Pitt's run in the Big East Tournament

The Pitt fans who travel to New York City every year during the first week of March have pretty much become able to book their hotel rooms for Saturday night without so much as a second thought. Such is the regularity with which the Panthers have earned their way into the Big East Championship Game, having reached the final six times in the past seven years.

However, they've also taken on some characteristics of a certain other local sports team, almost always following up regular season superiority with postseason disappointments. They've won just one of those six Big East Championships, and I don't need to tell you about their failures in the big dance.

The trend continued this year, with a hard-fought, up-tempo ten-point victory over Marquette in the quarterfinals and a hard-fought traditional Big East bruiser against Louisville on Friday night. The main difference between this year and previous years, though, was that Pitt didn't even put up a fight in the final. It was a disappointing result, given Pitt's efforts, albeit losing efforts, in epic Big East Championship Games like the double-overtime loss to Syracuse in 2002 and the three-point loss to UConn in 2004.

Despite the embarrassing performance in this year's Big East final, the tournament was no doubt a positive experience for the Panthers.

First of all, their path to the Championship Game was a huge boost for Pitt's supporters, assuaging some of the fears that Pitt can't beat good teams. Marquette and Louisville are both certainly good teams, ones that Pitt went 0-3 against during the regular season. In the process of upending two of the only three Big East teams to conquer them this year, the Panthers also exorcised some demons in a pretty nifty passion?

Remember when Marquette sunk their last fifteen consecutive free throws in the final minutes of regulation and overtime, way back in January, en route to a three-point victory over Pitt at the Oakland Zoo? In a thrilling stroke of poetic justice, Pitt made fifteen straight free throws during the second half of their 89-79 win over Marquette in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.

Remember when Louisville's full-court press harried Pitt into 19 turnovers during a humiliating 13-point loss at the Pete (Pitt's worst home loss since the building opened)? Pitt brushed off everything the Cardinals threw at them despite Aaron Gray playing only 13 minutes thanks to foul trouble, turned the ball over only 4 times, and muscled their way to a second consecutive night of clutch performances from the free throw line.

So far, so good.

Then, of course, there's the Championship Game itself, in which Pitt stumbled to a 23-point loss, scoring fewer points than any team in any previous Big East Championship Game. For a lot of other teams, this could be a devastating result. But for a team like Pitt, where success should only be measured in terms of NCAA tourney accomplishments these days, it's not as big of an issue as a lot of people are making it out to be.

I don't mean to take credit away from Georgetown, because the Hoyas are a great team. But let's be honest here; Pitt purely and simply shot itself in the foot during that game. The Hoyas defense was good, but not so good that it was the sole reason Pitt shot a miserable 26.2% from the floor. A lot of the misses were very open looks, and Gray, the biggest culprit, was 1-for-13. Most of his misses were virtually gimmes. Gray was hardly taking ridiculous shots that he's not accustomed to taking. He was just missing the easiest buckets for some strange reason.


I was a fan of the big guy's five o'clock shadow, but certainly not his
aggravatingly bad play.

This brings me to another point. The Panthers can prepare for playing an entire game without Gray. They can even do a decent job of improvising if Gray gets injured mid-game/forced to the bench because of foul trouble for an extended period of time (see: Pitt 65, Louisville 59). But what Pitt can't do is plan for a situation where Gray is in the game, but just playing so badly he's hurting the team far more than he's helping it. Such instances are very, very rare, but we saw one on Saturday night.

As long as Gray is on the floor, the tendency is to put an exorbitant amount of weight on him. And that makes sense, because Gray is still the team's most productive player at both ends of the floor, and still averages close to a double-double. But if he plays as bad as he does last night, Pitt is fucked. The Panthers have the talent to overcome a complete lack of Gray, but not Gray impaling his own team.

To that end, I'm willing to overlook Saturday night's blemish as just an off night all around (and it clearly wasn't just Gray). The Panthers still held Georgetown to 65 points, and if you tell me that Pitt holds any opponent to 65 points I'd be convinced that Pitt would be at the very least running with them. And the math supports me:

Pitt on the season (including Saturday night's debacle) shoots 51.1% on two-point attempts and 37.5% on three-point attempts. Using those numbers with Pitt's 2-point and 3-point attempts on Saturday night (44 and 17, respectively), plus the amount of free throws made (which was almost exactly the same percentage as their season total, so that doesn't even need to be altered).

Shooting to their season averages on Saturday, Pitt would have scored 69 points. That's 4 more than Georgetown actually scored, coincidentally shooting approximately (just slightly higher) their season average.

