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Dickie V Feeling Awesome Again, BABY!

Michael Spooneybarger / Tampa Tribune

Dick Vitale sits with some of the get well stuff he has gotten at his home in Lakewood Ranch.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 27, 2008

Updated: 01/27/2008 12:14 am

LAKEWOOD RANCH - Twenty-six days.

Dick Vitale went that long without speaking.

The unmistakable voice, synonymous with ESPN's coverage of college basketball for nearly three decades, was shut down Dec. 18 after ulcerated lesions were surgically removed from his left vocal cord.

Twenty-six days of silence.

Twenty-six days of agony.

"Ordinarily, Dick not talking for five minutes is unbelievable," said Howie Schwab, Vitale's close friend and right-hand man at ESPN. "This was impossible."

But Vitale's career - maybe his life - depended on it.

Two weeks ago, he was at Massachusetts General Hospital, being examined by Steven Zeitels, a world-renowned laryngologist who performed the surgery. It was time.

"OK, Dick, talk to me," Zeitels said.

Vitale froze in fear.

"What if a different sound comes out?" Vitale remembers thinking. "What if nothing comes out?"

Zeitels tried again.

"You can do it. Just count to 10."

Vitale gathered himself.

One ... two ... three ... four ...

If all goes well, Vitale will return to the airwaves Feb. 6 in a big way with the showcase of Duke at North Carolina, a game he hasn't missed in 29 seasons. Just the thought of it practically moves him to tears of joy.

Witnessing Vitale on a typical morning at his favorite restaurant, The Broken Egg, you'd never guess anything had changed for Dickie V.

In Vitale's own words, he is 68, going on 12. Every day is another visit to the candy store.

There he was, reading his newspapers, sorting through his mail, sipping some soup and still greeting a steady procession of well-wishers to his outdoor table.

Posing for pictures.

Signing autographs.

"Can you say it?" said Betty Smithers, a visitor from Ohio. "Just once?"

Vitale, failing to suppress a grin, ramped the enthusiasm up to full blast, but kept the volume a few octaves lower.

"Betty, you are awesome, baby!"

Vitale paused.

"It feels good to say that again," he said. "It feels good to say anything again."

Getting Some Grim News

Twenty-six days without speaking?

"I couldn't have done it without my rock, my best friend, the most important person in my life," Vitale said.

His wife, Lorraine.

Or, as Schwab calls her, "Saint Lorraine."

Vitale couldn't do games, but he maintained work on his Web sites, did his customary legwork and communicated with friends - all through Lorraine. Using a dry-erase board, pens and notepads, he furiously scribbled his thoughts, requests, questions and statements.

Being Vitale's interpreter, she said, was a full-time job.

"It was comical," said Lorraine, who doted on her husband, as did the couple's daughters, Sherri and Terri, who live five minutes away in the same Lakewood Ranch neighborhood. "Dick writes like he talks - fast and furious.

"We heard from basketball coaches who said, 'Lorraine, believe me, you'll be the biggest beneficiary of this silence.' But I was working harder than ever. It was easier to laugh than it was to cry. There were some scary, scary moments."

Early in the season, Vitale noticed his voice was raspy, a bit hoarse. He didn't think it was anything. Still, he saw three or four throat specialists, who essentially told him it was some acid reflux acting up. Just take it easy. Rest the voice more often.

But the sensation didn't go away.

Vitale's son-in-law, a surgeon, insisted he see Daniel Deems, a throat doctor new to the Sarasota area. He expected another routine doctor visit. He got a jolt.

"I see something down there," Deems told Vitale. "I don't think it's cancer, but it's abnormal. We need another set of eyes to look at it."

The best set of eyes.

Entering the Boston office of Zeitels, a pioneer in the field of voice disorders, Vitale noticed the array of autographed photos along the wall.

Steven Tyler, lead singer for Aerosmith. Julie Andrews. Ozzy Osbourne. Cher.

All praising the work of Zeitels. Some writing to say thanks for saving their career.

Zeitels was blunt.

He discovered a damaged vocal cord with lesions that had to be removed immediately. Cancer was a possibility. He wouldn't know until surgery.

Vitale, who has devoted much of his life to cancer-research fundraising for the Jimmy V Foundation, was devastated. He wept to Zeitels, wondering why this hadn't been detected during previous examinations.

Before the procedure, Vitale prayed to St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes. His apprehension soon subsided. No cancer was found. In recovery, Vitale got immediate relief when seeing the prearranged thumbs-up signal from friend and colleague John Saunders.

Then came the really difficult task - nearly one month without talking.

He didn't know so many people would fill the void, speaking with such loving eloquence.

Overwhelmed By The Support

ESPN's Jay Bilas was succinct.

"Our sport hasn't been the same this season without Dick broadcasting the games," Bilas said. "He has been terribly missed."

By everyone.

The Dallas Cowboys sent a helmet, bearing the autograph of every player (yes, Vitale even got a T.O., baby, from Terrell Owens).

He received holy water from Lourdes and rosary beads blessed by Pope Benedict XVI.

There were constant telephone calls from coaches such as Bobby Knight, Mike Krzyzewski, Billy Donovan, Gary Williams, Rick Pitino and John Calipari.

The Vitale home nearly had to establish its own ZIP code. Letters and cards poured in daily, and Vitale answered each one with a handwritten response (his postage bill in January exceeded $2,000).

A former Missouri football player, who lost his eye in a hunting accident, sent his well-wishes. He attached a copy of an encouraging note Vitale sent him years earlier.

A 50-year-old man who once attended Vitale's basketball camp - as a 4-foot-11, 98-pound, 13-year-old - told him to stay strong. After he had been repeatedly knocked down and teased by other players, Vitale took him aside, put an arm around him. Play with heart and never give up, Vitale said. Those words, the man wrote, gave him strength through the years.

"People and relationships are the best part of what I do," said Vitale, whose recovery was complicated by a recent bladder infection that required another outpatient surgical procedure. "I know my career is going to end. But I'd like it to be when I'm 75 and I wake up and I say, 'You know, I don't want to do this anymore. It has been a great ride.'

"I don't want my throat to knock me out. And I thought that was happening. I thought it was all over, that I'd never do another game. I was down, really down. But the love from so many people - and, of course, the constant attention from my family - has lifted me right back up. I feel like the luckiest man in the world."

Vitale has always felt that way.

His father, John, made a living by pressing coats in New Jersey, seven days a week. At night, he worked as a security guard. His mother, Mae, sewed coats in the family basement. She struggled to walk after suffering a stroke. But she never missed daily Mass.

"They taught me how to love, how to treat people," Vitale said. "I was never a great basketball player or a big-time coach. Doors weren't opened for me. I had to scrap.

"My mother always told me, 'Richie, you're going to make it because you have spirit, and they can't hold your spirit back.' When I look at how my parents worked, I feel like I'm stealing money. I am absolutely living the dream, baby. This has just been a little detour."

When he's courtside again, Vitale will appreciate his career even more. He'll cut down on his radio interviews. He's on orders to not talk above the crowd in social settings or constantly scream into the microphone.

"I never even considered something like this happening to Dick," Lorraine said. "His voice has always been so strong. You never think it could go away. It's frightening.

"What they say is true: When you have your health, you have everything. Dick has been so pumped up by people thinking about him and praying for him. There's just no way to express our gratitude."

You only need to look into Vitale's eyes, awash with emotion, as he ponders the reaction to his recent plight.

Sometimes, even when you're Dick Vitale, words aren't needed.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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