Bill Walton in Colorado

[PSurprise]

Anyone watching the Arizona-Colorado (in Colorado) game? Walton must have started smoking about 3 hours ago. Not sure whether I want to laugh or shake my head in disbelief as to what he's saying. The game is awful, but at least Walton's keeping things interesting.

[fisheyes]

Walton has to be the weirdest color man around. Embarrassing really.

[PSurprise]

"How lucky we are to be high in the Rockies in Boulder!" The 16-year-old in me is lol.

And the game has gotten better btw

[Atlanta Duke]

Will Brinson @WillBrinson

Bill Walton asked when he got to Colorado: “Not soon enough. I needed Boulder BADLY!”

https://twitter.com/WillBrinson/status/437414769650565120:D

[fc3]

As an Old Phi Kap living in Boulder, my heart is warmed. And BTW, if anyone needs a flavor of Cameron circa 1985 or earlier, this place is well worth a visit at least as long as Boyle is head coach. It would be near impossible to get tickets for my family to see a game in Cameron any more (and about as unlikely that any of my children will meet current admission standards to Duke). So it is nice to have a local team and venue that stokes the fire that was ignited when I was a kid and eventually a student at Duke. Double entendre not completely unintended.

[Billy Dat]

Walton has to be the weirdest color man around. Embarrassing really.

Amazing to think that not so long ago he was the #1 color man for NBA broadcasts doing many NBA Finals. I recall one of his best lines back then, "Larry Johnson is a disgrace to the human race!"

There is no doubt he was sampling the now legal intoxicants in Colorado. The dude has had major back problems so I am sure he had a prescription, whether he needed one or not.

While many may be thinking, "Please don't dominate the rap, jack, if you've got nothing new to say, " I happen to love Walton's off the wall commentary. Wherever he goes the people all complain. All I know if something like a bird within him sang.

[OldPhiKap]

Amazing to think that not so long ago he was the #1 color man for NBA broadcasts doing many NBA Finals. I recall one of his best lines back then, "Larry Johnson is a disgrace to the human race!"

There is no doubt he was sampling the now legal intoxicants in Colorado. The dude has had major back problems so I am sure he had a prescription, whether he needed one or not.

While many may be thinking, "Please don't dominate the rap, jack, if you've got nothing new to say, " I happen to love Walton's off the wall commentary. Wherever he goes the people all complain. All I know if something like a bird within him sang.

Walton IS The Wall of Sound.

[Turk]

Yeah, there was a Walton thread earlier this week (page 3 now). He's exempt from the rules - last night he had on a blue ESPN golf shirt instead of the obligatory shirt and tie. I didn't watch the whole game (pesky Mrs. Turk and that Olympic stuff), but I did catch the line about getting to Boulder "not soon enough".

I also heard him work in "the greatest story ever told" in the first half, and "simple twist of fate" late in the game, when UCLA legend Walt Hazzard's grandson (!) was getting garbage time for Arizona.

I believe that he more than most has experienced enough in the game to say whatever the heck floats through his mind. Speaking of legal intoxicants, he has drunk the Wooden koolaid 100% - he is conservative and old school when it comes to talking about how to play the game.

He also said he wanted no part of basketball when his kids were playing - "I just wanted to be a dad who didn't care about who won or lost the game."

[weezie]

While many may be thinking, "Please don't dominate the rap, jack, if you've got nothing new to say,

Which leads me to believe that's why Bilas was brought in to dilute Vitale during the holes and the syr game. It's becoming pretty obvious.

[sagegrouse]

Which leads me to believe that's why Bilas was brought in to dilute Vitale during the holes and the syr game. It's becoming pretty obvious.

I expect this is part of ESPN's transition strategy. Vitale will be 75 years old in June, older even than [gasp!] Sage Grouse. Although signed by ESPN through the 2015 season, I could see him slip into an emeritus status before then.

[MartyClark]

As an Old Phi Kap living in Boulder, my heart is warmed. And BTW, if anyone needs a flavor of Cameron circa 1985 or earlier, this place is well worth a visit at least as long as Boyle is head coach. It would be near impossible to get tickets for my family to see a game in Cameron any more (and about as unlikely that any of my children will meet current admission standards to Duke). So it is nice to have a local team and venue that stokes the fire that was ignited when I was a kid and eventually a student at Duke. Double entendre not completely unintended.

I agree about Tad Boyle and University of Colorado. The Buffs are relevant, the arena is packed, it's a lot of fun.

Go Duke. Go Buffs.

[wsb3]

I expect this is part of ESPN's transition strategy. Vitale will be 75 years old in June, older even than [gasp!] Sage Grouse. Although signed by ESPN through the 2015 season, I could see him slip into an emeritus status before then.

Please don't toy with me that way and get my hopes up.

[Cameron]

Which leads me to believe that's why Bilas was brought in to dilute Vitale during the holes and the syr game. It's becoming pretty obvious.

Dick Vitale is like a once-illustrious derby horse who has suffered a horrific accident, yet insists on continuing to race in spite of having only three legs. We can only hope that the end is near. As far as I am concerned, he died 10 years ago. And I was a fan of his.

As for Bill Walton, the man is brilliant. Like Al McGuire, a one-of-a-kind personality and genuine entertainer. The anti-Billy Packer, if you will. His being in the mountains of Colorado last night is fitting. Walton can tell an interesting story out of thin air, and there are very few of those kinds of characters in the booth left. How does one not find this man fascinating?

