sager lives on in the hearts and minds of sports fans everywhere. He was beloved not only as a reporter but also as a family man and as an insightful speaker. These Craig Sager quotes highlight his wit, wisdom, and determination.

Don’t forget to also check out these Jack London quotes about life and death.

Craig Sager quotes about life, death, and cancer

1. “The way you think influences the way you feel, and the way you feel determines how you act.” – Craig Sager

2. “I will live my life full of love and full of fun. It’s the only way I know how.” – Craig Sager

3. “Everyone has to face obstacles. Everybody has to face hurdles. It’s what you do with those that determines how successful you’re going to be.” – Craig Sager

4. “If you’re running around with a negative attitude all the time, you’re going to feel down; you’re going to have negative results.” – Craig Sager

5. “Time is something that cannot be bought; it cannot be wagered with God, and it is not in endless supply, Time is simply how you live your life.” – Craig Sager

6. “If I’ve learned anything through all of this, it’s that each and every day is a canvas waiting to be painted – an opportunity for love, for fun, for living, for learning.” – Craig Sager

7. “What is time, really? When you are diagnosed with a terminal disease like cancer or leukemia, your perception of time changes.” – Craig Sager

8. “I always see the glass half full. I see the beauty in others, and I see the hope for tomorrow. If we don’t have hope and faith, we have nothing.” – Craig Sager

9. “Sports are supposed to be fun, and so I have fun with the way I dress.” – Craig Sager

10. “I will continue to keep fighting, sucking the marrow out of life as life sucks the marrow out of me.” – Craig Sager

Craig Sager quotes that will make appreciate life

11. “Sports are in my soul. That’s what drives me.” – Craig Sager

12. “If I missed a game, that meant I was losing the battle. I’m not going to let leukemia affect me.” – Craig Sager

13. “Hope is not just… out in the sky, or accepting the facts or reality. Hope is having optimistic, positive expectations.” – Craig Sager

14. “I think my demise has been prematurely reported. That’s what I think. I think I’m going take this and make medical history, and I really believe that.” – Craig Sager

15. “When doctors tell you that your only hope for survival is 14 straight days of intense chemotherapy, 24 hours a day, you sit there, and you count down the 336 hours. You see, each day is a blessing.” – Craig Sager

16. “I don’t know how much time I have left, and there are certain things I’d like to do. I’ve got five kids. Kacy, the oldest, I’d like to see her be happy and fulfilled with her dreams. I want Junior, who gave me the two transplants, I want him to find his niche; I know he’s going to make a very big impact someday.” – Craig Sager

17. “Whatever I might have imagined a terminal diagnosis would do to my spirit, it summoned quite the opposite – the greatest appreciation for life itself. So I will never give up, and I will never give in.” – Craig Sager

18. “I have wrestled gators in Florida. I have sailed the ocean with Ted Turner. I have swam the oceans in the Caribbean.” – Craig Sager

19. “So many times, when you’re doing a job, you feel like you’re a nuisance at times to people, intruding on their space when you ask them questions; maybe they don’t want to deal with you at the time.” – Craig Sager

20. “In 1974 when I was 22 years old, I was working for $95 a week at WSPB, which was an Atlanta Braves-affiliated AM radio station in Sarasota, Florida. Fresh out of Northwestern University, I was the news director at the station, and my main bread and butter was to handle updates during the morning and afternoon drive times.” – Craig Sager

Craig Sager quotes that will change the way you think

21. “As a young boy, I had the usual hobbies – sports, baseball cards, model airplanes, and trains. But I always had a distinct fascination with trains.” – Craig Sager

22. “I can’t even use a can opener. I’m mechanically challenged. I ripped off two thumbnails trying to change kids’ bicycle chains.” – Craig Sager

23. “Sarasota in 1974 was a city of 46,459 people, the 73rd-largest market in the country and sixth-largest in Florida, according to Arbitron Ratings. To supplement my meager salary, I was a bartender at Big Daddy’s on St. Armand’s Circle and a sailing instructor at nearby Lido Beach.” – Craig Sager

24. “I’ve had every chemo in the alphabet, most of them more than once. Some of them that aren’t even in the alphabet, they’re just numbers – clinical trials. But I bet if you added all those up, it would have to be like 60- or 70-something. I’ve had 23 bone marrow aspirations. Having one isn’t fun and I’ve had 23. So that’s been tough.” – Craig Sager

