Ray Jr. on Sports
- Pitt loses, yet again-The Pitt Panthers basketball team begins this discussion again, but not for good reasons. Their 73-56 loss to Notre Dame worsened their record to 8-23 overall and 0-18 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). After looking at their history, this is the worst record in their school’s history. No regular conference wins are pathetic.
ACC Tournament-This tournament is generous to play every conference team, because Pitt doesn’t deserve it. Based on seedings, they’ll probably face Notre Dame again. As the lowest Seed (#15), they will play the 10th seed Tuesday March 6th at 2pm. Hopefully the Fighting Irish will make it quick and painless for Pitt.- Pitt’s Chances at winning the ACC Tournament? Oh please.
- Kevin Stallings Future? And now this. Has an 0-18 ACC season sealed the Pitt Head
Coach’s fate? As I stated before, I never want to see anyone lose a job, but I can’t see Stallings staying with the team. He’s not a fit, in my opinion and Pitt needs to cut this $10 million-dollar loss. That would honestly be money well spent.
- Heather Lyke’s Response to Stallings-In her interview with Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan, the Pitt Athletic Director was very careful with her words in describing Stallings: “We’re in the midst of continuing to evaluate,” She said. “We know the season is winding down. … A full, comprehensive review of our program is ongoing. Not such a ringing endorsement or vote of confidence there.
- Low Attendance at ‘The Pete’-Pitt’s attendance at the Petersen Events Center this season…wow. At one time they would sell out every one of those 12,500 seats. This year? Numbers of 1,000-3,000 attended games? It reminded me of the low attendance days of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1984-85. The Oakland Zoo was hardly there, and can you blame them? This team was hard to watch.
- Lyke’s Views on the Attendance? “Attendance is disappointing, there’s no question about it,” She said “I don’t think it’s where any of us want it to be and know it can be. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times how incredible an environment The Pete is. Our fans deserve that.” And this happened under Stallings watch. Plus, they don’t even introduce him out of fear of boos….
- Who will Probably Win the ACC Tournament? I would honesty say Virginia. This is their year to dominate. Their defense is Steel Curtain-Like. They don’t have to score much to beat you, because they won’t give up much. Tony Bennett deserves ACC Coach of the Year.
ACC Player of the Year? Come on, now. Duke’s Marvin Bagley III. He averages 20.7 PPG and 11.1 rebounds. He’s a 6-11 and 234 and he eats opponents for dinner. He should win this award unanimously. And then he’s off to the NBA.
ACC Player of the Year? Come on, now. Duke’s Marvin Bagley III. He averages 20.7 PPG and 11.1 rebounds. He’s a 6-11 and 234 and he eats opponents for dinner. He should win this award unanimously. And then he’s off to the NBA.10. AP Top 5-To no surprise, Virginia remains at #1. Michigan is #2, Xavier is #3, Villanova is #4 and Duke is #5. We’ll see how things look come Conference Tournament time.
11. Villanova Still Gonna win the National Championship? You betcha.
12. Sean Miller Accusations-The former Pitt point guard and current Arizona Coach is facing serious allegations that he offered a player $100,000 to play ball, according to an FBI probe of the NCAA. Of course, Miller denies offering a plyer money “I never have, and I never will,” Miller said.
13. Will Miller Remain the Coach at Arizona? According to the board he will. They announced that Miller has the school’s full support. We’ll see how things go once the season ends.
14. NBA-Here are the top teams in each Conference: Eastern: 1. Toronto (43-18), 2. Boston (44-19), 3. Cleveland (36-24). Western: 1. Houston (48-13), 2. Golden State (48-14), 3. Minnesota (38-26). And we still have a few weeks to go before the postseason.
15. Houston Rockets-They’re truly living up to their name, because they’re truly in a different orbit. They’re on a 14-game winning streak and are in a zone. Right now, they’re the best team in the NBA.
16. James Harden-Just give him the NBA MVP award right now. He’s earned it. He’s averaging 31-3 PPG and is truly the heart and soul of this team. I think the addition of PG Chris Paul liberated him in many ways and he’s taken his game to another level.
17. NFL-It’s still kind of quiet as Free Agency looms, but the NFL Combine is going on as team scouts are getting a look at college players who may play a part of their teams in 2018.
18. Le’Veon Bell-As we switch to the NFL, there’s no news here. The Pittsburgh Steelers are still expecting to sign their All-Pro RB and are hoping that he doesn’t have to get the Franchise Tag for a second straight season.
19. Browns GM listening to offers for 1st round pick-I think that’s smart. Trade down so a RB-hungry team can draft Penn State RB Saquon Barkley or one of the QBs, which the Browns do not need, not matter how bad their record was.
20. McCutchen Said the Pirates didn’t do enough to win-In a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, former Pirates OF (And current SF Giant) Andrew McCutchen and other former Pirates made this point. And you know what? They are right.
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