Vitale Elected Into Basketball Hall of Fame

But many years in place has left Vitale with cult status, indemnifying him from his rah rah homerism and star blindedness.

For those who have spent countless hours of March Madness following their bracket selections with the television sound off, Monday confirmed what they already knew : there is no such thing as bad publicity. It was formally announced today that Dick Vitale would be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, along with a class of six others.

Vitale has, it must be admitted, been an exuberant and relentless promoter of the college game. Many of today's youth identify his calls with the very fabric of the game: ptp'er, for prime time player; better get a to (time out); awesome, babeee!

Still, Vitale plays the cheerleader to such an extent it is an irritant. Always praising the predictable big programs, forgiving the lapses of well-known coaches such as Bob (Robert Montgomery) Knight to the point of pandering. While Vitale's pure love of the game prevents any hatred a la Howard Cosell, fans do view Vitale as often obnoxious and overbearing.

But many years in place has left Vitale with cult status, indemnifying him from his rah rah homerism and star blindedness. To see Vitale is to know a major college basketball game is nigh.

Also inducted were Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Adrian Dantley, Pat Riley, Cathy Rush, and Bill Davidson.

One thing for sure: Vitale is humble enough to look in the mirror and think, not bad for a one-eyed guy with four decent years as coach of the University of Detroit, and one bad year as coach of the NBA Detroit Pistons.