This has not been a good week if you are connected to Pitt. This just does not seem right.

Maggie Dixon, the coach of the US Military Academy’s women’s basketball team and sister of Pitt Men’s Basketball Coach Jamie Dixon, has died.

She was 28.

The Westchester County, New York, medical examiner’s office confirms she died yesterday at the Westchester Medical Center.

Dixon was admitted in critical condition after suffering what’s described as an”arrhythmic episode to her heart.”

Just last month, Dixon led the West Point Black Knights to the NCAA women’s tournament. Maggie and Jamie are believed to have been the first brother and sister to have coached in the NCAA tournament in the same year.

Dixon says Maggie seemed fine when they had breakfast together Wednesday, but at a friend’s house at West Point that afternoon, she said she wasn’t felling well and collapsed.

An autopsy is scheduled for today.

All condolonces to the Dixon family. I can only imagine what they are going through, and selfishly, I hope that is all I can ever do.

And there is no easy way to transition to it, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward is back in intensive care.

Former NFL running back Craig “Ironhead” Heyward remains in intensive care after Monday’s 11-hour brain operation at Emory University Hospital.

Heyward, 39, a former Falcons Pro Bowler, has been battling a recurring brain tumor called a chordoma.

A neurosurgeon and an ear, nose and throat specialist combined to remove as much of the chordoma as possible while successfully alleviating the pressure on his brain.

Some of the mass previously had intertwined with some of Heyward’s vital brain structure and could not be removed.

Heyward also could need therapy for nerves necessary for swallowing if they are later found to be damaged during surgery.
…
Heyward is expected to remain hospitalized for some time before considering options for treatment of the remaining mass, including strong radiation treatments or chemotherapy.

This was his third bout with the tumor.

Last year, a stroke left Heyward partially paralyzed on his left side and in need of a wheelchair. Since then, he has been unable to open his right eye after the chordoma wrapped around his optic nerve.