PITT, PENS BOTH LOSE

Within the span of a few hours, what looked like a promising night of Pittsburgh sports viewing turned sour. Very sour.

First, the Pitt Panthers became the latest team to get upset in the Big East Tournament, with a disappointing 50-45 loss to Notre Dame at the Garden. All of a sudden, the team that used to dominate this tournament is suddenly one-and-done the past two seasons, having dropped a 74-60 decision as the #2 seed last year to #7 West Virginia.

Notre Dame led almost the entire game on Thursday night, aided by a 12-4 run to start things off. Pitt would close the gap to one several times in the second half, but could never get over the hump.

As is usually the case in a game with 95 total points, it wasn't the most exciting brand of basketball to watch. Pitt had only two players reach double figures: Brad Wanamaker (16) and Jermaine Dixon (10). Gilbert Brown pulled his usual every-other-game disappearing act, with three points on 1-of-5 shooting, Ashton Gibbs was nearly silent with just four points on four shots, and Gary McGhee was shut out altogether.

Once again, the Panthers were outshot by the Irish, who held the edge in shooting percentage from the floor (53%-39%) and from beyond the arc (46%-20%). Notre Dame also had just two players in double figures on the night, those being Ben Hansbrough and Luke Harangody, who scored 12 points each. And by the way, the number of TV shots of Harangody's family was roughly the same as the volume of ads for "She's Out of My League" - a lot.

So Pitt will get considerable time off before the Big Dance, while Notre Dame will fight to see another day in the BET. The Irish will take on the winner of WVU-Cincy, with Marquette and Georgetown meeting in the other semifinal.


As for the Pens, they were busy blowing an early 2-0 lead in Raleigh, NC to the Carolina Hurricanes, eventually losing 4-3 in overtime on a goal by Brian Pothier - his first since joining the Canes via Washington. This was the first loss in five games since the Olympic break for the Penguins. Scorching hot Carolina is now 13-3-1 in their past 17.

Jordan Staal and Bill Guerin scored quickly in the first period for the Penguins, but Carolina would have the game knotted at two just five minutes later, following goals by Ray Whitney and Zach Boychuk. The teams traded goals in the second, with Eric Staal and Matt Cooke each lighting the lamp for their respective teams. That would be the end of scoring until Pothier's goal just 23 seconds into OT.

Brent Johnson got the start in goal for Pittsburgh and stopped just 17 of the 21 shots he faced. On the other end, Justin Peters was peppered with 40 shots from the Pens, stopping 37 of them and grabbing the game's top star honors.

The Pens now hit the road for four straight games, with the next home contest coming on March 20, a rematch with the Canes. The menu for the upcoming week includes roadies at New Jersey on Friday, Tampa on Sunday, Jersey again on Wednesday, and the Matt Cooke Reunion with Boston on Thursday.

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

TODAY'S HEADLINES

The Pitt Panthers (24-7) open Big East Tournament play today with a 7 PM matchup against Notre Dame (22-10) at Madison Square Garden, where the Panthers are 24-10 since 2000-01.

The Irish crushed Pitt while playing without Luke Harangody in their meeting two weeks ago, but he's now back and playing well, with 20 points and 10 boards in Notre Dame's win over Seton Hall last night.

I don't know how the Irish could shoot any better than they did in the last meeting with Pitt (50% from the floor, 56% from 3), and I think you'll see a much better effort out of the Panthers than you did in that debacle. Frankly, it couldn't be much worse.

The winner gets either the winner of the Huggy Bowl, Cincinnati or West Virginia, tomorrow night at 9 PM. [PG]

The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in action tonight, facing off against "could've been a Penguin" Ray Whitney and the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 PM. Again, this will be a night where your remote control needs to be in midseason form, with the Pens and Panthers playing at the same time.

