By LARRY VAUGHT
Dick Vitale said he enjoyed getting a chance to speak to the John Calipari fantasy campers during a recent trip to Lexington and was impressed with the way Calipari conducted the camp.
“Everything he does right now is done first class. I admire his generosity and the way he extends his hand to help people should be applauded,” Vitale said. “Critics always wil have something negative to say, but look at the positives. He’s been unbelievable. I’m not amazed at the recruiting job he’s done at Kentucky. I watched what he did at UMass. With what he has now, he will get his share of players.
“The thing that has impressed me and what means al ot to me is he is a friend and he hasn’t changed in terms of his passion and love for people. That’s unique and special. I had a great time at his camp.”
He said the campers “brought me to tears” with standing ovations during his talk.
Vitale had been to a Tampa fundraiser the night before for pediatric cancer and shared a story about a young girl who found out on Christmas Eve she had leukemia and a story about another girl getting ready to start her high school senior season when she learned her cancer had returned.
“It meant a lot to me to go anywhere I could raise money for pediatric cancer,” Vitale said after receiving a $25,000 check from the camp for pediatric cancer that will go toward his annual goal of raising $1 million — a goal he shattered last year by raising $2.1 million.
“I am 73 and the campers said I had the energy of a 12 year old,” Vitale laughed and said. “I take that as a big compliment. The last chapter of my life, I want to give back more. I’m in 11 hall of fames, but you can’t get in without people being good to you.
“I told the campers two things I learned from my mother and father, who had fifth-grade educations. Never believe in can’t and the second one is be good to people and they will be good to you,” Vitale said. “I cannot satisfy everybody, but I try not to hurt anybody. I get amazed when I read comments that ‘he hates Kentucky because he says they were wrong for firing Tubby (Smith).’ That is so ridiculous. I love basketball and how can you not love what transpires at Rupp Arena. Most UK fans are terrific.”
19 Responses to Dick Vitale admires generosity of John Calipari
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All UK fans except those that felt Tubby Smith was taking the program we love in the wrong direction?
I have always been a Vitale fan. I don’t believe he has been overly critical of UK. Yes, he is a little over the top at times and Yes, he is definitely a Puke and Crapolina homer. However, he also has plenty of admiration for other programs, including UK. He usually speaks very highly of the UK program and often brings it up during non-UK games he is doing. He is also a great ambassador for college basketball and a great humanitarian. His efforts in fund raising for many organizations and causes will be remembered, just as much as his commentating.
I respect Vitale when it comes to charity work. I would respect him even more if he got on his soap box and would stand up to Bob Knight. If he was such a big fan of Cal he should stick up for him.
He has spoke against BK in relation to his outbursts about UK Academics.
“Most” UK fans are terrific??? I guess that doesn’t include the ones that should keep any coach from taking the job as basketball coach. Does he think we forgot he said that? And that’s far, far, far from all that he’s said about UK. He accused of being racists so many times it was insane. There’s a reason he brought an armed guard with him to Lexington after insulting UK way back when. I haven’t forgotten the things he did then either. He can deny being anti-UK until the cows come home. I’m not buying it.
Yes he seems to like Calipari. But he has proven he does not like UK fans. He does not like UK either. He showed his anti-UK fan bias by telling “all” basketball coaches to avoid taking the UK job. He showed his anti-UK bias by claiming “things had gotten so bad at UK” that Eddie Sutton needed to retire. He said that on the air. He said it over that stupid envelope baloney that has as much basis in reality as the tooth fairy. Let’s talk about the money awarded to Dwane Casey by Emery in the lawsuit he filed against them. And how Vitale knew things were so bad at UK is beyond anything I ever heard. If you want to make comments like that you dang sure better have facts to back them up. But that’s beyond his ability apparently. He said it, offered no proof and tried to act like it didn’t happen. That’s what required the armed guard for him at Rupp.
Does everyone here realize that Coach K asked him to stop talking about Duke so much when he was calling other team’s games? Vitale goes on and on about how he always roots for greatness but it’s funny how I’ve never heard him mention Corey Maggette or Duke players flopping 75 times a game. That’s cheating. They try to get fouls called that didn’t happen. Cheating. But according to Vitale, K is as pure as the driven snow. So is the entire state of North Carolina. If you haven’t seen him gushing about NC in that tv commercial he made about the state you should invest in a barf bag before viewing it. It’s on YouTube under ” Dick Vitale talks about North Carolina”. But Kentucky? Coaches should avoid us UK fans completely. We’re all racists. No doubt that’s why we are complaining about Joker too. Never mind losing games to mid-major teams. Never mind not making the Final 4 in a decade with Smith as coach. It was racism that drove him out. He’s a great man don’t you know. I wonder why we never heard about Smith giving back to the community like Cal?
Yeah I know I get on a rant about Vitale. I just think people should be aware of the facts when considering his relationship with UK.
You got a link or audio file about the UK fans are racists or coaches should avoid UK?
