Love him or hate him, no sports broadcaster is more well known than the one ? the only ? Dickie V, baby!
We're speaking, of course, about Dick Vitale, the verbose and ever-exuberant college basketball color commentator. He inspires some fans and antagonizes others, but is an icon of the game any way you slice it. Simply put, he's a PTPer, baby! A primetime player! A Diaper Dandy! Flat-out awesome with a capital ... okay, we'll stop.
Anyway, when we got word he was up to spend a few minutes on the phone in support of an upcoming online auction for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, it was an opportunity that couldn't be passed up.
The V Foundation has raised more than $120 million since it was started by ESPN and longtime Vitale pal Jim Valvano, a legendary coach who died of cancer a month after announcing the foundation in March of 1993. Vitale has been one of the foundation's biggest proponents since then, and at noon ET on Feb. 26 will host an online auction using the site Outbid.com. Fans and supporters will be able to bid via iPhone or iPad for prizes including autographed memorabilia and dinner with Dickie V. He'll answer questions and interact live with participants during the auction as well.
Below are lightly edited excerpts from our conversation, including more about the auction, his beefy Twitter presence, the effect of Internet culture on college hoops and, of course, his March Madness predictions. Imagine Vitale's distinctive voice in your head to make what follows even more awesome.
On the Outbid auction for the V Foundation:
The V Foundation is very important to me. It's in memory of a buddy of mine, Jim Valvano, who lost his life to cancer at a very young age, when he was on top of the world. He asked his buddies to dedicate themselves to help him raise money for cancer research, and I know he's dancing in heaven seeing what we've been able to accomplish on his behalf. His legacy is not going to be cutting down the nets, but raising money to fight cancer.
Outbid offers another opportunity to do that and I'd do anything to raise money to fight this disease. I'm excited about it and thrilled about it. People will definitely be able to interact with me, share words with me, through the computer during the auction. In the world of social media and Facebook and Twitter, it's unbelievable the things people can do.
On why he loves Twitter (Vitale has more than 34,000 tweets to his name):
I've got almost half a million followers ? the number's 455,000 now, I just checked it ? and I'm able to fundraise and share things through the world of basketball. It's very positive. I like it so much because I'm able to increase my involvement with the V Foundation, and it's a great way to reach people. I'm able to promote my new book, Getting a W in the Game of Life. It's available in Barnes & Noble and on my website and I'm not making a dollar on it ? every dollar I'd make on the book is going toward the V Foundation.
On how the Internet, blogosphere and social media have changed college basketball for fans and players:
Well, the bottom line is obviously that the amount of information is incredible. You can get a wealth of information as games are going on, and see what's happening while it's happening. The negatives are that some of the people online are just unbelievable. There are people that go a step beyond, that say wrong things, that say hurtful things. I grew up with a positive attitude and have always been a glass-half-full not glass-half-empty type of person. You've got some people out there who don't care what they say or who they hurt, but I think most people are really positive.
Vitale's thoughts on this year's Final Four:
I think we're going to have one of the most magical March Madnesses ever this year. It's so wide open it's incredible. There's so much balance, so much parity. When it's all said and done on a neutral floor, you need several things. You need good guard play. You need an All-American who can make a big shot with the game on the line. And the third thing is obviously you need a team that can defend really well when the game slows down.
It's hard to pin it down, but right now I like Indiana, I like Louisville, I like Michigan. But you gotta keep an eye on Gonzaga. I'm telling you to keep an eye on Gonzaga.
Image by Streeter Lecka, Getty Images
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