Bill Guerin (back) is questionable, Eric Godard (groin) is out indefinitely, and Bill Cowher will hopefully be on hand to do something embarrassing. [Empty Netters]

Ben Roethlisberger may be down to his last chance in Pittsburgh, reports Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network:

Jason La Canfora of NFL Network reported during Wednesday's "Around the League" segment on Total Access that Roethlisberger already has met with ownership regarding the latest ordeal, and that the Rooneys are sufficiently "dismayed" with the situation to cause some in the building to believe that another incident could result in the end of Ben's career in Pittsburgh.

The Steeler Way is dead, writes Joe Starkey. He's not the only person saying this, and sadly, I must agree. Santonio, Harrison, Davenport, Reed, Spaeth, Cedrick Wilson, Barrett Brooks...need I go on? [Trib]

Mark Madden compares and contrasts the Steelers' handling of Ben's situation to that of James Harrison a few years ago, and dares the team to cut Roethlisberger (which is actually being suggested by some). [WXDX/Mark Madden]

Hank Fraley, the free agent center who played collegiately at Robert Morris, is on the Steelers' radar, according to agent Ralph Cindrich. Fraley started his career in Pittsburgh, was released, and went on to start for several years in Philadelphia and later Cleveland. He will be meeting with St. Louis today. [Cleveland.com]

Lamarr Woodley will participate in a ceremonial puck-drop for the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL on Saturday night.

Woodley played at Saginaw HS and the University of Michigan, so there should be a good turnout. He will also be speaking to season ticket holders and fans before the game. [OurSportsCentral.com]

Antonio Bryant, former Pitt Panther extraordinaire, signed a $28 million deal with Cincinnati yesterday, ending the Terrell Owens-Ochocinco team-up that was rumored to be in the works. Not bad for a guy who was once out of the league altogether. [TampaBayOnline.com]

She's Out of My League, the movie shot in Pittsburgh starring Jay Baruchel and Alice Eve, opens in theaters tomorrow. If you didn't know that, you've probably missed the billion commercials they've run for it over the last few weeks.

But apparently Baruchel is a Canadian and therefore a huge hockey fan, and he recounts his experience meeting national hero Sidney Crosby in an interview with the PG today.

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

WHILE YOU WERE WATCHING HOCKEY, PITT WAS GETTING DESTROYED

No Luke Harangody, no problem. Right? Wrong.

With the City of Pittsburgh preoccupied by the latest installment of Crosby vs. Ovechkin in Vancouver, the Pitt Panthers were quietly getting blown out of the building by the Harangody-less Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend, to the tune of 68-53 on Wednesday night. And really, it wasn't even that close.

Tim Abromaitis scored 17 points, Ben "Brother of Tyler" Hansbrough had 15 points and nine boards, and Tory Jackson had 14 points and seven assists for the Irish, which shot 50% from the floor and 55.6% from three-point land as a team while outrebounding the Panthers 31-21.

As the 53 points would indicate, offense was not coming easily for Pitt on this night. Jermaine Dixon led with 13 points, and Ashton Gibbs' 11 was the only other double-digit performance. For the Panthers, it was the worst offensive output as a team since their 51-points in the West Virginia loss; their 47 points against New Hampshire still sticks out as their offensive nadir in 2009-10.

Gilbert Brown had a forgettable night, going 1-for-7 from the floor and 0-for-5 from outside. But it's unfair to single him out, because no one from Pitt stood out on O. The team only reached the foul line seven times in all on the night, and shot a miserable 4-for-18 from beyond the arc. It was a miserable performance, to say the least.

The Panthers (21-7, 10-5 Big East) will try to rebound on noon Saturday at St. John's (15-12, 5-10). The Red Storm is led by G/F DJ Kennedy, averaging 14.5 points per game.

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

TODAY'S HEADLINES

Hines will give it a go: #86 is going to attempt to play against the Browns in the bitter Cleveland cold. That's always good for a sore hamstring. But I'd still take Hines at 10% over Limas Sweed at 1,000%.

