Dick Vitale: I'm back and calling the game I love - ESPN

Oh, baby!

This moment, this opportunity, this incredible blessing — it means everything to me!

With tears in my eyes and my heart pounding, I think about what's coming this Saturday — sitting courtside again for Duke versus Clemson, reunited with my phenomenal teammates Dave O'Brien and Cory Alexander. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. But more than that? I'm overwhelmed with gratitude.

The past few years have tested me like never before — four battles with melanoma, lymphoma, vocal cord and lymph node cancers. There were moments I wasn't sure I'd ever sit courtside again. I went through multiple surgeries, 65 radiation treatments, grueling chemotherapy and long stretches where I had no voice at all. It was a rollercoaster — highs, lows, moments of doubt. But through it all, I kept FIGHTING. BELIEVING. PRAYING.

And I wasn't alone.

The prayers, the love, the outpouring of support from my amazing wife Lorraine, my daughters Terri and Sherri, my entire family — they lifted me up when I felt like I had nothing left.

My ESPN family — OH, MY HEART! For over four decades, they've been there. CEO Jimmy Pitaro, my colleagues, my friends, they never stopped believing in me, sending words of encouragement week after week.

And the fans — oh, baby! The fans, the media, the coaches, the people I've never even met who prayed for me, who sent messages, who gave me hope — you all mean the world to me!

Then came the words I had prayed so hard to hear — my oncologist, Dr. Rick Brown, looked at me and said, "You are cancer-free!"

That was a championship moment! And then Dr. Steven Zeitels — after five major vocal cord surgeries — told me, «You're ready to do what you love.» And what I love is talking basketball!

Last month, I finally