Dick Vitale

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Vitale has done more for college basketball and cancer research than all of us combined ever will. For that, I can pardon him for his eccentricities.
 

It seems to strike me that the haters of Dickie V are all somewhat aged individuals. If you talk to most college-aged kids, they love the eccentricity. Regardless of liking the guy, having the presence of ESPN and Dickie V on campus for a big time game means something, and I like it.
 


Is Patrick doing the game? He normally doesn't venture outside of North Carolina...

The thing I hate about Patrick is that he has this incredulous-ness in most of his calls....as if he's never seen a division basketball player make a shot or dunk. Or a wide open miss or a FT miss...He tends to pipe in the "incredulous" in a lame effort to con the viewer into believing something new or surprising is happening. It's lame!

My top 5 Play by Play guys:

1)Mike Tirico - Knows how to use inflection at the appropriate times. Always sharp on strategy and rules...he's rarely surprised or needs to be bailed out by his color guy.

2)Joe Tessatore - A rising star at the 4-letter....Love his voice, use of inflection and ability to keep the big picture in mind.

3)Dan Schulman - Usually works with Vitale and often times goes un-noticed because of that. But he's a very sound Play by Play guy in both Hoops and Baseball.

4)Jim Nantz - I've kinda grown tired of his ways, but he's still a top tier talent.

5)Gus Johnson - He would be higher on my list if he didn't over-inflectuate so much. If he could tone it down a little more, he'd be right up there with Tirico.

Top 5 Color guys:

1)Dan Dakich - He's quickly moved up the ranks for me. Nobody is more candid and he is not afraid to criticize a player or coach.

2)Clark Kellogg - He's really improved in the past 5 years. Very sharp and smooth.

3)Sean Farnam...Moving up quickly...Enjoyed his work on last night's Iowa game. He seems more connected to the modern college game because of his youth and experiences at UCLA within the last 15 years.

4)Bill Walton - He's a joy to listen to because you can tell how much he loves the game and he has a refreshing spirit. He's usually quick to point out fundmental errors and sharing with the viewer what players should do.

5)Bill Raftery - Still love his "kiss" gimmick and he usually does a great job of breaking down strategy.

Others I really like: Jimmy Dykes, Doug Gottlieb...Only heard him do one game but he was awesome in the color role. I've heard that CBS plans to use him in the studio only which is a shame. I thought he was excellent when I heard him do a game between UNLV and Oregon back in November.


Others I don't care for: Jimmy Jackson, Eddie Johnson, Dickie V, Greg Kelso(THE WORST on BTN), Shon Morris(Bland but decent). Stephen Bardo(Bland and boring).
 

My all time favorite college basketball color commentator was Steve Lavin. The guy had so much below the radar humor and was obviously a great listen from an x's and o's standpoint.

My all time favorite NBA color commentator was Bill Walton. No explanation, except this...

 


I like Vitale and his passion, but could live w/o the constant Duke/Carolina noise.
 

MadtownGopher said:
My all time favorite college basketball color commentator was Steve Lavin. The guy had so much below the radar humor and was obviously a great listen from an x's and o's standpoint.

My all time favorite NBA color commentator was Bill Walton. No explanation, except this...

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Steve Lavin was good. I kinda like Bobby Knight. He tries to explain things a lot more than most.

Bill Walton is just too weird for me.
 

Can someone remind of when this was. Pretty sure I went to a regular season Gopher Basketball game at the Dome that Dick Vitale was at. I remember him shooting three pointers at half time. I swear it was at the dome although I can't think of any reason we'd have played a game there. That ring any bells to anyone?
 

We played Cal at the Dome in the 1995-96 season. That's when they had Jelani Gardner. Seems to me that's the game Bobby Jackson either got hurt, or maybe it was his first game back from injury? Foot injury, I think.
 



Dick Vitale and Coach K were both great friends of Jim Valvano. They both have been on the board of directors of the V Foundation since its inception. Vitale gives reach-arounds to Carolina almost as much as Duke. He's a sucker for the ACC and well, the ACC has been basically Duke and Carolina since he arrived at ESPN. The reason he talks Duke just slightly more than Carolina is because of his friendship and respect for Coach K as it relates to the time, money, and energy he puts into the V Foundation. Also Vitale is the worlds biggest front runner. He can't go a broadcast without mentioning the Yankees, Lakers, etc. He likes big name teams with lots of history. It's who he is.

However, those that hate Vitale I have no time for. Criticize his style. It bothers me. It's only good in small doses. Just don't say you hate the guy because you don't know him. I'd bet the house he's more likely to win an humanitarian award than you and I've never met you.
 

MadtownGopher said:
My all time favorite college basketball color commentator was Steve Lavin. The guy had so much below the radar humor and was obviously a great listen from an x's and o's standpoint.

My all time favorite NBA color commentator was Bill Walton. No explanation, except this...

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Man I wish I had some of whatever Walton was smoking that night.
 

You know, Pewterschmidt, that may have been it. I think there was a V Foundation 2 games at the dome one year. That is sounding more familiar now. I'll have to go look it up if no one else remembers...
 

SelectionSunday said:
We played Cal at the Dome in the 1995-96 season. That's when they had Jelani Gardner. Seems to me that's the game Bobby Jackson either got hurt, or maybe it was his first game back from injury? Foot injury, I think.
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first game back, shareef abdur rahim was on the team too
 



MadtownGopher said:
My all time favorite college basketball color commentator was Steve Lavin. The guy had so much below the radar humor and was obviously a great listen from an x's and o's standpoint.

My all time favorite NBA color commentator was Bill Walton. No explanation, except this...

Click to expand...

he does college games now, you know.
 

