Sporting Thoughts on a Monday Morning

 

Like many of you, no doubt, I have just come off of a four day weekend spent in large part most part watching the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments.  These four days every March offer a truly unique bacchanalia of sports viewing pleasure.

This applies to me, but the highlight of the weekend was the terrific showing that Robert Morris put up against second seeded Alabama in the opening round on Friday, losing 90-81, a score that didn't reflect the close nature of the game overall, as shown in this screenshot from late in the second half:

Yes, the Colonials actually led Alabama for a (very) brief moment in the second half.

It was great showing by the team, and one in which everyone connected with the University can take pride, as reflected by this photo released by the school in its social platforms later that evening:

Under circumstances that used to exist in college athletics, the future would look very bright for the RMU hoopsters, but in this age of NIL and the transfer portal, who knows?  Foremost question:  the team's two best players, Alvaro Folguieras and Amarion Dickerson have eligibility remaining, but after seeing how they performed over the course of the season and post-season, they are prime candidates to be poached by bigger programs.  Good for them, but tough on the fans, but that's life in a mid-major conference.

Otherwise, the tourney offered no real Cinderella Stories, other than a #10 seed Arkansas knocking out #2 seed St. John's, but can you really label any team coached by John Calipari a "Cinderella"? Of the sixteen teams remaining twelve of them were seeded 1 through 4 in their regions.  All four #1's remain, along with three #2's, two #3's, three #4's, one #5, two #6's, and the aforementioned #10 Arkansas Calaparis.

Watching all of the various conference tournaments prior to the main event, I thought Florida was the best team that I saw, but watching Duke dismantle Baylor yesterday, I think that I am changing  my mind.  They are scarey good, and it's not just because of Cooper Flagg.  At this point, I will call for a Duke win over Florida for the championship come April 7.

Speaking of Florida, I took great delight in seeing them beat Connecticut in a terrific second round game yesterday, if only because it has knocked Danny Hurley out of the tournament.  His profane sore loser comments afterward only cemented my great dislike for him.

And the last game that I saw before heading to bed last night was the Colorado State-Maryland game.  In case you missed, Colorado State snatched victory away from Maryland when Jalen Lake hit a three pointer to take a 71-70 lead with :06.1 remaining, only to see Maryland snatch said victory away from them when Derik Queen hit a floater with time expiring to win it for the terms 72-71.  In the space of six seconds of game time, BOTH teams experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  If you missed it, HERE is how it played out.

Best line I saw on social media this morning was that Derik Queen will soon be signing a huge NIL deal with Travelers Insurance.  Wish that I'd have thought of that one!

Eight games today from the NCAA Women to fill out the Sweet 16 of the women's bracket, and then the bacchanalia begins again on Thursday.

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Hail to The RMU Colonials

The Robert Morris Colonials are Champions of the Horizon League!

If you have talked with me lately, or have been seeing my Facebook posts, you know that I have been caught up this winter following the fortunes of the men's basketball team of my Alma Mater, Robert Morris University.  At some point in mid-January, after starting with an 8-4 non-conference record and a blah 2-4 record in Horizon League play, the Colonials clicked as a team and caught fire.  They then proceeded to win 13 of their final 14 games, win the regular season Horizon League championship with a 15-1 record.  They concluded the regular season with an overall record of 23-8 and on a streak where they won seven straight games and thirteen of their final fourteen games.

We were able to see their HL Quarter-final game over Wright State 83-62 as part of a sellout crowd at the RMU Events Center last week. The atmosphere on campus that night was electric, and the game was as an exciting a sporting event as I have ever attended. Through the magic of ESPN, we then saw them defeat Oakland 79-76 in overtime in their semi-final game, and last night they put the cherry atop the sundae with an 89-78 win over Youngstown State.

It was the culmination of a season that saw Coach Andy Toole, and players Alvaro Folgueiras and Amarion Dickerson be named, respectively, Horizon League Coach, Player, and Defensive Player of the Year.

