Bill Walton Sets New Bar for Storytelling on CRN’s “Stockton!” Podcast

Basketball legend Bill Walton shares life lessons from the court, broadcast booth, and operating table with Hall of Fame sportscaster Dick Stockton on today’s new episode of the “Stockton!” podcast.

“I’ve spent half my adult life in the hospital – I’ve had 37 operations,” says Walton. There were days, he recalls, when he was lying on the floor in so much pain in his spine that he thought about suicide.

Walton, regarded as one of the best sports commentators (and basketball players) of all time, confesses that he used to be a life-long stutterer. “Broadcasting great Marty Glickman taught me how to speak. [UCLA Coach] John Wooden used to say ‘Marty, you taught him how to speak but you didn’t tell him how to stop.’”

The podcast, produced by CRN International’s Collisions division, is available on iTunes and at http://www.StocktonPodcast.com.

Walton is passionate about his days under Wooden as the country’s top player at UCLA. “We never used film, we never used a blackboard, never called timeout, never did any scouting, and never mentioned the other team,” Walton said. “Only twice in four years did Wooden ever mention an opposing player – and both times we lost those games. Thanks, Coach.”

The “Stockton!” podcast brings a thinking man’s depth to podcasting with humor and curiosity. Listeners get a fresh perspective on core issues affecting sports, its fans, the teams, the athletes and even the weekend warriors. “Stockton!” also will offer listeners behind-the-scenes peeks of how broadcasts come together and share the microphone with some of today’s sports legends. The first episode featured a riveting interview with Alex Rodriguez.

As one of the most distinctive voices on the airwaves, Dick Stockton has been named one of the 50 top sportscasters of all time and is a member of the Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He has had a unique front-row seat to the major sporting events and sports stories of our time. He has called the shots from the Olympics, World Series, NBA Finals and a wide range of historic sports moments for CBS, NBC, Fox and Turner. He has interviewed and gotten to know the greats and other personalities in ways that transcend what the average fan sees and hears.

“Most of my career I’ve been behind the microphone doing play-by-play of so many events in so many sports,” says Stockton. “Now I have the opportunity to share my views on not only what’s happening currently, along with the perspective of over four decades of experience in sports, but the ancillary aspects as well.”

The venture represents the latest addition to CRN International’s fast-growing portfolio of podcasts under the Collisions brand. Other Collisions podcasts include: “Distraction,” hosted by New York Times best-selling author and leading psychiatrist Dr. Edward Hallowell; the “Car and Driver Podcast,” in partnership with the editors of Car and Driver magazine; “The Official Sasquatch! Festival Podcast,” a Live Nation music festival; and “Just the Right Book! Podcast,” hosted by Roxanne Coady from leading independent bookseller R.J. Julia.

About Dick Stockton:

Considered one of the most versatile broadcasters with more than 35 years of experience, Stockton’s vast resume includes 17 years at CBS Sports from 1978-1994. During that time, he worked NFL regular season and playoffs, NCAA regular season and tournament basketball, the World Swimming and Diving Championships, championship boxing, track and field as well as the Olympic Games. Stockton called the gold medal-winning performances by speed skaters Dan Jansen and Bonnie Blair, moments which he considers to be among the highlights of his career.

Stockton also has called regular season and NBA playoff games for Turner Sports. In 2001, he was honored with the Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

Stockton arrived at CBS Sports fulltime in 1978 to work NFL games where his partners included Roger Staubach, Hank Stram, Dan Fouts, Merlin Olsen, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Dierdorf and Wayne Walker. In addition to his NFL work, he was the lead announcer for the NBA on CBS from 1982 to 1990, including the memorable Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals in that decade. Stockton also appeared weekly on CBS Sports coverage of Major League Baseball from 1990 to 1992, including three American League Championship Series.

Stockton was the voice of Red Sox baseball from 1975 through 1978 at WSBK-TV in Boston. In 1975 he called Carlton Fisk’s legendary 12th-inning home run in the sixth game of the World Series for NBC Sports (“if it stays fair……home run!”). NBC also employed him from 1976 and 1977 to cover NFL games and NCAA tournament basketball. He called play-by-play of Oakland A’s games for KRON-TV in San Francisco for three years beginning in 1995.

From 2001 through 2008, Stockton called the Super Bowl for the NFL to an international audience of more than 230 countries.

About CRN International

CRN International is the leading radio marketing company, pioneering strategies and producing creative programming that gives major advertisers competitive advantages through radio and emerging audio media. The company recently launched Collisions, which produces “podcasts for curious people.” The company is headquartered in Hamden, CT, with offices in New York, Washington, Minneapolis and Detroit.

For more information, contact:

Jim Alkon, CRN, Marketing Director,

jima(at)crnradio(dot)com, 203-407-3341