Is Bill Walton Broadcasting on Drugs?

[Caliknight]

He is doing the USC/UCLA game and he sounds like he is on drugs. Very aggressive with his counterpart. Seemed beyond schtick, like they were going to fight.

 

[ruman]

He is doing the USC/UCLA game and he sounds like he is on drugs. Very aggressive with his counterpart. Seemed beyond schtick, like they were going to fight.

He is

 

[Abro1975]

He's just letting his Freak Flag Fly.

That's been his style for many years now. History of severe back pain, many surgeries, and no doubt some pain meds as well. Good sense of humor, crazy, political , DeadHead, well read, red head.

 

[TDIrish27]

About 2 weeks ago I was watching him do a game and when the Ball kid hit a 3 Walton was comparing it to Martin Luther King.

That said I find him very entertaining.

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

Walton is out there for sure, but a few times lately I've heard announcers give their opinion about basketball and dispute the color commentator. I think Sean McDonough, Breen, and Dave something are the announcers who've done that. All the color commentators are former players or coaches and it's clear that they know what they're talking about and the announcers are ignorant about the issue. Some color guys bite their tongue, or reply sarcastically, but Walton probably just tells his announcer that he's wrong. I've heard Van Gundy tell Breen a number of times that he's wrong. I guess these announcers think that broadcasting games makes them experts. Sometimes it's funny, but usually it's cringeworthy to listen to.

 

[hinson32]

I can see why Walton is either hated or loved as an announcer. I happen to greatly enjoy listening to him.

 

[NickKnight 1]

Maybe most people on this board don't know Bill Walton
of the hippy days, Let me remind you, he was best friends
of the founder of the Symbionese Liberation Army that
kidnapped Patty Hearst, He defended their actions
(murder bank robbery etc) and strongly criticize the FBI for
killing of the SLA. He was big time anti establishment
of which he a big part of now. There was also an
accusation their guns and ammunition were funded by Walton.

 

[DHajekRC84]

He is doing the USC/UCLA game and he sounds like he is on drugs. Very aggressive with his counterpart. Seemed beyond schtick, like they were going to fight.

I caught the beginning of the game broadcast and thought EXACTLY this..WEIRD. Frankly made me uncomfortable listening to it, turned it off and went to bed.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

You're just now realizing this?

 

[RUinsouthjersey_rivals]

one thing for sure, you'll never hear another announcer say 'I love tripping in the desert' on a network broadcast or anywhere else

 

[scarletjimmy]

I can't listen to a game he does and it sucks because I am Cal fan also. Just call the game please

 

[TDIrish27]

Last year at the Pac 12 Tournament Pregame Show Walton was standing outside the Arena Microphone in hand and this Stretch Limo pulls up with the dark windows.

Out pops all the schools mascots and Walton commented " and lastly we have the Oregon Duck sitting in the Ray Lewis seat ".

Nobody else gets away with that.

 

[scarletrat]

also have to factor in that he was calling the USC-UCLA game...few things he lost me on last night, I don't think he was going after Paasch on air but I could see how it oculd be taken as uncomfortable...that said, he is a great listen and not fake at all...he had a couple of zingers in there that were pretty good...and then he was in SC for 10 minutes after the game...

looking forward to his call of UCLA-Arizona tonight...

and I think he reacted as a father also re Ball and comments Lonzo's father has said...

 

[PurpleR]

He is a unique person that is both intelligent and a non conformist. He certainly has sounded as though he was higher than a kite on more than one occasion. Hard to listen to him do a UCLA game as his homerism and narcissism combined end up sounding like he thinks he is Moses delivering the ten commandments. I get he is a proud Bruin but he is over the top. I have also heard he is horrible to work with having said all that there are times I find him entertaining. To me it's like listening to Charles Barkley they both can be entertaining but they are all over the place and their message is not always consistent or believable. Need to have the mute button close at hand.

 

[Scangg]

Love Walton! He's hilarious and most announcers are terrible and/or boring.

Throw it down big man!! One time!

"Chris Dudley has such a nice game. Look at the style. The beauty. The grace"

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

He's going to slip up and cross the line at some point and lose his front row seat

 

[RU MAN]

He is doing the USC/UCLA game and he sounds like he is on drugs. Very aggressive with his counterpart. Seemed beyond schtick, like they were going to fight.

Where have you been the last twenty years? LOL! That's who he is. The man is "high" on life. He was that way as a player both at UCLA and in the NBA.

 

[NickKnight 1]

Where have you been the last twenty years? LOL! That's who he is. The man is "high" on life. He was that way as a player both at UCLA and in the NBA.

He was a big time Jerry Garcia fan, they did their drugs...together

 

[Caliknight]

I have heard him announce many times. Last night was not typical Walton. There was something else going on.

 

[rutger80]

one thing for sure, you'll never hear another announcer say 'I love tripping in the desert' on a network broadcast or anywhere else

Caught that as well. Hilarious.

 

[knight82]

The mute button is activated the minute I hear his voice

 

[LotusAggressor_rivals]

Walton sounded like he was higher than giraffe snatch. On another note, Andy Enfield has really turned USC around. I guess what he did at Florida Gulf Coast was no fluke.

 

[SOSHU]

He may be super quirky. Even so, I go out of my way to watch a game that he is broadcasting. I get more laughs from him then I do from Howard Stern.

 

[RU_DIO]

I love UCLA since I was a kid and I don't mind Walton unless he's announcing a UCLA game.

 

[FerdRU]

He's hilarious. He and Dave Pasch are completely different ideologically (Pasch is an evangelical Christian, while Walton is an unapologetic hippie) and they poke at each other sometimes and you can tell sometimes it gets a little bit real.

I mean this is the guy who was rubbing dirt on himself from Temecula last season and says things like "Have you ever stood over a volcano while it was erupting?" It's classic and he'll be missed when he's gone. I frequently disagree with his basketball opinions, but he's one of the top 10 college ballers of all time and what do I know.

Also, there was definitely something going on with ESPN not letting him wear a tie dye last night, I think. Pasch was making a big deal out of the fact that Walton brought a sport jacket and was wearing a blue, collared "ESPN" pullover as opposed to one of his Pac-12 Conference of Champions tie dyes.

 

[Arizona Knight]

He's worse tonight.