Dick Vitale Declares For The NBA

Not content with running roughshod over the world of college basketball, Dickie V is taking his considerable, um ... "talents" to the next level, as he will call the Miami-Denver game for ESPN this Wednesday.

It seems that NORBY(!) got it in his pretty little head to switch the announcing crews from his college basketball and NBA rosters for one night. Vitale and Dan Schulman will work the NBA game, while MikeTirico, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson will handle the Davidison-Duke tilt earlier in the evening. Why? Why not?!

''It's a natural progression to make connections between college basketball and the NBA,'' ESPN executive Norby Williamson said. ``The commentators involved have strong ties with the other level, which will prompt engaging dialogue. Dick, Mark and Jeff are universally recognized as leading basketball experts.''

Hear that? Universally. He also added that Vitale has "working knowledge" of the Heat roster (i.e., he's seen Dwayne Wade's TV commercials), so there's no cause for alarm. Of course, that doesn't explain how Davidson golden boy Stephen Curry will play a game in Cameron Indoor Arena and Dick Vitale will not be in the building. I thought that was like an FCC regulation or something.

Dick Vitale returns to NBA - for one game [Miami Herald]