Dickie V signed for 2 more years with ESPN | The Boneyard

Dickie V signed for 2 more years with ESPN

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jibsey

jibsey

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He'll do it until he's 78 at least. He's biased toward some teams of course, but he's probably very close friends with those coaches by now so what can you do? Been pretty fair to us except for picking against us.
 
He's awful, I know that Raftery isn't really an unknown to most basketball fans, but it still chaps my hide that Dickie V is the name that everyone in the world knows while Raftery remains the go to color guy for true fans of college basketball. The people of the world need to know the beauty that is a "Lingerie on the deck!", a "Send it in Jerome!", or even one of those early game moment, unidentifiable attempts at saying some variation of the phrase "man to man"
 
Kembacity said:
He's awful, I know that Raftery isn't really an unknown to most basketball fans, but it still chaps my hide that Dickie V is the name that everyone in the world knows while Raftery remains the go to color guy for true fans of college basketball. The people of the world need to know the beauty that is a "Lingerie on the deck!", a "Send it in Jerome!", or even one of those early game moment, unidentifiable attempts at saying some variation of the phrase "man to man"
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"Opening the game in MANtoMAN...with zone principles" is by far my favorite basketball call, in an ironic sort of way.
 
I've said it before, outstanding philanthropist who does great work raising money for cancer research, but as an analyst he's over the hill.
 
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The man enjoys what he does. To him it ain't a job and no one loves college basketball more than him. He's harmless, not sure after all these years why he still rubs so many people the wrong way. Anyway, he's in his twilight and he's certainly not changing, so perhaps some of us should (i.e. tolerating him). Hell we can put up with some intolerable Yarders who love UConn.

All I can say is 'at his age good for him!'
 
I don't think Vitale is as sharp as he used to be, but the guy does his homework. He knows every player on every team he covers, and he absolutely loves college basketball. I'll miss him when he hangs 'em up.

And he's not a Duke homer. Duke is generally really good, and he says that.
 
CallMeBruce said:
I don't think Vitale is as sharp as he used to be, but the guy does his homework. He knows every player on every team he covers, and he absolutely loves college basketball. I'll miss him when he hangs 'em up.

And he's not a Duke homer. Duke is generally really good, and he says that.
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You had me until part 2.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Does anyone really think that Dick Vitale is so popular because he's an astute analyst? It's shtick and people love it. He's a good guy who means well and brings a lot of excitement to the game.
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Exactly, he is college basketball's version of John Madden. Talks a lot without ever really saying anything.
 
FartMan69 said:
He picked against us? Bad man.
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If you can find it, watch ESPN's post-game coverage of the 1999 title game. Dickie V looks like someone just emptied his bank account and ran off with daughter. I've seen losing coaches keep the look of disappointment off their faces better than he did. He looked crushed and utterly devastated by our victory. Boy did I enjoy watching that. Meanwhile, Digger always gets a free pass from me because he picked UConn to win and was really enjoying himself during the post-game show.

Bruce, I don't hate Vitale at all, but he is a Duke homer. Come on. He thinks they're "special." Not just because they win. OHHHHH!!!!! THE CAMERON CRAZIES!!!!!! 1500 ON THE SATS!!!!!!!!! He's into the slapping the floor and the hugs and Coach K teaching life not sports and all the crap that Coach K wants to sell everybody. He likes Kentucky and UConn and Kansas, but he LOVES Duke. Like, he wants to marry Duke.
 
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Devland said:
Exactly, he is college basketball's version of John Madden. Talks a lot without ever really saying anything.
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He's like college basketball's John Madden if John Madden had snorted a good line of coke and was doing his best impression of Pee Wee Herman.
 
nomar said:
If you can find it, watch ESPN's post-game coverage of the 1999 title game. Dickie V looks like someone just emptied his bank account and ran off with daughter. I've seen losing coaches keep the look of disappointment off their faces better than he did. He looked crushed and utterly devastated by our victory. Boy did I enjoy watching that. Meanwhile, Digger always gets a free pass from me because he picked UConn to win and was really enjoying himself during the post-game show.

