ESPN, reeling from a number of big-name departures, gave fans some good news.
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The network is apparently making it a tradition to give Dick Vitale extensions for his birthday as that's exactly what they did last year to get him through the 2017-18 season.
It's the good news ESPN needed, following the recent flood of departures that includes Skip Bayless and Mike Tirico, and before them, Colin Cowherd, Bill Simmons and Keith Olbermann.
RELATED: Dickie V gets awesome birthday present from ESPN, baby!
This year, Vitale got another one-year extension to bring him through his 40th year with the World Wide Leader and bring him into our homes to give us cheer through the 2018-19 season. Hopefully we'll get a lot more "Disco Dick" the next few seasons and he'll be as lively as ever.
RELATED: "Disco Dick" might be Vitale's best alter ego ever
Two seasons ago ESPN took Vitale off the one game he looks forward to the most every year in Duke-UNC and even kept him off the second iteration of the game that season. Most people thought that would be the end of Vitale on the network, but he isn't done with us and neither are we with him.
RELATED: UNC-Duke game will be missing a familiar voice
The former coach of the Detroit Pistons and college's Detroit Titans joined ESPN during the 1979-80 season, just after the network's September 1979 launch, and called its first major college basketball game. He's worked more than 1,000 games since.