Before going any further, let me take you back five years, to March 10, 2020.  This was the night that RMU defeated St. Francis to win the Northeast conference Championship and secure a trip to the NCAA tournament. In THIS POST I said that that game that night was one of the reasons why you follow sports.  Later that same week, sports, the nation, and the world shut down due to the COVID pandemic, and the NCAA tournament was canceled.  Andy Toole has since said that this team being denied the chance to see their name on Selection Sunday and not being able to compete in the big Tournament, was the hardest thing he has had to experience as a coach.

That 2019-20 season was also RMU's last year in the NEC.  They began competing in the Horizon League the following year, and it has been hard sledding for the Colonials the first four years, but it all came together, unexpectedly so (they were picked to finish ninth at the beginning of the season), for the Colonials this year.  And it all culminated last night with the team cutting down the nets in Indianapolis. 

Winning the championship tournament in a mid-major conference is what schools like Robert Morris play for.  They will probably draw a seed in the area of 12th to 14th, and will probably play a power five school in Round One and will no doubt be a double digit underdog, but no matter.  They will have achieved the goal that every team sets for themselves at the beginning of the season: Win their conference and go to the Big Dance.  Whomever they play in that first round, will not be getting a cupcake.

In the universe that is college basketball in Pittsburgh, Robert Morris will always be the ignored little brother to Pitt and Duquesne, we all get that, but in a year where Pitt finished below .500 and got knocked out in the first round of the ACC Tourney, and where the Dukes haven't been able to follow up on the A-10 successes of last year, it was the Colonials who were the story, even if it did take the local sports media awhile to figure that out.  Also, as the Steelers suffered a flameout in round one of the NFL playoffs and currently don't know who their quarterback will be this coming season, where the Penguins are in the beginning stages of a rebuild and are in last place in their division, and where the Pirates are, well, the Pirates, you can definitively state, I believe, that the RMU Colonials Men's Basketball team has been the best Pittsburgh sports story so far in calendar year 2025.

#proudtobeaColonial #letsgoBobbyMo

POY Alvaro Folgueiras hoists the 

HL Championship Trophy

This Is Why You Follow Sports

On more than one occasion over the last ten plus years of writing The Grandstander, I have used the expression "this is why you follow sports" when writing of one especially thrilling game or contest.  Last night Marilyn and I experienced such a night when we headed out to our alma mater, Robert Morris University, to watch the Colonials take on St. Francis in the Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game.

As is known by now, RMU won the game 77-67 (and the game wasn't as close as that score indicated) and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. They will no doubt be a very low seed and will lose convincingly to one of the NCAA blue bloods with a #1 or #2 seed, but no matter.  When you play in a mid-major conference like the NEC, last night is what you play for, and all of the elements were in place for just a terrific night.  It was the culmination of the first season the RMU's beautiful new Events Center, they were playing a team with whom they split the season series, and the place was sold out - 3,800 people and a packed student section.  The joint was loud and raucous and it was just a joyous event.

I have been lucky in my life.  I have been to NFL playoff games and World Series games and Stanley Cup Playoff games and NCAA playoff games.  I've been to US Opens and the Masters.  But last night a game between two small colleges in a minor league NCAA conference gave me a sporting moment as pleasurable and as fun as anything that I have ever attended.

It's why you follow sports.

A New Venue Makes Its Debut

The new Events Center at Robert Morris University made its debut for basketball when the the University of Pittsburgh paid a visit to Moon to help RMU inaugurate the new arena in grand fashion.  The Colonials made it interesting in the first half, leading by 11 at one point, and the teams were tied 27-27 at the half, but alas, even a struggling ACC team is no match for a mid-major like RMU, and the Panthers prevailed 71-57 in the end.