Obviously there are variables, like Georgetown could have been a little more aggressive had the game been closer, etc. But in general it's pretty clear that Pitt's absolutely abysmal night shooting was the only reason Pitt wasn't in that game at the very least. Defensively they did well enough, and they only committed nine turnovers. Not a great number, but not the kind of number you can point to as a reason Pitt got blown out, especially when Georgetown turned the ball over the same amount of times.

Of course, doing all this analysis is pretty much meaningless, except it makes me feel better and makes me pretty confident that Saturday night was nothing more than a fluke. Pitt was simply stone cold. It happens sometimes.

In the end, I'll take this tournament showing. Pitt came up big against two top-25 teams that had tormented them during the regular season, and then hopefully got their bedshitting performance out of the way before the big dance. Sure, it would have been nice had Pitt taken home the Big East title, but I would much, much rather see an appearance in the Elite 8 for once.

Although that looks like it's going to be a hell of an ordeal as it is, but I'll save bracket talk for another post.

Pitt/Georgetown: Pitt is fucked

There, I said it. Pitt is not going to win today without Aaron Gray.

Granted, I still haven't heard an official consensus from Jamie Dixon & co. as to whether the big guy will try to play or not, but it seems prett bleak at this point.

Gray is essentially the hubcap of the WHEEL OF DOOM. Guys feed off him. Even when he's not scoring, he's in there drawing defenders and kicking it out to open guys on the perimeter. He's also always rebounding, and it's also hard to overlook the impact he has defensively. Just standing there being a redwood tree makes a huge difference, because his top backup is Levon Kendall, who is not only a few inches shorter but weighs like a hundred pounds less.

In context of today's game, it's a double whammy because Kendall is the type of solid defender we'd want on a player like Jeff Green, not a mountain like Roy Hibbert. But if Gray can't play, it means Kendall has to take on Hibbert and someone like Sam Young to guard Green, which is a scary, scary thought.

I really don't have much faith in this team without Gray, because it's basically built around him. Next season, Dixon will change their scheme to fit the players they have, so I'm not worried about that so much. But for today, I can't see Pitt winning without their leading scorer/rebounder unless like three or four other guys step it up in a huge way and have career games, or something close to it.

But honestly, I'd just as soon Gray sat out than tried to play. Granted, I assume if he tries to play it'd be with the assumption that he would just be hampered today, and unlikely to make it worse. But I'm wary, because as a Pitt fan, I've been here before. When Brandin Knight injured his ankle in the run-up to the Big East Championship in 2003, then injured it again in the loss to Syracuse, then tried to play on it in the NCAA tournament and simply was not the same player, as Pitt bowed out to Dewayne Wade-led Marquette by three in the Sweet 16. He also just about ruined any chance he had at a pro career.

I don't know if the Gray situation is quite as bad, but it's an uneasy feeling. And with a team like Pitt, the only thing that matters is getting to the tournament and getting past the effin' Sweet 16. If that means we're cautious with Gray right now and lose this game to Georgetown and thus presumably lose the Big East regular season title in the process, so be it.

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I dashed back from the Northeastern/George Mason game at halftime just to watch this, and now the Oklahoma State/Texas Tech game is dragging.

NEU pulled out the old boot-to-throat-apply-pressure playbook, building a 21-point halftime lead. They were up by 18 within five minutes and never really let go. It wasn't even a game, so it makes it much easier to leave. Not that there's any inner debate or anything, I know where my priorities are.

I've decided I really like CAA basketball though. It really does remind me of a glorified high school league, which is a lot of fun. Although maybe that's just because of the size of the crowd. I went to a quad-A WPIAL game over winter break and I seriously think it had a higher attendance than either of the two NEU games I've been to.

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Texas Tech wins.

Gray isn't starting, but he "should play at some point" according to the CBS dudes.

Dear Kevin Colbert,

Please draft Darrelle Revis.

Love,

everyone not named Ike Taylor.





Months later, Derek Kinder's block is still bringing uninhibited joy to millions of children around the world.

Damage Control

Yeah, so THE WHEEL caught a flat in a bad way last night.

Pitt put on a clinic to show everyone in the nation why they're never able to get over that Sweet 16 hump. They played sloppy and unorganized in the first half. Quite simply, they did not play Pitt basketball.

Give credit to Rick Pitino for going with a full-court press right from the outset, as Pitt looked completely flustered in turning the ball over a disgusting 16 times before the end of the first half alone.

This is the team with the best assist/turnover ratio in the nation.

