Sports TV News
Dick Vitale Emotional In Return To TV
“I never dreamt at 82 that I’d ever be courtside again.”

Published
6 months agoon

The legendary Dick Vitale made his return to the broadcast booth Tuesday night for the first time since he was diagnosed with lymphoma. It was certainly an emotional scene.
Vitale and his broadcast partner Dave O’Brian were getting ready to call the highly anticipated matchup between #1 Gonzaga and #2 UCLA in Las Vegas. Vitale was very emotional during O’Brian’s intro and had a hard timing keeping himself together.
An emotional Dick Vitale returns to the booth. pic.twitter.com/zSK4OLNZWy
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 24, 2021
“Dickie, it is so great to see you,” said O’Brien. “I know that you would not miss this. All of you are aware that Dick is battling cancer. The fact that you’ve made it out to Las Vegas for a game that I know you had circled for a long, long time. It’s just awesome. Great to see you.”
“It’s great being here, Dave,” Dick Vitale said fighting back tears. “I didn’t wanna cry! I can’t believe I’m sitting here. It’s just really a big thrill for me. I wanna to thank all you people, sending me so many great messages.
“ESPN, [ESPN President] Jimmy Pitaro, all of my buddies at ESPN. I wanna thank, certainly, my family and all the fans. My, you’ve been unbelievable. On October 12th – I’ll be honest with you – when they walked in and told me I had cancer, they thought it was bile duct cancer and it really was going to be a serious surgery and all.
“I never dreamt at 82 that I’d ever be courtside again. But to be here today, I’m sorry. I hope I don’t cause a problem out there, but I mean, it’s a little emotional.”
“Don’t apologize for anything,” said O’Brien. “Well, and the game is the big thing,” said Vitale. “Let’s get this game going, talk some basketball.”
In the end, Gonzaga pulled away from UCLA, burying the Bruins 83-63. The outcome of the game wasn’t really the headline. Far more people took to Twitter to express their joy in seeing Dick Vitale back on TV.
Dick Vitale in tears gives all the feels right now. It’s Go Time.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) November 24, 2021
No one in the history of the sport has done more to popularize college basketball. It was comforting to flip to the final 10 minutes of UCLA/Gonzaga and hear Dick Vitale on the call. https://t.co/9hCUKkVlUo
— Mo Egger (@MoEgger) November 24, 2021
Dick Vitale is a treasure and it’s wonderful to see him doing what he loves again. The joy he brings to everything he does is uplifting.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 24, 2021
Dick Vitale is a Saint. https://t.co/PlYIRq6x8Y
— Carrington Harrison (@cdotharrison) November 24, 2021
Love @DickieV
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) November 24, 2021
What a return pic.twitter.com/XUHLwkxOq4
Unreal passion for everything he does in life. Hoops, work, family, friends, etc. There is no one else like him ♥️♥️ congratulations @DickieV https://t.co/5cjaPb8gfr
— Kris Budden (@KrisBudden) November 24, 2021
Dick Vitale is crying so now we're all crying.
— Bobby Reagan (@BarstoolReags) November 24, 2021
Dick Vitale is an INSPIRATION. https://t.co/MRflcmzo4B
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 18, 2021
Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a daily news writer and social media assistant for BSM. He is a graduate of Ithaca University, contributor to the Syracuse Mets, and aspires to work behind the scenes in sports media in the future. He can be found on Twitter @Reice_Shipley18 or you may reach him by email at RShipley@ithaca.edu.
Sports TV News
Peter King: ‘Tom Brady Needs To Study Cris Collinsworth’
“He’ll know that to be good, he has to get out of his comfort zone of all niceties and tell it like it is.”
Published
39 mins agoon
May 16, 2022By
BSM Staff
Peter King dedicated a not-insignificant portion of his “Football Morning in America” column this week to advice for Tom Brady. FOX announced last week that the Buccaneers’ quarterback will become the network’s lead NFL analyst upon his retirement.
Brady’s decision and his reported salary have been the source of much speculation and prediction amongst his soon-to-be colleagues.
King is optimistic that Tom Brady will be entertaining and informative when he makes his FOX debut. He did offer the GOAT a little bit of advice about what he should be doing in the months leading up to calling it quits on his playing days and starting his new career.
“I think what I’d do if I were Brady is study Cris Collinsworth—and honest to goodness, I don’t say that because I work for NBC,” he wrote. “I say it because Collinsworth knows how to talk X’s-and-O’s conversationally, he’s an easy listen, and he can criticize when the time comes.”
