RIP

NBA great Gary Payton will remember the late Craig Sager for his positive personality, courage, and, of course ... his flashy suits.

The Glove -- who grew close to Sager throughout his career in the Association -- says he was heartbroken when he heard that Sager lost his battle with cancer at age 65.

"Craig was always funny. He always wanted to be jokeful ... he was so genuine about us. He liked the players and we liked him. That's what made him so close to us."

Beloved sportscaster Craig Sager has died after a long battle with a form of leukemia.

Turner Sports announced his passing on Thursday. He was diagnosed back in 2014, but continued working for TNT and TBS, covering NBA and MLB games through this past summer ... including a game of the NBA Finals.

He worked for Turner for more than 30 years.

Craig was one of the most popular sports reporters with fans and the superstar athletes he covered -- who loved to playfully mock his fashion sense. Craig was famous for his bold and colorful wardrobe choices on the sidelines.

Alan Thicke went to a Christmas party at John Paul DeJoria's house on Sunday ... and people there say he was happy, healthy and looking forward to the holidays.

Alan, his wife, Tanya, and his son, Brennan, mingled with celebs like Smokey Robinson, Jane Seymour and Clint Eastwood at the Malibu shindig which had everything -- live band, petting zoo, photo booth, Santa Claus, real snow AND an In-N-Out truck.

When it came time to chow down, we're told Thicke ditched his burger bun and ate it with just lettuce. His pal Ron White was also there and tells us Alan was health conscious about his diet, and avoided carbs.

5:50 AM -- Robin Thicke posted on Instagram about his father's passing.

TV icon Alan Thicke has died ... TMZ has learned.

We're told Alan had a heart attack while he was playing hockey with his 19-year-old son, Carter. He was transported to Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center around noon Tuesday, and pronounced dead there.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... a company that recovers organs was contacted, so some of Thicke's organs could be donated.

He's survived by his 3 sons -- Robin, Brennan and Carter ... and his wife, Tanya.

Alan played hockey regularly at a rink in Burbank. We're told he and Carter were on the ice around 11 AM when he started having chest pain, then got nauseous and vomited. The ambulance picked him up around 11:30 and took him to the hospital.

The Canadian born actor was most famous for his role as Jason Seaver, the dad on the '80s sitcom, "Growing Pains." Most recently, he was on the Netflix reboot, "Fuller House" ... and also had a cameo on the first episode of "This Is Us."

Alan also hosted game shows, talk shows, and wrote several famous TV show theme songs for "Diff'rent Strokes," "Wheel of Fortune" as well as "The Facts of Life."

He was 69.

Gilbert Gottfried was a regular on Alan Thicke's late night '80s talk show "Thicke of the Night" and they spent a lot of time cracking jokes about Alan's singing.

Gilbert was out in NYC just hours after TMZ broke the news about Thicke's sudden death -- and he says Alan loved calling himself the "affordable William Shatner." You gotta see Gilbert's impression.

They even did an episode of "Celebrity Wife Swap" ... so they were good friends, but Gilbert clearly never nailed a spot-on impression of Alan's singing voice. 'A' for effort though.

Joe McKnight's ex-college and NFL teammates showed out in force to say a final goodbye to the former star running back at his funeral Monday morning in New Orleans.

Antonio Cromartie, Bart Scott, LenDale White, Willie Colon and D'Brickshaw Ferguson carried McKnight's casket during the emotional ceremony at New Home Ministries church.

Mark Sanchez -- who played with J.M. at USC and on the Jets -- was also in attendance.

McKnight was shot and killed on December 1 by 54-year-old Ronald Gasser ... but could not be buried sooner because of the coroner's investigation.

Jerry Heller's nephew wants a judge to let him create and run an estate for his late uncle ... purely for the purpose of taking down Ice Cube and Dr. Dre in court.

Lawyers for Terry Heller filed docs Tuesday asking he be named executor of Jerry's will -- all because he plans to pursue the defamation suit against everyone behind "Straight Outta Compton."

Sources close to Terry tell TMZ ... all of Jerry's assets were already put into a private trust before his death, and the only reason he's doing this is to change the name of the plaintiff from Jerry to Jerry's estate ... 'cause dead guys can't sue.

You'll recall ... Jerry sued Dre, Cube and other producers of 'Compton' for $110 mil last year, claiming the film falsely made him look like "the bad guy." A judge has tossed most of the case since then, but there's still 2 questionable scenes on the table.

Former Senator and astronaut John Glenn -- the first American man to orbit Earth -- died in Ohio Thursday ... surrounded by his family. He was 95.

Glenn was at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center when he passed away. His wife of 73 years, Annie, was reportedly by his side.

Glenn was part of NASA Mercury program and in 1962 he became our first astronaut to orbit the planet aboard the Friendship 7 ... and was hailed as a true American hero for the feat.

