Vitale raises another $10,000 for cancer research

Every year, Hall of Fame ESPN basketball analyst and Lakewood Ranch resident Dick Vitale makes a pledge to raise $1 million for cancer research.

Last week at a dinner event to benefit the V Foundation for Cancer Research, Vitale was able to encourage others to add to the pot.

A sold-out dinner at the Bella Roma Restaurant in Siesta Key raised $10,000 for the V Foundation. Tickets to the event were sold in advance.

Vitale also released a new book, 'Getting a W in the Game of Life' , in which the 11-time Hall of Fame inductee shares his life's lessons and experiences of others he has known throughout his life as a educational tool to inspire and motivate today's youth.

All of the proceeds from the book will go towards cancer research.

Vitale's seventh annual Dick Vitale Gala in May raised $2.1 million for cancer research.

“No kid should be doing chemotherapy and radiation,” Vitale said shortly after the gala. “They should be playing, they should be out having fun like my grandkids have been able to do. We’re trying to give to those kids and put a smile on those family faces and providing an opportunity through research.”

-- By Nick Williams