The result wasn't as important as the event itself.  Good for Pitt for making this gesture, the HC's whining pre-game comments aside.  I look forward to seeing many exciting Colonials victories at the new place this season and in seasons ahead.  And I am also looking forward to seeing Sara Bareilles perform there in concert later this month, so this place will be more than just a basketball arena on the local landscape.

A look at some of last night's festivities...

The historic opening tip-off

 The student section, the "Colonial Crazies", were loud and into it.

Hope that they show up in similar numbers all season long. 

Somewhere among them was the Steelers JuJu Smith-Shuster

 They make me nervous when they do these stunts!

Sellout Crowd

Lady Colonials Reign Supreme Once Again

On his sunny St. Patrick's Day afternoon,  Marilyn and I toddled on out to Moon Township to the campus of Robert Morris University to take in the Championship Game of the Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.  We were rewarded with a 65-54 victory by the Lady Colonials over St. Francis University of PA.  It was the eighth NEC championship for the RMU women in their history and the fourth such championship in the last six years. 

The North Athletics Complex on campus was packed and loud and it was a great atmosphere for the game which made for a fun afternoon.

Some scenes from the day....

The Colonials take the court!

RoMo

Is there a spookier mascot in all of college sports?

Nina Augustin

A point guard from Helsinki, Finland.

She might have been our favorite player on the team.  She is one of seven international players on the RMU squad.  The others include 2 from Spain, 2 from Canada, 1 from England, and 1 from Japan.

They stormed the court when it was all over.  

We declined to participate.

The final score.

Getting ready to cut down the nets.

For various reasons, mainly the reconstruction of the Sewall Center into the sparkling new UPMC Events Center, which will be the Colonials new home beginning next season, we have not been on campus for several years, and being there today made us realize that we have missed it.  I am thinking that it just might be time come next fall to rejoin the ranks of RMU season ticket holders.

As has been the case, the NEC winner will probably get a #16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so their reward for today will no doubt be a match up with some power like UConn or Notre Dame.  Somehow, I think that the young women we saw today will welcome such a challenge, and that the inevitable outcome of such a game won't detract one bit from the luster of today's win.

Oh, and by the way.the RMU roster has only two seniors on it, so there is no reason the think that the run of NEC dominance for the ladies won't continue into next season.

Selected Sports Subjects

A Whirl Around the Wide, Wide World of Sports on a Sunday Morning.....

The Pirates were much in the news this week with the trade with the Yankees that brought Francisco Cervelli  

to the Bucs, and which I commented upon earlier in the week.  Somewhat more surprising, was the signing, or should I say re-signing, of free agent pitcher A.J. Burnett.  



It is surprising that Burnett, who spoke so longingly of retirement two years ago, would forgo a Player's Option with the Phillies that would pay him $12 million and re-sign with the Pirates for "only" $8.5 million.  Maybe he is the rare athlete who means it when he says, "it's not about the money".

The real question is, can he help the Pirates in 2015?  No question of the value that Burnett brought to the Pirates in his two year stint here in 2012-13, but he is now 38 years old and coming off a year in which he lost 18 games, albeit with a lousy team, and posted am ERA in excess of 4.50.  I suppose that there is no great risk in signing him, especially if you feel that Francisco and Liriano and Edinson Volquez will not be back with the team.

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I heard Neal Huntington in a radio interview earlier in the week, and found him to be quite forthright and not spilling the usual line of obfuscating b.s. that is his wont.  Most interesting thing I heard was his flat out statement that among three first baseman, Pedro Alvarez, Ike Davis, and Gaby Sanchez (yes, he included Alvarez as a first baseman), only two would be with the team next year.  

Been nice known' you, Ike.

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So what else is knew?  Pitt scores a ton of points against North Carolina yesterday, and loses.  Pitt has now scored 111 points in their last three games, and have lost all three of them.  

We keep hearing how Pitt is a young team, that they start lots and lots of freshman and sophomores.  Okay, I'll give you that Paul Chryst had an uphill battle when he arrived here three years ago, and that he has to get the building blocks in place, but this is Year Three, and that line of reasoning (or is it excuse making?) is wearing thin, and it will not be the least bit tolerable in 2015.

