phantomasianman

Taken from the website Sports Media Watch:

One of the most recognizable voices in NBA broadcasting is stepping away from the mic.

ESPN NBA analyst Bill Walton, plagued by back issues over the past two years, is retiring from broadcasting. Walton, who joined ESPN/ABC in '02 after a long tenure with NBC, had not appeared on ESPN since early last season.

Prior to the 2007-08 season, Walton was named the lead studio analyst for the NBA on ESPN and ABC. However, back problems in early 2008 kept him off the air until late in the NBA Finals -- when he appeared only as a guest analyst.

Walton returned for the early part of the 2008-09 season, making sporadic appearances.

Walton joined ESPN/ABC as the lead analyst for NBA coverage on both networks, working the 2003 NBA Finals alongside Brad Nessler and Tom Tolbert. After being demoted in '04, Walton returned as a studio analyst for the '05 NBA Finals on ABC.

With NBC, Walton primarily served as the #2 analyst alongside Steve 'Snapper' Jones and an assortment of play-by-play voices. Walton worked the 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2002 NBA Finals as a game analyst, and other NBA Finals as a studio analyst.

Walton, in a statement: "As I return after a grueling multi-year, life-threatening, life-changing ordeal with back problems, it is time to dedicate the rest of my life to service. ... Thanks everybody -- for everything."

I really just can't believe that Bill Walton is retiring. He is this generation's Howard Cosell, a great, distinctive and passionate voice for the great sport that is the NBA (of note, it's almost impossible to mention his name without automatically talking and sounding like the great Bill Walton). Sure, his analysis weren't the most accurate. But really, if you could predict the winner of every game, why bother playing? Hubie Brown may be the smartest and most articulate announcer in basketball, but if Hubie is the brain of the NBA, Bill Walton is the heart.

The man was unabashed in his enthusiasm of the game. When the play by play man accused him of "jumping on the Kobe Bryant bandwagon," Walton responded, in his distinctive baritone, "I DRIVE the bandwagon!!!"

One of my favorite Waltonisms occured during the playoffs. Someone mentioned resting up for the next game. Walton's response (I'm paraphrasing from memory). "This is the NBA! There's no TOMORROW! You play for TODAY!"

Walton probably reserved most of his enthusiasm for his lavish praise of Kareem Abdul Jabar. My friend Mike and I will often turn to each other and just say "SKY HOOOOOK." "No one scored like the great Kareem Abdul jaBAAAAR! JaBAAAAR dominated the paint like no man has dominated the paint!"

Quite frankly, there were times when he was more entertaining than the game. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a Knick fan.

And did I mention he was voted one of the fifty greatest players of all time?

As a writer and dramatist, one of the things I've learned is that it's not always about what is happening, but how you talk about the experience and articulate it for others to experience. I've long enjoyed food through Anthony Bourdain's books, and New York has never looked better than through the lens of Woody Allen, or more menacing than through Martin Scorcese. I've grown to love the NBA through the commentary of Bill Walton, and I may never enjoy it the same way now that that voice has been taken away.