How can anyone listen to Bill Walton

[orangecuse]

Just love Johnny Miller...straight forward and blunt, no candy coating bs or pc!

 

[jordoo]

Walton is like a funnier version of nbcs Johnny miller

Jonny is way more reeled in however I see the correlation. When Johnny was good he was very good so he knows what he's talking about but he also pretty much tanked his own career so when he's getting on one of the golfers I have laugh a little bit at times. He willing to say things the other golf guys just will not though and that is why I like it when he is on the telecast.

I laughed more in that game last night that Walton did than I have during a game in a long time. I can also understand why some can't stand him and I prefer watching him do other teams games would not want him doing ours because he does wander.

 

[shermstheman]

Seems he thinks if he talks long enough people might forget he wasn't half the player Abdul-Jabbar was.

Half the player Abdul-Jabbar was is still HOF material. Before he was hurt he was close to Kareen, not as a scorer though. Tremendous. Complete team player, great passer, all hustle, smart.

 

[shermstheman]

Anyone else hear Walton call Digger Phelps the devil

You mean he isn't?

 

[rosconey]

this is like the turruble ref situation - way too many games for qualified refs and announcers-

 

[IthacaMatt]

I haven't gotten to watch a Walton game in ages. Can one of you fine gentlepeople(I dont want to appear s e x ist) tell me when he's next scheduled to be on the air? Seriously, I want to watch the game just so I can hear if he is as different as you say. This society is so stuck on molds and trends and I like when people dare to be different, even if I don't necessarily like their style. I'm guessing I'm going to dig Walton if he is as zany as you say. I'm serious, someone please let me know.

As for the old drunk at the end of the bar spouting off about stuff nobody understands, from the reaction of some folks on here to some of my work, that sounds like a reasonable aspiration for me!

PAC 12 games on Fox.

 

[IthacaMatt]

NBC has had him cover beach volleyball a few times. Imagine his basketball announcing being applied to a sport he doesn't know anything about. Oi.

Actually, he was a great volleyball player growing up in San Diego.

 

[jordoo]

You mean he isn't?

That was pretty funny as was his response when DaveP asked him how they felt after beating ND in the rematch later that season after losing to them. "utterly embarrassed" or something along those lines. LOL

 

[bnoro]

http://deadspin.com/what-the-hell-is-bill-walton-talking-about-1498489413

This was his best rant from last night... Completely nonsensical and had nothing to do with the game. He's the best.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Half the player Abdul-Jabbar was is still HOF material. Before he was hurt he was close to Kareen, not as a scorer though. Tremendous. Complete team player, great passer, all hustle, smart.

Uh, in college Walton was a better scorer, IMO. No one ever had an NCAA Finals where they shot 21-22 from the field. THAT is the definition of BIG TIME.

 

[jordoo]

http://deadspin.com/what-the-hell-is-bill-walton-talking-about-1498489413

This was his best rant from last night... Completely nonsensical and had nothing to do with the game. He's the best.

Its freekin awesome that he wonders on and on then DaveP mentions a concert and he's like "we got a game here" I think old Bill is sneaky smart sometimes and he's totally giving it back to Dave trying to reel him in all the time.

 

[IthacaMatt]

http://deadspin.com/what-the-hell-is-bill-walton-talking-about-1498489413

This was his best rant from last night... Completely nonsensical and had nothing to do with the game. He's the best.

I love the look on Pasch's face in that shot - it's like he's biting his lip so hard it's going to bleed! LOL

 

[CorduroyG]

my favorite walton moment was when he was broadcasting a laker game when luke walton was on lakers. luke dropped an easy pass that went out of bounds and in the most frustrated annoyed pissed off voice bill said "turnover walton! you gotta catch that!".

 

[Cowtown]

Half the player Abdul-Jabbar was is still HOF material. Before he was hurt he was close to Kareen, not as a scorer though. Tremendous. Complete team player, great passer, all hustle, smart.

So, we disagree.

 

[Cowtown]

Uh, in college Walton was a better scorer, IMO. No one ever had an NCAA Finals where they shot 21-22 from the field. THAT is the definition of BIG TIME.

Did the NCAA change any rules to stop Walton?

 

[jordoo]

Did the NCAA change its rules to stop Walton?

Don't think anyone is arguing that Walton was close to as good as Jabbar just that not being as good s him doesn't disqualify Walton as being a great college player in his own right. He had his moments in the pro's as well but was mainly derailed by injury.

