WALTON HAS VOICE THAT CARRIES.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH The Media

For his 52nd birthday tonight, Bill Walton will be escorted to a courtside seat to watch his No. 3 son, Luke, set picks and make bounce passes for the Lakers against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center.

The fact that Bill also has to sit next to Mike Breen and broadcast the game for ESPN - his second Lakers telecast in three nights - doesn't mean he's compromising himself. He understands the demands of being a professional, too.

It wouldn't be an NBA season without a Walton family gathering. While Luke's Lakers were undergoing a complete makeover between June and September, Bill also calls the recent offseason a ``life-changing experience'' that included the passing of his 83-year-old father, a three- week, 15-concert Grateful Dead excursion, white water rafting through the Grand Canyon and visits to Istanbul, Shanghai, Beijing and Shangri La in Tibet.

Walton, in his third year at ESPN after 10 years with NBC and many years earlier with the Clippers, is the spokesman for the league's pay-per-view ``Season Pass'' package and a new edition to ABC's NBA studio show this year. He discusses life in and around the NBA:

Q: How many games do the Lakers win this regular season?

A:I think the Lakers and Phoenix compete for the Pacific Division title. The realignment really helped the Lakers. Sacramento has some real issues with chemistry and Rick Adleman's contract situation is going to be a distraction.

Q: Do you really believe, as you said on the telecast Wednesday night, that Kobe Bryant has the ability to lead the Lakers to do good things this season?

A:In Kobe, you have one of the most brilliant players in the league. His challenge is a tough one - to pull a team together, make the other players better than they are by themselves and teach them how to compete in the paint - but he's up to it. Time has given him a fresh start and the issues of his legal case in Colorado are behind him. Some argue that there's still a civil case, but if everyone in the NBA, including the broadcasters, had a civil case of some sort that prohibited them from performing effectively, what kind of league would we have?

Q: How do you think Lakers fans will react to a team without Shaquille O'Neal?

A:I wasn't at Staples for Tuesday's opener, but in talking to everyone, from season-ticket holders, to sponsors to the Lakers broadcasters, there's a real sense of optimism that wasn't there last year.

I've been going to Lakers games for 34 years, since my freshman year at UCLA in 1970, and one of the great things about the franchise is the incredible fan loyalty, just like in Boston and New York and Philadelphia. Even though players come and go, the fans stay. Last year was not a fun year for the fans with all the bickering and selfishness and out-of-control, bizarre behavior caused by the split of the team. It drove them nuts.

People want to be a fan of the Lakers or Bruins or Grateful Dead to have fun. It was the same thing after Jerry Garcia died, you could feel the tension when the egos got in the way. If it's not fun, why be apart of it? I think the Lakers have embraced this underdog approach for this year.

Q: Do you sense a new attitude with the Lakers based on conversations with your son, Luke?

A:I don't ask Luke for any inside information about the team. When he was drafted by the Lakers last year, I contacted the NBA, ESPN, the Lakers, and said, ``I'm Luke's dad and I'm not going breach that relationship for inside information.'' He's a 24-year-old man, and that's not right for me to use that relationship to get information.

Q: Do you think Phil Jackson had a sort of breach of confidentiality by publishing a book about what went on behind the scenes last season?

A:I've just started reading it, but I'm all for an open society and complete transparency. One of the things I learned from John Wooden is to tell the truth and let people see what you're doing. Why would you ever do anything that you have to hide?

I know all the people involved in the book and it was sad to me when there was such a furor about our country's invasion of Iraq, one of the greatest lines I saw was, ``War is the ultimate failure of the human spirit.'' We can draw some parallels to what happened with the Lakers. The inability to accept differences in people, the inability to work through your problems without resorting to violence or bitterness.

I've learned from my own experience that, speaking in general about the Lakers breakup, what kind of credence do you give to comments made after a divorce? Whenever you see interviews with an ex-spouse, a light bulb goes on. Watch out.

Q: At this point in a broadcasting career where some have said you're too off the wall or too critical of players, how would you describe your evolution?

A:I'm constantly striving to improve myself, same as when I was a basketball player. My whole life has been about the dream about being part of something special. ESPN has given me that opportunity and my job is to make the most of it and create something positive.

I try to never look back. I listen to criticism and learn from it. But as John Wooden used to say, ``Walton, you're the slowest learner.'' There's the Dylan line: ``I try my best to be just like I am, but everybody wants you to be just like them.'' You can only be who you are. It's a tough business, and I know how hard guys like Paul Sunderland and Stu Lantz and Mychal Thompson and Joel Meyers work. I grew up with Chick Hearn and Vin Scully as my idols and they determined a level of excellence that will never be reached again, you can only aspire to it.

Q: As a big John Kerry supporter, what do you make of how the presidential election turned out?

A: Very disappointed. Saddened. Befuddled. To me, the choice could not have been more clear. My team did not win. We've all got a lot of work to do.

Q: Finally, do you ever get the chance to say to your son in a Darth Vader voice: ``Luke, I am your father''?

A: What I do tell him, I'm extremely proud and happy for him. But mostly, I'm your dad and my love for you is endless and unconditional and I hope all your dreams come true. I hope all my kids one day are in a position when they're 52 to say, 'How fortunate am I that all my dreams have come true.'''

SOUND BYTES

WHAT SMOKES

-- Any programmer for an Southern California sports-talk station who wants to stay ahead of the curve has to be pondering the possibilities after reading the piece in the current Sports Illustrated about Doug and Ryan Stewart, aka ``2 Live Stews,'' and how they've build a wildly successful show in Atlanta. Based on the fact the hosts are black, the callers are predominantly black and the hip-hop vibe shakes it loose from the often stale format that some 400-plus sports-talk stations across the country currently blunder through, one can only assume the kind of impact that sort of show would have in Southern California. Anyone out there brave enough? Meanwhile, ESPN's ``Cold Pizza'' starts a five-part series Monday on the sports-talk genre, covering its history, present and future. Thursday's installment on ``personalities and pioneers'' includes XTRA's Lee Hamilton, who should not be viewed on an early-morning talk show without a stiff cup of coffee.

WHAT CHOKES

-- Giving free reign to Keyshawn Johnson on an NFL-sponsored radio show and not expecting the worst is pretty short sighted. It was hardly surprising when, on his Sirius satellite radio show last week, Johnson took offense to what Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver said during the Oct. 24 Dallas-Green Bay game, telling viewers that Johnson just had a heated exchange with Cowboys assistant Sean Payton. But Johnson didn't stop there. After denying it took place, Johnson said he used to like Oliver and in general was OK with female reporters, but he ``almost wanted to get on a plane, find where she is at and sit her down and spank her with a ruler, really really hard because it made no sense. You don't need to make up a story.'' Oliver responded to the Dallas Morning News that if Johnson ever tries to spank her, ``I will punch him in the face. My job is to report what I see. I do not make stories up. Keyshawn is having a complete denial of reality.'' Just the kind of sexual harassment and domestic violence bantering that drives fans to the NFL, right?

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