Oh yes. I certainly do. See my other post. The racist accusations are not as direct as the coaches should stay away comment but they’re available. It may take a while to find them but the comment about coaches avoiding UK has been on YouTube for years. And he insinuates racism there BTW. It’s just not as blatant. But I’ve watched him for many years and I know what he’s saying. As for the comment about Donovan and other coaches staying away I can’t believe you don’t know about it. Everyone else does.
Ditto, King, big double ditto. I think it is admirable that he does raise money for charities but can you imagine what people would say if he didn’t do it. I remember when Bill Gates didn’t give to charity and how people talked about him and then all of a sudden he was a savior for setting up his foundation. You can thank his wife and Warren Buffet for that.
I not only get sick and tired of him talking about puke and coach k, but ever time he calls a UK game, no matter who they are playing, he has to mention little slick quick rick and that other school. Get over it, dickie v, it’s the past, this is the present and move on. One coach threw it away, one coach violated it, one coach didn’t appreciate it and now we have a coach who gets it. Not just the BBN, but what it means to give back before you are ever asked to give back. If you have not listened to Cal’s speech from Clinton’s Global Initiative, google it and listen to it. It is awe inspiring, interesting and the love oozes out of ever pore of his body. Not just for UK but for all human beings. I could listen to that man make a speech all day long, I don’t care if he is just reading the yellow pages, he truly is an amazing man.
To imply that Dick Vitale does his charity work for PR is, well, ludicrous. It doesn’t bother me to have a negative opinion about the man, but Vitale’s work for charity is the real deal. And it bothers me that someone would attack that portion of this man’s life. Most charitable organizations are created nowadays to provide tax incentives and payroll checks for fat cats on their board of trustees. Often times, the payrolls of the Board far exceeds the money that goes to the supposed cause. Vitale doesn’t do that, and refuses to be involved with those. That man does his charitable work from the heart, and has been doing that specifically since Valvano died.
I did not say his charity work was for PR purposes. I said what would people say if he didn’t do it. I think it is commendable and more people need to do it.
what joker needs to do is put 2 half backs out at once one being newton (he can pass it every now and then) but manly to run and to confuse the (D) that would open up some awesome play action passes to (witch Smith seems to be OK at…’ some one help me get this to joker it could help a lot
Back to Dick Vitale’s praise for Coach Calipari’s generosity, it’s good to hear Vitale stand up for Kentucky’s head basketball coach, once again. Too, one of those times had been when virtually everyone at ESPN had been jumping on the anti-Calipari and anti-Kentucky bandwagon. Vitale, time and time again, stood alone in defense of Calipari and Kentucky. If I’m not mistaken, one of those times had been when Bobby Knight had most inaccurately bad-mouthed Kentucky basketball players (John Wall, etc.) for supposedly not going to class. Regardless, Vitale stands up for what he thinks is right, whether or not it’s the popular view, and I happen to appreciate that — even when I don’t agree with him.
Also, I, too, had listened to Vitale’s comments when Coach Tubby Smith had left Kentucky. Vitale had been very emotional because he had felt Smith had been wronged. Yes, he had come on very strong — and both too strong and too frequently, in my opinion — but, again, he had, in all fairness, still been standing up for his beliefs/priniciples. Mainly, though, I imagine Vitale had been aware of some of the racist behavior that had, indeed, occurred during Smith’s tenure — and surely every Kentucky fan realizes incidents of such behavior/ mistreatment did occur even though, yes, most fans who had wanted Coach Smith fired had NOT been racists (and I had never felt that Vitale had been saying that they were). Regardless, while I had thought Vitale had been taking it too far, I had also heard his praise for Kentucky fans’ passion — and I had certainly not interpreted his comments as some within the fanbase have, obviously, remembered them. In fact, I remember a tape of Vitale’s comments — and some fans , as they had listened, had been extremely angered by them while others had not seen them in the same light at all. Go figure.
Most of all, while I have not always agreed with Vitale and have sometimes found him nerve-wracking, I have seen him as a man who truely loves college basketball and the participating student-athletes. Plus, even more, he most obviously has a big heart and deep love for children, particularly those who have been stricken with the dreaded disease of cancer. Honestly, as I read anti-Vitale posts, I cannot help but think that One far greater than any of us will eventually judge Vitale. Yes, I freely admit that I imagine Vitale will be, ultimately, judged quite differently than those have judged him. Nothing but my humble, sincere opinion on the manner, though. GO CATS!!!
Wow I can’t believe him and others like him have UK fans believing the propaganda. Do you really think UK is any different than any other school when it comes to racist jerks? Yet the only school that ever gets mentioned in connection with racism is UK. That’s not fair. That’s not fair times 10,000. Smith was not ran out of town because of racism. He wasn’t thrown under the bus because of racism. And Vitale time and time again insinuated that’s what it was about. That stinks beyond belief and I’ll never forget what he did. BTW I do have proof of what I say. Never argue history with a guy who has tapes of games dating back to the beginning of VCR’s.
I can dig out the comments if that’s what it takes but it will take a while.