 

[CaptainJ]

I love the look on Pasch's face in that shot - it's like he's biting his lip so hard it's going to bleed! LOL

It was like he was trying to tell the viewers "I dont want to be associated with this!". I actually was a bit put off when Dave tried to stop Walton from talking about defecting. Americans could use a little history mention now and then, and how he wove it was masterful. I hope all this attention doesn't cause his employers to send down a directive that will lessen his artistry in upcoming games.

 

[jordoo]

It was like he was trying to tell the viewers "I dont want to be associated with this!". I actually was a bit put off when Dave tried to stop Walton from talking about defecting. Americans could use a little history mention now and then, and how he wove it was masterful. I hope all this attention doesn't cause his employers to send down a directive that will lessen his artistry in upcoming games.

They can tell Bill whatever they want its not going to stop him from saying what he wants, that's part of the magic of it all.

 

[Cowtown]

Don't think anyone is arguing that Walton was close to as good as Jabbar just that not being as good s him doesn't disqualify Walton as being a great college player in his own right. He had his moments in the pro's as well but was mainly derailed by injury.

It's probably just me, Jordoo, but I think we as a culture use "great" a little too easily. Walton was very good when he had other good players around him. Abdul Jabbar was great everywhere he went, and made others around him better. I'm not so sure I'd say that about Walton, although you're correct about the injuries angle.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Years ago I was watching an NBA game with Walton announcing. Dalembert launched a pass out of bounds and Walton, mid sentence for a separate story, just adds "and samuel dalembert with one of the worst outlet passes in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise."

Pure gold.

 

[NineOneSeven]

It's probably just me, Jordoo, but I think we as a culture use "great" a little too easily. Walton was very good when he had other good players around him. Abdul Jabbar was great everywhere he went, and made others around him better. I'm not so sure I'd say that about Walton, although you're correct about the injuries angle.

I see your problem-- jabbar was more than great.

Problem solved.

 

[CorduroyG]

Years ago I was watching an NBA game with Walton announcing. Dalembert launched a pass out of bounds and Walton, mid sentence for a separate story, just adds "and samuel dalembert with one of the worst outlet passes in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise."

Pure gold.

this is how i imagine this commentary......"the greatful dead are amazing! ive seen them 2500 times! and each time better than the last. when i saw them in '74 they played for 8 hours straight! and samuel dalembert with one of the worst outlet passes in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise. jerry garcia was a true genius. as was coach wooden. he didnt just teach us about basketball. he taught us about life. just like jerry. turnover iverson! what is he doing! i gotta go take a stuff. oh did i say that out loud? whats the ucla score?"

 

[jordoo]

It's probably just me, Jordoo, but I think we as a culture use "great" a little too easily. Walton was very good when he had other good players around him. Abdul Jabbar was great everywhere he went, and made others around him better. I'm not so sure I'd say that about Walton, although you're correct about the injuries angle.

Well Jabbar was like the GOAT or excellent. I still think Walton compared to other college players in general was great. But again its semantics at this point if we are talking about adjectives and you know that you and I have never had an issue agreeing to disagree if we get to that point. So we's

 

[jordoo]

this is how i imagine this commentary..."the greatful dead are amazing! ive seen them 2500 times! and each time better than the last. when i saw them in '74 they played for 8 hours straight! and samuel dalembert with one of the worst outlet passes in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise. jerry was a true genius. as was coach wooden. he didnt just teach us about basketball. he taught us about life. just like jerry. turnover iverson! what is he doing! i gotta go take a stuff. oh did i say that out loud? whats the ucla score?"

hahahahahahhahahaha soooo awesome you should do Bill more often.

 

[MCC]

Uh, in college Walton was a better scorer, IMO. No one ever had an NCAA Finals where they shot 21-22 from the field. THAT is the definition of BIG TIME.

Wh-wh-whaaaattt? The 21-22 epitomized efficiency, but Walton never approached Abdul-Jabbar's scoring prowess at any point in his college career.

Kareem put up 29.0 / 26.2 / 24.0 in his 3 college seasons for an avg of 26.4 on 64% shooting. Not to mention the NCAA made dunking illegal in an attempt to level the field.

Walton put up 21.1 / 20.4 / 19.3in his 3 college seasons for an avg of 20.3 on 65% shooting.

Walton was a better passer to be sure, but frankly it's silly to suggest he was anywhere near the offensive force Kareem was with the skyhook. Not that it matters here, but Walton has said many times that Kareem was by far the best he's ever played against and neither he nor anyone else had a realistic chance of stopping the skyhook.