Here is a personal intro from our soon to be Blog Master Michaelangelo Monteleone.

They say you should avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes…

I’ve decided to ignore that advice.

Make no mistake Reed is a Legend. One does not create the pre-eminent football blog for a power five college program by accident or by chance. It takes talent, passion, perseverance, hard work, a steady hand on the tiller, and an ability to relate to (and tolerate) a multitude of personalities. I think we can all agree that Reed has these qualities in spades.

The result is that Reed has built what is arguably the #1 Pitt football blog in the country, and by extension the world. Per Reed’s post last week, the site has over 186,000 unique visitors and has had nearly two million page views in the last three years. Those are phenomenal numbers.

And so when Reed announced he was looking for someone to take over the POV, I was intrigued. After all, I have a writing degree from Pitt. Heck, I was even a journalist once upon a time. I’ve also run a WordPress blog in the past (the now defunct Pittboss BBQ Blog. You can check out pictures of our product here). I’m passionate about Pitt Football. Lastly, I’ve always wanted to publish a Pitt Football blog, but of course I saw no reason to go head-to-head with the POV. So suffice to say, this felt like a golden opportunity. And when I spoke with Reed about it, we both agreed I could be a good fit.

So what’s the POV going to look like in the Michaelangelo era? For starters, I don’t plan on changing much. What Reed has built is working, and my goal is to keep it working. During the season you should expect to see everything you see now: Game notes, Predictions threads, Game threads, MMQB etc. During recruiting season you’ll see a post after every commit. The goal is to sustain the success Reed’s built and keep our community intact. I think we can all agree that is a very good thing.

As you might expect, you are going to see some new wrinkles as far as content, and I hope you enjoy them. Also, I want to be clear that I will not shy away from calling a spade a spade. Good will be called good. Bad will be called bad. Ugly will be called ugly. That, as a fan and publisher of this blog is my right. As a fan base, it is our collective right, and I think it’s a big part of what has made this blog so successful.

Which brings me to a very important thing. I do intend to leave Reed’s Rules of Order in place.

As a refresher the rules are as follows:

  1. There will be no profanity on this blog. Comments with profanity will automatically filtered by WordPress and will not posted. I understand that we are all passionate Pitt fans, but we are also all college graduates (or at least smart enough to type). Use your vocabulary people. If you simply cannot contain yourself, then you can do it like this: A–. S—. F—. We’ll know what you mean. Please do not complain if you put a swear word in a post and it does not get posted.
  2. Political commentary will not be tolerated. This is a sports blog not a political blog. End of discussion.
  3. Personal attacks, public or private, will not be tolerated. Again, I get that we are passionate Pitt fans. Everyone is entitled to express their opinion about the football program, game, players, etc. Everyone is entitled to disagree. However NO ONE is entitled to call someone names or verbally abuse someone because their opinion is different. Feel free to forcefully disagree with an opinion, but do not attack the person who wrote it.

This seems to be relevant topic recently so I will give an example of what is okay and what is not okay.

Example 1: Acceptable Exchange

i. Pitt Fan #1: Man Pat Narudzzi really is an arrogant prick and I hate him. He also sucks at coaching and has no plan for this team. We need to fire his A–, and I’m no longer donating to Pitt Athletics until we do.

ii. Pitt Fan #2: Wow I really disagree with your opinion PF#1. Look, we are on a three game winning streak. Sure Tyler Sear left the team and all that but we may not know all the facts. I’m sorry you feel that way.

iii. Pitt Fan #1: Yea well I have some inside info on Tyler sear that says Nardo totally punked him. Same thing happened with Ox. I think you’re wrong and i think you are way too optimistic PF#2.

iv. Pitt Fan #2: Frankly PF#1I think that your opinion is garbage. No evidence whatsoever of that. But hey man, you are entitled to it. I think we should agree to disagree. Have a good day.

Example #2: NOT Acceptable:

v. Pitt Fan #1: Man Pat Narudzzi really is an arrogant prick and I hate him. He also sucks at coaching and has no plan for this team. We need to fire his A–, and I’m no longer donating to Pitt Athletics until we do.

vi. Pitt Fan #2: You F—ing jagoff. You are so f—ing dumb how can you even think that. You’re the biggest moron there is and you don’t know anything about Pitt Sports. Narduzzi clearly has us on a roll. Why don’t you stop posting this garbage. You are the prick here not Pat.

