Dickie V: MU fans will love Wojo

[warriorchick]

http://espn.go.com/espn/dickvitale/story/_/id/11311963/steve-wojciechowski-taking-storied-marquette-program

[HutchwasClutch]

When is the last time Dukie V had anything interesting or insightful to say? 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Pretty standard puff piece. Doesn't say much of anything.

Clearly another example of ESPN's plot to destroy the Big East

[rocket surgeon]

nice things to say from dickie.  like him or not, people do listen to what he has to say.  this article was read by many people-great p.r. for marquette.  oh, buzz who?

[Anti-Dentite]

He's a PTPer baby, a real diaper dandy....I don't care for Dick.

[Aughnanure]

When is the last time Dukie V had anything interesting or insightful to say? 

When was the last time ESPN posted something positive about Marquette?

[Tugg Speedman]

When was the last time ESPN posted something positive about Marquette?

March/April 2003

[GGGG]

Sometimes I think we have the most insecure fanbase on planet earth. 

[mu03eng]

Sometimes I think we have the most insecure fanbase on planet earth. 

Naw just the message board parts of the fanbase.

Seriously though, don't let the Scoop echo chamber get to you, every fanbase has some sort of "they are out to get us" complex about something.  Though I would agree that we take it to a special place....probably has to do with being a tiny hill of sanity surround by the big red hoard of vadger alumni and wanna-bes clamoring for our destruction at every turn

Or we need prozac

[mu03eng]

In the 90's when I was in middle school and high school, I loved Dickie V, thought he was the best.  Got to college and that slowly started to change, now it's to the point that I pretty openly loathe him.  This happen to anyone else?  If I'm being mean, I suspect its because it took me until high school to become intellectually superior to Dickie V.

[GGGG]

In the 90's when I was in middle school and high school, I loved Dickie V, thought he was the best.  Got to college and that slowly started to change, now it's to the point that I pretty openly loathe him.  This happen to anyone else?  If I'm being mean, I suspect its because it took me until high school to become intellectually superior to Dickie V.

Yes.  He is a caricature of himself.  In the 80s he was a high energy guy and that energy was genuine.  Now he just does this for the sake of doing it.

I blame ESPN for this.  They ruined John Madden for instance.  He was great when he first came up on CBS because he was also an energy guy who had a knack for describing fairly complex football plays relatively simply.  When he got to ESPN, they must have told him to hype it up because he became unbearable.  When he returned to NBC to finish his career, his act toned down quite a bit and his knowledge shown through again.

It's way too late for Dickie V though.  He was never great in the analyst department anyway.

[NersEllenson]

Sometimes I think we have the most insecure fanbase on planet earth. 

Agree.

Yes.  He is a caricature of himself.  In the 80s he was a high energy guy and that energy was genuine.  Now he just does this for the sake of doing it.

I blame ESPN for this.  They ruined John Madden for instance.  He was great when he first came up on CBS because he was also an energy guy who had a knack for describing fairly complex football plays relatively simply.  When he got to ESPN, they must have told him to hype it up because he became unbearable.  When he returned to NBC to finish his career, his act toned down quite a bit and his knowledge shown through again.

It's way too late for Dickie V though.  He was never great in the analyst department anyway.

I loved Dickie V in the 80s and 90s.  Not so much of late.  Regarding Madden - Did he ever go to ESPN/NBC?  I only recall him going from CBS to Fox when Fox bought the NFC game rights?  Always enjoyed the Madden and Sumerall team - though Summerall lost it pretty bad his last 3-5 years.

[muwarrior69]

Pretty standard puff piece. Doesn't say much of anything.

Clearly another example of ESPN's plot to destroy the Big East

At least the facts were correct: he knew the players names; those who graduated and Mayo leaving and who might be an impact player this year. Quite refreshing in fact from what we have seen from other articles since Wojo's hire.

[warriorchick]

Sometimes I think we have the most insecure fanbase on planet earth. 

Seems to be as good a time as any to break out my new signature....

[mu03eng]

Yes.  He is a caricature of himself.  In the 80s he was a high energy guy and that energy was genuine.  Now he just does this for the sake of doing it.

I blame ESPN for this.  They ruined John Madden for instance.  He was great when he first came up on CBS because he was also an energy guy who had a knack for describing fairly complex football plays relatively simply.  When he got to ESPN, they must have told him to hype it up because he became unbearable.  When he returned to NBC to finish his career, his act toned down quite a bit and his knowledge shown through again.

It's way too late for Dickie V though.  He was never great in the analyst department anyway.

Same could be said for Chris Berman....though he had a lot more blow hard in him naturally then I ever realized as a kid

PS.  I stopped watching ESPN 3 years ago, but I do miss NFL Primetime, next to College GameDay it was the best thing they had on air.

