Less than two months ago, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Kentucky’s John Calipari were battling to advance to the NCAA Final Four. May 20, they – as well as scores of other NCAA basketball coaches, pro athletes and celebrities – will come together to help kids who are battling cancer.

Williams and Calipari, whose teams will likely be ranked 1-2 in the polls come next fall, will be two of the guests of honor at the sixth annual Dick Vitale Gala in Sarasota, Fla. The goal, again, will be to raise more than $1 million for The V Foundation for Cancer Research. The event – which includes 800 tickets at $1,000 apiece – has sold out; but people can donate by logging on to dickvitaleonline.com or calling 1800-4JIMMYV.

“ We compete against each other all season, we recruit against each other, but now we also come together to do something special,’’ Williams said last week. “ ... And I hope this will raise a lot more money for an important cause.”

ESPN will swap its NBA and college basketball announcing teams for a college-pro doubleheader Jan. 7. NBA play-by-play man Mike Tirico and analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy will call Davidson at Duke at 7 p.m., followed by Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale providing commentary when the Denver Nuggets host the Miami Heat at 9 p.m.

In his new book, “Dick Vitale’s Fabulous 50 Players & Moments in College Basketball,” the ESPN analyst, with co-author Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News, rated the top March Madness players and moments. But I had not seen an interesting little book, "The Enlightened Bracketologist; The Final Four of Everything," published last year, that showed up today in the Sports department. And by "everything," editors Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir meant everything from marital arguments to Shakespeare insults, with contributions from different experts and journalists. First up: March Madness Moments.

ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale will appear at the Bulls Head Bookshop on the UNC campus on Nov. 18 to sign his new book, "50 Players & Moments in College Basketball."

Vitale, who was recently inducted in the Nasimsith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in the Class of 2008, will appear between noon and 1:30 p.m.