I knew it was good for me to write about Pitt’s season having already been enough. Win or lose against Michigan State, it was enough. I’ve already reread that post five times – I’m positive it’s kept me from saying something I’ll regret later. I’ve had about 40 hours to digest it – I think it’s time to move on.

Having said that…ouch. That’s a tough one to lose. I can’t wait to hear the people saying Dixon still can’t win the big ones – I don’t think any coach can win when your team shoots like that. He wasn’t the one shooting 2 of freaking 17 on three pointers. Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin both played like crap and there’s no denying that. I’ve been pretty tough on both all year (especially Ramon) and this game didn’t help their cause. Still, thanks to them for giving so much to this program over the years and I hope them both the best in whatever their life takes them to next. It’s not like the seniors were the only ones to drop the ball though – everyone except for Fields played like #%@&. I’m not even mad anymore because, well, it’s over.

But hey, when Drew Neitzel is going to hit every shot he takes then you’re already fighting a losing battle. As Chas mentioned, Neitzel frustrated the hell out of everyone by both his crazy shots and his attitude. Someone I watched the game with, not a Pitt fan, commented on how much of a jerk he was and somebody from Pitt needed to foul him hard at the end of the game. I responded with some harsher words (one f-word followed by a different f-word) but whatever. Just add him to the list with Gerry McNamara and Chris Quinn – certified Panther killers.

Please don’t bring up the argument that they were worn down by the Big East Tournament. I’m not buying that excuse at all. These are 18-22 year old kids in the best shape of their lives. Sure four games in four days was tough but it was a whole week ago. The game against Oral Roberts was so easy and boring that it was like a day off anyways.

It also would have been nice for them to win for the simple fact it would have given us something to write about for another week. Blogging the offseason sucks.

Most of the conversation you’re going to hear when if Pitt loses is “Was it enough?” A lot of people will tell you it’s not enough unless they finally make it past the Sweet Sixteen. This year is a different situation though. The Mike Cook and Levance Fields injuries took this team from Final Four potential to just another average group. We were supposed to be lucky to finish .500 in the conference and nobody could have ever imagined the amazing run at the Big East Tournament. We avoided getting upset by Oral Roberts and now we play a traditional power in the 4-5 match-up of the second round. As the guys on ESPN Radio put it, there won’t be any shame in losing to a good Michigan State led by Tom Izzo, a coach that has had plenty of NCAA Tourney success.

However… this is a different team. Sure they have flashes of Pitt teams from the past eight years, but they also play a faster, quicker, and more athletic brand of basketball. At this point, Fields is looking better than ever, even with the hair flowing a little longer. They are physical enough to match up with Michigan State and yet fast enough to possibly hang with run-and-gun Memphis. Izzo says he would give Jamie Dixon a Coach of the Year vote:

“If I had a vote for national coach of the year, he’d have to be right up there, for surviving what he went through this year in a tough conference,” Izzo said. “With the injuries he’s had … he’s battled that. He’s had 25-point losses and turned it around. I think that’s the mark of a great coach, getting knocked down a few times, yet getting his team back.”

Maybe I’m writing this so I can look at it later and read this instead of saying something stupid with the thoughts of the game fresh in my head: even if we lose tonight, it has been plenty enough to call this a successful season. I’m getting a little worried though.

Also, has this been the most exciting Pitt basketball season in recent memory? Washington’s overturned buzzer-beater, Fields’ trey to beat Duke at MSG, Ramon’s buzzer-beater over West Virginia, the crazy comeback at Syracuse, and then four wins at the Big East Tournament.

…or just the Pennsylvanian voters?

The PA Primary is April 22 — looks like someone is trying to get on the good side of our voters’ minds. His entire bracket can be found here.

“…he sucks too.” Chances are you’ve heard that if you’ve been to a Pitt home basketball game in the last few years. If not, let me explain: after each visiting player is introduced, the students yell “sucks!” and after the opposing head coach is announced they yell “he sucks too!” All while holding up a special Zoo newspaper in front of their faces.