25. “People come up to me and say somebody in their family has cancer, and we appreciate what you do, and we appreciate your fight and don’t give up, we love your attitude.” – Craig Sager

26. “I have acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive type of cancer. The typical prognosis is 3-6 months to live, but I would like to stress that is for a patient who is not receiving treatment.” – Craig Sager

27. “Like most boys, I had a model train set up in my bedroom, resting on a little-used ping-pong table upstairs.” – Craig Sager

28. “I can’t bring out something I’ve already worn. I want to make sure I don’t look down. I want people to say, ‘Man, he looks good’.” – Craig Sager

29. “Ya gotta think positive.” – Craig Sager

30. “I’m a kid from the small Illinois town of Batavia, who grew up on the Chicago Cubs and made sports his life’s work, although there’s never been a day where it actually seemed like work.” – Craig Sager

Insightful Craig Sager quotes

31. “When I was diagnosed with cancer, like so many other people, my life changed forever.” – Craig Sager

32. “I’ve already had two stem cell transplants. Very rarely does somebody have a third, so I have to maintain my strength so I can go through this.” – Craig Sager

33. “For our senior picture, they said, ‘Black or navy blazer.’ And I thought, Why do I want to look like everybody else?” – Craig Sager

34. “I will never give up, and I will never give in.” – Craig Sager

35. “A dramatic turn has matched me with acute myeloid leukemia. From the sidelines to being sidelined, 40 veins and 40 electrolytes.” – Craig Sager

36. “I get this call and they go, you know, ‘Do you want to do the finals?’ and I go, ‘Yeah, I guess, I’ve never, never done the finals.’ Especially for somebody who’s done as many thousands of games as I have, it kind of takes you one step further.” – Craig Sager

37. “Something that I’ve always been. Always lively. I don’t want to be dull.” – Craig Sager

38. “I’m fighting cancer and I refuse to give up.” – Craig Sager

39. “Nobody knows how long they have left on Earth. There are no guarantees, and for me, when they tell you – not once, twice, three times – ‘You’ve got a couple of weeks to live,’ or a couple of months, you have to determine how you want to do that.” – Craig Sager

40. “I’m fighting not only for myself and for my family, but I feel I am fighting for everybody who has cancer.” – Craig Sager

More Craig Sager quotes

41. “They wanted to try this outpatient chemo, and I said no problem. I was adamant. I didn’t want to miss any games. It’s where I’m supposed to be, and I wanted to be there.” – Craig Sager

42. “It seems everybody has been somehow affected by cancer, either through a relative or a close friend or somewhere, and they know how devastating cancer can be. And they see me, and I refuse to let it affect how I live and what I do.” – Craig Sager

43. “When you raise kids, you want them to grow up and be successful. If they can grow up and be like you, it’s quite flattering.” – Craig Sager

44. “I’ve never had one of those middle of the nights when I go, ‘Why me?’ or ‘I don’t know if I can keep fighting like this.’ No. Those thoughts don’t even enter my mind.” – Craig Sager

45. “When doctors tell you that you have three weeks to live, you try to live a lifetime of moments in three weeks. But you say, ‘To hell with three weeks.’” – Craig Sager

46. “I have run with the bulls in Pamplona. I have raced with Mario Andretti in Indianapolis. I have climbed the Great Wall of China. I have jumped out of airplanes over Kansas.” – Craig Sager

47. “To those out there who are suffering from cancer, facing adversity, I want you to know that your will to live can make all the difference in the world.” – Craig Sager

48. “I am not an expert on time, or on cancer, or on life itself.” – Craig Sager

49. “There are things you want to do, but you can’t really look at the future. You don’t know how much there is.” – Craig Sager

50. “I never complain: ‘Oh, I have to go to the hospital and get platelets.’ No. It’s just something you have to do, so why complain about it?” – Craig Sager

What are your favorite Craig Sager quotes about life and death?

Cancer is a devastating illness that impacts countless people around the world. Whether you have personally been diagnosed with cancer or you know someone else who has, you will love this collection of the best Craig Sager quotes. Read these words of wisdom for encouragement, guidance, and hope.

Craig Sager lived a life filled with happiness and success. He was proud of his career and of his family. These quotes highlight the most important aspects of life. As you read these inspirational quotes, remember to always be grateful for the blessings that you have. Share the quotes with someone who could use some positivity in their life.

What are your favorite Craig Sager quotes and sayings about cancer, life, and death? Let us know in the comment section below.