Courtesy MyNorthwest.com

(February 12, 2010) Seattle sports broadcaster New York Vinnie is headed for Pittsburgh. The media personality known by many Seattle fans for his work on KIRO radio and Q13, will be moving to Pittsburgh to host a midday show called Vinnie & Cook on a new Pittsburgh sports station.

Vinnie appeared on KIRO radio's Dori Monson Show Thursday and told Monson it was a tough decision to leave Seattle after 17 years. "You get someplace and you start to know people, and start to feel so much a part of the community, as I did, and you kind of try everything you can to stay here, but sometimes the realities catch up to you."

Vinnie told Monson he'll miss Seattle, but the offer in Pittsburgh was just too good to pass up. "The CBS people in Pittsburgh called me up, chased after me, and said 'We really want you to come here and look at this place. We're going to start a brand new FM sports station and we want you to be our midday guy."

Change of location won't be the only change for the sports talk host. Vinnie says he'll also be changing the name he goes by on-air.

"I'm still going to be New York Vinnie because that's what I am, I'm New York Vinnie, but we're not going to use it on the air. We're going to use Vinnie...I'm just going to be plain old Vinnie Richichi," said Richichi.

Richichi says he won't forget his time in Seattle and isn't ruling out a return one day. "I love this city, and who knows? This is a crazy business and someday down the road you never know what kind of opportunities are going to open up or what may happen, and I may be back here bugging people again sometime."

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