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As hard as it can sometimes be watching the Panthers play football, the play of James Conner

and Tyler Boyd

make it worth your while to tune in.

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I watched the entire Florida State-Miami game last night.  The inevitability of an FSU victory became apparent when Miami began the second half playing to protect their lead rather than trying to build it further.  They completely stopped playing in the manner that gave them that big lead in the first place.  Why do coaches do that?

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Best line on Facebook yesterday came courtesy of friend Fred Egler.  In commenting upon Wisconsin laying a 35 point beatdown on Nebraska in snowy Madison, WI yesterday, Fred said that "Bo Pellini looked like a German general at the Battle of Stalingrad."

Classic.

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Speaking of unwatchable performances, I went to the Sewall Center on Friday night to see Robert Morris tip off their Hoops Season, and suffer an 77-50 thrashing at the hands of Lafayette University, and trust me, the game was nowhere near as close as that 27 point spread indicates.  Be that as it may, I trust that Andy Toole will work with his team and coach 'em up to the point where they will be a contender for the Northeast Conference title once again.

What I did find interesting at the game was that fact that a video board has been installed in front of the Media Table that sits court side at the Sewall Center, and that RMU has been able to sell advertising on said board that scrolls throughout the game.  Sponsors ranging from a Moon Township ice cream parlor to PNC Bank to the Allegheny Heath Network are now are getting their messages across to patrons attending the basketball games.  

RMU has indeed entered the Big Time!

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The Steelers take on the awful 2-6 Tennessee Titans tomorrow night.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

Robert Morris 59 - Kentucky 57

"This is what college basketball still can be in a world of one-and-dones and broken conferences and coaches draped in Armani. Yes, there can exist a steamy night in a tiny gym high on a hill by the Pittsburgh airport where the little guy stands strong, the giant topples and a swarm of students clad in red spill from wooden stands and dance on the remains of a national champion."

I wish that I could take credit for that paragraph above.  It is actually the lead paragraph from Yahoo Sports' Les Carpenter on last night's positively stunning upset win by Robert Morris over the University of Kentucky in the opening round of the NIT.   If you know me, you know my bona fides where Robert Morris is concerned.   Marilyn and I are proud alums who have been attending Colonials basketball games regularly since 1990, so this is not bandwagon jumping on our part today.

Ironically, we were not able to attend last night's game due to a Caring Place commitment, but, thanks to the magic of the DVR, we froze out all information concerning the game and were then able to watch it in it's entirety when we got home.  When the game ended, it was then so much fun to go to Facebook and Twitter and see all the comments that were being made as this game unfolded and in its aftermath.

When the match-up was announced, it was, of course, thrilling to think of a storied team such as UK coming to the tiny Sewall Center for a game.  My hope was that RMU would be able to hold strong and give Kentucky a game for a half before the inevitable took place.  Never in my wildest hopes did I envision a Colonials win.   What can I say?  It was euphoric.

It is almost a shame that this tournament has to continue and more games have to be played.  I can't imagine that anything will be able to top that win over Kentucky, or that the Colonials will have any emotion left in the tank after that one.  However, I am not going to underestimate what Coach Andy Toole might be able to pull off with this team going forward.

And speaking of Andy Toole, there's the downside from this game.  I am sure that Toole was probably on the radar of larger schools as an up-and-comer young coach.  His days at RMU were probably numbered anyway, but that win last night will no doubt raise his profile higher, and some larger school will no doubt come calling soon.  That is life for a low/mid-major conference.

