Bill Walton is to sports announcing what Dave Letterman was to talk show hosts about a decade back. It's not to everyone's taste, but I'll betcha he spawn a generation of immitators until his irreverence will eventually seem to be a little conservative and tired.
You cant stand Stuart Scott? You must be jokking! The Freaken guy is one of the best anchors on ESPN. Just looking at the guy is already funny itself. You know, him being a little crossed-eyed and all.
Everyone's comments are well taken - I do think he is funny and I think it interesting how much he exxagerates every thing. My point was just that he always says good things about the team who is winning. Initially he started off dogging the Rockets and by the end of the game, Yao was a King, along with Taylor, Francis, Cat, and Jackson. Interesting discussion though. I didn't know there were so many BW fans out there!! I have LP and I still think that by far, Calvin and Bill are the best commentators... you listen to some of these other broadcasts and think to yourself - where did they get these people!!
For those of you who hate Bill: What are your feelings on Calvin? They remind me of each other a lot. You can't really take them seriously, or else you'll get offended a lot. Just listen to what they have to say for comedic relief while the play-by-play is going on. And you might be surprised, they both have very very good insights to offer, having played in the league and been damn good players in their own right at their position.
The Dead came to UCLA while Bill was there, he was found in the men's locker room shower with a bunch of naked co-eds and various members of the band's entourage, completely wacked out on various illicit substances. Basically, he's my hero. p.s. Stewie Scott absolutely sucks.
Walton can get irritating when your team is losing because he's going to dog your team all game long, but when you're winning, he suddenly say all the nice things and then dogging the other team. He's the most bias commentator in the history of the NBA and the world!!!
Me too!!! I used to actually mute him on NBC. Walton is PURE ENTERTAINMENT!!! I love his sarcasm!! He makes boring games better. He always praises the hot players/teams and criticizes the cold players/team as the best/worst in history/he's ever seem.
I agree about John Thompson being awful. I did used to enjoy him and Ainge being on the same telecast. The hate was palpable. Ainge is an *******... but I do think he was generally right.
Bill Walton is a complete individual who is secure in what he expresses and how he does it. Besides, if there's bigger #34 fan out there, I haven't heard or seen him. Bill Worrell, on the other hand, demonstrates that he can read the newspaper every night. Calvin, he's priceless. That dude is down with his threads, man !
Let me add that Bill and Calvin are by far the most entertaining team of hoops locals I have ever heard. Guess that makes me local too!
Bill Walton, to me, is the best commentator, entertainment-wise. "Look at Yao's legs! They look as if they were sculpted by....MICROSOFT!" or "Shawn Bradley is changing the course of Western civilization!" (after he blocked a shot) The man is hilarious, don't try to analyze his comments.
Effectively, Marv Albert is the gold standard when it comes to announcers. He's got the ideal voice, and has his own cliches like "YESSS!", "from downtown!", and "and the foul!" Although he was fired for a couple of seasons after his kinky side was revealed publicly, he still is THE man when it comes to NBA announcers. But Walton would have to come second, no doubt. Back in '94 he was biased towards Dream and the Rockets, because he was still feeling the effects of the '86 Finals when Hakeem schooled the Celtics. But the next season, Walton changed his stance, and heaped much praise on the Dream, and it has never stopped. He's got kickass catch phrases like "TERRIBLE" and "HORRRRIBLE." These are the best announcers in sports today: NBA: Marv "YESSS" Albert College Basketball: Dick "Ya Baby" Vitale NFL: John "Boom" Madden College Football: Keith "Whoa Nellie" Jackson
