Not Like You Care What I Think, But...

• While my NCAA pools were all shot at about, oh, 4:00 last Thursday, this has been a great tournament to watch. There have been some magnificent games and unlikely outcomes. Seriously, if anyone picked George Mason in the Final Four, I'm gonna slap her (men would have overanalyzed this thing too much to pick that).
• Had Jamie Dixon gone to Arizona State instead of deciding to sign a contract extension at Pitt, it may have sent the Panthers' surging basketball program back five or ten years. Word is that John Calipari was ready to leave Memphis to take the job, but if he didn't and Pitt had to go through another long search, it would have given the school the image of being a stepping stone for other programs and not an elite destination for coaches.
• While watching the UCLA-Memphis snoozefest yesterday, I noticed how Bruin center Ryan Hollins went up for strong dunks nearly every time he got the ball in the paint. I hope Aaron Gray was watching that game, too, because he can and should be doing the same.
• What ever happened to Kamo?
• The deadly wreck at the IRL race today was beyond horrific. I think it just further proves the senselessness of a sport that is nothing more than several cars driving around in circles close to each other at 250 mph.
• Sasha Cohen...hot.
• The United States' recent performances in Olympic basketball, Olympic hockey, and the World Baseball Classic doesn't show how other nations have caught up to us as much as it shows how little we care about national pride in team sports. On paper we should still be dominating all three sports, but egos, selfishness, and the reluctance of owners to risk their players getting injured has kept us from putting out the best possible teams.
• There is definitely more optimism for the upcoming Pirates' season than there has been in years. Hopefully it will translate to a better product and even a winning record.
• Barry Bonds is the new O.J. Simpson. You can't prove it, but you know he did it, and it's a shame he won't get punished for it.
• If I were Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, I would have released a statement ten minutes after Terrell Owens became a free agent saying, "Despite his tremendous talent, I refuse to sign Owens based solely on the incident a few years ago when he disrespected the organization and the city of Dallas." But then again, Jones would sign Hitler if he ran a good 40. Here's hoping the fans haven't forgotten and let Jones and Owens know about it.
• Can we please stop talking about football until the draft, and then after that until July? I'm sick and tired of seeing Hines Ward and Bill Cowher get the first 15 minutes of coverage on the news every time one of them sneezes.
• Pittsburgh really needs a new arena, and keeping the Penguins here will be an added benefit of getting it. There's actually an amazing young foundation somewhere in that mess. With Crosby, Fleury, and the arrival of Malkin (who everyone says is much better than one-man highlight reel Alexander Ovechkin), the Pens could be a playoff team for years.
• I'm out of stuff to say. Baseball preview next weekend. Peace.

The Pitts

Bradley? Pitt lost to fuckin' Bradley?

Not to take anything away from Bradley, but when you are a top 20 team and a darkhorse Final Four pick, you don't lose to teams from the Missouri Valley Conference. But then again, Pitt wasn't all they were cracked up to be. At the start of the season they were considered a rebuilding team, and a spot in the rankings and even one in the NCAA tournament seemed like long shots. Then, they started out 15-0 and were ranked as high as 9th. A good showing in the hellacious Big East, followed by a surprise run to the Big East tournament final that included a dominating win over then #2 Villanova, led to a slightly iffy 5 seed (shoulda been 4, maybe 3), but many people said they could go deep in the tournament.

They didn't, and today's loss to Bradley (Brad for short) exposed just about all of their weaknesses.

The most glaring, and ultimately most destructive weakness came in the form of a 7'0", 270 lb. center. Aaron Gray's performance late in the year, especially in the postseason, was dreadful. Often the biggest man on the court by a wide margin, Gray never used his size to assert himself, and missed countless layups. On more than one occasion Pitt could have tied the game or taken the lead if Gray made a free throw, and he would miss it. I know you're all thinking, "but what about all the rebounds he got? He had a bunch of double doubles." Most of those rebounds were from his missed layups. I don't know about you, but I'll take 35 points and 3 rebounds over 14 and 14 any day, especially when one person is the source of all those shots. Maybe if he would show some killer instinct and dunk the ball once in a while he would make more, and Pitt may still be alive.

