Bill's A Thrill
Ultra goofy comment from Bill Walton last night during the Spurs vs. Mavericks matchup. A brief exchange between Walton and Steve "Snapper" Jones went something like this as Walton was describing various strengths of Mavs players:Walton: Keith Van Horn is a cerebral player and will always be in the right position.
Jones: Who is a cerebral player?
Walton: Keith Van Horn.
Of course Van Horn was the only light skinned player Walton was describing. Jones caught the oddball reference and wanted to have Walton reiterate his stance on Van Horn's intellect. He did just that. Made for great TV.
The two have been broadcast partners for years and are known as the NBA's broadcast odd couple. Here's a hilarious Q&A from their 2005 USA Today interview.
How was it as teammates?
Bill Walton: I had to rebound for Steve and guard his man. He refused to pass or play defense, and he was such a bully. He picked on the young rookies. I was never so embarrassed for a sense of man's inhumanity toward man. ... The loss of human decency was amazing. It was with good cause and reason, that (coach) Jack Ramsay had to say, "Steve, we can no longer have you on the team," waiving him goodbye.
Steve Jones: He was the worst guy to sit next to on the bench because "I don't understand what's going on out there. Nobody wants to get me the ball. I'm doing all this work, and now I have to come over here and sit down."
How did you guys get along as teammates?
BW: He came along at the most fortuitous time in my life and saved this dazed and confused soul who was wandering around aimlessly in the deserts of life.
Snapper, do you regret having saved him?
SJ: I had no choice. He wasn't going to go away.
What makes the two of you so popular?
SJ: We have different views on everything.
BW: I'm the compassionate conservative, right down the middle, and he's the radical. One of the great things about being on a basketball team, and I think we've gotten away from that in our world, is when everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks. It's OK to be disagreeable. Just don't be disagreeable about it. Thank goodness one of us can set the story straight.
When you started together at NBC, did you think it would work as well as it has?
SJ: We had no idea. Whenever we're together, we just seem to have a natural chemistry and a lot of fun. That's the whole thing.
Did you miss working games together?
SJ: He left me. He got in his car and said, "Steve, give me a call." I'm still waiting for the call. Last year he ran out of gas, and they put us together in the studio. We're better on games. We were liberated.
What makes you good partners for each other?
BW: Steve Jones is a genius. Steve Jones, like Magic (Johnson) and Larry Bird and Bob Cousy and John Stockton, LeBron James, sees things nobody else sees. Unfortunately, unlike those other guys, Steve sees all the wrong things.
SJ: What makes Bill unique is that he's spontaneously outrageous to the point where you can't believe he said it. He's somewhere out there where we're doing exploratory space navigation.
posted by Craig @ 9:49 AM
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