[PSurprise]

What I like best about Walton is that he isn't afraid to mix it up with his partner on calling the game. There were at least 2 instances where his partner in the AZ-COL game (sorry, forgot who it was) was saying on a blocked shot "that is clearly a goaltend." Walton comes back, "I need to see it in real time." (haha) After the real-time replay, Walton says, "nope, that's a good block, no question.
And while Walton's lauding of the PAC-12 (or whatever it is now) was over the top, he is soooooo much more listenable than one-eyed-Dick. His anecdotes and stories are usually pretty funny/fascinating, and, he can actually analyze the action that's going on, when he wants to (you know, when he doesn't get sidetracked about new laws in Colorado).

[J4Kop99]

You know what you are getting with Walton. I personally find him to be very entertaining. If you're looking for a more technically-sound color commentator, don't listen to games that Walton is calling.

At first I felt bad for his play-by-play guy, Dave Pasch, until a few games later when I realized that Pasch was clearly aware of what was going on. They have created a nice team. Pasch plays the straight guy to Walton's crazy antics.

[tommy]

Dick Vitale is like a once-illustrious derby horse who has suffered a horrific accident, yet insists on continuing to race in spite of having only three legs. We can only hope that the end is near. As far as I am concerned, he died 10 years ago. And I was a fan of his.

As for Bill Walton, the man is brilliant. Like Al McGuire, a one-of-a-kind personality and genuine entertainer. The anti-Billy Packer, if you will. His being in the mountains of Colorado last night is fitting. Walton can tell an interesting story out of thin air, and there are very few of those kinds of characters in the booth left. How does one not find this man fascinating?

I agree. Al McGuire was my all-time favorite announcer, but I really like Walton too. To me, the difference between them and people like Vitale comes down to authenticity. In addition to their real basketball knowledge, Al and Walton's enthusiasm, anecdotes, references, pet phrases, etc., are rooted in a real place, from their actual experiences and histories. It is free-form and unpredictable and therefore, to me, entertaining. Vitale's (and others like him) shtick is pre-conceived, calculated and predictable, and therefore, boring.

[Dev11]

You know what you are getting with Walton. I personally find him to be very entertaining. If you're looking for a more technically-sound color commentator, don't listen to games that Walton is calling.

At first I felt bad for his play-by-play guy, Dave Pasch, until a few games later when I realized that Pasch was clearly aware of what was going on. They have created a nice team. Pasch plays the straight guy to Walton's crazy antics.

Pasch is great about letting Walton ramble as long as it is coherent, and then bringing Walton back with a "and back to the game." Walton knows that verbal cue means, "OK Bill, give me a few moments here to catch up viewers on the game details I'm supposed to comment about, and then we can roll back into your observations." To me, the chemistry is more believable than that between Vitale and Shulman, especially with Bilas in there, too, who has probably had to learn to hold his tongue while Vitale does his shtick.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Dick Vitale is like a once-illustrious derby horse who has suffered a horrific accident, yet insists on continuing to race in spite of having only three legs. We can only hope that the end is near. As far as I am concerned, he died 10 years ago. And I was a fan of his.

I hate that Vitale has become synonymous with Duke basketball. As though it doesn't nauseate me as much as everyone else when he fawns over Coach K during a Big Ten game. I feel we are unnecessarily saddled with him. It's sort of like blaming Canada for Justin Beiber. We didn't ask for this!

[flyingdutchdevil]

I hate that Vitale has become synonymous with Duke basketball. As though it doesn't nauseate me as much as everyone else when he fawns over Coach K during a Big Ten game. I feel we are unnecessarily saddled with him. It's sort of like blaming Canada for Justin Beiber. We didn't ask for this!

I don't mind Doris Burke. I think she gets a bad rap on DBR. I don't mind Len Elmore. I actually appreciate the fact that he is slightly bias. As a matter of fact, I don't mind any color commentator. Except for Vitale. Between his voice, his awful catch-phrases, and his over-excitement over an uncontested lay-up, I just can't take him.

And I agree with you 100% about Vitale. He is synonymous with Duke basketball, and it's really not fair. Like most level-headed people, Vitale appreciates great programs with great coaches with great consistency. But instead of saying from time to time how much he appreciates the program, he goes on tangents about how his great grandchildren with such passion and fortitude that it turns off lots and lots of people.

[bedeviled]

I, too, am turned off by Dick Vitale's played-out shtick and his tangential comments about having dinner with so-and-so and so-and-so's beautiful wife. But his repeated drivel shouldn't actually irritate me, especially in games that I don't care about.....but it does! Note that people don't just find him uninteresting or not the preferred choice, they despise him. I think it is because his gimmick is linked to intense emotional episodes. For example, when UNC goes on a run against Duke and Dick starts his "jubilation" and ramps up his pitch and blathering toward "they're unstoppable, baby!!," I really want to break my tv. It's just totally insufferable!! It's like the Carolina fans who text you to gloat right after a UNC win, knowing that you already feel bad enough. His ridiculously effusive "positive" regard actually breeds hate in the moment. The overdone, feigned excitement about specific good plays is extremely grating to the fan of the opposing team, and this distaste carries over to disliking his commentary in general. It isn't really just about Dickie V and what he says, it's about our associations to his commentary. And, at some point, everyone is the victim of his "positivity" toward another team, it just happens that the mythical team is often Duke due to programming and gameplay (which not only engenders distaste for him, but breeds hatred of Duke and links the two). From what I can tell, no fan base really likes him.

I have wondered why he still gets gigs (and the best ones!) when basketball fans don't like him. But, it makes sense. The passionate fans are going to watch anyway. The network wants to pull in casual fans who might tune in to the big game. He still appeals to casual fans (and perhaps those of us who have gone through therapy regarding our sports allegiances).