Baseball, Pittsburgh Both Better with Beer

For the 2009 season , the Pittsburgh Pirates have lowered the cost of a 21-ounce beer at PNC Park to an inviting $4.75, the cheapest price in all of baseball. Coincidentally, the Pirates also feature the second-lowest average ticket price at $15.39 per game, or approximately the cost of two 12-ounce beers at Fenway Park, home of the most expensive brew--and second-highest average ticket price-- in the majors. You get what you pay for, I suppose. 

When Pitt Really Lost

Don't get me wrong: Scottie Reynolds' runner was impressive, and one of the most exciting moments of this year's tournament. Still, you'd have to go back to just about three minutes to see when Pitt really lost the game. Up four, with just under three minutes to play, Pitt's Levance Fields passed the ball to teammate Jermaine Dixon to avoid Villanova's heavy--and, at this late point in the game, desperate--full-court press. Dixon then dribbled across the half-court line, into two 'Nova players, before inexplicably picking up his dribble. With nowhere to go, Dixon, of course, turned it over. As if this weren't bad enough, Dixon then compounded his mistake with a boneheaded foul against Dwayne Anderson, who easily converted the bucket and free throw to pull 'Nova within one point, changing the complexity of the game. Dixon's two poor decision's opened the door for 'Nova's charge and, more damningly, Reynolds' late-game heroics.  

One in Four

You know the drill. Here are four reasons why Pittsburgh, the top seed in their region, will take out the fourth-seeded Xavier Musketeers tonight in the regional semifinals.  Xavier's single beacon of light shines forth below.    

1. DeJuan Blair: An absolute force down low, Blair is one of the best rebounders and defenders in the country. He can score, too, averaging about 16 points a game to go with his 12 boards. The only way to stop him is to get him into foul trouble. Otherwise, he's almost unstoppable. 
   
2. Sam Young: If things aren't working for Blair, the Panthers usually look to Young, who can seemingly do a little of everything. He can hit the three, as he showed again and again and again against Oklahoma State in the second round. Like Blair, he can also bang down low. Young's a handful, and one of the best second options in the country. 
   
3. Levance Fields: Known simply as "the General," Fields, a stocky, Brooklyn-born point guard knows how to run Pitt's offense. He averages close to eight assists per game, and has an ungodly 4:1 assist/turnover ratio, one of the best ratios in the country. There is no other player in the country I would trust more with the ball late in the game. 
   
4. Pitt's D: I've mentioned how good Pitt is at the end other end of the floor, but there defense is nothing to laugh at either. Sure, there are, without question, better defenses in the country; statistically, Xavier's is more efficient and more likely to get a big stop than Pitt's. Still, Pitt is pretty damn good at defending the basket and cleaning up the glass. I like their chances of shutting down Xavier's slightly above-average, A-10-style offense.
   

So why should the Musketeers even show up? Easy. Sean Miller, their head coach.  Since 2004, when he took over Xavier's basketball program, the Musketeers have gone 117-45, reaching the NCAA tournament in four of Miller's first five seasons. In 2007, Miller, who first made a name for himself as a star point guard for Pitt in the late 80s, was two minutes away from knocking out mentor--and former Xavier coach-- Thad Matta's Ohio State team, which featured Greg Oden, before a few bad plays late and a couple of terrible calls cost the Musketeers an unexpected trip to the Sweet 16. Miller is one of the best strategists in college basketball. If any coach can figure out a way to beat Pitt, it's Miller.  

Pick Pitt at Your Peril

While North Carolina and UConn destroyed their first round opponents, Pitt is living up to its March reputation with an atrocious first half against 16-seed East Tennessee State. At the half, the Panthers are only up three, even with the Buccaneers shooting a woeful 24 percent from the field and seven percent from beyond the arc. Imagine if they were putting the ball in the bucket. Pitt would have already been blown out of the gym. Yes, it's still early, but this doesn't bode well for the Panthers's chances in the larger field of 64.