Why bring this up? I got to thinking about it after reading “Over The Top” by Grant Wahl in Sports Illustrated. Basically it explains that excessive vulgarity and taunting by fans (mostly students) is getting out of control to the point where it’s become dangerous. Whether it be UAB fans angering Memphis players enough to almost make the players storm into the stands, or maybe the parents of a visiting player hit with objects thrown by fans (i.e. Indiana’s Eric Gordon whose mom was hit with a cup of ice in Illinois). There’s a line and it’s being crossed more and more.

How about in Oregon? Stan Love, father of UCLA’s Kevin Love, received a horrible welcome when UCLA played the Ducks.

Stan says his family was pelted with popcorn cartons and empty cups, as well as a barrage of profane ­insults (”every filthy word you can think of”), including screams of “whores” that made Kevin’s grandmother cry. “There were six-year-old kids with signs saying KEVIN LOVE SUCKS. It was the grossest display of humanity I’ve ever been involved with.”

Did I mention that Stan is #6 on the Oregon all-time scoring list?

“To think I’m sitting at the school where I played ball, and just because my kid ­didn’t pick Oregon he gets abused like that? I’ll never go back there.”

To put that into perspective, that would be like Pitt fans doing this to Brandin Knight (14th leading scorer in Pitt history) if he were to have a kid that played for Georgetown. Way to go there, Oregon.

So how about our very own Oakland Zoo? They got mention the the SI article:

There may not be nearly as many ­incidents of racism and anti-Semitism in college arenas as there were in the 1960s, but in the year 2008 many fans are waving anti-gay signs, which often appear on national TV broadcasts. Last month a Pittsburgh fan held up a BROKEBACK MOUNTAINEERS sign when the Panthers met rival West Virginia.

But is it really that bad if it’s not directed at one player in particular? Well it’s certainly better than singling out one opposing player, such as fans have done for Levance Fields (”taser!”) among others. Sometimes it is a bit much, even at the cheers directed at the entire team, especially if the f- and s-words are involved. At West Virginia last Monday, the “F— you Pitt” and “Eat s— Pitt” chants were audible through the television. Members of the Zoo have dropped occasional f-bombs but nothing to that extent.

Back to the “sucks” chant though — it’s been clear that the team and Jamie Dixon aren’t really the biggest fans of it. The Oakland Zoo spent some time trying to figure out something new to do during pre-game intros. Eventually they decided on singing the Victory Song which began on January 2 against Lafayette. The “new tradition” lasted for about 15 seconds.

The fact is that “sucks” just isn’t a vulgar word compared to other things heard in college arenas. The audio folks at the Pete have started to play music while the visitors are being introduced, which seems counterproductive in some way. There’s nothing like helping to get the other team pumped up while being introduced in your own building.

Maybe it’s because I’m not that sensitive to swearing that it doesn’t affect me as much. Sometimes the personal attacks can be too much though, but I also think sometimes people are too quick to call something “hurtful”. It comes with the territory of playing D-I hoops, especially in a big conference.

It certainly crosses the line when things are thrown at visiting fans and players’ parents. To my knowledge, nothing like this has happened in the Pete and I hope it stays like that. Also crossing the line? Throwing things onto the court, which happens much too often and recently in Arizona (video link). Lastly, it seems as though WVU prides itself on the reputation that a Pitt fan can’t walk around Mountaineer Stadium by themselves without having things hurled at them and possibly being punched. How far is too far? That is.

Flash back to last year: Tom Crean called Pitt-Marquette a rivalry. I didn’t think it was last March and I really don’t think so right now either. Maybe he does it to pump up his players…who knows. What makes a rivalry? Location of the teams — sure it’s Big East, but Pittsburgh and Milwaukee aren’t too close. Great games in the past — we’ve surely had some, but not enough. Passionate fan bases — both teams have a solid following, but I don’t think there’s enough hate between the fans.

Next, a quote.

“My rule was I wouldn’t recruit a kid if he had grass in front of his house.
That’s not my world. My world was a cracked sidewalk.” —Al McGuire

Come on, you know that’s cool. It’s also the basis for the name of the best MU blog out there…Cracked Sidewalks.