As you can see in the first example Pitt Fan both fans are disagreeing, but they are attacking each other’s opinions, not the person.

In example #2 each poster is attacking the other person. As college graduates we should be able to understand the difference here.

When in doubt take the high road folks. I will maintain a two-strike rule with this policy. You will get one warning and after that you are out. I reserve the right to change this to a one-strike rule if things get out of hand.

With that being said, once Reed hands me the keys to the blog, I am willing to grant an amnesty for anyone who was previously banned as long as they create a WordPress Account and agree to abide by the rules posted above. Again, the two-strike rule applies.

Lastly, one other thing that has made POV great is the contributions from the user base. Please keep these coming! User generated content is a big part of what we do and I will continue to welcome it. I can’t guarantee that I will be able to edit it as timely as Reed does, because unlike Reed I’m not retired, but I can promise you that it will get read, edited and posted, as long as it has merit and does not insult anyone.

Okay so that is a lot. Just a few final things while I’m on the keyboard… First, I would be extremely remiss if I did not thank Reed for for the opportunity. It’s truly an honor and I am clearly excited about it. Reed, I hope that once you are back in the saddle you’ll be a regular reader and guest poster. You’ll always hold the title of Founder and Blogger Emeritus for life!

I also would like to thank everyone in the community that I met at the POV tailgate during the VT game. Too many names to name but Ike, BIg B, Major Majors, LastRowofSection4, Erie Express, The ORIGINAL Atlanta Panther, Annie and so many others, have offered so much support already that I feel like there is no option but to be successful. Please feel free to let me know if you have suggestions and I’ll be reaching out when and if I need some help.

And with that I’ll close by saying that I’m looking forward to a great post-season and offseason.

Let’s Go Pitt!
-Michaelangelo

Note to All: Michelangelo’s take will be a younger and fresher view on Pitt football and if we remember each of his previous submitted articles were very informative and really well written. Couldn’t have a better person to take the helm.

Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

135 thoughts on “Accepting the Torch”

  5. OT: The Shawn Watson interview today is well worth listening to. You’ll really get some good insight as to how and why the Offense has progressed as it has to this point IMO.

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  7. Nicely done, michaelangelo. And thank you for stepping forward. Love the “Blogger Emeritus” title for Reed, our Commander.

    And just so we keep everybody smiling for at least the rest of the week, we can all view this video every once in a while:

    (BTW, his runs were awesome, but note the block by Q. Ollison around the 2 minute mark on Ffrenchy’s running TD. Ollie takes out TWO Hokies – was this an omen for his later run where he once again took out TWO Hokies with his now-famous stiff arm??)

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. Congrats
    The blog will be in very good hands
    Pitt fans everywhere can celebrate
    What was your timeframe at Pitt?
    I ask because it influences one’s connection with the university
    My era/experience was Gottfried/Hackett/Majors2 for football and Evans for basketball

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    1. Thanks TX, transferred over in sept ‘97 so Walt Harris during my college years and then a good dose of Wanny after, and I’d course I’ve been following through Fraud, Paul and Pat.

      Willard for B.B. though I never went to the games.

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  10. Great to see this confirmed in print and nice to know that the POV is in good hands.

    Gosh, I hope these kids are still on a mission and can handle being the leader with all that entails.
    It would be totally SOP to blow the last two games and the only way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to win the first of those two.

    I’m worried about Wake’s speed on offense, maybe less so when they are on defense. The big palookas up front need to deliver the goods again.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Joe. I agree. They just need to stay focused. We are better than wake, we just need to make sure we play better than wake. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion the momentum will continue to roll.

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  11. Well Michaelangelo, I come away very impressed with Reed’s decision to hand over the reigns to you. First things first here.

    Reed, don’t go straying away too far. The work and community you’ve created is unsurpassed by any message board, Blog or any other venue. Simply brilliantly done my friend. I hope this isn’t goodbye but see you soon!

    Secondly. Michaelangelo Monteleone is too long of a name. M&M is already taken (Major Majors), so I will refer to you as MAM. No offense to the ladies or you.

    I believe the POV will be in good hands moving forward and this article was very well done. Great keeping everything status quo but don’t burn yourself out. You can put the POV on auto pilot, we know how to help you.

    Suggestions:

    How bout your own auto bio, that is if you already didn’t submit one? I’m forgetful at times. If you submitted one in the past, how bout posting it again?

    Ask for help, you will surely get it.

