This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners. Thanks so much for rocking with the Morning Win today.
I don’t feel like I have anything particularly profound or poignant to say about Bill Walton that you haven’t heard or read since his death in the last day or so. But I did think it was important for me to say something about him considering the absolute legend he was. It wouldn’t feel right to start this newsletter otherwise.
There’s already great Bill Walton content on the site for you to check out:
- Here he is celebrated through 10 Grateful Dead songs — his absolute favorite musical act.
- There are beautiful tributes from friends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and, his broadcast partner, Dave Pasch.
- Fans also jumped in to share their favorite broadcast moments from Walton in celebration.
And that’s where I want to take it from here. I wouldn’t say I have a specific broadcast moment I go back to with Walton in it. It’s not because none of them are particularly memorable — it’s because there are so many of them.
I’m not going to lie to y’all — at first, I hated hearing him on the mic. I’m a cynic at heart. And my younger self took Walton’s (uh, let’s call it) unique style in the booth as too self-aggrandizing for my taste. I just wanted to hear about the game, bro. Please, relax on this other stuff.
As I got older, though, and the world began to evolve around me and my worldview changed along with it, I understood exactly what was happening. I understood why Walton was like this and, more than that, I even grew to appreciate it.
I mean, one minute he would be calling the game and the next he’d be ranting about legalizing weed or ranting about how shrooms are actually good for you. He also never seemed to take his job as a color commentator very seriously at all.
He thought about basketball in a way that I’m 100 percent certain no one else could. Here’s a description of Nikola Jokic from Walton:
“He’s a beautiful player who plays a mental game. He has what seems to have been lost in the world, which is peripheral vision. When you walk down the street in life, when you drive a car in life, when you ride a bike in the world on a street, it is staggering the lack of peripheral vision. But Nikola Jokic is the antidote to so many of our problems in the world.”
Read that once, and you’re like, “Dude, what?” Read it a second and third time, and you’re like, “… Yeah, actually. That makes sense.” That’s Bill Walton.
He’d say things I didn’t even necessarily agree with but I’d still find myself yelling at my TV, “Yeah, Bill!” and it’d be so confounding to me. Like, when did that happen? The kid who grew up taking the game so seriously, all of a sudden, found a bit of time to laugh and crack a smile about something that had nothing to do with it.
And that was the point. Well, kind of. I think it’s clear Walton seriously believed everything he talked about. That’s why he used his platform the way he did — he wouldn’t say something unless he believed it. But he also made it a point to have a blast whenever he could. He did his work with joy. And why wouldn’t he?
He was one of the greatest basketball players on Earth. Then, he parlayed that into a pretty sweet broadcast gig where he got to travel to incredible locations and watch basketball for free. That’s a pretty sweet life, if you ask me.
I’m glad Bill Walton got to live it and I’m glad we got to experience him exactly how we did. Rest in peace, legend.
Take a bow, Rafa
I don’t know if this is the last time we’ll see Rafael Nadal at the French Open, but if it is, what an incredible run.
His loss to Alexander Zverev on Monday might mark the end of an era. It’s only Nadal’s fourth loss in 116 matches at the French Open.
This may have been his last match at Roland Garros.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be the last time if I’m going to be here in front of all of you,” Nadal told reporters afterward. “Honestly, I’m not 100% sure, but if it’s the last time, I enjoyed it.”
He’s always been notorious for his aggressive style of play, which has taken a toll on his body over the years. These days, the bill has come due.
Rafa is 37 years old and will be 38 next week on June 3. He just returned to the tour last month after missing 15 months following a hip surgery in 2023.
Reasonably, this is probably it for him. Selfishly, I hope it’s not. But even if there’s still some gas left in the tank, I’d rather see him walk off the court than limp. He should do whatever is best for him at this point.
Either way, we’re thankful for the memories.
READ MORE: Hearing Nadal’s 14 French Open titles announced before his match will give you goosebumps.
The C’s are back
The Boston Celtics are back in the NBA Finals for the second time in three years after sweeping the Indiana Pacers.
Boston may have had the easiest path to a championship we’ve ever seen. They played:
- The Miami Heat without Jimmy Butler.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers without Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen for half the series
- The Indiana Pacers without Tyrese Haliburton for half the series.
The Celtics are obviously a great basketball team and, even without those injuries, should’ve been considered the favorite in the East to make it to the Finals, anyway. But, man. It doesn’t feel like Boston has been tested at all to this point.
The thing about winning it all, though, is that nothing else matters. If Boston wins a championship, guess what? The Celtics are champions. They don’t have to apologize for anything.
Let’s get these Finals underway, man. June 6 can’t get here quickly enough.
READ MORE: The injury bug ruined the playoffs in the Eastern Conference
Quick hits: What did you say, Luka?!? … Angel Hernandez is retiring … and more
— Luka Doncic won’t tell us what he said to Anthony Edwards in Game 3 so everyone is hilariously filling in the gaps. Meg Hall has more.
— CC Sabathia trolled Angel Hernandez after the umpire announced his retirement from MLB. Charles Curtis has more.
— Speaking of Hernandez, here are 9 awful calls he made in remembrance of his, uh, lengthy career. Good riddance, honestly.
— Cory Woodroof has more on a petty bet this fan made on the Cowboys this season.
— Here’s Prince Grimes with the best bets for today, including a breakout from the Timberwolves stars in Game 4
— Jason Kelce having a laugh about Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift will make your day.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. Tap in tomorrow for more. Peace!
-Sykes ✌️