Bill Walton!

 There is no basketball player that I loved more than Bill Walton. Even when he was playing for the hated Boston Celtics. I couldn't help but hope he did well on those terrible feet, but that Kareem kicked the Celtics ass. I mean was there a better center in basketball history than Walton? Wilt, Kareem and Shaq were great centers, but Walton played the position unlike anybody. He was built for the position and was sneaky tough. He wasn't an imposing physical specimen like Wilt, or as smooth as Kareem, but he was a player that never pretended to be anything but a center both at UCLA and in the NBA. In my opinion he was one of the 6 best players of all time along with Jordan, Kareem, Wilt, Bird and Magic. 

Bill Walton was a man of the 60's. He protested the war, went to Dead shows, grew his hair long and had that red beard, and had a constant big smile on his face enjoying his life and enjoying yours also. Bill Walton was one of those guys who actually listened to people. He heard what the average person had to say and commented back in that oh so weird way. I loved the man. I once drove my VW Bug to Kansas City to see the KC Kings play the San Diego Clippers just to see him play. Alas, he was hurt, not even in the arena and I guess Tom Chambers would have to do (at least once I saw the Warriors play in Denver and Steph Curry sat the game out but was on the bench in street clothes) .

When Walton had enough of basketball due to his chronic health problems, he turned to broadcasting. Cmon man, was there ever a better analyst than Bill Walton? The guy was a human LSD experiment. You never knew what he would say. He had an interest in so many things that when whatever it was entered his mind as the game became tedious, he said it out loud (Have you ever been to a volcano) I would stay up late at night to watch PAC 12 basketball. I didn't give a damn if Oregon would hold off USC, I cared about what Bill Walton might say. 

When he did a White Sox game in full ty dye and claimed he had never ever been to a baseball game before he summed up baseball summed up baseball as "the offense doesn't have the ball, the defense touches the ball and there is no time limit, I love timeless things like Dead shows, this is gonna be great".

The man had a teepee in his back yard for self-reflection and meditation. I've loved that fact about him for years and want a teepee of my own. Not kidding,

Bill Walton died of cancer at age 71. Fuck cancer again. 

The world is a less fun place right now. I hope there's a Dead show in the sky he can attend perpetually.

Rock on dude, wherever you are. That place became even more fun with your arrival.