Joseph D'Amico

Awesome Baby! by The Sports Network

Imagine your dentist exhibiting that level of fervor when she examines and cleans your semi-neglected teeth. Or picture a latex-gloved surgeon bouncing off the chalky white walls of his practice with sheer giddiness in anticipation of performing his sixth colonoscopy of the day.

Wouldn’t you be more inclined to ignore the collective stench of body odor and fast food next time you take public transportation if the bus driver throws you a smile and a high five as you pay your fare?

Passion can’t be faked, at least not convincingly. In the case of the now 72- year-old Vitale, his zeal is unmistakably genuine.

So what’s with the seemingly untimely Dick Vitale praise, you might ask. We are two months removed from the ugliest NCAA Tournament championship game in history and nearly five months away from the start of the 2011-12 regular season.

On Wednesday, the University of Detroit announced that it will rename its home court in honor of its former head coach and athletic director. Dick Vitale Court at Calihan Hall will be dedicated on December 5 during a nationally- televised clash between the hometown Titans and the St. John’s Red Storm.

The honor is not the most prestigious bestowed upon Vitale, who was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. Still, it’s a good bet that the man, who has coined such terms as “diaper dandy”, will cry like a baby on that winter day in the Motor City.

By this time, all of the Vitale haters are rolling their eyes. For all the fans the colorful commentator has earned over the years, there is an equal number of detractors who equate the sound of his voice to nails on a chalkboard, a crying baby on an airplane or a stray cat in heat.

There are analysts who do a far better job of explaining the intricacies of the game than Vitale, whose untamed exuberance often renders the English language incomprehensible. Sure, he’s well aware that the perfectly executed pick and roll drew the defense and opened up the back door pass for an easy lay-up, but he’s more than likely going to scream a bunch of times like a well-lubricated barfly when Lynyrd Skynyrd is the random mechanical selection of a previously dormant juke box.

Dickie V has played a significant role in mid-major programs such as Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and Butler earning recognition and respect in the eyes of college basketball fans and the NCAA Tournament selection committee alike. He has also elevated the giants of the game to greater heights. Would Duke vs. North Carolina be considered arguably the greatest rivalry in all of sports if the New Jersey native wasn’t behind the mic for so many legendary chapters? No chance.

Would college basketball coaches be earning seven-digit salaries if not for Dick Vitale? Probably not. An average coach himself, Vitale found his true calling as the voice of the fans. Some would prefer the intellectual, X’s and O’s type of color commentator. Those are the same people that eat their cereal dry and settle on chocolate ice cream every trip to Baskin Robbins. What a waste of 30 other flavors.

Try watching a popular television sitcom like “Friends” or “Seinfeld” without the added laugh track. The jokes are unchanged, but you likely won’t find yourself laughing as frequently or as heartily. Dick Vitale has been the equivalent of college basketball’s laugh track for over three decades. He has brought the game to fans through the eyes of a fan, for that is what he most assuredly is, first and foremost.

If college basketball had its own Mount Rushmore to honor the sport’s greatest ambassadors, Vitale’s likeness would be proudly displayed alongside the legendary John Wooden. The other two busts are debatable. Don’t expect Dickie V to see his chrome dome chiseled into a mountain anytime soon (or ever for that matter), although something tells me that he’d rather have his name etched on the court of a mid-major program like Detroit.

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