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Awesome, baby! Basketball analyst Dick Vitale reupped at ESPN through 2015

By Scott Collins
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Are you serious! Call the chief ‘cause he’s on fire, baby!

ESPN has extended the contract of catchphrase-loving basketball analyst Dick Vitale through 2015. Vitale, a former coach, is one of the longest-serving sports announcers around. He called ESPN’s first major basketball game in 1979 and has done the honors at more than 1,000 games since.

‘There is nothing greater than walking into an arena and feeling the excitement and energy of a big-time college basketball game,’ Vitale said in a statement.

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On his Twitter feed, Vitale -- known for his enthusiastic (and often parodied) sayings, such as ‘Awesome, baby!’ after baskets -- called ESPN his ‘2nd family.’

--Scott Collins
Twitter/@scottcollinsLAT

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Scott Collins

Scott Collins is a former staff reporter for the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times. He joined the staff in 2004 after previous stints at the Hollywood Reporter and Inside.com. Author of the book “Crazy Like a Fox: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat CNN,” he is a frequent pop-culture expert on national TV, radio shows and industry panels. He left The Times in 2016.

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