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Consequently the filters  toss comments into a general queue for review if the username or e-mail don’t match-up to your previously approved comments under a different username/e-mail. And given the volume in the queue I may not get to them all, since that means I have to search through old comments and confirm its the same person. And make sure they aren’t playing games.

You can drop me a line if you feel that there is a problem, but be sure to let me know what username you are/have been using. It would also help if you could explain why you felt the need to change the name.

Just a bit bland.

Did not expect this when the schedule for spring practice would be announced.

Pitt has canceled its annual spring football game.

Coach Paul Chryst said Thursday that he believes finishing spring drills with a regular practice will be better for his team.

“The thinking behind that is to get one more good work day out of (the players),” he said. “Most if not every spring game you end up really sacrificing a lot.

“These days are really valuable for us. I’m not in a hurry to get through spring ball, and I want to maximize every day with it.”

Spring practice will include the NCAA-limit of 15 practice sessions, beginning March 16. The final session is scheduled for April 13. All practices will be held at UPMC Sports Performance Complex on the South Side on the outdoor fields or at the indoor facility.

Is there a large element of truth to this? Absolutely. Coach Chryst has, at best, shown antipathy for the Blue-Gold Scrimmage. It has been clear that as a coach he sees it as a waste of valuable practice time. Decrying at the end of the scrimmage how they need more practice and wishes for more time.

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Or at least serves as a masking agent.

Shortly after halftime, the nasty bug that has been running through the household finally hit me. Overall, February has truly, deeply, unequivocally sucked.

It’s been years since Pitt and BC faced off in basketball, but it’s nice to know somethings just don’t change. Things like the local media barely noticing them to the point where the Boston Globe just used an AP wire story rather than having a beat reporter.

Something else that hasn’t changed, Pitt notching a win in Chestnut Hill. The last time Pitt lost a game at Boston College, Ralph Willard was coaching the team.

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Frustrating as the season is going, there is always the hope of the future. Pitt is still recruiting for the 2014 class, despite appearing to be filled. It may be that they don’t know if Detrick Mostella will get his grades in order. It may be that they think someone might leave. But, Pitt is still pursuing Kobie Eubanks with a vengeance.

Eubanks is a high 3- to 4-star guard and teammate of 2015 commit Damon Wilson. He’s going to be waiting to the end of the last recruiting cycle to make his decision, but based on his visit choices Pitt is in the final mix.

The 6-foot-5 Eubanks will trip to Wichita State (March 1), Pittsburgh (March 3), Missouri (March 5), Baylor (TBA) and Minnesota (TBA).

Last Sunday, Eubanks told SNY.tv Pitt was working the hardest. His teammate, Damon Wilson, is committed there already for 2014.

“Kobie Eubanks is as good of 3-point shooter,” longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski said. “He has a picture-perfect stroke and shooting remains basketball’s EZ Pass. He can really shoot the ball.”

It’s still a tough group to beat. Frank Haith at Mizzou may be a “meh” coach, but he has been a tremendous recruiter. Same with Scott Drew at Baylor. Minnesota now has Richard Pitino running things, and he does seem to have his dad’s gift in recruiting.

I’d like to think that anyone who can shoot a three with any consistency has moved up in priority this season.

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I’m still trying to figure out what the hell Zanna was thinking when he launched that three.

There’s that part of my brain that tries to rationalize it. Yes, Pitt isn’t as good as it appeared at the beginning of January. But they still were pretty good. All the losses. Close games except for one. All against teams that are/were/will be ranked in the top-25. And so on.

But last night was a popper. Pitt could not beat a team they definitely were better than at home. It wasn’t an off night. It was just more of the same in how Pitt has been playing.

The inability to finish at the rim. The tentativeness at both ends. Defense that could not find any consistency. And up and until that meaningless flurry of threes, little from the perimeter shooting.