    Buy a PITT script cape in lieu of your fancy green one. 🙂

    Don’t forget the round-tables.

    …and Sunday morning podcasts. (hint, maybe Reed could carry these on?)

    Get to know EJ.

    Anyways. Welcome brother MAM, and a see you real soon to Reed. Take great care. . ike

    Liked by 1 person

  12. I’ll have to go back and reread some of MnM’s posts and let you know if I’m ok with this.

    🤔

    Lol, GREAT news and I echo Iek’s thoughts about Reed and expect he’ll stay connected while pursuing his most noble passions. Unlike Iek, I have no expectations as to how the POVmight evolve and look forward to it nonetheless.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Hey, I recognize that face… and his name is really MichaelAngelo…MAM…

    Thanks for taking over the reins… looking forward to the next chapter and a continuation of the relationships planted by the POV….

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Hello gentlemen and Lady!

    Thanks for the support. Can’t say that I love the handle of MAM but I’ve been called worse. Mike, MA or MM are fine.

    Lol I will work on that Pitt Script cape.

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    1. Michaelangelo — I gladly give up the MM or M&M handle to you – the new Panther-in-Chief of the POV blog.

      BTW, my own blog name of “MajorMajors” simply goes back to some entertaining radio spots that Myron Cope used to do where — with the background music of the William Tell Overture — Myron would explain how Pitt’s football coach — “Major Majors” — had galloped in on a white horse and nabbed some outstanding football recruit…

      Myron would always end the spot with a stirring “Hi ho Majors!”

      Most of you may be too young for the Lone Ranger references…😊

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Also Ike a good suggestion on the auto bio. I haven’t done one yet so that is a really good call. I’ll see if I can cook one up this weekend.

    Would love to delegate out the round table convo since I have no idea how that works.

    Also I’ll be setting up a Pitt POV email address for everyone to contact me in the near future

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    1. To clarify: I will be setting up a Pitt POV email for me, so everyone can contact me. Not for ‘everyone’ 🙂

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  20. I’d like to add my congrats as well, Michaelangelo. We are very lucky to have someone with your abilities willing to take over! Good luck with the POV blog!

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Welcome Mike. Well thought out opening statement. Thankful you took the reigns.

    Extremely blessed to have had Reed here to write and do all he has done for us and this place. You’ve taken a bunch of ones and zeros and combined them into an actually place where we can all enjoy that which is Pitt football. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. MM, no doubt this is a football blog and it should continue as such. But are you planning to do anything with basketball?

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    1. Lol well Pitt is a basketball school right?

      I am not nearly as knowledgeable about basketball but I am planning to at least do game threads and recruit threads after we get a commit.

      If someone wants to step in a volunteer baskeball content that would be pretty fantastic. Good article yesterday about Capel’s offense. Need more of that.

      Liked by 1 person

  25. MM, I’m quite relieved and grateful to see that you are taking over. I would have hated to see this place go away. I will always respect and admire Reed for all he has done. I really look forward to this next chapter.

    Liked by 2 people

  28. I guess a welcome to “the helm” of the ship is appropriate with Commander Reed “stepping aside.”

    I’m glad this ship will continue to sail, perhaps on a slightly different course.

    Ok, I’ll knock off the nautical references.

    Tx makes a good point.. We are all a product of our experiences and your point of view will be much different from Reed’s as his encompasses the history of Pitt football from it’s early glory to it’s struggles and you from the last 20 years of ultimate mediocrity. You didn’t experience the depths of the mid 90s or Pitt’s glory years but usher in a voice of the “newer” generation. My best wishes to you in this new endeavor.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I experienced some of the worst football in history when Pitt deemphasized sports. Pitt was the Rutgers of the world under Hackett and Majors 2. Walt saved football at Pitt despite the desire by the BoT to destroy it. And I will admit that Pederson 1 was exactly what Pitt needed at the time to stabilize football. Moving Pitt off campus was a pure economic decision. Now it seems that the pendulum has turned with sports at Pitt receiving the funds and gaining importance. But how long will it last before the BoT steps in and destroys a good thing. Got a degree from Pitt but Pitt treated me like a number and provided a bad experience for students if you liked sports and school spirit/pride. They are damn lucky to have any fans who experienced sports from 1990 to 1997.

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  29. Mike, thanks for keeping the POV alive and kicking. And much gratitude to Reed for all the work he put into creating the best Pitt football blog. Reed, fair winds and following seas in your future endeavors.