I remember being at the game at the dome against California also. I think we had the Regionals at the dome that upcoming spring and they were just checking out the configuration. I was also at the dome for the Regional and I think both Kentucky and Louisville were there. I remember the Regionals clearly because that spring I gave my brother a kidney and I had a check up the next day. I had to drink something that cleaned me out that night and remember drinking that nasty bottle as soon as I got home. That's the main reason I remember it. The Gophers also got blown out in the NIT that year at Williams by Tulane, but the next year made it to the Final 4.
 

ethomasp31 said:
I remember being at the game at the dome against California also. I think we had the Regionals at the dome that upcoming spring and they were just checking out the configuration. I was also at the dome for the Regional and I think both Kentucky and Louisville were there. I remember the Regionals clearly because that spring I gave my brother a kidney and I had a check up the next day. I had to drink something that cleaned me out that night and remember drinking that nasty bottle as soon as I got home. That's the main reason I remember it. The Gophers also got blown out in the NIT that year at Williams by Tulane, but the next year made it to the Final 4.
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I think that is the one I was at also. Were the other two teams Wake Forest and Memphis?
 

Kentucky routed Wake Forest (and Tim Duncan) in the regional final. Louisville and Utah were the other two.
 

The PBP will most likely be Dan Shulman. He and Dick Vitale work together on games. So it most likely him.
 



Spin Your Head "It seems to strike me that the haters of Dickie V are all somewhat aged individuals. If you talk to most college-aged kids, they love the eccentricity."

+1. I was definitely thinking the same thing while reading this thread. My father always bitches about Vitale when he comes on, but I alyways appreciated his enthusiasm. He can sometimes get carried away with some mindless drivel, but he cracks me up most of the time.

"Come on down to Hooters, Baby!!!" - Dickie V
 

SelectionSunday said:
We played Cal at the Dome in the 1995-96 season. That's when they had Jelani Gardner. Seems to me that's the game Bobby Jackson either got hurt, or maybe it was his first game back from injury? Foot injury, I think.
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That obviously was it. I think we had two junior college transfers come in that year and we weren't sure which one would be better (that became obvious the next year). Boy that was a long time ago...
 

I love Raftery and Walton's hilarious if you don't take him seriously.

Vitale is grating and I turn the channel. I'm so glad he doesn't call the tournament.
 


Sparlimb said:
That obviously was it. I think we had two junior college transfers come in that year and we weren't sure which one would be better (that became obvious the next year). Boy that was a long time ago...
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I remember how Bobbie Jackson came in and immediately played great. I'm excited for Dickie to be there. He only does big matchups or Duke games, so this shows we have some believers out there. It's about time we got this kind of attention. We're going to win this game.
 

Haha, I love his energy and enthusiasm, however his heavy east coast accent and his raspy sounding voice are kind of annoying IMO.

Overall, love it anytime he can call a Minnesota game. There's just something about him calling your game that gets you excited.

*And for some people that constantly complain about almost every announcer there is, I sure hope you don't hit mute every time you watch a college basketball (gophers) game. That's certainly no way to watch it and it takes out half the fun of it.
 

We should have an over under competition on the number of times he says Duke. I also despise when he does games. Dislike diaper dandy, time out baby, etc.
 

As a person, I wouldn't doubt that Vitale was a good person, as an announcer, in moderation, I actually like him a lot, while also kind of hating him. I love his enthusiasm and honestly, although he overdoes it, he talks about Duke and UNC and also about Kentucky because they are historically the best schools in the country. They get the best recruits, and hence, even when they may not win or do well, they are still very entertaining to watch. But he can also get on my nerves as well. But that is usually only when its not the Gopher's he's talking about. Dickie V likes to kiss ass, and there is nothing wrong with that, its far better than the opposite. I witness far too many people who only want to trumpet the positives of their team and their conf, and are very criticial and biased against any team or conf that they feel is a threat to theirs. Dickie V praises excellence, and he rarely goes negative. I like that about him.

When Minnesota has a good team, Dickie V gives them lots of praise, and that's fun to listen to, since its happened so little in the past 20 years. When the Big Ten does well, he gives them credit. The ACC is down this year, except for Duke, and Duke has played tough teams and beat them, they deserve the praise. But we'd do well if Dickie V did more games this year. He'd talk about Minnesota and the Big Ten far more than he would UNC and the ACC. If we got Jones and Vaughn and Reid, 6 years from now people would be complaining about how much Dickie V talked about the Gophers and the Big Ten.
 

Drake University Gopher said:
Spin Your Head "It seems to strike me that the haters of Dickie V are all somewhat aged individuals. If you talk to most college-aged kids, they love the eccentricity."

+1. I was definitely thinking the same thing while reading this thread. My father always bitches about Vitale when he comes on, but I alyways appreciated his enthusiasm. He can sometimes get carried away with some mindless drivel, but he cracks me up most of the time.

"Come on down to Hooters, Baby!!!" - Dickie V
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I have to laugh at the aged individuals comment. I too agree that there is some truth to this. I can remember watching a college hoops report when they were interviewing Bob Huggins when he was at cincinatti. Huggins said he knew he was recruiting in a new era after he brought recruits through their wall of fame and the Kids would walk right by a picture of Oscar Robertson without even glancing but would see a picture of Huggins with Dick Vitale and were really impressed. That has to be 10 years ago as well. Slot me in the older guy category who feels vitale's style is annoying.
 

I remember getting mad when DV said the 97 Gophs would be the first #1 seed to lose in the tourney. I think he predicted us to lose to Chaney's Temple team in round two.

Other than that, he's an enthusiastic guy who loves the big programs. Annoying yes, but not entirely unexpected.
 

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