Aaron Gray got in foul trouble early and had to ride the bench for most of the second half.

This is a guy who averages a double-double and leads the team in both scoring and rebounding.

Pitt's normally reliable shooters laid an absolute egg from behind the arc, dropping an abysmal 2-of-17 from three-point range.

This is the best three-shooting team in the Big East.

The beauty of this year's team is that they're so deep and so balanced, if one facet of their game isn't working, the points have always come from somewhere else. That's the whole concept of THE WHEEL to begin with.

But when nothing is working, well, you end up with what happened last night. And quite frankly, it's the least disappointed I've ever been after a double digit loss.

For one thing, Pitt was due for a game like this. It happens at least once a year, although usually it's on the road to Seton Hall or something. It is frustrating that it happened at home, and that it was so lopsided, because the team really takes pride in establishing the Pete as a fortress where opposing teams have next to no chance. But it was unlikely from the very beginning that Pitt (or any team, for that matter) is going to finish the Big East schedule with just one loss. And the Big East is such that, for the most part, any team can knock off any other team on any given night. This isn't such a bitter pill to swallow, after all.

Furthermore, I think a performance like this was exactly what Pitt needed. Heading into the home stretch of the conference schedule, Pitt was starting to coast. Nothing like a 13-point home loss to provide that proverbial kick in the ass. This is the slap in the face Pitt needs to get motivated for a couple of weeks that includes trips to Marquette and Georgetown.

Pitt's still in the driver's seat as far as the regular season championship is concerned, and it would take a pretty big disaster to avoid receiving one of the four first-round byes in the Big East tourney, but even so, these next couple of weeks will be very telling.

Hopefully, when it's all said and done, we can look back at this loss as the turning point (for the better) in the season Pitt finally ended their Sweet 16 hoodoo.

THE WHEEL OF DOOM does it again

Merrily it rolls along, with no one ever quite sure where it's going to stop or who it will land on next.

I'm talking, of course, about Jamie Dixon's WHEEL OF DOOM, the nine-headed monster that makes its lair deep within the confines of the Petersen Events Center on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.

Jamie Dixon is quite proud of his behemoth, often using phrases like "I have nine starters" to describe the basketball team under his charge.

Okay, so technically, he only has five starters, as he's run the same five players onto the court for the opening tip-off in all 23 of Pitt's games so far this season. But with his invention, THE WHEEL, Dixon does indeed have the luxury of nine players who, at any moment, are able to contribute. THE WHEEL picks somebody different every night. It's how THE WHEEL works.

Last night, for instance, it was Antonio Graves' night of destiny, with the senior guard providing the key spark as Pitt rallied from a 9-point, second-half deficit at the Wachovia Center, avoiding a fate that had already befallen other top-25 teams in Texas and Notre Dame at the same venue against the same team, a scrappy Villanova Wildcats outfit. Graves scored 13 points, hooked up with teammates for 7 assists, and crafted 4 steals, almost all of the above coming in the last ten minutes of the game as Pitt surged ahead, then clamped down on a 65-59 victory.

It was a couple of the usual suspects, too. Aaron Gray wound up with another (yawn) double-double. Levance Fields, who's become something of a personal favorite of mine, can either score or pave the way for his teammates to score, with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.7. Last night, it was the former, as Levance dropped 20 on the Wildcats, not the least of which was draining an emphatic three-pointer with under a minute left to hand the Panthers an insurmountable 60-55 lead.

It was also Keith Benjamin, whose media reference as "the 9th man" is often what drives Dixon into his "I have nine starters" rhetoric. Benjamin's contribution in the box score is pretty modest. 11 minutes, 9 points. What the box score doesn't tell you, however, is that Benjamin's scoring all came on a 3-of-5 performance from beyond the arc, each trey seemingly bigger than the previous one.

THE WHEEL doesn't stop there. The last two times out, it was Sam Young reaching double digits in scoring in victories against Cincinnati and St. John's. Against Georgetown, a win that's looking more and more important as the Big East schedule progresses, it was East Carolina transfer Mike Cook. On other nights, it's been Levon Kendall's consummate professionalism and all-arond player, or Ronald Ramon's hot touch from three-point range.

That's the beauty of THE WHEEL. No one ever knows where the magic is going to come from on any given night. But it almost always comes from somewhere. And THE WHEEL is why I am finding myself more excited about this particular Pitt team than any in the last six years, a span in which the Panthers have done some pretty remarkable things. For example, fifteen teams have made the last five consecutive NCAA tournaments. Of those, Pitt is the only one without a player currently employed by an NBA team.