They’re not letting Levance’s offseason problems go away.

Fields missed more time for the foot injury than he did for punching an off-duty police officer, allegedly grabbing for the officer’s weapon, and ultimately being tased in an incident outside a strip club last September.

The fans are going to give him a tough time on that tonight — it’s a guarantee. He’s said in the past though that he’s used to it now and it won’t bother him.

Cracked Sidewalks speaks highly of the great rebounding between Blair and Young. Physicality is the answer.

With Fields back in the mix, MU will need to hit the floor with the same toughness and energy we saw in Newark earlier in the week. Marquette summoned up the moxie and energy that was missing for much of the Big East season as they silenced the chippy Pirates. The Golden Eagles dominated the Pirates on the glass, held them to just 38% shooting, and had an impressive 13 assists on just 30 made field goals.

By the way the over/under on the number of times Dominic James hits the floor is being set at 5 ½. He flops to the floor like he’s been shot (Duke Blue Devil style). I’m taking the over.

I’m headed to North Allegheny HS before the MU game to watch Zeke Marshall (6′ 11″ center from McKeesport) tonight. Hopefully I’ll have some type of “scouting report” (notice the quotation marks) since he is a possible Pitt recruit.

First things quickly:

– If you haven’t heard or read about Kevin Hart, Google his name and read all about his story. Holy crap it’s amazing — he had a big event where he committed to Cal over Oregon. He wore the hat, people clapped for him, all was good. Until it was discovered he’s had no contact with either school, neither head coach knows who he is, and he basically made the whole thing up. Only in Nevada… (Part I, Part II)

– I think it’s great to see other Pitt blogs that offer more and more outlets for fans to look in to. Check out Pitt Panther Prowl, which is filled with intelligent posts and makes a good point about Wannstedt’s recruiting compared to Howland/Dixon.

Since Ben Howland took over at Pitt (Jamie Dixon being his primary recruiter), and on into Dixon’s tenure, name one McDonald’s All American who has signed with the basketball team. There is no doubt that there have been a few studs, such as Chris Taft and DeJuan Blair. But who are the top 10 recruits the basketball team has had? … But Dixon certainly took players that, as high schoolers, were believed to be inferior athletes, and he got them to play at an elite level. This is the trademark of Dixon’s teams. He takes players that have the skills to fit his system, and he squeezes every last ounce of talent out of most of them. His coaching has made up for the fact that he can’t get the same recruits that Duke, or even UConn can. And if he continues with the success he has had, the future will hold better and better recruits wanting to come play at Pitt.

When Wannstedt becomes a better game day coach (and I think he started to turn that corner near the end of this season), the recruits will be put into better situations to succeed. If not, we’re going to have very good players under a bad coach, and we’ll continue to see these 5-7 type seasons.

Now, to tonight’s game against West Virginia. You’re wondering about the “42 Weeks” thing, right? That’s how many consecutive weeks the Pitt basketball team has been ranked, reaching as high as #2. A loss tonight will certainly end that. WVU plays well against ranked teams:

Now, they get a visit from the Mountaineers (16-6, 5-4), who have performed well against the three ranked opponents they’ve faced. They’re just 1-2, but their losses came by a combined three points — 74-72 to No. 7 Tennessee on Nov. 24, and 58-57 to No. 9 Georgetown on Jan. 26 after a controversial non-call on a potential goaltending call at the buzzer.

Both teams are 5-4 in conference and the repercussions of this game could easily be felt when it comes to the seeding of the Big East Tournament. Also, beating a good team like this looks good on our NCAA Tournament resume (and so does Duke defeating UNC last night).

The hoops rivalry with West Virginia has never really seemed as intense as the football side, but WBGV still lays down the hate.

