Gottlieb has a nice gig. He has his schtick where he attempts to be controversial by going against the conventional wisdom and popular things. It gets him pub, generates attention and makes his minders at ESPN happy. Reality and consistency have no place in this world.

Right now, Pitt is hot, so it is time to hate on Pitt. Keith got into it with him during his chat (Insider subs) today. Keith specifically challenged him with regards to a comparison to Florida. He refuses to directly answer.

Now it starts to get fun as we have Mr. Gottlieb as one of the first ESPN.com “experts” to put Pitt in his Power-16, back in December.

Pitt makes my Power 16 because they played and won a road game! Their stay could be short-lived if they do not become more effective on offense as Wisconsin comes to Peterson Events Center.

His definition of “effective” must be different from others. The South Carolina game was ugly, but proved to be the exception.

Now, Gottlieb on the air and in his chat denigrated what Pitt has done so far, because they just haven’t done enough — other than winning — even if no one really expected much from them. So what does he write in his weekly watch, this week?

Texas A&M lost two games but gained a ton of respect in the Big 12 this week. The Aggies lead most of the Oklahoma State game behind Acie Law‘s 35 points before falling 79-77 on the road and then controlled Oklahoma at home Saturday before Terrell Everett‘s 3-pointer with six seconds remaining helped the Sooners to a 45-44 road win.

Billy Gillispie has charged life into a program that has never won a Big 12 tournament game. He has caught some heat in the conference for playing the league’s weakest non-conference schedule during both of his seasons in College Station, but this week, A&M is at Kansas State and Iowa State and we’ll find out if all the confidence the Aggies built up in the nonconference season will hold up, especially after two tough losses.

So, let me get this straight, a team that has a non-con SOSof 303, had home wins against Auburn and Penn State by a total of 10 points compared to Pitt by a combined 74, has lost their close conference games to teams like Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, not to mention losing to Pacific (not that there’s any shame in that), and beat North Texas by 2 points. But they are impressing?

The cheap and easy assumption (and shot) is that since Gottlieb got his second chance at Oklahoma State after his, uh, incidents at Notre Dame is that he is showing just a touch of bias. I don’t think so. It’s part of his schtick.

Really, how do you argue with someone who has no opinion, only a desire to generate “controversy?”

Sorry for the lengthy silence. Drive back from the family visit in Lebanon. Oddest thing. Listening to Pittsburgh sportstalk both on Friday and today during part of the drive, all I heard was talk about this Steelers-Colts playoff game. Not one damn word about Pitt. I just don’t get it.

A new verbal for Pitt, Tamarcus Porter. This information from Pittsburgh Sports Report e-mail update.

Porter, 6’1″ and 170-pounds, can play wide receiver, cornerback or free safety at the next level. He chose Pitt over Boston College, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Virginia, Maryland and a host of others. Porter is the fourth Floridian in Pitt’s current recruiting class and will join Pahokee teammate Ricky Gary in the Panthers’ class of 2006.

Porter is classified on some recruiting sites as “athlete.” A top-50 athlete in Florida. The last couple of years have demonstrated the value of speed and “athletes” if used properly. Both Rivals.com and Scout.com list him only as a 3-star recruit, yet he held offers from lots of “name” programs, suggesting that he might be raw, but with lots of potential. If you are looking for optimism, ESPN’s Scout’s Inc. (Insider Subs.) is higher on him, giving him a 6.9 on their 9 point scale (Ricky Gary and Kevin Collier both get 6.9).

Porter is a playmaker every time he touches the football on both offense and defense. He is so fun to watch because his ability to make people miss is uncanny and he is a “ballhawk” as a free safety which is where we believe he will end up in college. One of the better overall athletes in this class with great flexible hips and fluid movements. He possesses an excellent feel for the game, has natural football instincts and always seems to be around the football. Has good size and strength. Plays with a great motor. Flies around the field and shows very good aggressiveness in run support. Has good short area quickness and burst when coming forward. Has good balance and body control. Takes solid angles in pursuit, sifts through traffic smoothly and is a sound and consistent tackler. Shows great range and could match up versus the slot if need be. Certainly has the tools to matchup with tight ends and backs in man coverage. The problem with Porter is that he lacks elite top-end speed. If he was faster he would be receiving national recognition as a recruit and would also be just as viable a recruit as a receiver as he is a safety. However, this guy is a football player with burst and explosiveness and his playmaking skills compensate for his lack of ideal speed.

They rank him as the 24th best Safety in the country. At only 170 pounds, he will be getting bigger, stronger and faster. I suspect the keyword is “upside.”