Also inactive for the Black and Gold on Thursday: third QB Charlie Batch, CB Keenan Lewis, RB Carey Davis, S Troy Polamalu, G Kraig Urbik, OT Tony Hills, DT Ra'Shon Harris and DE Nick Eason. [PFT]

Pirates dive into Rule 5: Meet your newest Pirate project, soon-to-be 26-year-old John Raynor, last of the Florida Marlins organization. The speedy outfielder batted .257 for Class AAA New Orleans last season, with six HR, 24 doubles, two triples, 36 RBI and 19 SB.

Baseball America named Raynor the fastest baserunner in the Class AA Southern League in 2008. The Pirates must pay Florida $50,000 for his rights, and if he does not stay on the major league roster all year, he will be available to the Marlins for $25,000. [PBC Blog]

One controversial banner: When the ACLU has to get involved so a Steelers Country banner can stay up, it just might be a sign of the apocalypse. [PG]

Jason Bay headed back to the NL? J-Bay is being hotly pursued by the New York Mets, who have reportedly offered him a four-year deal worth $65 million. The Red Sox, Angels, and Mariners have also been mentioned as possible homes for Bay in 2010 and beyond. A return to the Pirates is not on the agenda. [SI]

Brian Kelly to ND: In three seasons at Cincinnati, Brian Kelly went 34-6 and won two conference championships, so it goes without saying that others in the Big East have no problem with him taking the vacant Notre Dame job. He'll inherit a team that's gone 16-21 the past three seasons, and to top it off, they're losing Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate to the NFL. At least their fans have proven that they're patient and rational. [WPXI]

Looking back at a decade of baseball: SI is continuing their "best/worst of the decade" series, and now it's baseball's turn. Somehow, the Pirates avoid the "Worst Franchise" tag, which went to Kansas City. But we did lay claim to the best New Stadium (PNC Park) and a former Pirate who takes home the Biggest Villain title, Barry Lamar Bonds. [SI]

A Burgh accent gets national exposure: Mt. Lebanon grad Gillian Jacobs is on the NBC show Community, and she discusses her Pittsburgh roots (and Bret Michaels' accent) at the 6:30 mark of this recent clip from The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson:

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

OFF TO A GOOD START

The sports extravaganza/traffic nightmare dubbed "Homecoming Weekend" has so far resulted in a Pitt basketball win in their home opener, a Penguin win in overtime, and a Pitt win over Notre Dame in front of a national audience. You're up, Steelers.

We'll start with the Penguins, who eeked out a 6-5 overtime winner against Boston which featured the following improbabilities: two goals from Pascal Dupuis, a goal from Jay McKee, a goal from Mark Eaton, and a game-tying goal from Bill Guerin with less than a second remaining. Hey, it's only fair given everything the team's been through over the past couple of weeks. But it sure was sweet.

With all due respect to the dramatic ending at Mellon Arena, the bigger story, at least on this night, was the Pitt Panthers' 27-22 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Heinz Field in front of 65,000+, a prime-time ABC audience spanning 83% of the country, and more than 100 recruits.

The Panthers atoned for virtually ignoring Jonathan Baldwin against Syracuse (1 catch, 5 yards) and unleashed the future pro on the Irish secondary to the tune of 142 yards on five catches, with one touchdown and two plays for the highlight reels. RBs Dion Lewis and Ray Graham each reeled off runs of 50+ yards en route to a 193-66 rushing edge for the Panthers. QB Bill Stull continued to play efficient football, with 236 yards passing and a touchdown. And the defense...well, they were just a treat to watch, especially the much-heralded defensive line of Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard, Gus Mustakas and Mick Williams.

The D only started to struggle once DBs Aaron Berry and Ricky Gary went down in short order to injuries in the fourth quarter. A seasoned QB like Jimmy Clausen predictably exploited that deficiency, as did his talented receivers. But the 9-1 Panthers would ultimately hold off the Irish with the help of a crucial and controversial Clausen fumble late in the final minutes.

The Panthers' next two games both fall under the category of must-see TV: the Backyard Brawl on November 27 (the day after Thanksgiving) and the de facto Big East Championship against Cincinnati on December 5. What is it about Pittsburgh against Cincinnati in big divisional football games this year?