And a word about Kentucky Coach John Calipari, a native of Moon Township.  If you care about this stuff, you no doubt know how Calipari engineered having his Wildcats come to Moon Township for this game.  Kentucky fans probably thought it a sure win, but I'm not so sure that Calipari did.  In any event, he could not have been more gracious in his post game comments about his past connections to Robert Morris while growing up, and how he was glad that he and Kentucky were able to help a program like Robert Morris.  He acknowledged the Colonials' victory, to the point where he said that it would have been "a shame" had Kentucky's three point buzzer shot went in and Kentucky won the game.  He also gave a shout out to the late Gus Krop, the great coach of long ago who started the basketball program when it was Robert Morris Junior College.

I get that a lot of people don't like Calipari, and he can be criticized for much over how he has run his programs over the years, but he was a class act in bringing this game to RMU and in his post-game remarks.

Oh, and to those who have been making comments like "it's only the NIT" and "this isn't a really good Kentucky team"  and "Kentucky didn't really care about playing in a second rate tournament in a tiny gym" and similar remarks, I politely invite you to take those spoilsport comments and stick them where the sun don't shine!

A Sunday Morning Sports Brunch

A Sunday morning look at the wide, wide, world of sports.....

The NCAA tournament hopes for the Robert Morris University Colonials came crashing down at the Sewall Center yesterday with a 69-60 loss to Mount St. Mary's, and believe me, the nine point spread doesn't reflect the totality of the Mount's win.  RMU took a lead early and the Mount tied the game at 15.  Then the Mount took the lead and never again lost it.  Late in the second half, their lead went to over twenty points.   A too-little-too-late Colonial surge in the final minutes made the final score look closer than the game actually was.  Actually, from the very beginning, this game just didn't feel right for Robert Morris.  Poor Shooting + Tenacious MtSM defense = A Bad Day for the Colonials.

On the bright side, as regular season Conference Champion, the Colonials do get an automatic bid to the NIT, so they got that going for them, which is nice.

*****

The Pirates seem to be pretty much under the radar this Spring Training, and maybe that's a good thing.  If there are low expectations, then there's no where to go but up, right?

In taking a look at the averages in this morning's paper, however, let's ignore the fact that Jerry Sands, Neil Walker, and Pedro Alvarez are all hitting below .200, because Spring Training stats are meaningless, and instead look at the stats of Starling Marte and Jose Tabata, because good  Spring training stats offer Hope, right?

Marte is following up a torrid winter League campaign and is hitting .421 (8-for-19) this spring.  Tabata is hitting .333 (6-for-18) with four doubles, a home run, and five RBIs.  Both of these lines are encouraging, but the more intriguing story to me is Tabata.

After a disappointing season that saw him injured and sent back to the minors in 2012, he seems to be a forgotten guy, one who will be, at best, the fourth outfielder for the Pirates.  He is still, however, only 24 years old, and maybe being out of the spotlight has removed some pressure, or maybe he just gets it that this could be his last chance to make it with the Pirates, but what if this hot Grapefruit start isn't just another spring training flash in the pan?  What if this is the year that he breaks out and becomes the player that everyone hoped he would be?  How great would that be?

*****

The biggest sports story in the city today however involves, you guessed it, the Steelers, and their releasing of James Harrison.  He's 35 years old, he's been injured, and he was making too much money.  He was also, probably, still the team's best linebacker, but that third factor - "making too much money" - is what spelled the end for Harrison as a Steeler.   As all NFL teams do, they decided that it was time to reduce that contractual obligation, but Harrison balked, so bye-bye, James.

A one time Defensive Player of the Year, and the author of one of the greatest plays in Team and Super Bowl history, that 100 yard interception return for a touchdown, Harrison was also, how can I say this, a thug on the field, a guy with numerous illegal hits, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines to his dubious credit.  There are lots of guys in all sports who you like when they play for "your team" but you dislike intensely when that play for the "other team."  Steelers fans will realize this the first time Harrison, playing for another team, goes helmet-to helmet  with Ben Roethlisberger or Antonio Brown.

