Since Dave Wannstedt and Jamie Dixon got their two year extension, I want mine.

No, just like athletic director Steve Pederson said with Coach Dixon it is merely a coincidence.  As most long time readers know, every two years in April I ask for donations to keep things going smoothly at Pitt Blather. The deal with keeping domestic peace with the wife is that while this obviously takes time from me, it can’t cost me money.

So where does the money go? Well, the obvious stuff like server and storage costs. There’s keeping control of this domain.

Some of the money goes to making sure I have a decent laptop running well.

It also goes towards site upkeep and updates. This site is overdue for an update.

I’m not talking about anything too radical. Readability and smooth loading of the site is the primary focus. That is why I have kept too many other things that slow it down off the site.

Adding things like the “personal blogging” feature — giving you the ability to write your own posts on topics is on the list. I’m also mulling the addition of a message board.

Input and suggestions as to features people would like to see on the site are important. I want to know some of what you like in a site.

As has been the policy for a couple years, I will maintain the rule keeping political ads off of the site.

You can contribute two ways. If you want to send a check, shoot me an e-mail at pittblather-at-gmail-dot-com and I’ll give you my address. The other option is PayPal. There is a link for PayPal in the upper part of the right-hand links column.

There will be a daily post each day this week to try and guilt donations. Please don’t make me beg too much. It’s very uncomfortable.

— I don’t know about you, but seeing Da’Sean Butler go down in an agonized heap against Duke brought back painful memories of seeing Mike Cook go down against Duke a few years back. Right down to the screams and a head coach cradling and trying to comfort and console his player.

I was not rooting for WVU, but I hated seeing Butler go down with an injury. He was a hell of a player that always scared the crap out of me. Anyone who cheered that is scum. Regardless of what name was on the front of his jersey.

— It sure will be easy to root for the Butler Bulldogs tonight. To the point where I kind of wish Billy Packer was still the analyst. Just to have him bag on Butler so it would be that much easier to root against Duke.

The other reason to root for Butler. Coach Dixon coached Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack on the US U-19 gold medal team.

“Someone asked me, ‘What did you learn from the experience with the U19 team,'” Dixon said in a phone interview. “I learned not to play Butler.”

Mack, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard from Lexington, KY, was named a team captain.

Hayward, a 6’9″ sophomore from Brownsburg, IN, was selected to the tournament’s All-Star team along with Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor, who played for newly minted Naismith Hall of Famer Bob Hurley at St. Anthony in Jersey City.

“Gordon was our best player by far and Mack was probably or second-best player,” Dixon said. “That gives you an idea how good they were.

“This team’s not Cinderella,” Dixon added of Butler. “The two players I know are as good as anybody in the country.”

— The Pitt Blather bracket challenge is now down to

Renato Miguel and Ontario Lets Go Pitt. Very simple. If Butler wins, RM wins. If Duke wins OLGP takes it by a point.

— Apparently former Pitt assistant and Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen is still considering the offer for more money to be an assistant at St. John’s. By all reports, though, he’s got a strong recruiting class and an excellent chance to win the MAAC. Considering he remains in demand to be an assistant (rejected an offer from Calipari to join him in Kentucky), I don’t see the point in leaving his present job. Even if he fails and gets fired, the well-paid assistant/recruiting jobs will be out there. If he succeeds, he gets a chance to move up the coaching ladder.

— I don’t know how many of you had a chance to watch the debut on your PBS station for “The Street Stops Here.” The documentary on St. Anthony’s and hall of fame basketball coach Bob Hurley, that focuses on the 2007-08 season and players — including Pitt’s Travon Woodall.

The reviews have been glowing. For some reason, PBS in Cleveland didn’t air it this past Wednesday. They waited until Saturday night — during the Final Four — to ensure that anyone who likes basketball and would be interested totally missed it. I have it on the DVR and it is on my watch list right after tonight.