Title Thumbnail

It’s Awesome, Baby!

75 Years of Memories and a Lifetime of Opinions on the Game I Love

Dick Vitale Dick Weiss Joan Williamson

9780990437550
256 pages
Ascend Books
Overview

It’s hard to believe, but Dick Vitale, ESPN’s perennially youthful basketball analyst, is 75.

From his blue-collar roots in New Jersey, his first college coaching job at Rutgers, his ultimate dream job with the Pistons (where he got the Ziggy!), to his 35 years at ESPN as a "Prime-time Performer." This is Vitale as you've never seen him, an inside look at America’s favorite basketball fan.

Learn the secret of his longevity in the fast-changing world of TV. More than the personal memories, "Dickie V" provides the die-hard hoops fan with his outspoken opinions on a range of topics including: the most intriguing coaches, players, and owners in the sport; the growth of "one-and-dones" leaving for the NBA draft; the increase in player transfers; out-of-control fan behavior; recruiting top notch players; and the changing landscape of college sports following conference realignment.

You'll get to know 75 years worth of history, facts, and opinions, as well as his thoughts on family, the game of basketball, and his passionate fight against childhood cancer.

This book will give you new insights into Dick Vitale, both the sportscaster and the humanitarian.

Author Bio
Dick Vitale has been the voice of college basketball for ESPN for the last 35 years and an award-winning analyst for the network. He is a member of 12 Halls of Fame. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, which is the highest honor that can be given to anyone associated with the sport. He has also been inducted into the National Sportscasters' Hall of Fame. Vitale is a tireless worker in the fight against pediatric cancer and his galas in Sarasota have raised over $12 million for the V Foundation, a charitable organization named after the late Jimmy Valvano that funds crucial cancer research. He has written a dozen books.