He also served in the military during World War II and the Korean War.

He was elected Senator in Ohio in 1974 ... and served until 1999.

Greg Lake, who co-founded the popular progressive rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer ... died Wednesday.

Greg's agent said he died after "a long and stubborn battle with cancer." Greg is the second member from the '70s band to die in 2016 -- founding member and keyboardist Keith Emerson died back in March.

ELP burst onto the scene in 1970 at the Isle of Wight Festival ... where Jimi Hendrix and The Who also famously headlined. The band broke up off and on and reunited for a tour as recently as 2010.

Greg also had a successful solo career that included the 1975 classic, "I Believe in Father Christmas."

He was 69.

Kordell Stewart says the University of Colorado should honor Rashaan Salaam by erecting a statue of the Heisman winner right in front of the football stadium ... and it's not like they don't have the cash.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Buffs great who says Salaam was like his "little brother" -- and says he loved reminiscing about the good ol' days with the running back ... just like he did a few months ago.

But Stewart is passionate about making sure the University honors Salaam -- not just for what he did for the football program but for the "human being" who gave so much to the institution.

"The institution that has so much money ... we can take that chump change and put a statue up of Rashaan Salaam."

Michael Westbrook says he's devastated over the death of his U of Colorado teammate, Rashaan Salaam ... saying he's in "utter shock" and wishes he could've helped his friend.

Westbrook and Salaam DOMINATED as a WR, RB combo in college -- especially during their 11-1 season in 1994 (the year Rashaan won the Heisman).

Michael says he's been an emotional wreck since learning about Rashaan's death this week -- and says looking back, there may have been a warning sign.

Westbrook says Salaam missed an event at the Colorado Hall of Fame last month -- and teammates scrambled to get in contact with him. Teammates were puzzled at his absence but didn't think much of it.

"I think that maybe should've been a sign or something for us."

(Obviously, Westbrook couldn't have known he was in as bad of a place as he was)

Westbrook goes on to share his favorite memories with Rashaan ... from always having a smile on his face to giving his offensive line all the credit for his 2,000 yard season.

R.I.P.

3:17 PM PT -- Cops now suspect Salaam's death was suicide and say a note has been recovered at the scene.

Officials have still not released the cause of death.

Ex-Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam -- a superstar running back for the Colorado Buffaloes -- has died at age 42 ... his family confirmed.

Officials tell TMZ Sports ... Salaam's body was discovered in a parking lot at Eben G. Fine Park in Boulder, Colorado late Monday night.

We're told there were no obvious signs of foul play. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed.

Salaam won the Heisman in 1994 -- beating out guys like Steve McNair, Warren Sapp and Kerry Collins.

He was later drafted by the Bears in the 1st round of the 1995 Draft but only spent a few seasons in the NFL.

Salaam went on to run an organization dedicated to helping underprivileged kids.

Sheriff Newell Normand is firing back at the people who have criticized him for the way he's handling the Joe McKnight shooting investigation ... and just read OUT LOUD some of the hateful comments he and other leaders have received, including the n-word and the f-word.

Sheriff Normand says he and other leaders have received letters using various racial and homophobic slurs. He did not water down the language.

When asked why he decided to read the hateful language out loud, Normand says he wanted to show people how "crazy" things have gotten ... where people are getting harassed for doing their jobs.

The conversation turned racial and Normand says black people are more likely to be killed by black people in his community.

The rapper who helped people picture Tupac rollin' has died.

TMZ has learned Big Syke was found dead at his home in Hawthorne, CA late Monday night. Law enforcement sources tell us cops responded first to a call to the scene, and then the L.A. County Coroner arrived. No foul play is suspected.

Sources close to the situation tell us Syke -- real name Tyruss Himes -- is believed to have died from natural causes, although an autopsy has yet to be performed. We're told he had a history of heart issues and obesity.

Big Syke was a longtime friend of Tupac, and dropped verses on a bunch of his tracks, such as "All Eyez on Me," "Picture Me Rollin'" and "Check Out Time." He was also a member of Tupac's Thug Life group.

He was 48.

The man who shot and killed ex-NFL running back Joe McKnight in an apparent road rage incident has been arrested for manslaughter ... this according to police records.

Peter Vaughan, the veteran British actor who gained a new following with his recurring role on "Game of Thrones" ... died Tuesday morning.

Vaughan's agent says the actor died peacefully this morning around 10:30 surrounded by his family. Vaughan played Maester Aemon -- the former leader of the Night's Watch -- on the hit show from 2011 until 2015.

During his 75 years in show biz ... Vaughan starred in several British TV series and feature films. He co-starred with the likes of Sir Anthony Hopkins, Clive Owens, and Frank Sinatra.

Vaughan was 93.