Nothing like inviting 3 patsies to your own round robin tournament, so you can throw another piece of hardware into the trophy case. After a weekend where your #5 nationally ranked Pitt Panthers swept Northeastern, UMass, and Oakland, Pitt claimed stake to the inaugural Colonial Classic crown.
BTW...not sure what's in that name, "The Colonial Classic"? I thought my Bobby Mo had the city's rights to the "Colonial."Oh, well.
Aaron Gray also got some hardware. The pre-season All Big East big dude won the "tournament's" MVP. Gray's gotta come up big this year if Pitt's gonna live up to that #5 ranking. Carl Krauser was a lot of things...a selfish ball hog, a whiner, an "I" guy, a turnover waiting to happen...but one thing Carl could do was score the ball.
A potential problem I see for my Panthers is the lack of a consistent #2 scoring option. Key word...consistent. Especially when they start Big East play...and you start seeing some bigger bodies doubling down on Gray.
Levon Kendall, while being a key ingredient, is more of a scrapper. Levance Fields, in his 1st chance as the full time PG, shouldn't be relied on to score consistently. Ronald Ramon can shoot it when open, but he doesn't create a lot of his own shots.
The key may be how good this new kid, transfer from East Carolina, Mike Cook becomes. So far, he looks pretty comfy, albeit against weaker competition. Cook led ECU in scoring 2 years ago, and so far he's shooting 75% from three. At 6'4", he can also shoot over some guys that Ronald Ramon can not. Cook's the key.
I'd also like to see Sam Young get more involved. Sam's a stud...your athletic high flyer...probably an NBA prospect if he can polish his offensive skills. And Tyrell Biggs is gonna have to step up as the big man off the pines. (Is it just me, or did that kid lose about 40 lbs??).
Anyway, nice start for Pitt. I won't get on them too much for the light non-conference schedule because the Big East is a beaaaatch.
So Sunday, Jess & I made our 1st trip back to the Pete in 2 years...since that bean bag AD Jeff Long decided to slap the fans in the face with his "auction" style seating plan. That's right Jeff...people would've paid higher prices. That wasn't the problem. Tell us the price, and we'd have paid it. Being an institution of higher learning...perhaps getting some marketing experts together to see what the market for basketball tickets would bear...that would be too much to ask. You jag. I swore off Pitt hoops after that. But hey...Long's deficiencies as a PR guy for Pitt aren't Jamie Dixon or the players' faults. So we're back. Jeff Long can go f....
Never mind...too angry...someone's got the case of the Monday's...more sporting tidbits:
* So the Cubs are attempting to buy a World Series again? Soriano's a stud, but here's betting Wood and Prior get hurt again. Yes, the Pirates suck as well, but at least our losing seasons are a lot less expensive.
* Is NASCAR over yet?
* Inter Milan won 1-Nil Sunday over Reggina. Hernan Crespo with the lone goal. And there was an Adriano sighting!!! BIG MATCH ALERT: This Sunday, Nov. 26th vs. 2nd place Palermo. Haven't seen a listing yet, but I imagine it'll be on Fox Soccer or GOLTV.
* So the same week Georgetown is featured on the cover of SI’s College Hoops Preview, they lose to Old Dominion. Being on the cover of SI is like having Mike Tyson wear your campaign T-shirt when you’re running for the U.S. Senate. How’s that old New York Dolls tune go…”Born to Lose…”
* Put me on the Ohio St / Michigan rematch for the BCS Championship bandwagon. That was fun. If you think someone other than Michigan is worthy, you either lack credibility or you're a Buckeye fan afraid of the Wolverine on a neutral field. Unbiased opinion. And don't even start with this Notre Dame crap.
* Staying with college hoops…has anyone noticed Florida junior Joakim Noah? Don’t worry, he’ll pound on his chest until you do.
AND FINALLY…Steelers 24
Browns 20
Browns 20
* Nothing like bringing a couple ass bags like Braylon Edwards & Kellen "Soldier" Winslow to the table to spice up an old rivalry that seemed to be losing some zest. I've got some Browns fans here (B. Seitz & the Browns Backers...who luvs ya?), so I use that term "ass bag" with the utmost affection. I'm sure the feeling's mutual regarding Joey Porter.
Great game. Great comeback from the Beloved. Did you hear? Big Ben said he refused to come out of the game when Cowher asked about his shoulder. What a warrior. Then he put on his baseball hat backwards.
Happy Thanksgiving y'all. Remember, there's 3 (THREE!!) NFL games on this Thursday! So when Aunt Sally Ann Handbags wants to turn off the TV for dinner, be sure to tell her you want to watch the Detroit Lions.
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