Next is departing senior Carl Krauser, the Jekyll and Hyde of Pitt. He won a lot of games for Pitt in his four years, and his leadership and mentoring of younger players is immeasurable. However, he lost a lot of games for Pitt, too. Too often he would take matters into his own hands, and not put the ball in anyone else's. He would drive down to the baseline, get triple teamed, and either throw it away or force some horrid shot. Today he had six turnovers, and didn't score in the first half. Krauser let his emotions and streetball background take over sometimes, and the results were almost always disastrous. Have fun playing in Europe, Carl.

As always, Pittsburgh fans must question the moves and thought processes of the coach. Jamie Dixon, in only his third year as a head coach, has established himself as one of the best in the country. He is a hell of a coach, and Pitt should give him whatever he wants in order to keep him. That being said, he needs to work on his coaching style a bit. For starters, the team needs a lot more finesse. The physical, rough and tumble, low-scoring stuff will work fine in the Big East, which resembles Big Ten football, but when it comes tourney time, the refs won't put up with that. Today's game was proof of that, as the refs blew the whistle on every little bit of contact that was made. Pitt needs to be able to adapt to that and blow teams away with speed and flash when elbows and muscles won't work. Another problem I had with Dixon was his personnel decisions. He started John "Human Turnover Machine" DeGroat every game during the regular season. He only played the first few minutes, but his stats for that time were usually a point or two, and three or four turnovers. This was a major contribution to Pitt's many slow starts, particularly in big games. Imagine if they didn't make those turnovers and instead scored on those initial possessions. They would probably have a few more wins, some of which would have been over highly ranked teams.

Everyone's saying that based on this year's performance and with the amount of key players returning (all but Krauser), Pitt should be a pretty strong team in 2006-07. I'd be a little cautious when saying that. The Panthers have a lot of flaws that need addressed and corrected if they want to go any deeper in the NCAA's. For starters, Aaron Gray needs to get some fortitude and realize he's bigger than just about anyone in college basketball. Throw down some dunks, knock some guys on their asses and get that easy layup, and most importantly...MAKE THAT FUCKING LAYUP!. Watch some videos of Shaq. He's not really a good player, but he's so damn big that he can just bump people out of the way and get guaranteed buckets. Gray is a pretty big guy, and he can do something like that in college hoops.

Next, they need to play a stylish, but controlled game. They shouldn't abandon their physicality altogether, but they could be a lot better if they calmed down and added more dimensions to their game. Shoot better shots, shoot smarter shots, make smarter passes, and don't commit stupid fouls. This will help a lot in the Big East play (UConn is a prime example), and it will better prepare them for the officiating in the NCAA tournament.

Finally, play the best guys you have, Dixon. Don't start someone every game just because he is a senior, and don't be afraid to bench someone because he is struggling. I would love to see more of Sam Young and Keith Benjamin next year, especially Young. He is a phenomenal specimen, and is only going to get better.

Next year really does have the potential to be a great year for Pitt basketball, provided they don't run into Brad again. Not like it will matter though. Did you see the freshman class coming to Ohio State?

The Irish Buckeye Guide to March Madness Pools

Me last year after Lousiville lost in the semifinals, costing me thousands (actually it's from sophomore year when I drank a fifth of Bacardi, but that's how I felt last year).