Of course, in order to temper my excitement so I don't find the nearest window ledge when the team inevitably fails to make it past the Sweet 16 yet again, I'll readily admit that the Panthers are far from perfect. Some of the issues that could potentially be problematic come March:

• Defense. Yes, one of the trademarks of the Howland/Dixon Pitt basketball program has too often found itself absent this season. It's still there, sure, but it looks a little bit lackluster at times. Part of that has to do with the offense-for-defense sacrifice Dixon makes by giving Mike Cook 25 minutes a game, but for the most part, Pitt has clamped down when it's had to. I've seen flashes of that old-school Howlandball. It just needs to show up a little more consistently.
• First halves. Pitt seems to have trouble really blowing games open in the first half, often against good-but-not-great competition. Too often, they play like they can win the game at any time. It didn't hurt them against UConn going into the half with only a one-point lead, and it almost burned them last night against Nova, playing one of the most lethargic first halves I've ever seen, and going into the break down five. It did bite them in the ass against Marquette, their only Big East loss thus far.
• Still can't beat a ranked opponent. I'm not as concerned with this as some people are, considering two of the losses were in overtime, one of which was virtually a road game (I'm still trying to get around the fact that a game being played in Oklahoma City against Oklahoma State is considered "neutral" by RPI) that went down to double OT. The other was the aforementioned Marquette affair that saw Pitt rally furiously from 11 points down in the final seven minutes to tie the game thanks to Keith Benjamin's Rebound Heard Round The World, only to lose in overtime with three starters fouled out and the Golden Eagles sinking their last 15 consecutive free throws. You can't make that stuff up. The Wisconsin game was pretty much a nightmare, but the Badgers have pretty much proven by now that they're on another plane entirely.

We'll know in the next couple of months just how much mileage Jamie Dixon is able to coax out of THE WHEEL, but in the mean time I'll let myself get excited and believe THE WHEEL has just enough tread on it to carry these Pitt Panthers over that irritating Sweet 16 hump.

In case you still haven't seen it...

Every time I see Derek Kinder's block I feel so happy.

Ugly

As I feared, Pitt collapsed in the second half yet again and showed exactly why it was an 11.5-point home underdog.

The key for both teams entering the second half was which team would make better adjustments on defense.

Jeff Castillo's plan: Blitz Tyler Palko like crazy and give him no time to throw. Something was done right, anyway, as Palko was considerably less efficient in the second half, and started getting visibly frustrated at his offensive line for getting overwhelmed by Mountaineers, at his receivers for not cutting back on longer routes.

Paul Rhoads' plan: Honestly it didn't seem like Pitt's defense did anything differently in the second half except make fewer stops in the backfield. To be fair to Pitt's defense, they actually did get off the field a couple of times in the second half, but Palko's magic had already started to run out and they couldn't capitalize offensively. West Virginia gave the ball back to Pitt twice in a span of three possessions in the third quarter, and if the offense had been able to march up and down the field like it had in the first half, Pitt could have been in the game for a little bit longer, but I won't conjecture. What's done is done, and a team of Pitt's caliber probably shouldn't even have been winning at the half against a team like West Virginia, as fun as it was while it lasted.

In any case, college football season is now over for me. I hear there's a couple of teams playing on Saturday or something but I've always had a hard time watching college sports if Pitt isn't involved, with the exception of the NCAA tournament (and that's just because I usually have money riding on it; when my bracket gets busted, I usually stop paying such close attention).

I will wish Rutgers good luck before I go. Beat those fucking Mountaineers. And I'll wish Tyler Palko and H.B. Blades the best of luck in their future, wherever it may lead them. I hope it's in football, because both of them are talented enough to play in the NFL, and I do need more reasons to be biased in favor of one NFL team or another when I can't decide who to choose in the weekly picks. Sadly, Palko is getting the Drew Brees treament from a lot of scouts (not big enough), but hey, Drew Brees turned out alright.

Halftime

Pitt by three at the midway mark, and I don't think I could be much more satisfied. The game's been a little more high-scoring than I would have expected, but that's partially because the field was drier than expected, given that it stopped raining at around 5 and just started again in the final minute or so of the first half.

To be fair to WV, they're not using the ground game to beat us anyway. They are using Steve Slaton, as expected, just they're using him downfield in the passing game. And credit to them for exploiting this weakness in Pitt's defense. Paul Rhoads had better figure something out to deal with him. Maybe even cover him with Darrelle Revis.

