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Dick Vitale was primed for his return to college basketball broadcasting next weekend for the Duke-Wake Forest game, but an accident suffered at his home in Florida has put that comeback on hold, Vitale announced in a statement on Saturday.
The one positive in his unfortunate announcement was that this was unrelated to the recent cancer issues that have plagued the 85-year-old college basketball broadcasting legend. The accident Vitale suffered has “created some new health challenges and near-term physical limitations for me.”
Here is Vitale’s full statement:
On Jan. 8, Vitale announced that his vocal cords were cancer-free and that he was given the green light to return to calling games for ESPN. But just 10 days later, that comeback that was supposed to take place next Saturday at Wake Forest with third-ranked Duke in the building has been put on hold.
“Now, I’m just going to have to wait some more,” said Vitale in the statement. “I’m not sure exactly when that will be, yet I’m expected to make a full recovery and will provide updates when I have more information.”
Vitale has been the lifeblood of college basketball for decades now, calling games for ESPN with his own brand of style and passion.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