And finally, speaking of TV, a huge thumbs-down to ABC last night for interviewing Charlie Weis and not Dave Wannstedt after the Pitt win last night. Weis now has the same winning percentage as Ty Willingham and Bob Davie - so if it's any consolation, it's probably one of the last interviews he'll be giving as the head coach of Notre Dame.

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

NEWS AND NOTES

--Beloved former Pittsburgh broadcaster Trenni Kusnierek is on the move again, this time to the MLB Network, based in Secaucus, NJ. But I'm sure all of her devotees knew that already. [JS Online]

--And the truly important Trenni link: pics from her going-away party. [The Bucky Channel]

--From Zack in Denver: "A little something to remember if Ryan Clark gets fined for the hit on Welker. In an article about how the Steelers one of the top teams in the AFC, NFL.com is using a picture of the play as an example of how good the Steelers are on defense." [NFL.com]

--It's only December, but it's never too early to look at the always-lengthy list of upcoming Pirate promotional nights. [Raise the Jolly Roger]

--All this talk about Pitt in the Sun Bowl uncovered this revelation, made by Joe in Pittsburgh: Tyrone Carter is on the Sun Bowl All-Time Team. [Sunbowl.org]

--Another Pittsburgh-centric movie to keep on your radar: My Tale of Two Cities. We're becoming a regular mini-Hollywood. [Mytaleoftwocities.com]

--What next for Pittsburgh? A video game! From Eric: "There was a game released a few weeks ago called Fallout 3 that took place in a nuclear wasteland version of Washington DC. You could walk around and explore a pretty accurate model of the area, so people from around there said. In Feburary, they are making an expansion for the game, this time set in Pittsburgh." [IGN.com]

--Nittany Lion fans, your cologne has finally arrived! Does it smell like JoePa? [Deadspin]

--Pirate Indian-pitcher links:
DJ Gallo looks into the possibility of the Pirates signing a prospect with 14 arms [SportsPickle]

Taking the other side of the argument, some applause to the Bucco brass for taking a chance. [Pittsburgh's Black and Gold]

--Matt Mosley says the Giants are better off without Plaxico Burress. And who can argue? They're 11-1. And that's without Jeremy Shockey, Osi Umenyiora, and Michael Strahan, to boot. [ESPN Blog Network/NFC East]

--The Notre Dame football program is just not special anymore. And Gene Wojciechowski tells us why, in case you've been living under a rock the past two years. [ESPN]

--We should all apply for jobs at the Peer Bearing Co. in Chicago. Why? They gave away $6.6 million in year-end bonuses to their 230 employees. [Yahoo! News]

--This year, it will cost you over $86,000 to buy the '12 Days of Christmas' items. 10 lords-a-leaping don't come cheap. [PG]

--Monday's real "big news": the Howard Stern Show's High-Pitch Mike comes out of the closet. Looks like Artie was right all along. [Howardstern.com]

--Interesting article on Pittsburgh found in the USA Today on the occasion of the city's 250th anniversary. A good read. [USA Today]

--Here's an early glimpse at Taylor Kitsch's portrayal of Gambit in the upcoming Wolverine. [FilmDrunk]

Send your news, tips, and links to Mondesishouse@gmail.com.

WEEKLY ESPN PODCAST: FOOTBALL A-PLENTY

This week's podcast with Dave Dameshek was everything a podcast should be: two Yinzers gabbing about Pittsburgh sports. Topics included the Steeler Nation dynamic, Steelers-Redskins, Steelers-Colts, Pitt-Notre Dame, and the worst sports team nicknames (not to spoil it, but I had to go with the Browns, who also feature the worst logo, the worst stadium name, the worst draft picks, the worst ownership, and the worst coaches. And staph infections.)

To listen, visit the link below:

Mondesi's House/Dave Dameshek ESPN.com podcast 11/7/08

Send your news, tips, and links to Mondesishouse@gmail.com.

PITT IS RANKED, AGAIN

Coming off of their miracle 33-30 quadruple-overtime win at Notre Dame yesterday, the Pitt Panthers are once again ranked in the top 25. I'm guessing that they're the only team who's ever lost to Bowling Green, yielded 54 against Rutgers and still be ranked, but I suppose that says something about the quality and/or style of their victories.