Credit has to be given to Tyler Palko, too. It looked for a little while like WV would start pulling away, but Palko hasn't missed a beat, and he's a main part of the reason Pitt has the lead right now. Not that it's surprising, but he deserves some kudos for his performance in the first half.

But speaking of Darrelle Revis. Play of the year.

I'm nervous right now, given Pitt's tendency to collapse in the second half (see: Michigan State, Connecticut). I'm really hoping the rain gives Pitt an edge here, but we'll see. So far, I couldn't have asked for much more than what the Panthers have given us. Not a bad half for these 11.5-point home underdogs.

Rich Rodriguez wishes someone would give him dome (aka, "why the Panthers have a shot tonight")

18.5 hours and counting until the 98th edition of the one and only Backyard Brawl. It ain't what it used to be, sure. Players no longer refer to the other team as being filled with "Western Pennsylvania's garbage," and Pitt Stadium public address announcers no longer broadcast to a stadium full of fans that "there is a tractor in the parking lot with its lights on. License plate E-I-E-I-O."

But a rivalry is a rivalry: the war of the words between Hines, Peezy and the Cleveland Browns is in full swing, and both teams are 3-6. Tonight's game still means something to a lot of people, myself included. While Pitt's season was basically over on October 21, West Virginia needs a win to keep their BCS hopes alive. With a victory at Heinz Field tonight and South Florida next weekend, the stage would be set for essentially, a winner-take-all showdown in Morgantown between the Mountaineers and surprise-of-the-year Rutgers.

Screw that, though. I'd rather we drove a stake through the heart of West Virginia's season right now. Pitt are 11.5-point underdogs tonight, and justifiably so. I really don't have a whole lot of faith in this Pitt team, either. While technically it's not really important that they crapped the bed against South Florida and Connecticut, it certainly doesn't instill much faith. However, there is one reason Pitt has a remote chance in this game:

Rain.

And more rain.

The weather forecast is going to be Pitt's only advantage tonight. The fact that West Virginia's offense is built almost entirely on speed is no great secret. In two of the last three Backyard Brawls, West Virginia blew Pitt out, 52-31 in 2003 and 45-13 last season. They piled up 307 yards and 451 rushing yards, respectively, in those games. Those numbers are not typos. West Virginia's speed running game has made Pitt look downright silly.

However, the other time these two teams have played in the last three years came on Thanksgiving night, 2004. The weather forecast for that day was eerily similar to today's, and by game time, Heinz Field was starting to resemble post-Katrina New Orleans. The Mountaineers still picked up over 200 yards on the ground, but this was primarily because Pitt's effective pass rush rendered Rasheed Marshall's arm mostly ineffective. 104 of West Virginia's rushing yards came from Marshall, many of which were on broken passing plays. West Virginia also fumbled twice, and the Pitt offense did just enough to slog its way to a gritty, 16-13 win that helped Pitt land its only BCS berth ever despite two conference losses, in one of the more bizarre Big East seasons since the beginning of the BCS.

It's true that the sloppy field conditions that night were aided by the WPIAL football championships, four of them, that had taken place on the field the previous weekend, a factor that won't have an effect this go-round because those games are being played this coming weekend. However, Rich Rodriguez, best thing to ever happen to the Big East, in his infinite wisdom ordered his team to practice inside all week long. Dave Wannstedt, on the other hand, had the Panthers practicing outdoors at their facility on the South Side all week long.

Rodriguez further proved to be a disgrace to the concept of the sport of football by stating his desire to play indoors ALL the time:

"You know, if I had my personal preference ... in the ideal world, if somebody wants to give out a whole bunch of millions of dollars to West Virginia, we'd have a dome over ours. With a roof. So, if we had wet weather or cold weather, we'd just close that dome up and have a fast surface."

A dome WITH a roof. Thus completely destroying the whole point of football being a cold-weather sport.

Another factor that could conceivably be a difference is that Tyler Palko is a much better quarterback today than he was in 2004. The Pitt running game boasts much more skill than it did in 2004. The receiving corps is much deeper than it was in 2004. In short, Pitt has narrowed the talent gap between itself and West Virginia, at least offensively. Whether the weather plus Pitt's more competent offense is enough to overcome West Virginia is to be seen.

My prediction: Pitt makes a game of it, but West Virginia is still just too talented to lose a game like this. 28-24, Mountaineers.

Make me wrong, Tyler Palko & co.

Little Thoughts

Some musings on the past few days in the world of sports as it pertains solely to me. Since I'm the only person who writes in this blog these days anyway and could very well be the only person who reads it.

