will play North Dakota on Friday.Dallas Moore also finished with 18 points

HOUSTON -- Craig Sagers once lustrous chestnut hair is down to a few unruly strands because of chemotherapy, and on this day of hope a simple green T-shirt and blue shorts adorn the broadcaster known by millions for his ostentatious wardrobe and easy rapport with the NBAs elite.He methodically extended a long, skinny arm to an IV pole holding the stem cells he is counting on to save his life. There was silence as he cradled the tube, watching the crimson liquid drip, drip, drip in a perfect cadence into the cannulai that feeds it into his cancer-stricken body.TNTs beloved basketball broadcaster received a rare third bone marrow transplant on Wednesday to fight an aggressive form of leukemia. The 65-year-old Sager has battled acute myeloid leukemia since 2014 and announced in March he was no longer in remission.Sager knows the odds are against him. Yet, he seems unfazed.I like to gamble, he told The Associated Press. I like to bet on horses, I like to bet on dogs, I like to bet on a lot of things. Ive bet on a lot of things with a lot higher odds than this.Sager has twice before received a bone marrow transplant with stem cells and each time he went into remission for several months. His son, Craig Sager II, was the donor then. This time, an anonymous 20-year-old donor was considered a perfect match.Sager has been hospitalized for a month and has another monthlong stay ahead. He hasnt thought a lot about the man whose bone marrow could change everything for him. But when he learned of his age, he expressed a half-serious concern.My only thing was I was afraid that when he signed up to be the donor, he may have been in some drunk fraternity house trying to impress his date, said Sager, with a smile. And they call him up the next day and say: `Want to come down to the hospital? and hes like: `What?His fears turned out to be unfounded.He came through, Sager said.The latest of nearly 100 procedures Sager has endured in his well-publicized fight was performed at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and took more than 10 hours to complete. Dr. Muzaffar Qazilbash, Sagers stem cell transplantation physician, researched thousands of such transplants at MD Anderson over the last 15 years.Its less than 1 percent of the total number of transplants, Qazilbash said. Its very rare to have three transplants.Sager, who has worked for TNT for more than three decades, says hes open to trying anything doctors think might help.Ive had every chemo in the alphabet, most of them more than once, he said. Some of them that arent even in the alphabet, theyre just numbers -- clinical trials. But I bet if you added all those up it would have to be like 60- or 70-something. Ive had 23 bone marrow aspirations. Having one isnt fun and Ive had 23. So thats been tough.Despite the rigors of treatment and how they can ravage his body, hes never thought about giving up. He gets angry when he meets other patients who say theyve grown weary of fighting.Man, life is too beautiful, too wonderful, theres just too many things, he said. Its not just you. Its your family and kids and all. Fight. Fight until the end. Fight as hard as you can.With his radiant smile and TV-perfect persona, it takes time to peel back the layers of positivity and catch a glimpse of how hard that fight can be.His attitude is, nobody wants to hear it, said his wife Stacy, his full-time caregiver and No. 1 fan. And so it makes you reflect on yourself and the things that you say when youre complaining about little things in life and trivial things, and it just puts things in perspective.But there are times, often as night creeps into early morning, where it all becomes too much. No medication can help.Ive never had any of those days where Ive actually said `why me, or `I cant do it, he said. But Ill have some dark nights where Ill be here by myself and maybe getting some medicine thats making me jump around like a rabbit. And Im in pain and Ive got chills and Ive got fever and Ive got everything mixed into one and Im throwing up and have diarrhea ... and Ill just say: `Stacy, I need you. I need you.And shell come to me and just hold me and it just makes it better, he said.A few days before his transplant, Stacy came down with a bad cold and doctors sent her home, fearful shed transmit her illness to her husband. Hall of Famer and TNT colleague Charles Barkley heard she couldnt be there for a couple of days and hopped on a plane from Phoenix.However, Sir Charles had hip replacement surgery less than a month ago and wasnt cleared to travel. He said his doctor was livid when he learned Barkley had defied orders and flown halfway across the country. Barkley informed the doctor that it was an emergency.Craig Sager is one of the most interesting people Ive ever met, Barkley said. We go to see Sager to cheer him up and by the time you leave youre like, `Is anything wrong with him? He has the most positive attitude ... When you go to try and cheer him up his attitude is so upbeat he cheers you up.Sager found inspiration in a girl who lost her fight with cancer before her ninth birthday. He befriended Lacey Holsworth and her family while working on a story about her illness and remained friends with her parents after she died in April 2014. Holsworth had cheered on the Michigan State basketball team and had a close friendship with star Adreian Payne.Last weekend, her parents visited Sager in his Houston hospital room. They left him with a more tangible reminder of her bravery.They brought me little Laceys boots that she used to always wear to games and a picture of her wearing them, said Sager, clutching the high-top cheetah footwear with laces made from silk ribbons. That little girl was so amazing. Fought for all of those years, was always positive, always cheerful, always brought other peoples spirits up. So if Im laying here feeling bad, I just think about Lacey and it puts everything in perspective.Sagers also bolstered by his drive to be back on the sideline for the NBA season. He doesnt expect to have recovered from the transplant in time for the season-opener on Oct. 25, but aims to return by early November for more of gentle sparring with the likes of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich .It would be a victory not just for him, but for all the people his fight has inspired.It means that youre surviving and youre winning, he said. That youre knocking down obstacles and clearing hurdles that are put in front of you and youre doing them with flying colors.On Wednesday, five colorful balloons were tied to one side of his hospital bed. Several had birthday greetings and two said: Happy birthday, its your big day.Festive, yes. But Sager was born in June.When you get stem cells they say its your new birthday, Stacy explained. So this is his fourth birthday.Sager tried to downplay the pageantry surrounding the event, saying it wasnt a big deal.That earned a sweet, yet stern, admonishment from his beloved wife.It is a big deal, she said. Its giving you life.Wholesale NBA Jerseys 2018 . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. 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The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Wajid Aminu scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, including five offensive, and North Florida eased to a 112-66 win over Florida National in the first round of the Wright State Invitational on Tuesday night.The tournament now shifts to Dayton, Ohio for the remaining rounds, where North Florida will play North Dakota on Friday.Dallas Moore also finished with 18 points for the Ospreys (2-3), while Romelo Banks had 16 and Karlos Odom added 15. Overall North Florida shot 62.5 percent from the field while holding the Conquistadors to 35.dddddddddddd6 percent and 5 of 24 from beyond the arc.Jermohn Queen and Terence Johnson each scored 15 points for Florida National.The Ospreys led by 15 at halftime and lengthened their lead past 20, 59-37, early in the second half on a Moore 3. An Odom 3-point play made the lead an even 30 (75-45) with 13:09 left. ' ' '