Podcast: Dick Vitale on "Who is the Best Leader in All of Sports"

"It's awesome, Baby! With a Capital A!" The words and expressions of Dick Vitale are nothing short of broadcasting genius and an overzealous attitude towards the game of college hoops, but when the man talks sports one has to stop and listen to the wisdom that is DickieV. In his weekly Podcast, which typically appears on his site dickvitaleonline.com every Monday, Vitale addressed the recent successes of USA Basketball in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, its gold medal finish, and opens up the debate as to "Who is the Best Leader in All of Sports!" (Dickie Speaks: Monday, Sept. 13th, 2010). Having followed Vitale on Twitter (@DickieV) and exchanging a few Tweets with the man himself last week, I was able to chime in and state my case. Regardless of my opinion, Vitale brought the issue to rest yesterday morning in his brief 1:28 Podcast, and again this morning on ESPN Radio: Best of Mike and Mike (9/14 - 22:55 minute mark). Who else to lead your team than Coach K! Yeah, yeah, yeah I know what your saying, Dick Vitale has a man crush on the Dukies, Cameron Crazies and Coach K. I mean lets be honesty, if given the chance Vitale would probably camp out in Krzyzewskiville all week to snag a pair of tickets to UNC vs. Duke at Cameron once a year. At least its a better seat than sitting in the rafters sweating yourself to death every year trying to call a game. But lets face it, he's right! A graduate of West Point and protege of Bob Knight, Coach K has a basketball IQ of a madman and the personal touch of an high school teacher. The stats speak for itself: 4 NCAA Championships, 11 Final Fours, 12 ACC regular season titles, and 12 ACC championships over 30 seasons at Duke. Krzyzewski has also amassed an NCAA-record 77 NCAA tournament wins and led U.S.A Basketiball to Gold Medal victories in the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2010 FIBA World Championship, all while graduating an astonishing 98% of his four-year players from Duke University. So while many of us agree that Dickie Vitale does have an incredible amount of respect for the Blue Devils program, Coach K and College Hoops, I guess it comes down to the simple fact that until someone dethrones the mighty Coach K (or Dick Vitale loses his voice) we have to accept the fact that he is in fact the "Best Leader in All of Sports." A true competitor, motivator, mentor, teacher and service man, Coach K is the epitome of coaching success and is the model with which all others will be measured.

Podcast: Dari Nowkhah wonders about Ron Artest's legacy

Ron Artest is a man of many colors, red, black, gold, blue, white and purple and no I'm not talking about his hair. Drafted in 1999 by the Chicago Bulls Ron Artest quickly established himself as a bit of a misfit, charged with filling the void left by Bulls great and rebounding machine Dennis Rodman. Yet while both have a reputation of being a little off the wall and in many ways uncoachable, I have to say that over the past 11 seasons Ron Artest has started to distance himself from that psyche and into a Champion. The once troubled star from the Queensbridge projects in Queens, New York, Artest quickly gained a reputation as one of the league's premier defenders and in 2003-04, Artest won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Artest, also known as a major participant in the Pacers–Pistons brawl and for his sometimes eccentric, outspoken behavior, has taken his frustrations to the court and it shows week in and week out. But lesson learned right, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger and Artest has taken the necessary steps to preserve and heal his tarnished image. After winning the 2010 NBA Championship this June against the Boston Celtics Artest was elated to say the least. Having signed a 5 year, $33 million deal with the Lakers in the off season to accomplish such a feat, what more could Artest ask for than a shot at winning 'A RING'. I mean he did it for the rings right, he did it for the glory and fame right, Ron Artest wouldn't do it for anything else, and neither would any other NBA star would they? What I love about Artest and what sticks out in my mind the most is his post game on court interview after the Game 7 win..."I'd like to thank my therapist for all the work that she does," and then seamlessly transitioning into plugging his new rap CD set to hit shelves here in late 2010. I mean what can't the man do and please don't say donated to charity, that's not the number 37 we know. Ron Artest announced earlier this week as reported by Dari Nowkhah that he is going to be selling his NBA Championship ring, donating the money to charity in an effort to increase the number of psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists in public schools. WOW! Leave it to a professional basketball player to give up his one and only ring for a charitable cause. But I get it, I mean whats in a ring? whats in a trophy? Your entire life's work for a piece a jewelry and larger piece of flair that sits in a cabinet collecting dust and layer after layer of polish. In my eyes Ron Artest gets it. He understands what the Championship represents to himself and knows that nobody can take it away from him. Maybe Artest doesn't even need to see the banner, maybe he's just playing the game the way he was taught...don't take a charge, body up, crash the boards, rebound the basketball and maybe we'll let you shoot the "J" on the other end if Kobe and Co. don't put it in the bucket first. Regardless, Ron Artests message is clear, "You can Kiss The Rings, but I don't need them, I've got a reality show to produce!"