Meanwhile, the jewel of Pitt’s recruiting class receives a nice award and Pitt’s past is there to give it to him.

Dorin Dickerson didn’t know what to expect of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association Mercury Award banquet, so the West Allegheny star was surprised Friday night when Tony Dorsett took him aside to give him some advice.

Dickerson, a Pitt recruit, became the fifth recipient of the PAA’s Mercury Award, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and presented annually to the top high school football player in Western Pennsylvania.

“It shocked me at first when I walked in. This is a really big award,” said Dickerson, who was presented the trophy by Dorsett and Bill Fralic. “I’m excited I got to share it with the greatest players to come out of Pitt.”

About 2 weeks to NLI day.

Shocked. Shocked I am to find that the Pittsburgh media seems otherwise focused on this whole Steelers football thing.

Pitt has built its reputation in this millennium on the reputation of tough physical play. To some, a throwback to the roots of the league. Personally, I think it’s overstated. A convenience for writers who can reference the Steelers, football and the steel-making industry.

Still, there was no doubt about the tougher team yesterday.

But all the talent and coaching expertise in the world couldn’t prepare Louisville for the physical battle it faced against the Panthers. The Cardinals got to see up close how physical the Big East Conference was yesterday when Pitt bullied them all over the court, played fierce defense and got huge efforts from its talented freshmen to win at Freedom Hall, 61-57.
…
The No. 12 Panthers (14-0, 3-0) remained one of three undefeated teams in Division I, and they did it with their two best players in foul trouble for much of the game. Krauser played 31 minutes and scored eight points. Junior center Aaron Gray played 24 minutes and had 10 points.

Pitt was feeling it after the game.

The swagger was there. Oh, it wasn’t a blatant display, but there was no denying the Pitt basketball players were into a subtle strut Sunday following a 61-57 victory against No. 10 Louisville that extended the 12th-ranked Panthers’ unbeaten streak to 14 games.

If Pitt (14-0, 3-0 Big East) was an unknown commodity before yesterday’s physical scrap in front of 19,947 at Freedom Hall, the word may get out now pretty quickly.
…
“We came out and we out-toughed them,” Pitt guard Carl Krauser said. “We’re still undefeated, and we’re just going to try to get a win on Wednesday (at Rutgers).”

Of course, Pitt has now started a grinding part of the schedule.

“It’s going to be tough,” Gray said. “We just started classes this week, and the coaches stressed that we have to get everything in order because we’ll miss a lot of school while we’re on the road. So, that’s going to be a real task, but it’s going to be important to see how we come out of it.

“A lot of it’s mental, so we have to take care of ourselves. We’ll be on the road, and then we come back for a day to go to class. And then, we go on the road again. So, we have to get adjusted to playing in new arenas and new cities, but we have a pretty tough team that should be able to handle it.”

In Louisville, there is much surprise over not being able to bang inside (yes, they overuse the football analogies).

Instead, the shot chart showed the Cardinals (13-3, 1-2 Big East) couldn’t run between the tackles — to continue the football analogy. They made 8 of 14 three-point shots (57.1 percent) but only 5 of 10 layups. In the free-throw lane they made just 7 of 22 shots (31.8 percent).

Even 25 points from Terrence Williams, matching the highest-scoring game by a freshman in Pitino’s tenure, wasn’t enough to overcome the edge in strength and experience for Pitt (14-0, 3-0).

“It’s like a street game in there,” sophomore Terrance Farley said. “You’ve got to go in with elbows and pushing if you have to. … We all have to adjust.”

The Louisville players just sat around their lockers after the game, openly disappointed.

But the game’s key sequence was taking place on the other end. Beginning with a three-pointer by Levance Fields with 12:02 left, the Panthers scored on 10 of 11 possessions, turning a seven-point deficit into a 56-51 lead. Williams scored 11 points in that span, but the Cards never regained the lead.

That is big offensive efficiency. Doing something with every possession.

Right now, the game seems to have really shaken Louisville’s confidence. Not to mention the media’s.

The Cardinals lost their second straight Enormous East Conference home game yesterday. They extended their losing streak against ranked competition to three games. They needed a validating victory, but they had to settle for close in a 61-57 loss to No. 12 Pittsburgh.

This defeat could sting mercilessly. Louisville played well enough to win, even with Dean limping, even with all their experienced players struggling. And the Cardinals still lost. And halfway through the season, they still seek that elusive, reassuring big win. And they can’t be certain when they’ll find it.

And yet, somehow, I think Louisville will be there in the end of the season.