For many college basketball and gambling enthusiasts, today is a lot like Christmas. We find out the seedings and matchups for the NCAA tournament. For many, this is also the start of three weeks that prove to be very costly and very very frustrating. I am reminded of years past, when NCAA pools that were meant to be fun for all and even more fun for one turned into disasters. There was 2003, when Pitt was a #2 seed and nearly everyone picked them to win it all, and for good reason. However, they did their usual choke in the 3rd round, and everyone's pool was shot. It was such an ugly year, the winner was determined by the Elite Eight round, as only one person got one Final Four team right. On a more personal level, there was last year, where I would have won the St. Vincent pool for a few hundred, and probably would have won a lot of money in a much larger pool if Louisville would have beaten Illinois in the semis. They didn't, of course, and I won absolutely nothing.

The past 15 years of misery have taught me many lessons about filling out a bracket pool. The most important lesson is not to bother and save yourself the trouble, I guess, but we're all gluttons for punishment. So here are some tips for when you're picking the winners of a sport played by people younger than you:

1. NEVER PICK ARIZONA. This rule really doesn't apply this year since they had a bad season and only got an 8 seed, but until the end of time this is a good one to follow. Just about every year they enter the tournament on a roll and get a high seed, and just about every year everyone picks them to either go to the Final Four or win it all. And just about every year, they lose in the second or third round. The only time this didn't happen was in 1997, when no one picked them to do anything. Lute Olsen and company may be the biggest chokers in college basketball right now, and picking them to do anything different would be a waste of your money.

2. Your favorite/local team will not win, so don't pick them. Remember my NFL previews and reviews and whatever views? I never once mentioned the Steelers and the Super Bowl in the same sentence, because I knew that once I did they would be jinxed and not make it. The result of this superstition? One for the thumb, fools. Sadly, you have to fill in the winners of these things, so jinxing your team is inevitable. I have learned my lesson, and I will never again pick Pitt or Ohio State to win it all. Your favorite team won't win, either. It's wishful thinking, and in some years it looks like it could really happen, but if you picked them, they're screwed.

3. 3-pointers = 3 rounds. Nothing in college basketball bothers me more than the recent bastardization of the 3-point line. What was once a reward or a shot of desperation or necessity has now become the focal point of a team's entire offense, and their games look like something you do on Playstation. These teams always have some dopey looking white guy (cough cough Pittsnogle) that does nothing but shoot the three, and damnit does he always freakin' make it. They always become the sleeper team and people pick them thinking they are being smart. What they don't realize is that many of these teams rely on the three because they have no inside game, and come tourney time that's a problem. An off night or a defense that will get in their faces will always lead to their demise, and once you get to the later rounds there are too many of those types of teams for them to succeed.

4. Sentimental choices are dumb choices. Teams that come out of nowhere to win their conference tournament, or teams that have some hard luck player or stupid stuff like that tug at people's hearts and convince them that they will ride that emotion to a title. This year it's Syracuse with their 13th year senior Gerry McNamara, whose overexposure on ESPN the past couple days is borderline Bostonian. Now people think they are going to do some damage in the NCAA's since they're riding such a hot streak. Here's my prediction: they're gonna lose in the first round. They spent all their energy in the Big East tourney, and with the four or five day break in between that and the first round, that momentum they had will be gone. Just like those 3-point lovin teams, teams like this just won't have the talent to go all the way.

5. Mid-majors...no. Nothing much to say here. They aren't as good as people think, and picking Gonzaga to win it all is setting yourself up for failure.

6. White men can't jump, nor can they win national titles. Remember a few years ago when Princeton had five white guys and did that slow, boring white guy offense to beat some teams? Man was that lame. If you think a team can go far in the tournament playing fundamental basketball, then you need to get out of the 50s. Not to sound stereotypical, but our people suck at basketball, and when a team of white guys goes up against a team of blacks that are stronger, faster, and more flashy, no amount of the flex offense can help you.