[GGGG]

I loved Dickie V in the 80s and 90s.  Not so much of late.  Regarding Madden - Did he ever go to ESPN/NBC?  I only recall him going from CBS to Fox when Fox bought the NFC game rights?  Always enjoyed the Madden and Sumerall team - though Summerall lost it pretty bad his last 3-5 years.

In the early 2000s, Madden left Fox to work on Monday Night Football with Michaels.  While it was on ABC, ESPN by that time was doing all of their sports production.

When NBC got the Sunday Night Games, he moved there along with Michaels.

[keefe]

Yes.  He is a caricature of himself.  In the 80s he was a high energy guy and that energy was genuine. 

Genuine? From Day One those of us from Al's time saw Vitale as an impoverished McGuire. Both as a coach and as an announcer he was a blatant rip-off of Al. McGuire was unique and sincere; Vitale was a fraud.

[Lennys Tap]

Genuine? From Day One those of us from Al's time saw Vitale as an impoverished McGuire. Both as a coach and as an announcer he was a blatant rip-off of Al. McGuire was unique and sincere; Vitale was a fraud.

I agree with Sultan that his ENERGY was genuine, but you're right that his schtick was stolen from Al. To make it worse, he used a greatly inflated version of his relationship with McGuire ("my good friend, Al", etc.) to give himself legitimacy. I wasn't a fan when he was at the top of his mostly pilfered game - even less of one now that he's lost his mediocre to begin with fastball.

[tower912]

Seems to be as good a time as any to break out my new signature....

I've had a version of that for years. 

[DoggyDaddy]

The piece was good for MU and for Wojo.
I remember Vitale as a coach: he was Al on crystal meth. One could almost see his goggle-eyed (he wore thick glasses back then) head separate from his neck at a bad call.
As an announcer he is of course way over the top as well, especially with his reverence for Duke.  But he always loved Al and that combination bodes well for future attention. Bet he does a spot about Wojo early in the season, maybe even provide "color" for one of our games.
And remember this: he is not Digger Phelps.  

[brandx]

The piece was good for MU and for Wojo.
I remember Vitale as a coach: he was Al on crystal meth. One could almost see his goggle-eyed (he wore thick glasses back then) head separate from his neck at a bad call.
As an announcer he is of course way over the top as well, especially with his reverence for Duke.  But he always loved Al and that combination bodes well for future attention. Bet he does a spot about Wojo early in the season, maybe even provide "color" for one of our games.
And remember this: he is not Digger Phelps.  

True!!

Dickie V was a much, much better coach.

(No sarcasm.)

[mu03eng]

True!!

Dickie V was a much, much better coach.

(No sarcasm.)

And human being

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I don't know how that article can lead to criticism of Dick Vitale. Also, although I think his announcing style has worn a little thin, Vitale seems like a genuinely enthusiastic and decent person. If you follow his twitter feed, you'd think it's written by a teenager...and I say that in a complimentary way. The dude live tweeted a Lionel Ritchie concert, for chrissakes!!

[CTWarrior]

I don't know how that article can lead to criticism of Dick Vitale. Also, although I think his announcing style has worn a little thin, Vitale seems like a genuinely enthusiastic and decent person. If you follow his twitter feed, you'd think it's written by a teenager...and I say that in a complimentary way. The dude live tweeted a Lionel Ritchie concert, for chrissakes!!

This hits it right.  His schtick seems genuine, though I personally have grown tired of it.  He knows a lot about the subject of college hoops, has been in the trenches, and is a constant and enthusiastic supporter of the sport.  OK, he loves everything Duke and Norda Dame a little too much.  I'd much rather see this on ESPN.com than the usual knock or back-handed compliment we usually seem to get since the Big East split.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Same could be said for Chris Berman....though he had a lot more blow hard in him naturally then I ever realized as a kid

PS.  I stopped watching ESPN 3 years ago, but I do miss NFL Primetime, next to College GameDay it was the best thing they had on air.

I stopped around the same time too with the sole exception being the ~30 MU games they still had every year. Now that we're on FS1, it's virtually never. My life is much better for it.

[Newsdreams]

Found this:

"TV always kind of confused Al. He never took himself too seriously. In a way, Dick Vitale does a lot of Al, only he shouts it louder. Vitale is a star and he acts like a star. Al never did."

--- Dick Enberg

[HutchwasClutch]

Yes.  He is a caricature of himself.  In the 80s he was a high energy guy and that energy was genuine.  Now he just does this for the sake of doing it.

+1- all it is now is schtick that Vitale does.  He acts like a wind up toy, wind it up and he spits out the same gibberish, like that blowhard Berman, whose player nicknames/word plays wore thin, oh about, 1989. 

[HutchwasClutch]

When was the last time ESPN posted something positive about Marquette?

