Sports Poets Society

https://www.pianop.it/primo-articolo-federico-buffa-superbasket-ucla/ A grande richiesta, pubblichiamo il primo articolo di Federico Buffa, pubblicato sul numero 32 di Superbasket dell’11 ottobre 1979. Ne parla Luca Chiabotti nella quarta puntata di Basket Classico . di FEDERICO BUFFA Se chiedete a un americano di paragonare gli States al resto del mondo vi dirà che sono di gran lunga più avanzati ma che tra essi c’è uno Stato che, in proporzione, sta entro certi limiti al resto degli Stati Uniti come l’Europa sta all’America: la California e la sua capitale tecnologica Los Angeles.  A “El-Ei” potete trovare, per dirne una, una chiesa drive-in, cioè si può sentir messa comodamente seduti in macchina. Ma tutto ha dell’incredibile, è un mondo in tremenda evoluzione che mitizza e distrugge rapidamente. Ma c’è un’eccezione: l’UCLA. Per lo sperduto italiano amante del basket, si tratta di una specie di mito, e andarci è una conferma corroborante. A me è capitato di andarci due anni in ...

Bill Walton smiles as he acknowledges fans before broadcasting a Pac-12 basketball game.  Walton has died after a battle with cancer, the NBA announced Monday. (Associated Press) https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2024-05-27/bill-walton-ucla-legend-nba-star-pac-12-cheerleader-has-died By Ben Bolch  - Los Angeles Times Staff Writer  Follow   May 27, 2024 Updated 5:02 PM PT Bill Walton once said his dream Final Four field would include five Pac-12 Conference teams. He repeated the motto “ Conference of Champions ” on basketball broadcasts as if he was being paid by the number of references he could fit into one game. It wasn’t an act — it was Walton being Walton, as colorful as one of the tie-dye shirts the avowed Grateful Dead fan loved to wear. Walton, the giant redhead whose basketball prowess at UCLA and in the NBA was surpassed only by his zest for life and all its absurdities, died Monday while surrounded by family after a prolonged battle with cancer. He wa...

AP -- The Trail Blazers’ Bill Walton (32) battles Julius Erving (6)  of the Sixers for a loose ball during the NBA Finals on May 29, 1977. 28 May 2024 - Philadelphia Daily News By Tim Reynolds Associated Press "BILL WALTON ENJOYED LIFE IN EVERY WAY.  TO COMPETE AGAINST HIM & TO WORK  WITH HIM WAS A BLESSING IN MY LIFE."    - Julius Erving on X formerly Twitter Bill Walton, who starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins before becoming a Hall of Fame center for his NBA career and one of the biggest stars in basketball broadcasting, died Monday, the league announced. Mr. Walton, who had a prolonged fight with cancer, was 71. He was the NBA’s MVP in the 1977-78 season, a two-time champion, and a member of the league’s 50th anniversary and 75th anniversary teams. That followed a college career in which he was a two-time champion at UCLA and a three-time national player of the year. “Bill Walton,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said, “was truly one of a kind.” Mr. Walto...

28 May 2024 - USA TODAY US Edition Jeff Zillgitt Columnist USA TODAY Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton, an all-time great champion in high school, college and the NBA, died Monday following a prolonged battle with cancer, the NBA announced. He was 71 years old. “Bill Walton was truly one of a kind,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As a cherished member of the NBA family for 50 years, Bill will be deeply missed by all those who came to know and love him.” An American original, Walton led a remarkable life on and off the court, excelling in basketball and dabbling in the counterculture scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He remained connected to both throughout his life as a basketball player and TV analyst and lifelong fan of the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. At 6-foot-11, he was one of the most skilled big men to play the game. He defended, rebounded, blocked shots, passed and scored. He averaged 13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds 3.4 assists and 2.2 block...

Bill Greene/Globe Staff / 1987  - Mr. Walton (left, with Larry Bird and Robert Parish)  called his time with the Celtics the highlight of his career. For Walton, his splendid time with Celtics was short, his charisma lifelong 28 mag 2024 - The Boston Globe DAN SHAUGHNESSY The memories and stories started pouring in as soon as the news broke. Everyone remotely connected to the 1985-86 Celtics has a Bill Walton memory. Invariably, those stories are personal. And all of us were shocked monday when it was learned that Walton had died in California at the age of 71. No player ever loved playing for the Celtics more than Walton. And it’s cruel and ironic that Bill would pass with the team on to another appearance in the NBA Finals, which means a chance to win an NBA-record 18th banner. My friend rich Johnson, longtime curator of the New England sports museum and — like Walton — someone with a lifelong stutter, weighed in online, sending out a recording of the Grateful Dead’s “He’s G...

https://sport.sky.it/nba/2024/05/28/bill-walton-ricordo di CHRISTIAN GIORDANO © Bill Walton è stato unico, per molti versi. Nonostante la (troppo) breve carriera, falcidiata e poi spezzata dagli infortuni, ha avuto sulla NBA un impatto tale da potersi ritenere uno dei giocatori più forti di sempre. Durante l’esplosivo (eufemismo) sviluppo puberale, arti inferiori e in particolare le ossa dei piedi non erano cresciuti in maniera armonica con il resto del corpo, e questo gli aveva causato danni strutturali che lo avrebbero condizionato per tutti gli anni da professionista. Tuttavia, per un anno e mezzo – la stagione del titolo 1976-77 e la prima metà di quella successiva – il suo innovativo, altruistico modo di interpretare il ruolo di centro trasformò una buona squadra in una da titolo; e forse in una delle più grandi di sempre. Senza considerare il meraviglioso canto del cigno, da sesto uomo nei Boston Celtics, coronato dall’anello del 1986. E quella sì, sicuro, fra le squadre più gran...

(Top photo of Bill Walton: NBA Photos / Getty Images) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5420854/2024/05/27/bill-walton-obituary/ Jason Quick May 27, 2024 - The New York Times Bill Walton, a Hall of Fame center who authored a career that was triumphant and tragic, as well as colorful and controversial, died Monday at the age of 71 after a battle with cancer, the NBA announced . Walton was regarded as one of the most dominant and versatile centers to ever play, which translated to two state titles with Helix High in La Mesa, Calif., two NCAA titles at UCLA and two NBA titles , one with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977 and one with the Boston Celtics in 1986. In 1993, he was elected into the Naismith Hall of Fame, and in 1997, the NBA named him one of the Top 50 players of all time. “Bill Walton was truly one of a kind,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant for...

https://vault.si.com/vault/1979/03/26/the-team-of-64-ucla-was-just-one-more-school-with-a-basketball-team-until-seven-players-introduced-the-bruins-to-the-art-of-winning-by-going-30-0-and-taking-the-ncaa-title UCLA WAS JUST ONE MORE SCHOOL WITH A BASKETBALL TEAM UNTIL SEVEN PLAYERS INTRODUCED THE BRUINS TO THE ART OF WINNING BY GOING 30-0 AND TAKING THE NCAA TITLE FRANK DEFORD Sports Illustrated -  MARCH 26, 1979 TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT Anyway, does it matter, this winning of games? Of course, for the moment, for the glory, for the fun of it, it is somewhat better than losing games. But does it count in the way that coaches—most of them, at least—swear that it does? Does it add to the quality of life, make for better Americans? Should we get bumper stickers made up saying: WINNERS MAKE BETTER.... What? What exactly do winners do besides win? This is not an original puzzlement. As far back as 22 centuries ago, one of the wiser Greeks concluded, "Those who know how to win ...