Interestingly, last week, Collinsworth says he hears from most former players that are getting ready to make the jump to broadcasting. He was surprised he never heard from Tom Brady before FOX announced their deal.
King had two other suggestions. The first was that Brady watch multiple games from start to finish so that he can hear what the give-and-take between a broadcaster and analyst sounds like. The other is that he has to commit to being interesting and not censoring himself. King has faith that Brady will be able to do that.
“He’ll know that to be good, he has to get out of his comfort zone of all niceties and tell it like it is. On that LeBron James show last year, Brady said, ‘Ninety percent of what I say is not what I’m thinking. There’s a part of me that doesn’t like conflict, so in the end I always just try to play it super-flat.’ That has to end once he’s on TV if he wants to be any good.”
Sports TV News
Nick Wright Critical Of ABC Crew As Giannis Antetokounmpo Struggles In Game 7
“He reminded his followers on Twitter that the two-time MVP has put together some amazing performances in this series.”
Published
5 hours agoon
May 16, 2022By
BSM Staff
Giannis Antetokounmpo started hot in Game 7 on Sunday. By the time the game ended though, the Boston Celtics were on their way to Miami for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals and the defending champions were headed back to Milwaukee.
The Celtics’ defense gave the Milwaukee Bucks fits in the second half. The ABC broadcast put a special spotlight on Antetokounmpo, who got multiple drives to the basket that he could not finish.
“The best has got to show up when the best is needed, and Giannis has been disappointing,” said Mark Jackson over a package of highlights of Giannis missing shots. “As great of a player as he is, given credit to the Celtics’ defense, but he has struggled offensively time and time again.”
Nick Wright of FS1 noticed and he didn’t appreciate it. He reminded his followers on Twitter that the two-time MVP has put together some amazing performances in this series.
Giannis had 44-20-6 in Game 6 to potentially win the series. The broadcast trying to turn the screws on him is ludicrous.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) May 15, 2022
Mike Been, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy were not particularly hard on Giannis. The trio made the typical comments we hear when things aren’t going a great player’s way.
Wright did not harp on the issue beyond the single tweet. The outcome was not in doubt as the clock winded down. He gave credit to the Celtics rather than tweet about the Bucks or Giannis.
Congrats to the Celtics. They fought for the best possible seed all the way through, and it paid massive dividends.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) May 15, 2022
Tatum delivered an all time Game 6, going toe to toe with one of the greatest to ever play, and then they played the ultimate team game in Game 7.
They earned it.
Sports TV News
Stephanie McMahon: WWE Is A Better Advertising Investment Than Sports
“We can script the buzzer-beater moments, we can script the Hail Marys.”

Published
6 hours agoon
May 16, 2022
Everyone knows that professional wrestling is scripted. The storylines, the outcomes of matches, all of it is predetermined. But in the eyes of WWE, that’s what makes their product so different, and better than traditional sports.
WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon told Deadline that when it comes to pitching advertisers, sports entertainment allows room for a range of different approaches to make something work.
“We can script the buzzer-beater moments, we can script the Hail Marys,” she said. “We have a leg up on sports. … You may object to what we do, but you’re never going to be bored.”
McMahon added that WWE has a much easier process in dealing with sponsors. Everything is handled in-house.
“We own all of the IP,” she said. “When brands deal with us, they just deal with us. We create something together.”
WWE is coming off a positive Q1 earnings report, which had the company up 27% in total revenue. Its two weekly primetime shows, Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown, continue to do well in ratings, and all special and pay-per-view events, in addition to its streaming platform WWE Network, are all housed on Peacock.
Jordan Bondurant
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett News Media. He also works for ABC8 News and Newsradio WRVA and 910 The Fan in Richmond, Virginia. His prior experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly and iHeartradio Richmond. He can be reached by email at Jordan.E.Bondurant@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.