Dave Pasch and Bill Walton calling the UConn/Arizona game.

[FlakeyFoont]

It's annoying enough for ESPN to show a split screen to show another game in progress, but a split screen to show a babbling acidhead burn-out ramble on about nothing? I muted the game five minutes into the first half and every once in a while I would un-mute only to hear a few seconds of drivel about Maurice Lucas, Arizona State, the PAC 12, John Wooden, blah-blah-blah, not once was he talking about the game taking place in front of his stoner eyes.

 

[UConnNick]

Walton is an insufferable bore who's in love with the sound of his own voice. Whatever brain cells he may have left are drug addled. He does zero homework on either team so he fills air time with stories of his glory days in the PAC8, with at least a dozen obligatory "conference of champions" references, and a bunch of other nonsense. The Arizona fans circulated a petition in an attempt to get him removed from any Arizona BB telecasts, which, considering his own son played there, is quite an indictment.

 

[Goat]

He is very good on Grateful Dead history. Kind of disappointed he didn't tell a Jerry story.

 

[Jaker]

Bill Walton has forgotten more about basketball then the average fan has ever learned.

 

[joober jones]

The man is torture.

 

[willie99]

I can't stand listening to him do any game, maybe the worst color man in the business

Dook Vitale is better for heaven's sake

There are many games I've seen the play by play guy try to real him in, "so Bill, how about that defensive play" or "nice run so and so is going on, don't you think" or "Bill, you're missing a good game"

I have the impression some guys hate working with him, I think they have to pair him up carefully

 

[Danzz]

I did something I never did. I muted the TV.In the past many yarders admitted muting TV because of Dicky V. Honestly I never did. First time was
tonight and early. Of all the cutting of basketball sports casters and this guy stays? They have to be getting Walton cheap. Vitale was annoying at times, but Walton will go down as the worst.

I also muted mine. I never do that but he was out of it last night.

 

[KodiacKemba]

Yea I didn’t like that one bit , just rambling over some book that it was clear his partner did not read, it’s crazy ESPN don’t reign him in will he goes off script , like the time he was on air talking bout him taking cold naked showers on the side of his house , nobody wants to hear what he do on his off days

 

[HawkHusky]

Normally I would agree regarding Bill, however, he kept me somewhat distracted from the horror show.

Well done, Bill. Well done.

 

[willie99]

Bill Walton has forgotten more about basketball then the average fan has ever learned.

"forgotten" being the operative word

 

[bigknight3]

Walton was a distraction to our horse whipping, and we were in fact lucky someone more serious didn’t take us apart.

Normally I would agree regarding Bill, however, he kept me somewhat distracted from the horror show.

Well done, Bill. Well done.

I would have rather had the critical analysis that someone more serious would have provided. There were some positives in the first half when when made a run to cut the lead. Even the negatives needed to be called out.

I can understand having to fill air time the last 10 mins of the game but he started 5 mins in.

 

[dennismenace]

Bill Walton has forgotten more about basketball then the average fan has ever learned.

And it shows.

 

[dennismenace]

Wondering why ESPN revenue is slipping? How about the yelling heads in the studio shows? Gives me a headache. Stop yelling with the false "enthusiasm".

 

[Waquoit]

The play-by-play guy sucked. Walton was Walton, which is OK by me.

 

[Bryan Lord]

I like him.

 

[boog204]

I've always liked him... I like that he will watch the game for 5 minutes and very easily observe what a team is doing wrong and then get bored and talk about other stuff. He saw UConn's pitiful offense and defense, called them out on shot selection and lack of flow (all KO needs his team to do his hit 5 straight 3's and we have a game - that's a veiled insult) and then said you cannot win if you refuse to play defense with any heart. The guy knows the game as well as anyone and when the game is particularly uninteresting, he's going to talk about geography and ridiculousness. It took him 5 minutes to call for adjustments that our coaching staff has not made in four years.

 

[dennismenace]

I've always liked him... I like that he will watch the game for 5 minutes and very easily observe what a team is doing wrong and then get bored and talk about other stuff. He saw UConn's pitiful offense and defense, called them out on shot selection and lack of flow (all KO needs his team to do his hit 5 straight 3's and we have a game - that's a veiled insult) and then said you cannot win if you refuse to play defense with any heart. The guy knows the game as well as anyone and when the game is particularly uninteresting, he's going to talk about geography and ridiculousness. It took him 5 minutes to call for adjustments that our coaching staff has not made in four years.

He gets bored with everything because he wants to tell everyone how smart he is. To me, he is boring.

 

[Bryan Lord]

Would probably get old if he did all our games. Much rather hang in the “lab” with our SNY guy.

 

[boog204]

He gets bored with everything because he wants to tell everyone how smart he is. To me, he is boring.

He's got a bit of that, of course.... But when any team is down 20 and doing the exact same things wrong over and over again, he goes off on tangents b/c there's new nothing to say. It's the same thing baseball announcers do during blowouts. Did you really wanna hear this for an hour?

PBP: High screen for Adams, he's doubled and dribbles out of it, holds, hands off to Gilbert. He holds. High screen, he's doubled, 10 on the clock. Back to Adams. He goes one-on-one, clock down to 4, forces a fallaway jumper, way off.
Color guy: That's a tough shot. UConn cannot get anything going on offense

PBP: Arkansas with the ball; goes by Adams, penetrates, dishes out to Barford for the wide-open 3... It's good! Arkansas up 23!
Color Guy: That's too easy. UConn cannot get anything going on defense.

 

[dennismenace]

It might be amusing to some by I find it annoying. At least keep the subject to basketball and educate the people about the game.
But he cannot focus on thinking about others, he is too into his own ego. To each his own; I never use the mute with sports except for him and Dickie V. The other legend in his own mind was Howard Cossell and I turned him down as well. Thank God for choices.

 

[Blaneylover]

If the game hadn't been so painful to watch, I would have barely been listening. Since the game was bad, I found myself trying to come up with my favorite river in Oregon.

 

[Husky25]

The only thing worse than the drubbing UConn got was Walton. I thought he was a disgrace. I watched the MSU game on WatchESPN and read afterward on Twitter something to the effect of: "If I wanted to watch Gonzaga, I'd tune to ESPN2. Knock off the split screen." I could not have agreed more.

I felt same about Walton, up until I started to FF3, FF4, and "lightning bolt (xFinity X-1 DVR platform) through the last 12 minutes of the game. I don't need to see Bill Walton to hear his mono-baritone ramblings. The announcer video box was larger than the game screen.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I didn’t see the game but if he’s paired with the right guy it can be magically. He’s much better doing the NBA where it’s acceptable to berate the players. When he fills in for Tom Heinsohn when the Celtics play out west he and Mike Gorman are usually awesome together.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

High or drunk. Woody broadcast ever as it started when there was still interesting commentary that could have been covered during the first half. We stayed allow were down 20 and he's rambling when we cut the lead to 10.

He’s rambling?

 

[UConnRock]

In the 1st half his colleague tried to get him to focus on the game and asked something to the effect of “ what can UConn do to get back into the game”? Walton replied with one word “0ffense” and the talked for a minute or so about passing and guys touching the ball. He knew exactly what was going on in the game, but to him it was not worth talking about.