Itâs awesome, baby!
Longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, who has fought various forms of cancer, announced Tuesday that doctors at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Florida have given him a clean bill of health following reviews of his scans and bloodwork.
âI canât believe it. I really am so excited,â the 85-year-old Vitale said in a video posted to social-media site X (formerly Twitter). âIt brought me to tears when (Rick Brown, the head of oncology at Sarasota Memorial) delivered (the news) because as cancer patients, you know that call is nerve-wracking. Itâs life-changing. ⦠Iâm on cloud nine.â
Vitale underwent surgery last July to remove cancerous lymph nodes from his neck, his fourth bout with cancer since first being diagnosed in 2021.
Following the latest positive update, Vitale planned to celebrate.
âIâm going to have a great Italian dinner, man,â the iconic broadcaster said. âI feel like I won the national championship.â
Iconic Broadcasterâs Return a Momentous OccasionÂ
In February, Vitale, also known as âDickie V,â returned to broadcasting for the first time in nearly two years as Clemson hosted Duke on ESPN. Vitale, a month after announcing he had beaten cancer again, was treated to a standing ovation by fans at Littlejohn Coliseum before tipoff.
Vitale, overcome by emotion, waved to the crowd in response.
âI want to say thanks to all the people,â Vitale said later in the broadcast. âThe reception here has been really off the charts. Iâm sorry for being so emotional. I canât tell you how excited I am to be here. ⦠This is like my Super Bowl.
âTo be able to sit courtside and do a game, it beats the hell out of chemotherapy and radiation.â
Later that month, Vitale returned to Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium. Prior to the game against Stanford, he rang a victory bell to celebrate remission from cancer.
Vitale was initially supposed to return in January for a Duke-Wake Forest game. However, he had to postpone those plans after winding up hospitalized due to a fall at his Florida home. Vitale released a statement through ESPN, saying he was âdevastatedâ over the setback.
Before that, Vitaleâs most recent assignment was ESPNâs international broadcast of the 2023 national championship game between UConn and San Diego State.
Vitale had previously announced he was cancer-free in 2022. He was then diagnosed with vocal cord cancer the following year and underwent radiation treatments. In November 2023, Vitale again was deemed cancer-free.
Vitale Known for Famous Catchphrases, Research Advocacy
A staple on ESPN since 1979, Vitale is popularly known for his enthusiastic catchphrases like âAwesome, baby!â and âDipsy-doo dunkeroo.â Heâs also authored over a dozen books and has tirelessly advocated for cancer research.
In 2008, Vitale was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He also received the 2022 Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.
Prior to becoming a broadcaster, Vitale had coaching stints with both the University of Detroit â whose basketball court is now named in his honor â and the NBAâs Detroit Pistons.
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