2012 has been rough so far on the court and for me in the offline world. Another night where I have to go to DVR delay.

Pitt needs a win tonight. Right now, Pitt needs a win every night. Rutgers is showing the hallmarks of a young team with potential. They have been playing up or down to the level of their competition.

Presumably Zanna and Johnson will get to start once more. Their play was solid in the loss to DePaul so I don’t see that changing.

Need to see the guys on the perimeter knock down some 3s, get into the lane a bit and just, please stay in front of their guy on defense for 40 minutes. In other words, play like they have not most of the season.

7pm game on Root, SNY, MASN, ESPN FullCourt and ESPN3.com.

After the craziness of Fraud Graham and yet another coaching search, I just didn’t have time to put drafts out there for the last couple challenges. Even this is a bit late, but it is a little better. This is once more, an open solicitation for suggestions before the final answer. I will keep mentioning and begging for your help as the Pitt rep for Volvo‘s Biggest Fan in the Big East contest. The contest is a mix of popularity  — so remember to go and vote for me in Volvo’s Biggest Fan in the Big East — and by winning challenges.

This challenge is a rather simple question, yet also a little vexing.

What are the best traditions for your alma mater and why?

This doesn’t simply apply to the school traditions. It is open to the little personal traditions, superstitions or neurosis that have developed over time.

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Another game, another must win. This time against a Rutgers team capable of beating Florida (who lost to Tennessee who lost to Pitt) and UConn (who also lost to UCF and Seton Hall); and losing to USF and Illinois State.

There’s not a lot that makes sense right now. Whether you are applying it to Pitt, the Big East (L-ville 1-4 in last  5 games after being blasted by Providence by 31 as an example), or nationally — Florida St., Wisconsin, Purdue, Texas…

Pitt is smack-dab in the middle of the craziness this season. Most pundits — and a significant number of fans — have declared the team dead for this year. I don’t know. It is hard to find the optimism right now. So much not working and no apparent easy fix. It isn’t a matter of simply “wanting it more” than the other team.

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