A Perfect Fit: The X Meets the XPlosion

One, two, three sad basketball players

Guess what time of year it is, folks? That's right, CBA Basketball season! And somehow, some way, the Pittsburgh XPlosion have managed to hang around for another campaign. When you're building on a 10-38 season in '06-07, you basically have nowhere to go but up.

This season, the XPlosion are opting to look like a Pitt alumni squad, as their recent acquisitions of Carl Krauser (he of the famous Bronx "X" celebration), Antonio Graves, and John Degroat would illustrate. All they need is Ben Howland and they might make the Sweet 16. This pro-Pitt philosophy goes counter to the "build around Kevin Pittsnogle" plan that sorta blew up around March of last season.

A CBA interview, clearly the worst assignment of the great Dan Potash's career

The good news is that the dance team is also back for another year. Requirements for dancers include a $30 tryout fee, a two-piece outfit consisting of a midriff top and briefs or hot shorts, and ability to sell one sponsorship package. Seriously.

Sadly, I see no mention of the Hooters Rooters fan bus this season. At least four players are beside themselves.

Krauser Back at the Pete [Pitt Blather]

Join the Hooters Rooters [Mondesi's House]

Tough to Watch

The Pitt Panthers gave their critics plenty of fodder last night, dropping yet another Sweet 16 game, this time to the UCLA Bruins by a count of 64-55.

What's disappointing about this game is that Pitt played excellent defense and had every opportunity to beat this team. Holding the Bruins to 32 points in each half should be enough to win a game. But it's tough to win any game when your leading scorer has just 12 points (Ronald Ramon). So what was the problem? Jet lag? Unfriendly rims? Refs? Or just a classic choke job?

Personally, I thought this team got as far as it could. I picked UCLA to beat Pitt, one of the few games I actually got right in the bracket I filled out.

The problem that Pitt has to deal with is expectations. When you win and win and win and have nothing tangible to show for it other than one Big East banner, the fans and critics start to get chirpy. Am I crazy? Ask Tubby Smith...he won a championship and he was sent to Minnesota as a reward. Call up Larry Coker, he of the 60-15 lifetime record, who won a championship in his first season and lost the championship in his second. There are examples everywhere: Ron Zook, Tyrone Willingham, Paul Hackett, Mike Davis, Frank Solich, Mike Shula, etc.

It's not fair, but this is the climate of college (and pro) coaches that they must deal with. Pitt had a nice season, but based on the expectations going in, you could make an argument that on some level, they were a disappointment.

A few thoughts from the game:

--Levon Kendall: 22 minutes, 0 points, 2 turnovers. I know he plays solid defense, but a pretty sad way for this senior to end his Pitt career.

--Mike "T.O." Cook once again led the way in that category, with three. Pitt was very sloppy when handling the ball, looking like they were literally tripping over their feet at times.

--Aaron Gray finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Not the line you'd expect from the Big East Preseason Player of the Year. But after watching his up and down season, you actually could expect a game like that from Gray.

--UCLA, one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the nation (I believe I heard they were ranked around 300), goes 23-26 (89%) from the charity stripe. Pitt got to the line just 14 times, hitting 8 (57%).

--In addition to their free throw shooting, Pitt shot 36% from the floor. Ugh.

--UCLA should have won the game by 20. They had plenty of chances to absolutely bury the Panthers, yet they let them hang around for virtually the entire game.

--I had the barf bag ready all night with the Dixon-Howland crap, even through the "Howland will feel guilty if they knock Pitt out of the tournament" line in the last 2 minutes. And then the handshake came, and we got a half-second, barely noticeable acknowledgement by the respective heads of their teams. Touching.

--Based on one of the thousands of commercial breaks CBS gifted us with, I have some advice for any single guys reading this column:

A. Invest in Axe Body Spray and

B. Invest in bodyguards to keep all the women off of you

The Afternoon Killer

Pens win in a shootout....we are officially living the real-life Groundhog Day


The Pitt women advance to round two and a showdown with Tennessee. Marcedes Walker scares me.


Pitt's coming for you, Ben Howland


Carlee Roethlisberger, hoops star


A Christy Mathewson signed baseball sells for $161,000---a new record for a single-signed baseball


What do you think...should we finish off Heinz Field?

Is Bill Simmons a ghost writer?

Terrible Towel-shoe shiner T.J. Houshmandzadeh is a strong supporter of tougher penalties to NFL players who run afoul of the law

Remember the Rap Cat link from a few weeks ago? Looks like he's created some real controversy

Howard Stern...out to ruin American Idol with his support of Sanjaya


Nothing like a chicken fat spill to slow down traffic

Here's a website that has EVERY SOUTH PARK EPISODE EVER --- for free!

Anyone plan on attending the $10,000 a plate dinner at the Egypt pyramids?

Nothing like finding a naked stranger in your grandma's bed

Adios, Mr. Crean

I'm glad I had a working remote on Thursday night, with the Pens and the Panthers playing simultaneously. Despite their late-season struggles, Pitt always seems to get up for the Big East tournament. If I had a choice, I'd rather they get up for the NCAA tournament, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

So Pitt faced off against a pesty Marquette team that's beaten the Panthers twice this season. What better way to kick off the BET than a matchup against one of your toughest foes? But the Panthers were ready on this night, topping the Golden Eagles by a score of 89-79.

Aaron Gray played like the Aaron Gray we all know and love, with 22 points and 10 boards. Mike Cook added 16 points without a single turnover, Levance Fields poured in 13, and off the bench, Sam Young abused the Golden Eagles for 17 points in 19 minutes. The post-game featured the usual frosty "handshake" between Jamie Dixon and Tom Crean. Larry Fitzgerald, Tyler Palko, and the Wannstache were in the Pitt cheering section. Lots of good stuff on this evening.

Pitt's next game in the tournament is Louisville, the team that embarrassed them in their worst Petersen Center loss ever just a few weeks ago. Louisville had a Penguin-like double-OT game with West Virginia on Thursday night, so here's hoping they're running on low batteries. Another win puts Pitt in the Big East championship yet again, where they hope to improve on their Cowher-esque record of 1-4 in Big East championships in the Howland/Dixon era. Speaking of old Benny, his UCLA team didn't do too well on Thursday. He can watch the Pitt game with Tom Crean on Friday night.