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  30. I think I may have been one of the first POVerts to see you when you arrived at the tailgate on Saturday. I was impressed with your determination to get to the game from Atlanta. The enthusiasm on Saturday leads me to conclude that the POV is in good hands. So welcome. That said, as Thanksgiving approaches, I want to express my thanks and appreciation to Reed for creating the community of friends who now frequent the POV.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey WLAT! Yes I was extremely remiss in not giving you a shout out I the post. Thanks for helping to get me acclimated to the gang!

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  31. We lyke Mike 🙂

    Good deal Maestro and a big THANK YOU from Emel ! Look forward to meeting you at some point,
    maybe ACC Championship Game !

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Thank you again MIchael for stepping forward to take the reins and keep the POV alive moving forward. I too enjoyed meeting you at Fran’s tailgate . Emil mentioned Maestro earlier in this thread. If that was a reference to you I like it. The POV leadership moving from our able Commander to The Maestro seems like a fitting moniker. Thanks again and best wishes!

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Also, Tx Panther, I think we must have been at Pitt around the same time 86-88 in my case, which was the Gottfried era in FB and Paul Evans in BB.

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  34. M… Appreciate someone, anyone, stepping up. But do you really get all that you’re signing on to?

    Reeds are rare. Long before POV, I would constantly see some guy named Kohberger popping up here and there and just about everywhere there existed an opportunity for someone to comment on Pitt Football. And this does not even include the regular and extremely thorough pieces he would painstakingly put together during his days as a contributor to the Blather.

    Keep in mind this is going back just SEVEN years, my relatively short time as a regular Poster.

    I’m sure the Creator of this Blog has taken time to inform you of all the good things and bad things that come with seeing to its existence. I’m sure you’re well aware that it’s not the days when you’re Pitt Passion is running strong after a BIG Win or Loss… but the Off-Season when time drags on it might seem that only some Guy named “Ike” gives a damn that you post anything at all.

    And then of course there are those days when you find yourself having to trudge forward while fighting off the encroaching realization that… while you might have thought yourself to be a Pitt Football article-wielding Blogsmith… in reality you are playing the role of Glorified Babysitter.

    Forgive my hesitancy to COMPLETELY buy in and believe all is well with the POV. But as I said, the Reeds of the world are rare.

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    1. A healthy dose of skepticism and yes POD you are right in many ways. Do I truly know what I’m getting myself into? No I don’t. But doesn’t anybody, really?

      I think you’ll see when I post my bio that I’m someone who endures good times and bad for something that I love. Time will tell if I’m Jackie taking over for Majors 1 or Hackett taking over for…we’ll just about anybody. What I can promise you is I’ll be here for at least a year through thick or thin, and i suspect a good bit longer.

      Liked by 2 people

  35. Emel, ACC basketball is undefeated no more. BC lost to IUPUI and ND lost to Radford …. yes Radford. But NTL it was the last major conference to be unbeaten

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  36. Pittodreams, the POV, readers and commenters are all fine.

    It’s me that wasn’t. Mike is the perfect guy to keep this going. I’m 100% fine with this…

    I just gave him authority to administer the site so my role is basically over.

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  38. Reed, are you going to finish your book now? And please stay in touch and come to a few games next year.

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  40. Do I feel a hint of trepidation in the air this week? It’s the old don’t rock the boat feeling. Yep, even I hesitate as to not ruin the momentum that PITT has at the moment. I guess we all still don’t know which team will run out of the tunnel Saturday at Wake. Will Wake Forest finally be the team that makes KP throw more or is PITT just too darn dominate to stop? Can the defense get enough stops for PITT to score more points than the other team Saturday? Stay tuned!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. More like an itch you can’t quite scratch…though feeling pretty positive overall.

      There is just something special about the way the run game has exploded over the last half of the season. I think the team overcomes the ‘trap’ and stiff-arms Wake into submission.

      It has that ‘football mean’ swagger going. Not sure if anyone else noticed how the players on the sideline were dancing and jumping all afternoon whenever Pitt made a play against VT…even in the 4th. Reminded me of the Pinstripe Bowl…only the NW bench players were that exuberant on that sad day. It was something I can’t remember seeing at Heinz for a while.

      H2P

      Liked by 1 person

  42. Welcome Mike…thanks for stepping up!

    I don’t post too much but am an avid lurker lol. Keep us types in mind too as you evolve the POV. 😉

    Thanks to Reed I think you have a great vehicle to drive into the future. Well, maybe a few scratches but they add to the charm of the place.