You've got to be kidding if this truly bothers you, or if you give it a second of thought even.  Wow.

[GurneeHitchkr]

[said in Dickie's classic voice]

"Mr. Windex....he cleans the glass, baby"

"He's a P.T.er.  Prime Time Player"

"He's a Diaper Dandy"

[Texas Western]

I remember the days when Dick was coaching at the U of Detroit, it was a lot of fun. He was an excellent college basketball coach who really understand the city kids, their game and how to recruit. I believe if he would have stayed coaching in college he would have had a very successful career. He had a bad experience when he went to the pros and then went to ESPN in its infancy. He rode the ESPN cable wave and built his own brand and made a few bucks . He is a genuine guy who actually does have great respect for MU and our tradition. So I consider this a positive piece and well written.

[Warrior Code]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wIfIw4R2kEo

[GB Warrior]

Naw just the message board parts of the fanbase.

Seriously though, don't let the Scoop echo chamber get to you, every fanbase has some sort of "they are out to get us" complex about something.  Though I would agree that we take it to a special place....probably has to do with being a tiny hill of sanity surround by the big red hoard of vadger alumni and wanna-bes clamoring for our destruction at every turn

Or we need prozac

Are these mutually exclusive options?

[rocket surgeon]

vitale was 79-29 as a coach at the college level.  i'd say, pretty decent, but the jury should still be out as for how good he was.  his claim to fame was 1977 when he beat marquette and went onto the sweet 16. o.k., then what?  in the nba he was 34-60.  smart guy to take those numbers and turn himself into a "poor mans" al mcguire?  dickie v prided himself on knowing "everybody".  how many times does he say something like, speaking of pope francis, i just had lunch with him earlier today... or just fill in the blank of any celebrity du jour and he probably named his kid after him.  dickie v is just one of those people though, if you met him in person, you'd probably get a kick out of it, but he's still a jack.  that is how he's parlayed his "mediocre" coaching career into $$$.   

[WarriorInNYC]

I think this is some good press for Marquette, and I love reading anything about our program from national media outlets, but this article seems to say absolutely nothing.  There really is not much substance in there.

[We R Final Four]

Didn't DV say similar things about Collins when he went to NU?
Any disciple of Coach K is a winner in Dick's book.

[LAZER]

Didn't DV say similar things about Collins when he went to NU?
Any disciple of Coach K is a winner in Dick's book.

Well at least Collins is off to a good start.

[keefe]

Well at least Collins is off to a good start.

Well, let's hope Wojo's start is a lot better than Collins' was...

[mu03eng]

Didn't DV say similar things about Collins when he went to NU?
Any disciple of dump Coach K takes is a winner in Dick's book.

FIFY

[LAZER]

Well, let's hope Wojo's start is a lot better than Collins' was...

Ha agreed, it's all relative though.  Collins in his '14 and '15 classes seems to have already brought the talent level at NU up a notch.

[leever]

....I don't care for Dick.

Good to know

[We R Final Four]

Well at least Collins is off to a good start.

Wojo is off to a bad start??

[keefe]

I agree with Sultan that his ENERGY was genuine, but you're right that his schtick was stolen from Al. To make it worse, he used a greatly inflated version of his relationship with McGuire ("my good friend, Al", etc.) to give himself legitimacy. I wasn't a fan when he was at the top of his mostly pilfered game - even less of one now that he's lost his mediocre to begin with fastball.

Lenny

Sultan was spot on about Vitale's energy but I found that hyper active behavior only served to make his plagiarism all the more annoying. People who suggest he was a great coach miss the point - he was a broadcaster who made himself larger than the story. The fact that his act was a vulgar imitation of Al McGuire made it repulsive.

[WarriorFan]

Dickie V is an annoying loudmouth.  I watch his games with the volume off or find alternate coverage by radio.

The article looks like it was written by the winner of a 4th grade contest to "Write an article for Dickie V". 

ESPN.com must give him a minimum monthly word count, which became obvious when he named Bob Dukiet and Mike Deane.  They are part of MU's legacy, but certainly part we would rather have never seen!

[keefe]

Mike Deane...part of MU's legacy, but certainly part we would rather have never seen!

Oh, I don't know about this. No one in the annals of Marquette Basketball lore publicly sank their molars into female ass cheek with quite the same gusto as Mike Deane. There is something to that, actually.

[4everwarriors]

Problem is Deane is visually challenged and was frantically looking for nipples on those ass cheeks.

[Dawson Rental]

I've had a version of that for years. 

I prefer your version, but warriorchick has a wall to post her's on.

[Dawson Rental]

I think this is some good press for Marquette, and I love reading anything about our program from national media outlets, but this article seems to say absolutely nothing.  There really is not much substance in there.

Consider the source (author).