The Panthers are the second-highest ranked Big East team in the rankings, trailing West Virginia, who is this week's #20 at 6-2 after a 35-13 win over UConn.

Undefeated Penn State will probably cry foul with their #3 ranking, getting jumped by the dramatic Texas Tech Red Raiders, whose next two games come against #8 Oklahoma State and #6 Oklahoma.

Getting back to the Panthers, their next game comes at noon Saturday against the 5-3 Louisville Cardinals, followed then by 6-2 Cincinnati and 6-2 WVU.

The improbable nationally-televised victory yesterday is part of a developing trend under Dave Wannstedt: big wins on the road. The Panthers seem to struggle at Heinz Field, but on the road, they've been all aces of late, knocking off West Virginia, South Florida, and now, the Irish.

While the play of backup QB Pat Bostick, who led the Panthers to victory yesterday, will be debated for a while, Wannstedt has announced that incumbent starter Bill Stull will be back next week against the Cardinals.

Highlights in Panther uniforms yesterday included 169 yards on the ground, 23 through the air, and another touchdown from Shady McCoy; a perfect 5-5 field goal afternoon from Conor Lee; a game-tying touchdown from Jonathan Baldwin; and a blocked punt and several special teams tackles from Andrew "son of Peter" Taglianetti.

Maybe this win will silence Beano Cook (who I'm a big fan of, by the way), who's implied on a number of radio appearances this season that Pitt's roster did not hold a candle to Notre Dame's. I don't have the exact quote, but I believe it was something along the lines of "Pitt has about four guys Notre Dame would recruit".

On second thought: silence Beano? I doubt it.

Send your news, tips, and links to Mondesishouse@gmail.com.

BREAKING: Jeff Samardzija to the Cubs

Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago announced on the Dan Patrick Show that Notre Dame WR Jeff Samardzija has turned his back on the NFL and will instead sign a five-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, who drafted him in the 5th round of the most recent MLB draft. Samardzija was considered a lock to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft. Mel Kiper is said to be "beside himself".

Someday we may see Samardzija pitching for our division rivals at PNC Park. Like Cubs pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, we can count on Samardzija having a few great years, signing a huge contract to be the centerpiece of the rotation, then breaking down on an annual basis as the Cubs spiral to another disappointing season.

Football Fans are Obnoxious

I love football. LOVE it. But this past week made me realize all the things wrong with my favorite game.

The Steelers, reigning Super Bowl champions, lost a tough 9-0 game in Jacksonville. Jacksonville was a 12-4 team last year and a franchise that has traditionally given the Steelers fits. A loss should not have surprised anyone. Yet spoiled Steeler fans screamed like babies in the days afterwards, blaming the usual suspects: Quarterback, Coach, and Running Back.

I hear all the time about how smart Steeler fans are. So why are some of them already suggesting Najeh Davenport start in place of Willie Parker? Why are they saying Charlie Batch should have started, or at least came in as a reliever? Why are they blaming the coach? Because they aren't all smart fans.

Anyone with a modicum of football knowledge knows that the Steelers offensive line was being blown off the ball. Parker had nowhere to run; he was ducking tackles in the backfield. You can take Duce out of his sweats, you can pull Najeh from the dorm closet, you can ask Jerome to step out of the NBC booth, heck, you can call in Jim Brown from Cleveland's sidelines...but neither one would have had any more luck than Parker had on Monday.

Roethlisberger had little if any time to throw. The weak line play set up many 3rd-and-longs, when the defense knew the pass was coming. He has spent precious little time with the offense in game situations in the pre-season; an offense, keep in mind, that has several new contributors (Holmes, Washington, etc) that Ben has not yet meshed with. With all that in mind, as well as the fact that he did have some type of fever and he was just a short time removed from an appendectomy, his performance should not be much of a surprise. What if Cowher puts Batch in and the Steelers still lose? You have the same record and a still-rusty Roethlisberger going into a huge division game on Sunday. If the Steelers win? Cowher would then be asked when to bring Ben into the fold, since Batch would be 2-0 and the hot hand. Cowher had no choice; as long as Roethlisberger felt up to playing, he had to be in the game. You win with Ben, you lose with Ben. And as his 27-5 career record would indicate, you win with Ben most of the time.

