But ask the sports authority what his favorite room of the house is and there's no hesitation: "The home theater, of course," he says. The 1,200-square-foot room with eight leather chairs and a 135-inch screen is also his production studio for his ESPN broadcasts. Dick credits Ricky Horne of Horne Systems & Designs LLC as the electronic genius who made it all operate efficiently.

"That room took five days to install. It's so complicated, but I can easily operate everything in it," says Vitale. "And I am not technically astute. I had to have something that is the best and the easiest and that's exactly what I got. Anne worked with Ricky to make it as comfortable and pretty as it is convenient. The kids watch videos in here. We all enjoy it."

Horne says the trick was keeping everything simple. "We gave Dick the one-button solution," he explains. "He presses one button to turn on the DVD player, close the window drapes, open the screen drapes and turn down the house lights. He just has to remember to put a DVD into the player and he's all set." Horne's 30-year-old company is also responsible for the house's lighting control and sound system, activated by station key pads and touch screens.

The home has four bedrooms. Guest suites are upstairs, and the master bedroom down. "There have only been three weekends since we moved into this house that we haven't had guests," says Lorraine. "Dick is always calling me from New Jersey to tell me that someone is flying home with him. This is an easy house to entertain in, and we love to do it."

Dick and Lorraine are from New Jersey; they met 34 years ago when he was a sixth-grade teacher at Mark Twain Elementary School in Garfield. He was also coaching high school basketball and football. They married a year later. Dick's career advanced to college coaching and to the pros. He was with the Detroit Pistons when he was tapped in 1979 to join a fledgling sports network experiment called ESPN. "For eight years I never saw him on television because we didn't get ESPN," says his wife. The Vitales moved to Florida 16 years ago from Michigan, building a house in Bradenton.

The Vitales' bedroom suite is more contemporary than the rest of the Lakewood Ranch home, with built-ins and lots of closet space, a must for Lorraine. Dick insisted on a television at the foot of the bed because he can't go to sleep without watching Sports Center. They have separate walk-in closets, and Lorraine describes the contents of hers as more interesting than his. "You look in Dick's closet and you'll find 20 dark blue blazers and a bunch of blue shirts," she says with a laugh. "His wardrobe is what you see on television."

The clothes are less flashy than his media success. Dick Vitale has earned entry into six halls of fame and is considered college basketball's top analyst. His career is chronicled in his new book, Living A Dream: Reflections of 25 Years Sitting in the Best Seat in the House. He means his TV seat in basketball arenas all over the nation. But in Sarasota the best seat in the house for Dick/Papa the husband, father and grandfather, is any seat in his new Lakewood Ranch home- especially one in his media room.