A Grip on Sports: It’s late, sure, but there is no way to miss the chorus as everyone sings Bill Walton’s praises

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? We don’t rightly know for sure. A lot of the past 48 hours has been fuzzy. A haze of hospital rooms, drugs and pain. Still hurting. But instead of focusing on that, let’s celebrate life, shall we?

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• A part of the past couple days was spent under the knife, with a doc trying to repair a surgery that didn’t work the first time. The irony of that keeping us from our computer on the day after one of our childhood heroes, Bill Walton, died, is not lost on us. In fact, the symmetry of it forces us to sit here this morning and type, ice bag on the incision, pain meds coursing through our bloodstream.

Fitting.

We all knew Bill Walton. Heck, if you had access to any news source Tuesday, no matter if it were digital or analog, you were bombarded with appreciations of the man. All deserved. All heartfelt. In a tie-dye sort of way, all smile-invoking. It seems every person in America interacted with Walton. And never forgot it.

We are part of that crowd. Though almost all our interactions were peripheral.

Our first? In 1969. Christmas time. We were 13, working for our dad. Preparing 500-page L.A. Times for delivery early on a Sunday morning. There were three of us, the other two boys older. One was Tommy Edwards, a senior at Pasadena High. And, at 6-foot-3 (or 6-4, it’s a bit fuzzy), he was the Bulldogs’ center.  

The night before Tommy had led PHS into the title game of the prestigious Covina Tournament against LaMesa’s Helix High. And ran into Bill Walton. Literally. All Tommy could talk about was Walton. For the three hours we worked he just raved about him. How he played. How he talked – he stuttered. His blocked shots. Rebounds. Speed. Elbows. Energy. Joy.

Too much? We thought so. Then we saw Walton’s mug in a late-January edition of Sports Illustrated. Faces in the Crowd. He had scored 50 points and pulled down 34 rebounds – both tourney records – in Helix’s 110-68 win. Not sure Tommy had mentioned the numbers, but it was no wonder he was impressed.

We became a Walton fan, partly because Tommy had mentioned he was headed to UCLA. Of course he was. It was the best basketball program in the country. Ever. Our older sisters attended the school. We went to games when we could. The Bruins rarely lost. In Walton’s tenure, that was certainly true. They were 86-4 in three years. And played the game the right way.

A Walton poster from Sports Illustrated was on our bedroom wall at that time, in a pantheon that included Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Al Kaline. Never met the latter three, but Walton, we did. In 1979.

Our soon-to-be wife played basketball at UC Irvine. We were her plus-one at her end-of-season banquet in Newport Beach. The speaker? Bill Walton.

He had broken a bone in his foot in February, less than two years after leading the Blazers to the NBA title. His season ended. Little did anyone know, so had the best parts of his basketball career. But the big redhead must have had an inkling. He was trying to learn to control his stutter, telling a small group of us that night he wanted to be ready to be on TV when his career was over. Hence, speaking at a women’s basketball banquet in front of, maybe, 25 people.

He was energetic, passionate and stuttered only a little at first. Then again, our memory might be clouded. By worship. The poster, remember?

That was it. Our one meeting. We admired how Walton put himself on the line. Stepped out of his comfort zone. And gave back to the game. This was a time when women’s basketball was treated like garbage. And here was a recent NBA MVP meeting these women on their terms. Sharing his joy for the game. And life.

He was mesmerizing that night. And forever.

What a life he led. Up. Down. Always on his terms. Arms wide open. Mouth too. Stutter? Not sure anyone who watched him shine as an NBA analyst or on ESPN or throughout his time as the Pac-12’s biggest advocate, would know he once did.

Late in our life, we had to critique Walton. In print. It was part of our job. To guide readers through Gonzaga broadcasts from afar. Walton played a role at times.

At first, it was hard. Then we realized we had no choice. His role. Our role. Each different. But each needing to be done at the best of our abilities. With as much energy as we could muster. Anything less would be a disservice to everyone.

It was one of many lessons Bill Walton always tried to teach.