• I think this weekend lends a lot of creedence to the theory that in the EPL, no matter how ambitious a club is, there are still basically two teams that can and should expect to win every time they take the pitch. Everyone else is capable of beating everyone else.
  
  Still, what a fucking let down. Win and you're within spitting distance of qualifying for Europe via the league, which would have been pretty remarkable given the atrocious start.

• Pitt has so clearly mailed it in, and to be honest, I'm really not all that upset about it. As long as the Big East is gifted with a BCS berth, Pitt as a football program has reached the stage where anything less should not be considered a success. Losing to Rutgers, for all intents and purposes ended Pitt's chances of playing in the Orange Bowl, so there really isn't any reason to keep trying.
  
  All I care about is one thing: a good showing in the Backyard Brawl. That's our bowl game right there, and given that the game is at Heinz Field, at the very least don't embarrass yourselves. Give me a reason to run around campus shouting "GO HOME MOUNTAINEERS" afterwards.

• I still haven't really weighed in on Yuslan Herrera, mainly because I was going to wait until the signing became official. But then I realized that could take weeks and my opinion will more than likely not change until then, barring a revelation of some inordinate amount of money being paid.
  
  On the surface, though, I really can't say I'm too particularly thrilled. One view is that, provided DL didn't grossly overpay for Herrera's services, this could be the kind of outside-the-box move that could pay dividends a year or two down the road. Yuslan probably won't be ready to pitch in the Major Leagues this season, but this could potentially be similar to Walt Jocketty signing Chris Carpenter to a multi-year deal a year before he was able to make a full comeback. If this gamble pays off, it also makes one of the other starters expendable in a trade (not that I trust DL to take advantage of that or anything).
  
  Then there's the other side of the story, the side that's probably much closer to the truth. Every so often, everyone who writes about the Pirates not named Ed Eagle or Rob Rossi, from Dejan on down to the lowliest bloggers, goes on a crusade about some aspect of the Pirates that is severely lacking. This kind of stuff gets published in mainstream media, and after enough harping, the general ticket-buying public will pick up on it.
  
  Recently, the vogue has been was criticizing the team for making no effort to be competitive (read: spend money) in foreign markets, namely Latin America. So what does DL do? He goes out and says HEY LOOK I FOUND THIS CUBAN GUY and thinks the general ticket-buying public will view that as a problem solved, although the people who brought this problem to light in the first place still won't be fooled.
  
  The same thing happened last winter, when the issue was the complete lack of advance scouting employed by the Pirates. Coincidentally, Dave Littlefield hired an advance scout for the first time ever. Now, as then, Littlefield seems to be making a knee-jerk reaction to something that has been costing the team hit points in the realm of PR.
  
  Bottom line, this may turn out to be a good baseball move, but it still doesn't show that DL has any sort of plan whatsoever. In fact, it tends to make me believe the exact opposite even more. Boy, being a Pirates fan sure is fun.

• The NFL, on the other hand, is a bucketload of fun these days. Days like yesterday are exactly why, as Marty Schottenheimer says, "the NFL is the most popular sport in the world."
  
  Still not going to even think about the playoffs, still not going to even think about the playoffs, still not going to even think about the playoffs...but damn, if the Titans had found a way to pull that one out...Rob Bironas should have fallen over for no reason and taken a mulligan. It's worked for Titans kickers in the past.
  
  It's going to be weird rooting for Michael Vick, Herm Edwards, and the Cleveland Browns at various points throughout the rest of the season. But that's the nature of the NFL, and that really is why the NFL is so great.

• I wonder if Jason Bay and Brian Ching are pals. I saw yesterday while flipping back and forth between the Willie Parker Show and the MLS Cup that Brian Ching is 28 years old, and went to Gonzaga. Jason Bay is 28 years old, and went to Gonzaga. Not that it means anything, and it certainly wouldn't be nearly as cool as Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson being youth league teammates, but it piqued my curiosity, anyway.

• Oh hey, it's college basketball season. It's great when ESPN makes time on SportsCenter to show highlights of your team in what's essentially a token game. Ah, the joys of supporting the fourth-ranked team in the nation. Comeuppance for the Pirates continuously getting shafted on Baseball Tonight, I say.

Commiseration

Some inebriated, rambling thoughts on tonight's debacle.

First and foremost, I have to give credit where credit is due, and that is to the Rutgers football program, head coach Greg Schiano and his staff, their defense, and their running game. Pitt was thoroughly outplayed on both of those fronts, and Rutgers, to me, proved it's a legitimate threat in the Big East. Congratulations.

