Hello all, and welcome back after my day off. I've got stuff to write about this week, namely my viewing of "Furiosa", but those other pieces will have to be pushed a day or so.

Yesterday, while swimming with family and friends, one of my family members informed me that Bill Walotn had passed away. I was shocked. I didn't truly believe him when he told me. We are both "CBB" listeners, and Bill Walton is a character that comes up on that show a lot, so I thought he was saying that the character of Bill Walton was going away. I was wrong, and he was right. The real Bill Walton, the actual person, has passed away at 71 years old.

Again, I was floored when I found out on my own time. He was only 71 years old. That, in today's world, is still relatively young. He always seemed so full of life and vibrant during games he was calling. There was, to me, no sign of poor health. I figured we were going to get 5-10 more years of his crazy stories he would tell while calling Pac 12 basketball games. Hell, I even loved it when he would go and call NBA games. He was insightful and hilarious. His nonsensical stories cracked me up. He was always quick with a joke. He would go on these wild tangents that were a true delight if you liked his longer stories. I would get excited when I would see him on a game that I had planned to watch. I know not everyone liked his play by play stuff. I did. It was a true joy for me. I think I liked it so much because he never took it too seriously. He understood that it was a game. Sports are not life and death. It is not the end all be all. I need to understand that even more. I need to be more like Bill Walton was when he was still alive.

He also happened to be an excellent basketball player. He was a dominant high school player. He was even better in college. He was on those UCLA teams that were damn near unbeatable. He was on the undefeated team. He was on the team that had a very long win streak. He learned from Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and kept things rolling at UCLA, winning national titles. Then he came into the pros as one of the better big men in the league. He was everything the Trailblazers could have wanted when they drafted him. He took them to places the team had never been before. He was an all NBa player. And while he never won a title with the Trailblazers, he made them a legit contender. He did get his ring with the Celtics, where he became a bench guy. He was ahead of his time as a player. He played free and loose. When he was dealt injuries, he took on a lesser role, doing what was best for the team. When he wasn't making shots, he became a ferocious rebounder. He did things to help the team.

Walton was incredibly outspoken off the floor. He was not afraid to challenge people. He would call out injustices. He would fight to help people anyway he could. He would say what was on his mind. He didn't care about his persona. And boy oh boy did he love the Grateful Dead and the whole hippy culture. He was one of the first dudes I saw that wore a headband. He had long, flowing blonde hair poking out of said headband. He was all about his tie dye shirts. I have to assume he engaged in smoking pot and other hallucinogens. He was all about, and I was here for it. I say, good for him for always being himself, no matter what the situation may have been.

This is a pretty sad one to lose. Bill Walton was truly one of a kind. He was about as famous as one can get, but it never seemed to really go to his head. The outpouring of condolences yesterday proves how important he was to a lot of people. Rest in Peace Bill Walton. Throw one down wherever you may be at this very moment. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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