The Steelers line was unable to block; they couldn't run, and they couldn't set up the pass. Sure, I was disappointed, as well as every other Steeler fan. But it was one game. GET OVER IT. There are 14 more to be played. This is a team that was 7-5 and on the edge of elimination last season and still won the Super Bowl. I don't think one loss to a quality opponent on their home field is anything that should cause the panic button to be pushed as frantically as it has this week.

When it comes to the voice of the fan, Steeler supporters are no better or worse than any other team's following. Denver, who went to the AFC Championship with Jake Plummer, wanted to bench him after week one. Dallas, who some picked to go to the Super Bowl with Drew Bledsoe, also had calls to bench him after week one. Football fans and patience are no longer a happy marriage. In fact, it's a divorce: football fans have no patience.

College fans are equally as impatient, if not worse. Larry Coker's career record with the Miami Hurricanes is 54-11. He was coach of the National Champions in 2001. He is on the hot seat. Phil Fulmer's career record at Tennessee is 130-38, winning the National Championship in 1998. He is on the hot seat. Lloyd Carr's career record at Michigan is 105-35, with a title in 1997. He is on the hot seat. Charlie Weis's record at Notre Dame is 11-4, the same as his predecessor, Tyrone Willingham, who was run out of town after just three seasons. Willingham was basically playing with previous coach Bob Davie's players. Which I find funny, because the players Weis has been winning with, including Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija , and Tom Zbikowski, were all Willingham recruits.

Even the patriarch of college football himself, Joe Paterno, was on the hot seat, as witnessed by such sites as Firejoepaterno.com. I assume all the loyal Penn State faithful have backed off the coach with a career mark of 358-118-3 after their 2005 season.

The ugliest part of football has been the downright scary nature of devoted "fans". Ohio State fans are allegedly some of the most loyal in sports. If that's the case, why would they taunt their own tight end with death threats last year after he dropped a touchdown pass against Texas?

As soon as the media identified the woman that hit Big Ben on his motorcycle, I correctly predicted that she would receive death threats from Steeler fans. Probably the same group of sickos that would find out Tommy Maddox's home address and litter it with trash. Let's just say our own fans hold their own with the crazies of the football world.

Most recently, the behavior of Oklahoma and their fans in the wake of their controversial loss at Oregon was equally appalling. For those of you who don't follow college football, all the replays for a huge onside kick call seemed to favor Oklahoma. The problem was that the official and the replay official were both from the PAC-10, Oregon's home conference. Oregon got the call, and Oklahoma got the "L". Totally unfair, but let us not forget a playoff game last season when a replay failed to produce the correct call on a Polamalu interception. Sometimes these things happen.

In the aftermath of the loss, Oklahoma was quite outspoken with their thoughts on the game. The President of OU, David Boren, the Governor of Oklahoma from 1975-79 and a U.S. Senator from 1979-94, called for the game to be struck from the record books. This is coming from a man who expressed public regret for his voting of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. So you would think he knows that mistakes do happen.

Oklahoma has threatened to not play a scheduled game against Washington in 2008. And shortly thereafter, yep, you guessed it...the death threat of referee Gordon Riese from Oklahoma fans. It seems like death threats are so predictable in moments like these, you can set your watch to them.

This is not a Pittsburgh thing, this is not an Oklahoma thing, this is not a Columbus thing. This is a United States thing. In a country where football is presented as the be all and end all for most of our society, these things will continue to happen. Kids will continue to be harrassed by their teachers for wearing jerseys of opposing players; more death threats will be called in to players and referees; and the media will be right there with their Power Rankings, getting football fans' collective panties in a bunch when their team is ranked too low after week two.