*****
The Pitt Panther hoopsters begin the Big East tournament this week in New York against much nostalgic weeping (literal and figurative) because this will be the end  Pitt's association with the Big East Conference.  Hey, it was great run, but please let's stop with the gnashing of teeth over this.  Last I looked, the conference to which they are headed has a pretty good reputation as a basketball conference, doesn't it?  I would think that games against Duke, North Carolina, NC State, and Wake Forest will soon be the equal of games against Georgetown, Connecticut, and Villanova.  Plus, Pitt will still play Syracuse, so we'll still have Jim Boeheim to  kick around.

Of course, the "Big East" will survive as a basketball-only conference consisting  of, for now at least, the seven Catholic universities in the conference, and this, Ironically, is what the Big East started out as in the first place way back when.  I heard sportswriter Bob Ryan on the radio the other day saying that he absolutely loves this, and that the fact that this is occurring at all is the extension of a huge middle finger by college basketball to the "Football Is Everything" culture of college athletics.  Great line.

*****

I have been trying to watch the World Baseball Classic, but it's hard to get into.  Maybe if the USA advances that will make it pick up the interest quotient.  On the other hand, it seems that the WBC may best be remembered for that Pier Six brawl between Canada and Mexico yesterday.  If that is the case, perhaps the concept needs to be re-thought.

Fish Fries and Other Random Thoughts for a Sunday Morning

Yes, we continue to explore the various Church Fish Fries each Friday night during Lent. So far this year we have visited St. Theresa of Avila in Perrysville and St. Alexis in McCandless,  Both parishes have been at the Fish Fry game for years and years and both put on a great event.  Good fish sandwiches and both also serve a mean bowl of clam chowder.   We have three Fridays remaining between now and Good Friday, and we have two "definites" penciled in:  Howard's Tavern in West View (not a Church, true, but owned and operated by fellow St. John Neumann parishioners), and the Serbian Club on the South Side.  This one benefits our neighbors and friends, George and Barb Topich's Serbian Orthodox Church.  That leaves one upcoming Friday in the "TBD" column.

A word of warning.  Our friends Fred and Susan Shugars had a not-so-great experience by opting for take-out at St. Alexis this past Friday, so you may want to consider eating in, which is what we did.  When it comes to take-out, always remember what Joe Pesci said about going through the drive-through (or, take-out window, in this case) in "Lethal Weapon 2".



*****

Congratulations to the Robert Morris University basketball team for their first place finish in the Northeast Conference this season.  This means home court advantage throughout the NEC Tournament.  It also means that March Madness begins this coming Wednesday night when RMU takes on St. Francis (NY) in the opening round game.  Survive and Advance.  Be there!

*****

The Pirates now stand at 2-7 in Grapefruit League play.  So, who cares, these are exhibition games.

On the other hand, Starling Marte is now hitting .417 in grapefruit League Play.  Now THAT is something to get excited about. 

This is what is great about Spring Training.  You get to pick-and-choose what's important.

Speaking of the Pirates, their game this past Friday was televised and it was great to watch some Pirates baseball.  Catching for the Bucs that night was Lucas May.  Now, I like to think that I keep close track on my favorite ball club, but I have to tell you, I had NEVER heard of Lucas May.

*****

The stories about the "fractured" Steelers locker room this past season that are now coming out are sort of interesting, but, to be honest, I'm not putting a lot of credence in them, nor am I paying too much attention.  However, one item that did catch my eye was the retired Hines Ward talking about too much "finger pointing" taking place among the team this year, a team, by the way, that, lest we forget, Ward was not a part of.  This is coming from the same Hines Ward who a few years back accused Ben Roethlisberger of dogging it for not playing when he had a concussion.

*****

It's High School Musical season.  We took in Seneca Valley's production of "Annie" last Friday.  In two weeks, it'll be North Allegheny doing "Footloose", and next month it will be "Legally Blonde" at Montour.  Few things make you feel better than seeing the energy, talent, and just plain fun of these kids - cast, orchestra, and crew - putting on a show.