Things they hate about Pitt (full list on their site):

• That it’s located in Pittsburgh. Seriously, I’m for pollution as much as the next guy, but these guys are out of control. [Dennis says: Umm…you’re from the same University located in Morgantown, right?]
• Andrew Carnegie. He didn’t leave ANY money to his children. Or me. What a horrible parent. [Dennis says: Funny?]
• Oakland. The whole thing is confusing. Are you poor, roughneck, trashy Pittsburghians, or fruity west coasters? [Dennis says: We’re Pittsburghers, thanks.]
• Jamie Dixon. On the advise of my politically correct lawyer, I’m not making a hilarious joke here.
• The stache. [Dennis says: 13-9.]
• Pittsburgh Tuxedos = carpenter jeans, Timberland boots, and Ben Roethlisburger jersey. [Dennis says: Better than the required attire in Morgantown — camouflage.]

Today is their day for payback, revenge, retribution (and even murder).

…the 2007 College Football Blogger Awards are here. Lead by the big boys in the CFB blogosphere, the nominees are out. They are spread out on EDSBS, MGoBlog, Dawg Sports, Burnt Orange Nation and Rocky Top Talk. Just a few thoughts:

– For a second straight year, Pitt Blather is nominated for the Best Big East/Notre Dame blog. This is a testament to Chas who I personally think is one of the best bloggers in the business. (Albeit a low income business for most, it’s a business nonetheless.)

– The actual awards are a great way to let let some people who might not be “in” with the vast number of great college football blogs on the web. It also allows newer and lesser known blogs to get some deserved attention.

– Since you can’t win a category if you won last year, Every Day Should Be Saturday and MGoBlog won’t sweep every award.

– My vote for Best Big East Blog will go to Card Chronicle. I try to visit a few times a week; always a good read.

– Funniest post? Enter the Octonion, the secret meeting between the Big East mascots with Roc the Panther being hilariously humanized.

– Eleven Warriors, an Ohio State blog, is beautiful. My vote for best looking site.

– The Birddog, focused on Navy football which I started to read the week of our devastating loss to them, is my choice for Best New Blog.

Soon enough, EDSBS will have directions so that you, me, and my dog (Finnigan!) can vote and award some winners.

I’ll be the first to admit that I usually over-react to Pitt athletics. No other sports team/program has done this to me, and I think it’s mostly because of writing for this blog. When we win I’m at the highest of highs and I think Pitt is the greatest in the world. When we lose, however, I tend to think the sky is falling.

The loss 13-point-destruction at the hands of Rutgers doesn’t do that to me though. I think Chas gave plenty of reasons to calm down a bit. Hey, it’s the Big East — even the teams near the bottom can surprise you. They’re definitely on a hot streak and we’re banged up pretty well. All we need to do is hold the fort down until Fields gets back and we’ll be in good shape. Plus, more and more news keeps coming out of Fields returning sooner than originally thought.

Unlike football where one loss can completely ruin a season, this is basketball. Everything will be alright — step off the ledge…

Panther Club members and football season ticket holders should have received/will shortly be receiving an invitation through the mail. The invitation is for a “National Letter of Intent Event”:

Join the Pitt coaches as they provide exclusive insight into those football student-athletes who signed binding letters of intent to attend Pitt earlier that day and show video highlights from each student-athlete’s high school career.

When: Wednesday, February 6th

Time: 6:00 PM, Doors open at 5:00 PM

Location: Heinz Field, East Club Lounge

I’m contemplating whether to go or not. On the one hand, it might be interesting to hear what the coaches have to say about these guys. On the other hand, I just don’t know if it’s really worth it to drive down to Heinz Field, especially if it’s not really all that exciting and they don’t tell us anything we don’t already know.

You’re allowed to take yourself and a guest, but you must provide your guest’s name so that Pitt can be assured no NCAA rules. Anyone out there (who is not a family member of a recruit, not in grades 9-12, and not a high school or JuCo coach) that wants to accompany me? Right.

Ironically (If I’m seeing this correctly), there is a picture on this invitation of Paul Rhoads speaking at a previous event. It’s safe to say he won’t be there this year.

Got this in the mail a few days ago — sounds like it’s being sent to all football season ticket holders.

The inside reads:

This is just the beginning of something very special
at the University of Pittsburgh.

Thank you for your continued support of our program.
Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season
and a very Happy New Year!

Steve Pederson, Dave Wannstedt, and the Panthers Football Team