Pitt's defense in the first half was superb. Holding the Scarlet Knights to two field goals despite an average starting position of around midfield was all that could have possibly been asked for. It bent, but didn't break, thanks to excellent play by two of the defense's leaders, H.B. Blades and Clint Session. In the second half, it was clear the defensive unit, especially the line, was really starting to wear down, which I think can be marked down to age and inexperience. The backbreaker was the huge run by Ray Rice on the very first play after Oderick Turner scored to bring the Panthers within three early in the fourth quarter and the ensuing kickoff coverage had pinned Rutgers at their own 10. But what a play by Darrelle Revis to make up ground in a hurry and bring him down. I'm sure glad that guy is going to be around next year, unless he leaves for the NFL, which is well within the realm of possibility.

If I hear one more idiot Rutgers fan tell me that Pitt got "MIKE TEEL'D," someone is going to get hurt. Honestly, that guy is one of the worst collegiate quarterbacks I've ever had the misfortune of witnessing. He's seriously a detriment to the Rutgers offense, and if any team can somehow find a way to shut down the run, Mike Teel is simply not going to be able to beat anybody on his own (and no, Navy doesn't count, because they essentially threw everything at the run, and my left arm probably beat Navy with eight guys concentrating solely on stopping the run). Mike Teel's final numbers were 10/18 for 74 yards, basically meaning what he did complete were worthless screen passes. I can tell Rutgers fans didn't even pay attention to the program until this year when they say things like that, because anyone who's not completely unknowledgable would at least tell me we got RAY RICE'D or something.

Tyler Palko, on the other hand, proved that he's one of the best college quarterbacks around today. If only Matt Cavanagh had let him take complete control of the game earlier, things could have been much, much different. Once Cavanagh let Palko go no-huddle in the third quarter, Rutgers began to look completely lost on defense, not to mention Palko's huge scrambles for first downs throughout the game. He's one of the smartest quarterbacks I've ever seen play, he knows exactly when to tuck and run, and when to throw the ball away. His touchdown pass to Oderick Turner particularly was a thing of beauty. On a completely broken play, Palko did all sorts of neat things in the backfield to create enough time, and Turner, to his credit, broke off his route and came back across the end zone to create a target for Palko. And let's not forget that at least three 20+ yard passing plays were negated by drops by receivers, and in Derek Kinder's case, a sensational grab followed by a fumble on the run after the catch.

It's too bad that Palko is gone after this season, because I would love to see him behind this offensive line and running backs and receivers with another year under their belts, as well as the defensive front and secondary. It'll really be on Wannstedt to see if he can bring in a suitable heir apparent to Tyler Palko to play behind what is shaping up as a very exciting core of young players.

With this loss, Pitt's bid for a ranking in the top 25, as well as its chances at the Big East crown are essentially finished, barring a miracle scenario in which Pitt knocks off both Louisville and West Virginia. Honestly, I'd be content with just beating the Mountaineers, because I absolutely hate that fucking team.

That said, I think I'll be rooting for Rutgers the rest of the way. I always have a soft spot in my heart for the underdog, barring mitigating circumstances like if the underdog is a team that I really don't like at all, and I have no real reason to dislike Rutgers. Plus, they've been so bad for so long, they've essentially been the Pirates of the NCAA. It's really a shame that idiots like those who think Mike Teel is anything close to a competent quarterback actually tempt me to not want to see Rutgers succeed. The people who cared nothing for the team when it was going 1-11 just a few years ago.

To that end, despite tonight's heartbreak, I don't think I've ever been so proud to be a Pitt supporter. Pitt is really one of the few colleges in the country that receive national consideration in both football and basketball on a yearly basis that don't also have a national following of bandwagoners. Someone said to me tonight as the clock wound down that "maybe Pitt just isn't that good," to which my response is, "what the fuck am I supposed to do, change teams?" The disgusting bandwagon mentality throughout college sports is one of the reason I can never really get into college sports except for Pitt and the Big East. But I won't let it get me. I was born Pitt, raised Pitt, and I will be Pitt until I'm no longer breathing, come hell or 1-11 seasons.

Little Thoughts

Good day, everyone. I hope all is well on this idyllic New England autumn morning.

Spurs 1-1 Villa

In the English midlands, we were treated to quite a goofy game between Spurs, desperate for points, especially road points, and Aston Villa, which has not lost a Premiership game this season. In the first half, Spurs played Spurs football, that is, enjoyed a lot of possession, created numerous scoring chances, did absolutely nothing with them.

