In-game Women's Update-Pitt vs. #1 Uconn

Any hope Pitt may have had of snapping UConn's 59 game win streak was thwarted by a series of early steals and lay-ups leaving Pitt with a huge mountain to climb with a 25 point deficit at the half. UConn shot 63% from the field and received impressive performances from All-Americans Tina Charles and Maya Moore. Charles has imposed her will in the lane going 8-11 from the field to account for 18 points to go with her six rebounds and three blocks to pace the #1 Huskies. Moore has 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Pitt has struggled with the press, but has mustered 32 points against a team that is holding opponents to only 44 a game. Pitt has been lead by Jania Sims (nine points) and Shayla Scott (eight points, four rebounds). If the Panthers are going to make a game out of this they need to shoot a very good percentage, break the press and limit turnovers.

Postgame blues

Well, after witnessing my first loss in the Petersen Events Center, a few things are on my mind:

- apparently Pitt used up all their miracles for the week on Saturday, here's hoping they find some more in the tournament

- Pitt needs to improve their defense and rebounding, as it has been lacking in the last few games vs Louisville and Connecticut.

0Jamie Dixon noted in the postgame press conference that a team that can't defend, and gets outshot and out rebounded can't win a game unless they make open shots, Pitt did not do that tonight, as Gibbs went 3-16 from the floor

- Wanamaker is still a hit or miss player, he makes brilliant plays, and holds on to the ball too long on others

- the unnamed football player from the previous post was Scott Mckillop, not Heath Miller

- was that really Jeff Reed or was it Pauly D?

All but over...

And the fans are leaving at this point with 31.6 seconds to go and Pitt down 71-62. It's too bad the Hoyas don't have Edgar Sosa or Jared Swopshire on their squad to brick some free throws down the stretch. A tough, very rare loss at the Petersen Events Center for these overachieving Panthers.

Another Louisville

With under a minute and a half to go and trailing by 6, Pitt is gonna need another ending like they had against Louisville but Georgetown probably isn't going to collapse like the Cardinals did. Speaking of collapsing, the Panthers D just collapsed and allowed the Hoyas to score an easy lay-up on an inbounds pass with only ONE SECOND left on the shot clock. The straw that broke the camel's back? Most likely.

4:44 to go

Things have just taken a turn for the worst for the Panthers as Georgetown is on a big run and leads 63-56. This is exactly what Pitt didn't want as the Hoyas are gaining momentum as the Panthers are losing time.

Hey everybody, welcome to the first halftime blog of the year...we're finally doing it.

Game's tied 31-31, with Pitt coming back from an 8 point deficit off a pair of Gibbs' 3's, and monster dunks by Mcghee. Getting in on the dunk action also was Brown, assisted by Wanamaker on a broken play.

Pitt's getting a lot of crowd response with big plays in the transition game, and if they can limit Georgetown's three point shooting, they should be able to maintain a lead in the 2nd half.

VIP's in the house tonight include Jeff Reed, Shavonte Zellous, Luke Ravenstahl, and some guy with Reed that nobody recognizes. (i'm thinking Heath Miller)

Basketball highlight of the half: Gary Mcghee bringing down the house with a monster one hand dunk.

Non-basketball highlight of the half: The Oakland Zoo chanting "tax his seat" at Mayor Ravenstahl

The Real Deal

While you're all out kickin the slush out of your rims and scraping a hole in your windshield might i remind you there is some serious ice hockey being playing around the globe and even in your backyard (or cracked concrete pad for you south o'ers) The US junior team deserves a load of recognition after beating those dirty Canadians in the World Junior championship and our own Penguins are well on their way to a heavy post season run even before All-Star break. Mind you alot can change and it is the NHL. Things will change. Take a look out West and 3 of my personal favorites Calgary, Av's and Canucks lead the Northwest with Chicago and San Jose taking commanding top spots in the Pacific and Central divisions. That Henrick Sedin character has a 5 point gap on Joe Thornton for overall points leader, while the Ranger's prevailing Marian Gaborik holds down the fort as leading goal scorer. Whats that...Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin all absent from the top charts?? They'll need to step it up at the least if they plan on making any sort of impact. On the home front, our own Pitt D2 ice hockey team is midseason with a decent 8-8-1 overall record and 4-4 in College Hockey East. With plenty of time for a playoff berth they'll need some above average play from sophomores Dan Stein, Will Pearl, Steve Switucha and Shane Martin. Riddled with injuries, some failing eligibility and struggling consistency, they are far from being ruled out.
Keep your eyes peeled folks. We have blood pumping action on the ice everywhere so be sure not to miss all the action each and every night.

Sports are back in Pittsburgh

After a few down weeks from Thanksgiving to about mid December where nothing good was happening for Pittsburgh, thing have turned around. The Football team finished strong with a last second 19-17 win over North Carolina in the Meinke Car Care Bowl, improving to 10-3 on the season. This was the first time since 1981 that Pitt has won 10 games in a season. Dion Lewis broke Tony Dorsett's freshman yardage record with 1799 rushing yards and LeSean "Shady" McCoy's scoring record with 18 total TD's. Pitt returns the record setting true freshman back Lewis as well as his backfield mate Ray Graham. Also returning are Redshirt Freshman QB Tino Sunseri who played sparingly this season, Junior QB Pat Bostick who in 2007 led Pitt to the 13-9 victory over then # 2 archrival West Virginia. Whoever wins the Quarterback competition in camp will be throwing to 1100+ yard WR Jonathon Baldwin as well as Redshirt Freshman Mike Shanahan who came on towards the end of the season After their a second consecutive loss at Madison Square Garden to Tom Crean's Indiana club, the Panthers home away from home, Pitt put on an embarrassing display at home against New Hampshire. The Panthers managed only 15 points in the first half and 48 for the game. All but one field goal and a few free throws came from Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker. Since the loss to Indiana, Jamie Dixon's team had returned a fully healthy Jermaine Dixon and welcomed back Gilbert Brown. Since having those to back and in the regular rotation, the Panther have not felt defeat. With a stunning win on the road against #5 Syracuse, Pitt improved to 12-2 (2-0) and is now ranked #23 in the AP Poll for the first time during the 2009-2010 season. After beating Syracuse for the 11th time in 14 tries, it doesn't get any easier for the Panthers as they go to 10-3 (2-0) Cincinnati then #13 UConn before they host 10-4 (1-0) Louisville and 11-1 (2-0) #12 Georgetown. If Pitt is going to weather the beginning of the Big East schedule they will be doing it with Defense and Rebounding, staples of Jamie Dixon coached teams. Although they came up short of a playoff berth, the Steelers also turned things around by finishing the regular season with three wins.