What I KNOW is that UK fans have loved black players at UK since the days of Jack Givens and James Lee. Funny how a school that is so racist manages to worship those guys their entire life. And speaking of teams from the 70′s. Who was the coach then? Joe B. of course. What did the fans think of Joe? They thought he played too deliberate and they wanted to win more championships. And Hall recruited like a mad man signing incredibly talented teams that were sometimes so good opponents would play stall ball the entire game so they would have a tiny chance of pulling an upset. Hall went to the final 4 3 times including 2 championship games and he won one of those with players he recruited. And fans told jokes about him getting fired from his job at the bank because they had a robbery and he wouldn’t let the guards shoot. I know you’re out there somewhere reading this Shidler. You know what I mean. So why is it that a black man managed to get a decade to prove his ability at UK? I can tell you why. The administration was so scared of a racial backlash (gee I wonder why) they kept Smith on far longer than he should have been kept on. And what about his successor? He made it a grand total of TWO years before he got fired. But we got to hear about how awful UK fans were (translation = racist) because they didn’t like losing 12-13 games a year and being unranked for extremely long stretches. Vitale judges coaches by his own miserable record and he stunk as a coach. But he thinks he was great and anyone that does better than him is obviously great too. And what’s this bull about Smith being a great “family man”? Who hires coaches because they’re great family men? I could qualify for those million dollar jobs if that’s all it takes. And just how did the mighty Smith do at Minnesota? He stinks. That’s how good he’s done. He does the same crap there he did at UK. No recruiting, no offense, no passion, and blames everyone for everything except himself. Compare that to a really great man like Cal who raises millions for charity among a lot of other things. So how is it Smith gets the constant trumpeting for being a great guy? The fact is Smith was a jerk. Yes you heard me. He blamed people for things that were clearly his fault. And you don’t blame players publicly in college basketball. I’ve never heard Cal do that. Smith cares about his paycheck and that’s about it. Sure he was a great family guy playing his no talent son and causing division on the team and in the fans. What a way to keep job security. It didn’t work for Sutton. Rupp knew better than to try. But Smith thought he could run the whole family through the system and then make them assistant coaches after their failed pro careers.
I have a LOT of very bad memories of Dick Vitale trashing UK fans insinuating racism time after time. I won’t soon be forgetting how he bashed us. I wonder what happened to parity since Cal came to town? We constantly heard out expectations were too high? How are they now? UK is the king of college basketball and they deserve a seat at the adult table. They shouldn’t have to sit with the mid-majors. Parity is for losers. And UK is NOT a loser – except in football. Vitale trashed UK fans time and time again because they didn’t accept Smith. Well IMO Vitale and his bosses at ESPN wanted UK to be a second rate program so Duke could dominate. Gee I wonder where I got an idea like that? How about them showing the “Rupp is a racist” special during the signing period EVERY year for over a decade? How about them hiring Phelps and Knight? How about them allowing Vitale to tell coaches like Donovan to avoid UK. I don’t care what anyone says, that is off the charts horrible. Vitale hates UK fans. He proved that with that one comment. Well he can go take a flying leap.
Well, let me ask you this: Who killed JFK? and, Do you believe the US really put men on the moon, or just some fancy studio work?
Now that’s funny. I have no idea what you think is a conspiracy theory here. I do know you don’t want to play this game with me. I have proof of what I say. Let’s start with this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZPJQrHsIng
And for good measure how about this one:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=453iCUDjgG8&feature=related
Maybe it would save time if you listed a specific reference that you think isn’t true. That way I wouldn’t have to spend hours defending every word I said. It’s easy to make a blanket condemnation. It’s quite another to argue a specific point and back it up. If you think there’s something wrong with something I said spit it out. Don’t beat around the bush with non-specific insults. That’s just flaming. And trust me that’s something you don’t want to get started with me.
king is on point. dickie v.also sees cal as a cash cow and an avenue and stream of funds . who is he kidding. the thing is, cal is sincere in his giving and without question has a heart for people in need. vitale sees that and is probably taking advantage of it, and uk’s current sucesss. and btw, if tubby was so great how is he doing now? not so hot.
Hey, forgive and forget. I love Dickie V. I would give anything to meet him before I die. He is right up there on my Bucket List.
Dickie V. is out for himself and promotes whoever or where ever he is. I like to listen to him and his BS over a lot of the other half-a$$ ones who try to call games. The real joke is Booby Knight.
@ S.C. White, My friend i was in the same boat as you when it came to meeting Vitale. UK played in what was called the great eight series for a couple years. They took the 8 teams from the ncaa and played eachother. I believe it started at the palace of Auburn hills in detroit, and when i saw it , it was in Chicago and uk demolished wake forest and tim duncan led by derek anderson. I could not wait to meet vitale , an hour before the game he was on the court went to get his autograph and he was not the bubbly persona that is on tv , rather smug, actually. Camera goes on and he changes. I talked to Billy PAcker the day before a uk game at memorial , but i expected him to be a jerk, and he did not let me down.