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This isn’t Pitt’s final home game but it is the last one on a weekend. Hence, time to honor the seniors Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna. Fifth year seniors who already have their undergrad degrees and have been taking graduate level classes this year. And both who needed this eight-day break to try and get closer to healthy.

ESPNU at 6 pm for the ACC Sunday night game. Carter Blackburn and Dino Gaudio will be the announcing duo.

All games are crucial at this point. As disappointed as the outcome has been in a lot of the games in the second half of the ACC conference play, Pitt is still firmly in the NCAA Tournament. It may be hard to believe when we tend to only look at Pitt, and what they haven’t done. But when you look at the other 31 conferences and start looking at their records. Their wins. Their losses. You realize Pitt is not on the bubble discussion because they are solidly in the Tournament.

At least right now. The Panthers can absolutely play themselves to the bubble if they struggle with this final five-game stretch. The final three of four being on the road.

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One (and everyone has their personal favorite) of the reasons for angst over Head Coach Paul Chryst’s recruiting strategy has been the slow start to recruiting. Early verbals were few and far between. While other schools were pulling those early commits, Pitt was waiting. Appearing to get left in the dust.

Not this year. It’s not yet March, but Pitt has 3 verbals for the 2015 class. Offensive lineman Alex Paulina kicked things off in January. They added a TE at the end of January and now a linebacker.

The theme with them all is that they are Western Pennsylvania recruits. Three of the top-ten recruits in Westertn PA based on one ranking. If you care to make overarching declarations then it could be seen that the coaching stability and Coach Chryst’s approach to recruiting is starting to bear earlier fruit. At least locally as the players and coaches in the area have come to know and be familiar with him.

We know Chryst isn’t going to come out and try and glitz, glam and dazzle recruits. He’s not going to push. He is going to be himself and let the players and their families make the decision. At this point, though, he has been establishing real relations with the local coaches and players that will be seniors this fall. Now they are much more comfortable with what he is doing and there seems to be a lot more desire to play for him and Pitt.

At least at a local level.

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Okay, I’m trying  to be back. It’s been a rough few weeks in the offline world, and a lot of the crap has been coming to a head this week. That’s why I’ve been largely silent this entire week. Hopefully I’ll get things back in order soon.

I know there’s a lot of stuff to cover. Right now, I’ll just discuss my feelings on the changes in position coaches.

To recap. Brooks Bollinger resigned from his position as QB Coach at Pitt. He is not taking a job elsewhere in D-1, but has decided to pursue a lifestyle that lets him actually spend time with his family.

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U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Nice start to a Saturday morning.

On to the basketball.

CBS game at 1pm. Pitt’s lone regular season appearance on an over-the-air channel.

Not a lot of history between the two. Even less in terms of success for Pitt. But oh, that one win.

Pitt and North Carolina meet for the ninth time in series history with Carolina holding a 7-1 advantage. The last time the two schools met in basketball was on Nov. 29, 1996, an 82-62 UNC win at the Smith Center. Pitt’s lone win in the series was during the 1941 NCAA Tournament on March 21, 1941, when Pitt advanced to the Final Four with a 26-20 victory in Madison, Wis.

Almost 73 years since the last win. I think Pitt is due.

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Interesting.

The move to hire Troy Douglas as Defensive Backs Coach was made official. But with it, a little bit of adjusting to the coaching duties.

Chryst also streamlined positional assignments for Pitt’s defensive staff. In addition to coordinating the defense, Matt House will work with the linebackers. Chris Haering will coach the outside linebackers and serve as special teams coordinator. On the defensive line, Inoke Breckterfield will continue to coach the tackles and John Palermo will focus on the ends.

Chryst additionally announced that Desmond Robinson, who served as player personnel director this past season, will not be returning to Pitt’s staff.

Question. When did “streamline” become popular verbiage in football circles? Living in the Cleveland area I couldn’t help but absorb the Browns-Jimmy Haslam stuff this week. Haslam kept emphasizing the front office being streamlined. There was one position eliminated (CEO spot held by Joe Banner). Two people fired, but only one position eliminated.