Even the Losers

Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Michigan State and UCLA, four teams I like to go deep in the upcoming NCAA tournament, all lost in their respective conference tournaments. Is this a harbinger of things to come? I doubt it. Pitt has a history of playing well in Big East tournament only to miss out on all the March Madness fun, so maybe their early exit Thursday night actually bodes well for them this year.  UNC's loss to Florida State this afternoon shouldn't kill their chances at a No. 1 seed. MSU's dismantling, on the other hand,  should put to rest the Spartans's hopes of being a top seed. UCLA might also get knocked down a seed or two, but I'm still bullish about their chances to reach the Sweet 16. Maybe even the Elite Eight.

Right now, though, I'm sure these four teams are smarting over their early exits and hoping that they draw a favorable bracket. In recognition of this, here's a little song from Tom Petty to help them make through Sunday night, when the selection committee determines their respective fates. 

Line of the Night

23 rebounds. 22 points. 2 assists. 1 block. DeJuan Blair. 

Pick Pitt at Your Peril?

For years, I advised friends and colleagues to stay away from the University of Pittsburgh during the NCAA tournament. No matter how good they look during the regular season or in the Big East tournament, I told anyone who would listen,  the Panthers always fold against the larger field of 64. 

This afternoon's dismantling of Georgetown, however, might make me reevaluate my long-standing maxim. I know it's still early, but the No. 3 Panthers, led by sophomore DeJuan Blair, absolutely beat up the 11th ranked Hoyas, in D.C., where Georgetown previously defeated 29 straight opponents, including 15 against Big East rivals. The final score, 70-54, wasn't even that close. Pitt outrebounded G'Town 46 to 21 and outscored the Hoyas in the paint by 26 points. Total domination. Especially by Blair. 

Sports Illustrated scribe Nina Mandell sums up Pitt's--and Blair's-- big day nicely. 

After months of playing second-fiddle to Big East powers UConn and Louisville, the Panthers weren't ready to let the Hoyas become the new talk of the town after their surprising defeat of the Huskies on Monday. Instead, [DeJuan] Blair and his frontcourt partner and roommate Tyrell Biggs dominated the game inside, leaving the Hoyas struggling for any chance at the boards. The two combined for 34 points in the paint while Blair pulled down a Hoya-heartbreaking 18 boards.

With Louisville tripping over its own feet, and Connecticut still trying to find its way, the Big East, I think, is Pitt's to lose. Not only do they have an imposing front line of Blair, Biggs, and Sam Young but the Panthers, under the direction of senior point guard Levance Fields, don't turn the ball over and simply don't take bad shots. That's a winning formula for regular season and post-season play, even against a larger field, regardless of past prejudices. 

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

The ink has yet to dry on the ridiculous contracts of Indian pitching fads Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel—neither of whom even picked up a baseball until last year—but the Pittsburgh Pirates are already in hot pursuit of another free-agent talent: Mark Loretta.

The 37-year-old Loretta, oddly described by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as the Pirates’ longtime nemesis (isn’t that Robert Nutting?), hit .280 with four home runs and 38 RBI last season for Houston. Loretta is a respectable .297 career hitter and, in fairness, a pretty reliable infield glove. And, as the article points out, a number of teams are interested in his services.

Still, he’s Mark Loretta, a player contending teams bring in to shore up their defense in the late innings. He’s not the answer, and he really shouldn’t be the Pirates’ marquee off-season target, particularly after they shipped off, in mid-season, favorites Jason Bay and Xavier Nady to the Red Sox and Yankees, respectively; and especially not after the team’s pitching staff finished the 2008 season with a 5.08 earned run average, dead last in the National League.

I understand the organization can't chase after the likes of C.C. Sabathia or Mark Teixeira, but they can't even set their sights higher than Mark Loretta or two kids who don't yet know how to pitch against live batters? Man, it just has to be punishing to root for the Bucs. Their fans aren't even allowed to get excited about the Hot Stove.