PTPer Dick Vitale Taking Extended Break With Voice Issue

Dickie V needs a T.O., baby. Or more precisely, legendary ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale is taking an extended break to rest his voice.

Vitale tweeted the news Thursday.

"Very emotional learning I am shutdown from doing games for at least 8 weeks due to my vocal cords," Vitale wrote. "Must get to bed as I have Chemotherapy treatments tomorrow morning."

Vitale was referring to a recent visit to a Massachusetts hospital, in which a doctor advised him to rest his voice, as he is suffering pre-cancerous Dysplasia of the vocal cords.

“The good news is that he doesn’t believe anything is life-threatening," Vitale wrote on ESPN. "Bottom line is I need to rest them."

Vitale, 82, had previously bee undergoing treatment for melanoma, but announced in August that he was cancer-free. He has been back in the broadcast booth, calling games.

"In October, he announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer for a second time," USA Today noted. "The Basketball Hall of Fame announcer said tests showed he had lymphoma and the treatment plan involved steroids and six months of chemotherapy. He was told by medical experts that there is a 90% cure rate and he had planned to manage his work schedule around his chemotherapy schedule."

Hopefully, the new plan will help Dickie V get the needed rest and be able to return to calling games, or at least back in the studio in time for the NCAA tournament.

"Of course, I am heartbroken that I won’t be immediately sitting courtside doing what I love, yet I’m in this for the long run,” Vitale said. "I plan to do games when I’m 100."