*****

So Mayor Luke has decided not to seek re-election as Mayor of Pittsburgh.  In his column today, John Mehno talked about the "frat-boy sensibility" that the Boy Mayor has brought to the office, and that was certainly reinforced when you read Luke's Mayoral "timeline" in the PG the other day, and saw about Luke's Seven Springs birthday party, crashing a party to meet Tiger Woods, attending concerts at Star Lake in city vehicles, airplane rides with Mario Lemieux, appearance in the Batman movie, and you could go on and on..

Davey Lawrence, he wasn't.

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A DVR Alert for tonight, Sunday:  "Annie Hall" is on TCM at 8:00 PM.  One of Woody Allen's very best.  Oscars for Best Picture, Actress (Dianne Keaton), and Director and Screenplay (Allen).  Terrific movie.

Steelers, Pitt, the SEC, RMU, and More Conference Madness

As you can see from the title, a mixed bag from The Grandstander this morning.....

Not much to add to what you have no doubt already read about yesterday's unexpected, but now euphoric, victory over the Ravens.  How can you not be happy for Charlie Batch about engineering this victory?  The picture below may well end up summarizing the Steelers season, and seeing it on TV as this moment was taking place even brought tears to the eyes of Mrs. Grandstander:

So now the Steelers sit at 7-5, in a playoff position, and with four games, three of them at Heinz Field, remaining, all games that they should be favored to win (San Diego, Dallas, Cincy, and Cleveland), provided Ben Roethlisberger returns to the helm.  who would have thought it after those losses to the Raiders and Titans?

*****

Pitt closed it's season on Saturday night with a win over South Florida, giving them a 6-6 record, and securing for themselves a third straight trip to the BBVA Compass Bowl, also known as the "Granddaddy of all Garbage Bowls".   This is disappointing in that many were anticipating that Pitt would play West Virginia in the tradition-rich Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.  Surely a renewal of sorts of the Backyard Brawl would make everybody happy, right?  Well, call me Oliver Stone, but I have a theory as to why this match-up did not occur.  I believe that all of these third tier bowls have tie-ins to various conferences, and both the Compass and Pinstripe are tied to the Big East.  I believe that the Big East decreed that Pitt got sentenced to Birmingham for the third straight year rather than take on WVU, and that this was done as one final big Middle Finger from the Big East to BOTH schools for their desertion of the Conference.

I wonder how Pitt will handle playing in a bowl game this year while NOT under the direction of an interim coach?

*****

The wailing and gnashing of teeth of the SEC Loyalists on Facebook this weekend have been hilarious.  Georgia, they are saying, was this close to playing in the BCS title game, but now they are relegated to playing in the god-awful Outback Bowl (a New Years's Day game, btw) against Nebraska, a team that couldn't even win the god-awful Big Ten, while an undeserving, god-awful independent like Notre Dame gets the chance to be horsewhipped by Alabama in the title game.

My answer to this is, hey, that is the BCS system in place, but I guess that that is only a good system when two SEC teams get into the title game.

Makes me want to call my nephew Kevin and borrow as much ND gear as possible to wear while watching that game on January 7.

*****

I skipped both the SEC title game and the Pitt-USF game and toddled out to the Sewall Center to take in my first basketball game of the season, and was rewarded with a nice Colonials victory over undefeated Ohio University.  It was a nice wire-to-wire win for RMU and they withstood a big push from the Bobcats in the second half, but never did give up the lead.  I was impressed with both the enthusiasm of the RMU students throughout the game, and, more importantly, with the play of the Colonials.  They look like they could be a pretty strong team in the Northeast Conference this season. 

*****

Reports now say that both Duke and North Carolina may be looking at joining the Southeast Conference, or maybe the SEC is looking at them.  Whatever, the case, the ACC could end up going down that same path that the moribund Big East is now traveling.  Four sixteen team super-conferences are just around the corner, and I fear that Pitt may end up on the outside looking in when it all the dust settles.