    Good luck “Maestro”

    H2P

    Liked by 1 person

  43. Loved the article on Dave Janasek…got to watch him..195 lb FB blocking for a 150 RB..who woulda thunk….we were watching a the beginning of a college football record book entry…back in the day…

    Hope a bunch of POVerts are traveling to Winston-Salem to cheer on our boys…”We ain’t done nothing yet!!!”
    Coach Duzz personally recognized the fans after the tailgate..many of us have been blessed to meet and hang out with several of the players families…what great people who let their sons come to PITT…Like that 1971 PGH Pirate tune ..”We are Family.”

    BigB, Erie Express, Tom, Savannah and Atlanta Panthers with holding court in the parking lot before and after the game…new poster Pendlum is making his grand appearance…

    Shout out to “OHHOWIHATEOHIOSTATE! great to meet you last week.

    Emel, not to far from you if you are in Charlotte…get your butt on over!!!

    FRANKCAN (my all time favorite poster) werevre yuo are we no yuo are wachin

    Hail to PITT and WUPsum WAKEa$$

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Regrettably I not able to get a kitchen pass two weekends in a row BigB, but I’ll be there in spirit. Saving up my points for Charlotte…

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    2. Don’t forget Jay91 and Pitt-Cocks-Fan – it’s going to be a grand old time in Winston-Salem.

      W_F ain’t seen a rushing attack Lyke Pitt will roll into town with.

      I have 8 inches of snow to shovel before I make the trip.

      H2P!

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  45. Pendlum and Richard,,,I have never been to Wake but plan is to get up early and get a parking spot and the flags hoisted..once I am settled and know well the “H” where I am, I well send you guys an electronic smoke signal..if I get wrapped up in the party spirit, buzz me and if that fails use yer eers and listen for the loudest voice in the parking lot near the stadium..that would be my friend Atlanta Panther…

    We will be near the stadium….

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  47. Everyone should go to the University’s Pitt football site and read the article on dealing with adversity that Quadree Ollison wrote.

    We might not have as many four-star players as we’d like, but we sure appear to have a great number of 5-star people on this Panther team…

    Hail to Pitt!

    Liked by 5 people

  48. If we lose the last 2 games we will still win the Coastal if VA losses to either at GT or at VT. We own ALL tie breakers with the teams (VA, VT, DU and GT) because we beat them. UNC and Miami are already eliminated.

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    1. Yea but I don’t want to go into that game with our tail between our legs. Let’s take care of business.

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  50. frankmd…whoa Nellie…change that thinking..attitude adjustment time …..Wake is the next hurdle to jump, wall to smash,mountain to climb …There is work to be done and we need all hands on deck..ONE TEAM….ONE ATTITUDE…ONE MISSION (at a time)

    and the “BEASTS (Hall-Ollie) GOES ON” as Sonny and Cher would say………………….

    Liked by 1 person

  51. Having a really terrible morning but no worries, BigB has got me fired up and getting ready to take the Demons out behind the North Carolina woodshed and WUP some Wake Forest ass!

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    1. ike — wouldn’t you like to see BigB address the team in the pre-game? That would be awesome.

      Only thing that could top that is our man George Aston leading BigB off tackle for the winning score!

      Hail to Pitt!

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  52. Reed …a Huge thanks for all that you have done to keep the spirit alive for Pitt sports.

    Michaelangelo (love your name) no doubt about it you are a true Pitt fan and your obvious dedication to keeping the torch of The POV burning is excellent news for all of us!!

    Liked by 2 people

  54. Reed, thank you for establishing this first rate Pitt blog…Michaelangelo, thank you for taking on the task of keeping this blog first rate.

    Liked by 2 people

  55. frankmd, don’t take me too seriously..JeanieB doesn’t….just trying to get my war-paint properly applied…
    I haven’t been this pumped since my senior year when our Apollo-Ridge team took an 8 mile bus trip down the River Rd to play our hated rivals the Leechburg Blue Devils,,,We were crazy on-fire, going nuts with internal odometers revving to the top of the tachometer- the whole way to Leechburg!!!!…we were spent when we got to the field. Our punt returner fumbled 2 times inside our 10..the Blue Devils scored on the short field and held a 12-6 lead late into the 4th quarter adding a scrap TD as the horn blew…we should have beat them by 20…I think I am peaking to early..frankmd-thanks for sharing the “reality of the possibilities” Time to remove the shoe-polish from under my eyes……and come back down to earth…but this is the most important game since the 1976 National Championship……………………………………..

