Man, this is the saddest news I’ve heard all day.
There’s not a single announcer in college basketball who makes the game more exciting than Dick Vitale.
He’s a college basketball fan to his core, and nothing brings him more joy than calling games. Not to mention, the man is killer with the quotes…
Anybody who is a college basketball fan has said “ARE YOU SERIOUS?,” or “HE’S A DAPA DANDY” at least once in their lives.
Last year, we were hit with the awful news that the 82-year-old had been diagnosed with Lymphoma, and it was gonna be a serious uphill battle. Needless to say he’s fought his ass off, and continued to do the thing he loves:
Call basketball games.
He left us all in shambles after he made his return to announcing last year in Las Vegas:
With that being said, the man has announced that he’ll be done calling basketball games for the rest of the 2021-2022 season.
However, it is not believed to be cancer related, as he told ESPN that he’s suffered a major throat injury:
“I had my scheduled follow-up visit today with Dr. Steven Zeitels, a leading throat specialist, who had diagnosed me with Dysplasia on the vocal cords a few weeks ago and ordered me to rest my ailing voice.
Well, today, Dr. Z. delivered the news that even though the rest really helped, I need to give my voice an even longer “T.O., Baby!” And there is no doubt I will soon need surgery to solve my Dysplasia and ulcerated lesions of the vocal cords.
So, while I’m heartbroken that I won’t appear on ESPN for the rest of this season, I’m encouraged by the progress. In fact, it appears that by resting my voice for the past three weeks, I’ve reduced the inflammation by 60 percent. Let’s hope the added rest will help it heal some more, and things will look even better when I go for my next follow-up visit on Feb. 16. Once the inflammation heals, we will set a date for surgery.
My throat’s condition is clearly moving in the right direction, and Dr. Z. is very optimistic that this can be successfully treated to have me strong for the 2022-23 season on ESPN.”
Damn, college basketball simply won’t be the same the rest of the season, knowing we won’t be getting anymore appearances from Dickie V.
However, the great news is that it’s treatable, so the legend himself is planning on making his courtside return for the 2022-2023 season.
Thank God, we gotta protect this man with all costs. He’s a national treasure.
Get well soon, Dickie V.
