Saturday, December 01, 2007

Press Release For "Dukie V" Book

A fellow UNC alum wanted to pass along this press release for his new parody book, focused on Dick Vitale and his love for a certain basketball program in Durham. Go here for the book's website.


Dukie V’s Season to Remember:
A hilarious, completely unauthorized collection of parody columns from the 2006-07 college basketball season.
By Brian Allen

College basketball is hotter than ever, with ESPN analyst Dick Vitale personifying America’s passion for the game. A once popular commentator and columnist, Vitale is known for his colorful enthusiasm and his basketball terminology, which includes such curious expressions as “Diaper Dandy” (a promising freshman), “PTP’er” (a prime time performer), and “Maalox Moment” (a nail biting finish). During his rise to fame, Vitale was himself affectionately dubbed “Dickie V” by fans and colleagues.

In recent years, the once respected commentator has become a parody of himself as he has channeled all of his vibrant enthusiasm into an unabashed love for perennial winner Duke University and its head coach, Mike Krzyzewski. Fans coast to coast are both amused and annoyed by his seeming inability to comment on any subject without launching into a Duke tribute at every opportunity – regardless of the subject at hand and regardless of what teams are playing before him. In recognition of his glaring bias, college fans, in recent years, modified the man’s personal moniker; he is now known as “Dukie V.”

Equally annoying to fans is an over hyping of Duke University by the media at large. Many fans view Duke as the recipient of favoritism by game officials and the holder of an undeserved pristine image. Similarly, fans resent the media’s description of Coach K – a man legendary for his foul mouth and hypocritical stands on sportsmanship -- as the ultimate “class act.”

"Dukie V’s Season to Remember” is the ultimate sports parody collection, written for the legions of fans who have had it up to their ears with the Duke lovefest. The book presents a season long series of spoof columns, each written to mimic Vitale’s lingo, cadence, and, above all, his nauseating love of Duke. Beginning with pre-season analysis and predictions, the book continues through the regular season and March Madness, and concludes with post-season commentary on subjects ranging from the Don Imus/Rutgers debacle to Kobe Bryant’s trade demands. Each column begins with a legitimate hot basketball issue, (e.g., Bobby Knight's chase of the all-time wins record), but inevitably veers off-course as Vitale blithely spirals into his endless Duke drivel. In addition to spoofing the absurdity of Vitale's blind bias, the parody columns also mock the purported greatness of Duke, a program that has managed a whopping total of three national championships in 100 years of college basketball history.