    Liked by 1 person

  56. Reed-Not only did you create a premier blog that we enjoy reading, you also motivated me to go to a couple tailgates which I otherwise wouldn’t have done.
    Michaelangelo-Best of luck and thanks for picking up the blog.

    I’m planning to go to Charlotte and booked the Clarion Hotel Airport & Conference Center which is only about $123/night (AAA rate).

    Liked by 1 person

        1. DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Charlotte – Southpark (very nice area with lots of great
          restaurants, bars, etc. and very safe) For Nov 30th to Dec 3rd showing $134/nite

          If you can get in the Charlotte Marriott SouthPark, excellent hotel too. Arnold Palmer once
          owned it, when it was the Park Hotel.

          Just about any hotel in Southpark is good. And like I said it’s Charlotte’s nicest closest to downtown
          neighborhood.

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          1. The DoubleTree was booked. I got the Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte/South Park at Phillips Place for $180 AI. Thanks for the heads-up!

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            1. You are quite welcome ! Phillips Place is very nice, has some very good restaurants and accompanying bars. Upstream is very good with a good bar, as is The Palm Charlotte. Up the street a little on Fairview on the left is Harpers, which is more moderately priced.

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  57. Hey John (M&M) don’t tempt the BigB, he’s liable to rush the locker room and do just that, FIRE THE TEAM UP!!

    Big Brother B, let it all hang out. We as PITT fans have suffered for moments like these. If we back off now, it only cast doubts. So keep the good mojo coming! So sorry Angie and I can’t join you great PITT fans down at the game.

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  58. Bernie has hit my juices flowing…. we’ve got real bad weather coming in here. But I just might try to convince Mrs. Wlat to make the trip. Stay tuned….

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  59. Anybody going up to the game from Charlotte ? Interested in hooking up, I’ll pay for the gas, if you drive.
    And I’ll pay for your drinks to boot 🙂

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  60. Accuweather is still calling for a Sunny day, mid 50’s for the game, even though it’s like Winter down here now.

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  63. November 12, 2018

    Pat Narduzzi Press Conference

    Wake Forest Week

    PAT NARDUZZI: Another good Monday. Great job by our team on Saturday. A lot of great things as you watch the tape, and there was a lot of things frankly we need to continue to clean up or we’ll be in trouble as we get into this weekend because we’ve go down and face, I think, an emerging Wake Forest team, coming off a great win against a ranked 13 or 14 North Carolina State team.

    Obviously the two keys that you notice when you watch the tape is we were able to run the football, and we were able to stop the run. I think they had 47 carries. Sometimes you look at it and go, did we stop the run, but they had 47 carries for I think 153 yards by our numbers, and averaged 3.3, which is right on our goal. So even defensively we’ve got our goal as far as stopping the run, which was good to see when you went back and looked at it.

    You know, the one thing I looked at in the last three games, we’ve had 39 explosive plays on offense. Everybody likes big plays, explosive plays. Everyone sees Darrin Hall and Ollison and Ffrench and Mack making these big plays, but there was 39 in the last three games. I went back and checked just to see, and that’s after our open date, I believe, and we had 39 total in seven games prior to that. So when you look at — I know you like stats. I see you typing there. But 39 in seven games and then 39 in the last three.

    So to me, it’s like we’ve done something a little bit better, whatever it is. You never know what it is, nor will I tell anybody what it is, but we’re doing some good things. I think our offense is starting to really gel, and we’ve eliminated the big plays, as well.

    Something we give out award-wise every week, we talk about who the Player of the Game is, and I never bother you guys — who cares who the player of the game is. You always have an O-lineman of the week, an attack force player of the week, but something I thought was worth mentioning this week is just all the unsung heroes that come out in a game that might not be in the newspaper. You know, you’re not seeing that guy score a touchdown, but guys that are making impacts that maybe go unnoticed, and I think even in the press conference afterwards someone mentioned it, but when you watch the tape you see it.

    But really all of our receivers are blocking well, but Aaron Mathews graded out 92 percent and was just lights out out there blocking people, and again, it’s so critical what he does there. But he just stood out as a guy that was like, wow. He’s become a great blocker, and he didn’t have a catch, and that’s why we talk about unsung heroes, because it’s not about the tailback runs in the end zone or dives in the end zone, does a somersault, when we really don’t want, either. It’s bad for these little guys to watch it; he’ll be diving in the end zone pretty soon.

