Bill Walton’s video congratulating Dave Pasch wild, gravy for viewers
ESPN has extended the contract of play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch, who lives in Arizona. It’s a welcome move as he is one of the best in the business.
Pasch really knows his stuff. To say he is solid is not to damn him with faint praise. He is one of the two or three best people currently doing play-by-play in any sport, and he does two. He works with an understated confidence that enhances the game broadcast rather than detracting from it. All this while juggling two of the more offbeat analysts in sports.
Pasch told The Arizona Republic he will continue to call NBA, college football and college basketball games, as he does now. And he will continue to call Arizona Cardinals games on radio “for the foreseeable future.”
This is a win for viewers, and the loopy Bill Walton congratulations video is just gravy.
Playing it straight with wonky co-anchors
Pasch is also the best straight man in sports. He has to be. His Cardinals’ broadcast partner is Ron Wolfley, a former player with a style politely described as idiosyncratic. (It takes some getting used to.)
But Pasch has really become known for his work calling — enduring? — college basketball games with Walton, the NBA Hall of Fame member whose stream-of-consciousness style is as much performance art as it is analysis.
The video ESPN posted of Walton congratulating Pasch is a perfect example.
It begins with Walton, evidently impersonating a ghost or something, chanting “D, Deeee” in a haunting voice. He goes on to say, “Help me now! I’m being bombarded! Sonic vibrations; swirling conspiracy theories; flesh-eating low end; mindless, nonsensical cliches with aspirations to mediocrity!”
What does it mean? Who knows? Probably not even Walton.
If you’ve ever listened to his analysis during a game, this is not exactly surprising.
He goes on: “Anyway, I heard the news! The deal went down. For what? I can’t figure it out. My ears have burned off.”
More chanting, and finally, “Yeah, I’m super happy and overwhelmingly proud. Here we go! It’s time! Now. What are we waiting for? Further. Forward. More. What could be better? Hey, what’s your name again?”
Pasch serves as a kind of Walton translator
There’s a great episode of “The Simpsons” in which Homer’s half brother invents a machine that translates baby cries and babbling. Games with Walton
could use something similar. Pasch is as close to that as we’ll get.
Pasch accepted Walton’s congratulations in typically low-key style, even shouting out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“The video of Bill ‘congratulating’ me — at least I think that’s what he was doing — was unexpected and hilarious,” Pasch said. “He likes to think that even though I’m his teammate, I’m also his game-day adversary (like Kareem was when they played against each other). I think that’s probably why he’s happy I’m back more than anything, haha. A sparring partner for him!”
But seriously, folks. Pasch said he was genuinely appreciative. And why not?
“I am very pleased with the new agreement, and grateful ESPN wants me to continue to do high level events for them,” he said.
“Hard to believe I’m in my 19th year with them and get to continue for years to come. When I started in this business, I just hoped play-by-play would be part of my career — couldn’t have imagined that it would be my career in my wildest dreams.”