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Vitale Happy To Be On Sideline And In The Coaches' Hearts

By RICK HARMON The Tampa Tribune

Published: Mar 7, 2007

TAMPA - When Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson fired Dick Vitale in 1979, the popular ESPN college basketball analyst was actually given a second life.

And a good one.

And when his daughters decided tennis was going to be their choice of sports, Vitale loaded up the truck and moved to Sarasota.

Vitale will get to sleep at his own home in Lakewood Ranch this weekend as he will call the action from the St. Pete Times Forum for ESPN this weekend. Vitale, with Mike Patrick and Doris Burke, will call the daytime quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the tournament.

ESPN's coverage, except for Thursday's opening round game between Duke and North Carolina State at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2, will be blacked out in the Tampa Bay area.

Thursday's other three first-round games will air on Bright House Network's Catch47 and all remaining games will air on WTOG, Channel 44 as part of the ACC's Raycom/Lincoln Financial package.

"It's very special to have the ACC Tournament in Tampa," Vitale said. "The ACC Tournament is the granddaddy of them all. It's a great stage. I think it's great the ACC is going to different venues."

Not everybody is happy with the tournament being held in Tampa. There have been many stories about corporations that usually purchase large blocks of tickets declining this year but Vitale doesn't think that will have any effect on the tournament.

"The passion in ACC country is unmatched," Vitale said. "The ACC really lay out the carpet. The people [in Tampa] will respond in a big way."

During the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta, Vitale will find out if the third time is a charm for his induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame. He has been a finalist twice as a contributor to the game.

This year's competition has an interesting twist. The other finalist is Davidson.

"It's funny, [Davidson] did me a favor and probably extended my life," said the 67-year-old Vitale. "If I had continued to coach I probably wouldn't have lived past 50. The losses were too hard to take."

One of Vitale's biggest supporters for induction is Texas Tech coach Bob Knight. Knight sent letters to coaches in support of Vitale.

"When I found out, I called Bob and told him he didn't have to do this," Vitale said. "I was just in awe when I found out. For these coaches to do this is just so special. For Bob to do this, it just shows you a side of him - his loyalty, and his passion is unbelievable. Whether I ever get in or not, it makes me feel like a million dollars to know that these coaches are doing this. It has left me speechless, which doesn't happen very often."

Reporter Rick Harmon can be reached at (813) 948-4202 or rharmon@tampatrib.com.