7. A 12 seed will beat a 5 seed. It happens every year. This year my pick is Texas A&M over Syracuse.

8. When in doubt, ask a woman. In 1998, the men in my family spent hours looking at stats and agonizing over who to pick. My mother looked at the bracket and said, "Eh, I'll pick Utah." Now she doesn't even know a basketball is round (this despite the fact my brother and I played basketball all through grade school and high school. That's 16 straight years of watching one and/or the other play), and Utah wasn't very highly regarded, so we laughed at her and thought she was on crack. Two weeks later we reached for the pipes ourselves as the Utes made it to the national championship game. For some reason, women will pick a team based on their uniforms, mascots, and a million other non-basketball reasons, and all too often they end up beating us men who do research and lab experiments to determine who will win. What are we doing wrong, men, and what is your secret, women?

9. None of these rules apply to Duke. For some reason, all these tips go out the window when you consider the Blue Devils (the Arizona one doesn't really count, unless you believe in the duality of college basketball players). They have white guys that can play, they can shoot the lights out at will, everyone picks them and wins with them, and no matter what their seed is or what is going on with their team, they are always in the thick of it at the end. Picking Duke to go far is a wise choice, since they can win a lot of games for you, and their defeat will impact everyone's pool.

There are your tips for a successful and hopefully lucrative month of March. Happy pooling, and good luck. See you next week.

For Paul...

People invest too much of their lives in sports. Whether it's playing them, watching them, or writing stupid blogs about them, they have become too important to us. Often, they consume so much of our lives that when something else major happens, we are not prepared for it. That happened to a lot of us on Tuesday. So forgive me if I don't write about the Steelers or Pitt this week, but I have too much on my mind that I have to express it.

There are way too many cliches about friends and friendship. Stupid sayings in our AIM info and on greeting cards have become so overused that you begin to wonder if they really apply to the friend for which the person intended them. But for some reason, everything I've ever heard about friendship fits Paul perfectly.

You hear people describe a friend as someone that would give you the shirt off his back. I saw Paul do it once. Granted it was a North Carolina jersey and he was a rabid Duke fan, but the fact that he so effortlessly gave someone such an expensive thing for a drastically reduced price showed me that someone really needed the shirt off his back, Paul would walk home topless.

You hear people say that true friends are there through good and bad. When it was Paul's turn to be the subject of our ridicule, he took it all in good fun, because he knew we weren't serious, and that the next day he would get his revenge on one of us. Through it all he never stopped being our friend, and we never stopped being his.

You hear "Friends are always there for you." That was him in a nutshell. Whether it was a beer run, a movie, or a quick ride to Sheetz for a burger, Paul was always the first one to say, "I'll drive." He would always give of himself and ask little or nothing in return. He was happy to drive me to New Ken to drop off a keg, and his price was a mere $0.75 beer at Nopalito's. When you needed an extra player for basketball or softball, he'd be the first one to call. Not because he was so good, but because you knew he would love to come down and play. When the parties were broken up but the night was still young, he'd start grabbing beers for a cemetery walk. Basically, if Paul could do it for you, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

You hear that friends will pick you up when you are down. I know Paul picked me up several times when I was down, and on more than a few Fridays on the way out of Bonnie, we simultaneously picked each other up in an attempt to get back to Gerry. I'm sure he was there for all you guys too, be it giving you advice or just an ear to listen to your gripes.

Maybe the saying that bothers me the most is when friends and loved ones say that the deceased "would have wanted it that way." How do we really know what this person felt and wanted? Well, I'm pretty sure that no matter how you deal with what happened, or how you remember Paul, it would get his stamp of approval. In the three years I knew him, he wanted to make people happy more than anyone I have ever met. That's why he always offered to drive. That's why he was always up for cemetery walks. He drove from Greensburg to Natrona Heights almost every day so he could provide for Faith and Noah and make their lives better. He never did any of these things to boost his ego or make himself better. No, he felt better when he knew that we did too.

Losing Paul is going to hurt for a while. It may take days, weeks, months, or longer. But someday, when we think about him, we won't think about Tuesday. We'll think about what he did while he was with us, and how great of a friend he was. Then, instead of tears and pain, we'll smile, and we'll be happy.

Paul would have wanted it that way.