Now Pitt has “streamlined” essentially be completing the phase out of Desmond Robinson. Otherwise, I’m not seeing “streamlined.”

Sorry, bit of a tangent but this was bothering me.

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I drank. I swore. I muttered. Wandered (and at times staggered) aimlessly around the house. I felt completely shell-shocked. My head still has the dull throb of last night that no aspirin, acetaminophen, naproxen or ibuprofen can quite remove.

It doesn’t compare to the Elite Eight loss to Villanova, because that was a final loss. A gut-punch of immense proportions. But it was only one loss. Last night the effect felt cumulative

I don’t know what to say at this point. Four games lost by a total of 11 points. Three of them came on a shot in the final second.

It takes a toll. On the fans. On the players. Everyone.

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7pm on ESPN.

Dave O’Brien and Doris Burke are the announcing crew, so it’s going to be all about the game.

You may have heard and will hear something about that 9-0 versus top-5 teams at the Pete. So that’s out there.

There’s also the fact that the last time Syracuse beat Pitt at the Pete was 10 years ago in a 48-45 mess of a game.

Questions abound on the overall health of the team. How severe is Lamar Patterson’s thumb injury, really? How is Talib Zanna’s ankle?

This will be the fourth straight game versus ACC teams that play at a slower tempo than Pitt. ACC purists can complain all they want about the change to their conference, but the slower tempo is really being driven by their own teams not Pitt and Syracuse.

It’s been  rough couple weeks for Pitt. The losses to Syracuse and Duke. The aching misery of the Virginia game. Two OT wins that almost felt like losses because of the competition. Compound that with Talib Zanna and Lamar Patterson battling injuries.

Of course it could all wash away with a stirring victory over the #1 team in the country tonight.

We still don’t know the nature of Patterson’s thumb injury. Just that he is sitting out practices and that Pattterson has claimed that it won’t need surgery.

“We’ll see. He hasn’t been put in a game-like situation, so you never know,” Dixon said of Patterson’s thumb. “It feels good when he is walking around and having lunch, but playing in a game is a little different deal, so we will have to see.”

Oh, good. I was afraid the situation might be nebulous or something.

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Since everyone is working from essentially the same news and reports, here’s what we have

Pitt’s most obvious opening is to replace Bobby Engram at the WR Coach spot. Yet, the first breaking news was that Pitt has made a play to bring Troy Douglas from Iowa State to be the Defensive Backs Coach.

Iowa State secondary coach Troy Douglas has been offered a spot on the Pittsburgh staff, but Douglas has not decided if he’ll take the position yet, according to a source.

Coachingsearch.com reported that Douglas will join the Panthers’ staff on Wednesday.

Douglas spent the last three seasons with the Cyclones. He previously worked with ISU defensive coordinator Wally Burnham at South Florida from 2006-08.

But now, Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com is tweeting that as of this morning it is a done deal.

Douglas coached DBs in the ACC for a couple years while at North Carolina. He appears to be a solid recruiter and a good DB coach. Considering the spot was essentially coached last year by a graduate assistant (love you Hank Poteat, but you should not have been put in that position) this looks to be a very good move.

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You know all those years of Pitt teams where there was no “go to guy?” The guy on that the team looks to score. The most visible offensive threat. Kind of think Pitt has one of those this year, and the VT game was what happens when he’s not right. Still, I’ll take escaping (again) with the win.

Lamar Patterson had the tape on the right  hand and thumb, and it was evident how much of a problem it was when he couldn’t aim straight. To say nothing of struggling with his handle.

It isn’t right to say Pitt is decimated by injuries, but there is a toll at the moment that is rather high. Durand Johnson’s injury has been an issue but plenty of teams can withstand losing their 6th man.

It’s the nagging injuries to Talib Zanna and now Lamar Patterson that are the concerns of the moment.

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