Speaking of UNC basketball, it's good to hear that Dick Vitale will be back in action, and back in town, for Wednesday's big Duke-Carolina game.

We know that not everybody loves Vitale's, um, energetic delivery. The ESPN announcer only has one speed -- throttle wide open. He yells, he laughs, he waves his arms, he refers to players and coaches with his own colorful sobriquets -- Diaper Dandy, PTPer, Surf-and-Turfer. There are some, so we understand, who find him a bit much.

But the season has been strangely hushed without him; he's been out of action since early December, when he had surgery on -- yep -- a vocal cord. Additional complications kept him sidelined even longer.

But he's on the mend, and word is he'll be here for Wednesday's collision between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils. From where we sit -- directly in front of a TV screen Wednesday night -- it'll be good to see him, and hear him, back where he belongs, courtside.

Hoops season isn't quite the same without his enthusiasm, his ability to laugh at himself and the sheer delight he takes from the game. The guy loves his job. He reminds us what it's all about: the joy of the game. Welcome back, Dickie V.