Dick Vitale is missing yet another UNC-Duke game tonight, having been dispatched to Louisville for tonight's battle between Virginia and the Cardinals. And Dickie V used his podium to launch into a strenuous defense of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, declaring the Orange skipper "not a cheater."

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"It is brutal out - stranded at airport" is the caption that accompanied this photo on Dickie V's Instagram account.

Dick Vitale thinks you should give up if you can't "get lucky" with some Barry Manilow on the ol' gramophone. That's right, Dickie V. is back on the concert circuit and last night he live-tweeted a Barry Manilow show. He's still basically just tweeting the names of the songs in all caps and randomly mentioning Twitter…

Sometimes Dick Vitale is just the best. Last night he went to a Billy Joel concert and live-tweeted the experience. Something you should know: Dick Vitale live-tweeting a Billy Joel concert is basically a stream of tweets with just the names of Billy Joel songs in all caps.

This week marks the start of Dick Vitale's 35th year at ESPN. That's longer than many of his colleagues have been alive. To celebrate, ESPN has put together this video of 35 on-air personalities offering up their memories of Vitale, well wishes, and in most cases, impersonations.

Dick Vitale compared Arian Foster to a prostitute last night and apologized for it this morning.

@karllwallenda wish u buddy our best - - Vitale family is praying that ur dream is a reality-u told me that u r ready - Do it #skywire

I don't know how I missed this when it was initially announced, but there has been a (talking!) Dick Vitale Fathead for more than three years.

Here's a piece in today's Wall Street Journal from Ben Cohen, Duke '10, former Deadspin intern and author of An Illustrated History of Duke Basketball: A Legacy of Achievement, this column on why you shouldn't hate Duke, and this series of columns on why you should like Duke.

From the tip box: "Usher at Michigan-Ohio State basketball texted me that she saw Dick Vitale walk face first into a glass door right before the game. All by-standers thought he was concussed. He has had black eyes slowly forming throughout the broadcast and has been mis-pronouncing player names more than usual."

The reader who sent this to us (click to enlarge) said it was taken at the Fontainebleau in Miami, sometime Wednesday night, sometime after Dickie V.'s Dookies got thumped by the Hurricanes. We haven't been able to verify any of that, but we think the image speaks for itself. [Update (7:10 p.m.): The PR manager of the…