Bruce, I don't hate Vitale at all, but he is a Duke homer. Come on. He thinks they're "special." Not just because they win. OHHHHH!!!!! THE CAMERON CRAZIES!!!!!! 1500 ON THE SATS!!!!!!!!! He's into the slapping the floor and the hugs and Coach K teaching life not sports and all the crap that Coach K wants to sell everybody. He likes Kentucky and UConn and Kansas, but he LOVES Duke. Like, he wants to marry Duke.
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I would say that at this point he might love Kentucky more than Duke.
 
johnhuskies95 said:
I would say that at this point he might love Kentucky more than Duke.
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I think he loves the coaches more than the teams. Its noticible even in years they have marginal wins/talent. He's a loyalist that's for sure, going back to the Valvano years. If he loves you he will not divorce you that's for sure. As for Calhoun he simply highly respected him, which was fine.
 
Why? I thought ESPN wanted to nudge him into retirement?
 
Can I remind anyone that he also stood by Boeheim when they were hit with sanctions? The reports come out and all he can say is "I play golf with this man, this is a great and honest man", really? dickie
 
Kembacity said:
Can I remind anyone that he also stood by Boeheim when they were hit with sanctions? The reports come out and all he can say is "I play golf with this man, this is a great and honest man", really? dickie
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In Jim's darkest hour Vitale publicly stands with him. I don't know how old you are but let's just hope the day never comes when you need a friend like that.

How anyone can fault Dickie for that is amazing.
 
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CallMeBruce said:
And he's not a Duke homer. Duke is generally really good, and he says that.
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Can't it be both?

Duke is generally good, and Dickie V calls that like it is. But he's also way over-the-top in his praise of K, the Duke program, its culture, its fans, going out of his way to mention Duke even when he's calling completely unrelated games. He is a Duke homer; the team just also happens to be good.
 
He knows these coaches for 30 plus years. They attend each other's charity events, play golf together, probably go to their families weddings. He's just not throwing his friends under any bus which is expected. His color was very responsible for the rise of college hoop at ESPN, so they owe him.
 
mets1090 said:
"Opening the game in MANtoMAN...with zone principles" is by far my favorite basketball call, in an ironic sort of way.
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Think u have that backwards....."Cuse starts in a 2-3 zone, with man to man principles"
 
CallMeBruce said:
I don't think Vitale is as sharp as he used to be, but the guy does his homework. He knows every player on every team he covers, and he absolutely loves college basketball. I'll miss him when he hangs 'em up.

And he's not a Duke homer. Duke is generally really good, and he says that.
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I'm with jibsey on this and I like the guy a lot. Think he's great for the game and has always been 1st class to the UConn program. But he goes beyond "first class" with Duke and now Kentucky.
 
Dickie V Story:
As a native of Bergen County, New Jersey, I have been familiar with Dick Vitale since his HS coaching days. The punch line of this post comes when I met Vitale at the Sheraton (??, across the street from the HCC) the morning after St John's beat Connecticut in the earliest days of the "new" HCC. Vitale was not very well know to the national audience then, and not known as Dickie V at that time.
Hartford was in my work plans for that day. I got tickets for the game in advance through the SJU box office, so I was on the floor of the arena, but in the midst of their people. The Huskies lost the BE game. I had no idea who was doing the broadcasting. I booked a reservation at the hotel across the street, as I was continuing on to Massachusetts to work there the next day, and would deadhead back to Rockland County, NY where I still reside. I awoke the following morning and went to breakfast, but their was a line at the coffee shop, and I had to wait for a table. The person who walked up next on line was none other than Dickie. We waited for a while on line so I engaged him briefly in conversation, and offer to share a table since we were both singles, which we did.
I mentioned that I followed the Rutgers team that he recruited that went to the Final Four, and was familiar with Les Cason (the second coming of Lew Alcindor??). From that point on, I didn't get a word in (maybe a quick question or two). I wound up leaving the table with a four page brochure in yellow and blue which extolled his virtues as a "motivational speaker", and a "positive enthusiasm" person. I still have the brochure.
As a UConn grad I, like all of us, am agitated by Duke and "Dukie V's rants and raves. But we must admit that he was a excellent student of the college game, and certainly has made a super successful career for himself in broadcasting. It must be due to the power of his positive thinking.
 
