Columnist Tim Graham: Walton speaks with authority on basketball

TIM GRAHAM is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His media column appears Wednesdays. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]

When the subject of basketball dynasties comes up in conversation, Bill Walton knows of what he speaks.

The basketball Hall of Famer was part of UCLA's awesome run of 10 national titles in 12 seasons. He won two more championships in the NBA, including one in 1986 with the storied Boston Celtics.

Walton, two days after calling the Chicago Bulls' dramatic championship victory over the Utah Jazz on NBC, was at Rancho High on Tuesday to help run the Bank of America Jammin' Hoops Camp. The touring program is geared toward assisting inner-city youth.

Between sessions, Walton discussed the Bulls' place in basketball history now that they have won six titles in eight years.

"This is such a special team," he said, "because it represents all the great values that we respect in our society: teamwork, discipline, hard work sacrifice, commitment."

Walton was asked if the Bulls should be considered the best ever. He was careful in his answer, but the red-headed giant didn't seem convinced.

"This is one of the greatest teams in the history of basketball," Walton said. "The argument against it is they don't have the big man up front. All the other dynasties had the great safety net, the big man.

"But the other argument for it is they had Michael Jordan. And basketball is a game that when you have the best player you win. You don't win with good players. You gotta have good players around, but you have to have the best player. And Michael is so very, very special."

Walton was special when he wasn't injured. He missed four complete seasons, including three during his prime, because of bad knees. But he still was named one of the NBA's 50 all-time greatest players two years ago.

He averaged 20.3 points and 15.7 rebounds in three seasons at UCLA, helping the Bruins to two crowns.

His best NBA season came in 1976-77, when he led the Portland Trailblazers to the title and earned the Finals MVP. He was named the league MVP the following year, posting career-high averages in points (18.9) and assists (5.0).

Ten years after retirement, Walton is both revered and reviled as a hoops analyst. He doesn't see himself doing anything else.

"One thing I was concerned with when I was a player was that the specialness of being on a team would end when the basketball ended," he said. "I was not aware that those same things existed in the corporate world as well.

"The team that we have, we have great management, and the guys up front -- Bob Costas, Isiah Thomas, Doug Collins, the cameramen -- it's a lot of fun. It's very rewarding and very satisfying."

NBC scored record ratings for this year's NBA Finals. Game 6 was witnessed by an estimated 65 million viewers, more than any other college or pro game. The series average is expected to rate at 18.5, eclipsing the 17.9 registered by the Bulls and Phoenix Suns in 1993.

But just as in his playing days, Walton doesn't like to be on the bench. He was a courtside color commentator for the Western Conference Finals, but got relegated to the pregame and halftime shows for the Bulls-Jazz series.

"I want to be on the varsity," said Walton, who won the NBA's Sixth Man Award in '86. "I want our boss, our coach, Dick Ebersol, to look up and down his roster, his lineup, and say 'Walton, get in there and do something.'"

Sport of choice

While the NBA Finals drew historic ratings, the World Cup has struggled to generate an audience in the U.S. And the NHL Stanley Cup has fared the worst of all.

The World Cup is considered the most highly regarded worldwide sporting event. But domestic fans just aren't catching on.

When the U.S. lost to Germany 2-0 on Monday, the game scored a 4.4 overnight rating. That was the best so far for the prestigious soccer tournament, but it was nearly one full point lower than the U.S. opener in 1994 (when the Cup was played on U.S. soil).

It also was not as good as the soap operas ABC preempted to show it. "General Hospital" averaged a 5.4 rating last week.

ESPN averaged a 0.8 for its four World Cup games, while ESPN2 averaged a 0.6.

Meanwhile, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup scored a 3.3 rating on Fox.

A rating point equals one percent of U.S. households with a television, or 980,000 viewers on free stations and 580,000 on cable.

* STATIC: "Gametime with UNLV Football" on KLAS Channel 8 was one of three shows nominated for the Best Sports Program Emmy by the San Diego Southwestern Area chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The other candidates are "Chargers Insider" out of San Diego and "Friday Football Focus" out of Santa Barbara, Calif. "Gametime" is hosted by Dave McCann and is produced by Tim Foley and Robert Butler. ... HBO announced a 12.0 rating for Saturday's boxing card headlined by Oscar De La Hoya's technical knockout of Patrick Charpentier. The fight was HBO's highest-rated of the year and its best since last November. ... Kansas City Blades play-by-play voice Bob Kaser was named the International Hockey League's broadcaster of the year.

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