In the second half, we ran into some injury trouble when Michael Dawson had to be substituted after sustaining his second concussion of the fledgling year (definitely not a good thing) in a knock with Juan Pablo Angel, leaving Calum Davenport, our third choice center back, as the only legitimate center back on the field for the Lilywhites. This all changed when Davenport was adjudged to have fouled Gabriel Agbonlahor in the box, although the BBC radio guys were pretty convinced Agbonlahor tripped over himself and were beside themselves when the referee not only pointed to the spot but presented Davenport with a red card. This is what happens when you run afoul of karma, I suppose.

Angel stepped up to take the penalty, but flashed his shot wide of Robinson's post, although England's Number One did pick the right direction. However, the damage had been done. This unfortunate bit of refereeing left Spurs with Pascal Chimbonda, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, and Paul Stalteri as their true defenders, none of which ever plays in the center of the pitch. Sure enough, we would be in for a wild final fifteen minutes.

Just moments after the penalty drama, Angel gifted Spurs a goal by heading a harmless Jermain Defoe corner kick into his own goal without a Spurs player anywhere near him. Everyone knew what was coming. Martin Jol sent on Edgar Davids for Dimitar Berbatov, and Spurs, down a man, would most certainly be under attack nonstop until the final whistle.

Spurs went to sort of an 8-1-1 formation, with 8 makeshift centerbacks, Benoit Assou-Ekotto on the left wing, and Jermain Defoe all by himself up front. It didn't take Gareth Barry long to rescue his team, slotting home from the edge of the box. Villa were playing with all ten of their field players in the Spurs half, determined to get a full share of the points. It nearly cost them when Jermaine Jenas picked someone's pocket and sent Defoe through with nothing between him and keeper (former Goon) Stuart Taylor except for forty yards of green grass. The linesman's flag went up, however, which made absolutely no sense because Defoe started his run from his own half of the field, and theoretically players can't be called offside from their own half.

Robbo, who was the subject of much abuse throughout the match by the home fans after the freak incident against Croatia mid-week, was called upon to make a string of fine saves as Villa's relentless attack continued through four minutes of stoppage time until Atkinson mercifully blew the game dead.


Borat is apparently quite popular in Zagreb. Paul Robinson is less so in England these days, although he was certainly a hero in today's match.

With the draw, Spurs earned their first away point of the season and cobbled together their best away performance to date. I feel like the sleeping giant is in the process of groggily waking up, rubbing the crud from his eyes. Aaron Lennon is back, Steed Malbranque will be following shortly.

After a trip to Turkey this week for the opening matchday in the UEFA Cup group stage, Spurs return to London and don't travel more than 45 miles away from the capital for an entire month. If maximum points can be achieved against West Ham at the Lane and Watford at Vicarage Road, Spurs could conceivably have breached the top half of the table going into the Chelsea derby on November 5. With a League Cup tie in Milton Keynes and another UEFA Cup home game against Brugge, these next few weeks will be exciting times in North London.

So how exactly do you go about getting into the top 25 again?

There are some things I just don't understand about college football. For instance, there's this team. It plays in one of the more prestigious conferences in division one, is off to a 6-1 start for the first time since some guy named Marino was playing quarterback, and is in the top 10 in all of division one in scoring with 37.5 points per game. It's not exactly giving them up, either, allowing an average of just 13 over points a game. And that's including a 38-point belch against Michigan State in the team's only loss.

This team's current quarterback had completed 70 percent of his passes this year, 17 of them for touchdowns, and only three into the arms of opposing players. His quarterback rating is 188.59. I have no idea how quarterback rating is computer, but I was previously under the impression that the scale doesn't even go that high.

The team's feature running back is averaging 5.5 yards per carry and is on his way to a 1,000-yard season. He's also pitched in 6 of the team's 11 rushing touchdowns.

The two top receivers have combined to catch 10 touchdown passes and both average more than 17 yards a catch.

This team is the University of Pittsburgh Panthers.

I realize the top 25 is pretty meaningless apart from reputation, but it's just insulting to sit here and watch Pitt demolish teams 52-7 while pus like Rutgers, a perennial shit stain on the Big East's underwear, has been in the top 25 for about a month now based on beating teams like South Florida by two points.

Things will probably be a little different come Monday, especially after Navy pisses all over Rutgers this afternoon, but I still take satisfaction about being able to play the no-respect card. So I'll continue to do it as long as Tyler Palko & co. are playing like they deserve everyone's respect.