Rocklander said:
Dickie V Story:
As a native of Bergen County, New Jersey, I have been familiar with Dick Vitale since his HS coaching days. The punch line of this post comes when I met Vitale at the Sheraton (??, across the street from the HCC) the morning after St John's beat Connecticut in the earliest days of the "new" HCC. Vitale was not very well know to the national audience then, and not known as Dickie V at that time.
Hartford was in my work plans for that day. I got tickets for the game in advance through the SJU box office, so I was on the floor of the arena, but in the midst of their people. The Huskies lost the BE game. I had no idea who was doing the broadcasting. I booked a reservation at the hotel across the street, as I was continuing on to Massachusetts to work there the next day, and would deadhead back to Rockland County, NY where I still reside. I awoke the following morning and went to breakfast, but their was a line at the coffee shop, and I had to wait for a table. The person who walked up next on line was none other than Dickie. We waited for a while on line so I engaged him briefly in conversation, and offer to share a table since we were both singles, which we did.
I mentioned that I followed the Rutgers team that he recruited that went to the Final Four, and was familiar with Les Cason (the second coming of Lew Alcindor??). From that point on, I didn't get a word in (maybe a quick question or two). I wound up leaving the table with a four page brochure in yellow and blue which extolled his virtues as a "motivational speaker", and a "positive enthusiasm" person. I still have the brochure.
As a UConn grad I, like all of us, am agitated by Duke and "Dukie V's rants and raves. But we must admit that he was a excellent student of the college game, and certainly has made a super successful career for himself in broadcasting. It must be due to the power of his positive thinking.
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There are few things I would enjoy more than to just sit and talk college basketball with Dick Vitale.
 
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loved Dickie V as a kid but as a nearly 40 year old man im tired of his schtick. I can actually predict what hes going to say in games its so bad. he seems to just be repeating himself.. that being said god bless him
 
It's amazing what one incident will do. I still don't like him because of the way he treated Lawrence Funderburke (and his Duke infatuation). It wasn't even the tirade that he got blasted for that got me... he was all over the him before that even happened. It was just incredibly petty. Most likely he was all over him because he dared to transfer out of Bobby Knight's Indiana program. I can't believe that was over 20 years ago.. *goes into a corner and cries quietly*
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Can't it be both?

Duke is generally good, and Dickie V calls that like it is. But he's also way over-the-top in his praise of K, the Duke program, its culture, its fans, going out of his way to mention Duke even when he's calling completely unrelated games. He is a Duke homer; the team just also happens to be good.
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Just my opinion but if you are were Phil Rizzutto and working for the Yankee station it is OK to be somewhat a cheerleader. When you are a network announcer and you lack being objective (either negative like maybe Billy Packer and Uconn) or positively (Vitale and Duke) it is irritating. Much rather listen to a more objective announcer on network tv. I do think he can be funny at times but the schtick to me kind of wears thin. I laughed when the John Madden comparison came up; my wife is not a fan but only Vitale and Madden ever used to get her goat when she heard them ranting from another room...........she would say "who IS that!!!" "it's so irritating.....!!!! LOL.
 
A little story. When my daughter was in H.S. mid 90's she did an internship at ESPN and worked with the sportscenter people in how they prepare the broadcasts. She was and is not a sports fan and doesn't know anyone by name (except at that time Shaq) who they were doing a highlight reel for. So one day she comes home and says "the most amazing thing happened, this old guy came on for a remote, and didn't stop talking for 15 minutes straight without shutting up, and he was so exited, it was amazing." She had worked with a lot of the anchors who were all very nice but I guess Dickie stood out. It was a fun thing for her to do but she said she would never want to work there, not her thing.
 
Fishy said:
Vitale is one of the great people in the game - if he wants to work 100 more years, I'm good with that.
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I agree... I could give a rats ass if he at times comes across as a homer. Fact of the matter is that the guy loves college basketball, loves his job, and since I was a child has made a college basketball a bit more entertaining. I've muted him before when he was verbally blowing Coach K, but I have also gotten extremely happy when he has praised the crap out of UConn. I have no idea why he bothers some of you so much. Are you there to watch the game or critique the broadcasters? I don't really care if the broadcaster knows the players names or does an effective job breaking down a flex offense. I want my color guy to get excited to help get me more excited. Vitale has always done that.
 
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