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WSU: Around the Pac-12 and the nation, our favorite Walton column or remembrance? From our friend Dave Boling. It appeared in the S-R yesterday. Don’t miss it. … There are hundreds more. We can’t link them all. Heck, we can’t read them all. But we read a few. Picked out some here to pass along, though we know it’s late and the news cycle has already moved on. The best image we saw yesterday, one that encapsulated our thoughts about the man? No, it wasn’t a hug with John Wooden, a man Walton rebelled against in college and came to appreciate as much as anyone later in life. It wasn’t a screengrab of a broadcast next to Dave Pasch or Roxy Bernstein or someone. It was a photo from a Grateful Dead concert. It was of the back of Walton’s head, obscuring the stage. He was 6-11 after all. And always had his arms up while following his favorite band around the world. The caption made the image, though. Something about the best and worst seat at a Dead concert was right behind Bill Walton. … We had a preemptive rant about the NCAA baseball selections Monday. We were right. The conference received three berths, hosts Oregon State and Arizona along with Oregon headed to UC Santa Barbara. For California to have been picked, the NCAA would have had to send the Bears outside the West. And that costs. So, nope. Pick another SEC school or, as we noted, UConn. Easy, cheap travel. After all, the organization has to save money to pay off Power 5 football players. … There are two softball teams at the World Series. Stanford is riding the nation’s best pitcher. … UCLA has youngsters and a tradition to uphold. … What the heck is going on at Washington? Six key players are leaving. … We understand the huge upheaval at Oregon State. The WCC is not a fastpitch power conference. … In football, Arizona has added to its staff and to its roster. … UCLA is still adding to its women’s basketball roster. … The House settlement includes money for future athletes. … Utah says ACC rumors are unfounded. The Utes are Big 12 bound. … So is Arizona State. With a new athletic director. One who may have his hands tied.

Gonzaga: Recruiting never stops. And knows no boundaries. The latest target for the Bulldogs is Ismaila Diagne, a 17-year-old 7-footer from Senegal who plays in Spain. Theo Lawson has this story that covers the recruitment and where it stands.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, we passed along the results of the men’s all-sports trophy earlier. Today we have this story on the women’s. … A Portland State running back is headed to James Madison. … This seems unfair. Schools like Idaho State (and our local FCS ones) will have to help pay for the NIL settlement.

Preps: John Blanchette this morning turns his immense talent to a subject he loves as much as any, track and field. And Gerry Lindgren’s legacy, something the Rogers High grad used to run from as fast as he did from Leonid Ivanov 60 years ago at the L.A. Coliseum. Rogers will honor Lindgren tonight. We don’t recall it, but our dad told us late in his life we were among the 50,000 in attendance that day. Being we were just 7-years-old and probably had as good a view as the guy behind Walton at the Dead concert, we have no memory of it.

Indians: Kyle Karros hit another home run, Spokane played a little small ball and the Indians grabbed an 8-7 win over Everett in extras at Avista Stadium. Dave Nichols was there and has this story. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Hillsboro scored four times in the bottom of the eighth to upset Eugene 4-1, adding a game on Spokane’s lead. … There was rain in Vancouver again, pushing the game against Tri-City to May 31.

Mariners: Julio Rodriguez crushed the ball. It traveled all of 30 feet. But that was enough to score rookie Ryan Bliss and help lift the M’s to a 4-2 comeback win over the Astros. … Bryce Miller shares some thoughts. … Baseball statistics will look different from now on. The numbers from the Negro Leagues have been added. … Angel Hernandez has retired.

Seahawks: There is more pressure on John Schneider now. … How do the Hawks’ receivers stack up?

Storm: Ezi Magbegor blocked shots, the guards scored points and Seattle won its third consecutive game, this one 77-68 over host Chicago.

Kraken: Seattle dipped into its minor leagues and hired Coachella Valley Firebirds’ coach Dan Bylsma to lead the NHL club. … He’s a piece of the puzzle. … There might be history made in Seattle soon.

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• We’re going to play it by ear this week. Or by lower abdomen, to be precise. It’s hard to sit at the computer to write, even with an ice pack on the incision and whatever legal drug we were prescribed to deal with the pain. Today is done. Tomorrow? We’ll see. Hug your loved ones today, will you? … By the way, if we were feeling better, we would have headed to Corvallis this week. Darn right we would have been rooting for UC Irvine. Loudly. Wearing our old uniform. We love our alma mater as much as Walton loved the Pac-12. Until later …