Bob Raissman: There will never be another Bill Walton, a free spirit as a player and a broadcaster

It would be an exercise in futility for anyone with microphone dreams to eyeball video of Bill Walton and aspire to duplicate his on-camera stylings.

That would be impossible. Like trying to copy a singularly sweet stay on this planet that ended last week at the age of 71. All the tributes, stories and media recollections offered evidence of a person now being bigger in death than in life.

Not with Walton. His life was like a carnival. He was playing in a one-man band. Or a circus behind a microphone. His basketball analysis on CBS, NBC or ESPN was often more like a tent revival.  Or a travelling medicine show.

An artist on the court and a put-on artist off, Walton was an all-time great basketball player, the world’s tallest Grateful Dead groupie, a philosopher, hyperbolic orator and comedian.

He was one of the few NBA game analysts who made an emotional connection with viewers. Walton was available and approachable. And he actually liked the people who analyzed his work. He enjoyed talking to boss scribes, even those who worked at New York tabloids.

While doing all this, Walton also managed to pave every road he walked with kindness.

Walton’s version of a better world may have been different than yours. Even if that’s the case, you couldn’t fault him for trying. He spent a lifetime being free. That included his unpredictable microphone stylings. Reading past reviews of his work, there were critics who bristled, urging him to stick to the game, when he took a verbal detour around what was happening that moment on the court.

His style was not contrived to generate attention. Walton was genuine. It was ironic that a guy who dealt with a speech impediment into his late twenties would wind up such an entertaining communicator.

He was a good listener too. Walton once pin-pointed the moment he started dealing seriously with his problem. It was during a chance meeting with Marty Glickman, the legendary NYC play-by-play voice.

“Marty explained, patiently and concisely, that talking, communicating was a skill not a gift or a birthright,” Walton once said. “And that like any skill it needed to be developed over a lifetime of hard work, discipline organization and practice.”

Walton thought about fundamentals and started with the basics: “Like the ability to mechanically duplicate moves on the basketball court,” Walton once said. “And I just applied that to speaking.”

Walton was eager to please. When he joined ESPN in 2002, the network suits loaded up on him.  He analyzed games, made studio appearances, was a regular on a variety of ESPN Radio shows and, in 2003, starred in his own ESPN reality show: “Bill Walton’s Long Strange Trip.”

It was obvious ESPN was overloading and overexposing Walton, whose back problems were becoming more serious. At one point he told Sports Illustrated that the pain was so bad he contemplated suicide. The suits burned him out. By 2009, they threw him out.

If Walton was angry, he didn’t show it. At least publicly. ESPN brought him back in 2012, mostly to work Pac 12 basketball games. Incredibly, Walton kicked up the energy and was more outrageous. He reinvented himself.

Walton would advise young broadcasters not to try this trick at home — or on the road, Then, he would remind them what the Free World already knew.

There is only one Bill Walton.

SCORE ONE FOR MCDONOUGH

Do we dare advise Rangers fans to put all their energy into supporting their team rather than whining about the play-by-play stylings of ESPN’s Mr. Sean McDonough who is working the Panthers-Rangers Eastern Conference Final?

Yes, we do.

These fanatics believe McD does not put enough energy into his call when the Rangers score a goal. What they are really saying is that McDonough cuts things down the middle. He offers a balanced call, which is a “sin” on Broadway. If the same fans want home cooking, tune into ESPN-98.7, the Rangers radio flagship.

Besides, when WFAN’s Evan Roberts starts criticizing McDonough, the play-by-play man is doing something right.

So, there.

CALLING THIS MESS

Not saying they aren’t up to it (they’ve been here before) but it may be tougher for Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling and Gary Cohen to keep fans watching Mets baseball on SNY.

Especially when some local Gasbags have already bailed on the season. This won’t stop these Bloviators from continuing to discuss Mets low-lights, with the same five “we got to trade Lindor” callers chiming in on a daily basis.

Fortunately, the Mets have been involved in their share of one-run losses, which keeps things interesting. But the prime piece of evidence that the season has officially become toast will be when SNY’s Mets voices crack open the baseball cards and play that “game.”

That is if they still are allowed to.

AROUND THE DIAL

We are sitting in a room waiting for Leon Rose to present his Knicks post-playoff report. The walls are closing in. Something tells us we will be waiting for quite a while. … It appears Russ Salzberg, speaking on his latest YES podcast, doesn’t agree with journalist Jemele Hill’s take on Caitlin Clark. Salzberg quoted Hill saying: “We’d all be very naïve if we didn’t say race and her [Caitlin Clark] sexuality played a role in her popularity.” Speaking from the other side of the mountain, Salzberg responded: “What does race and sexuality have anything to do about Caitlin Clark? Anything? Tell me about that! Somebody please tell me because there’s accusations that she’s popular because she’s white, and she’s straight. How stupid! How bigoted!” Well, maybe these two communicators can meet on a podcast and discuss this further. Only on YES, perhaps? … Plenty of Jets fans must have freaked when they viewed recent video of  Aaron Rodgers taking off his sock and having his heel examined by a Jets medico. … The Chicago Bears will be featured on the new edition of HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” All Caleb Williams all the time. … No doubt Keith McPherson was put in a tough situation when he recently filled in for Suzyn (Ma Pinstripe) Waldman, who was taking a weekend off from Bombers radio. What was learned? If anyone attached to Yankees radio thinks Waldman’s job is easy, they should listen to the McPherson audio and find out otherwise.

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DUDE OF THE WEEK: SETH LUGO

It’s not unusual for pitchers to get run out of New York. Yet here’s a guy who knew he could start and all he has done in Kansas City is become baseball’s first eight-game winner in 2024. That’s called determination.

DWEEB OF THE WEEK: DAVE JACKSON

When the microphone is on, and you’re expected to provide insight and opinion, ESPN’s NHL rules analyst saying “we’ll have to wait and see what they call,” is not Stanley Cup caliber work, right?

DOUBLE TALK

What Ron Darling said: “That’s where the Mets are at right now. It [a pitcher throwing his glove] is not a good optic.”

What Ron Darling meant to say: “I would call this a clown show.”