    But Maurice Ffrench, same thing, had two big catches for 83 yards, and Taysir Mack had three big catches, unsung heroes. Patrick Jones, another guy you don’t hear a whole lot but played an outstanding game in there that you kind of go, nobody is talking about Patrick Jones. A week ago they were talking about Dewayne Hendrix, but Patrick Jones really played well.

    And then Kessman (sic) got the chance to punt once and got a 50-yarder, and then Kess — did I say — I’m sorry, Christodoulou had a 50-yard punt and then Kess was 7 for 7 on PATs, and again, the first drive of the game hits a 48-yarder, so those are just kind of some ones you forget about with all those touchdowns and some big, explosive passes.

    With that, we’ve got Wake Forest, which I think is really strong. The Newman kid at quarterback, new guy coming in, and they’ve got some players that you’ve got to be worried about. Greg Dortch, their wide out, is ‘Waldo’ this week. You’d better know where that guy is. And you talk about RPOs, this will be RPO every down, 1st down to 3rd down. They’re as good as anybody in the country.

    Their tempo is as fast as anybody in the country. I think there was a clip up on the TV screen last week, they rank who the fastest team in the country is, and we know Syracuse is fast. They rank — getting more plays in than anybody. So we’ll have a lot of guys ready to play defensively. We’ll prepare our tails off for the tempo, the high-speed tempo that we’ll have to defend this week.

    Q. Kind of sticking with unsung heroes, where would this team be without Stefano Millin and what has he brought to this team as a transfer?

    PAT NARDUZZI: You know what, obviously he’s played left tackle, he’s played a little right tackle, he’s played center in the past. He can do a lot of different things. He’s played outstanding so far this season. He really has.

    Again, another one of those seniors that — he hasn’t walked up that ladder yet, but he’s done an incredible job. And again, really I can say that about the entire offensive line with the lack of missed assignments. If you compared them just being on guys, compared to what they were in the second game of the season, it’s not even close. You wish you could have rematches. Unfortunately they don’t give them to you.

    But they’re playing at a high level, and Stef is doing a great job.

    Q. Your explosive plays, is that different run and pass in terms of how many yards?

    PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah. It’s 15-yard runs and 20-yard passes.

    Q. Do you know how many of those in the last three were runs?

    PAT NARDUZZI: No, I didn’t count those up. We just call them all the same. They’re all good. I’m sure somebody has those. I hope I counted right, okay, we got them tallied up, but I did that real quick because I was like, hmm, 39, and I added them up, and it’s amazing that 39 in three and 39 in seven and I didn’t pull my calculator, I did it in my head.

    Q. Obviously you mentioned Aaron Mathews blocking and some other guys. Do you feel that group is playing as well right now as they have all season for you guys?

    PAT NARDUZZI: I think so. Again, I just love the unselfishness of Aaron Mathews going down the field and whacking people and just getting on guys. Yeah, they don’t care. Aaron Mathews doesn’t care if he doesn’t get the ball thrown to him. He’s just saying, tell me who to block, let’s go. And that’s what you want is guys that don’t care what it takes to win. It doesn’t matter if we run it, throw it, and obviously all receivers like to catch the ball.

    But those opportunities will eventually come and you never know when it’s going to be your day. Taysir Mack is back healthy right now, as healthy as he’s been all year, which is a good thing. I welcomed him back into the room last night saying, hey welcome back, when we went through who our unsung heroes were. But he’s back healthy, I think. We’ve got to keep him that way, too.

    Q. Can you put a finger on why the 39 in three games and 39 in seven games?

    PAT NARDUZZI: Executing maybe, making a play. It comes down to execution, feeling comfortable. You know, I don’t know what it is. I mean, sometimes you sit there like we got into the open week, I told you we tried to fix some things. We did have an open week after Notre Dame, so we tried to address some things that we needed. There was a couple things maybe protection-wise that we’re doing a little bit different. In practice one thing I’d say we added and I don’t know if that’s — you don’t know what the difference is. Is it the emphasis?

    But we usually go pass skelly against our defense. We go against each other. Coach Partridge really didn’t want to do this, but we go one-on-ones usually and then pass skelly going on over here. We should invite you guys in one day for it. Maybe one day we’ll let EJ come in and we’ll give you a middle window instead of the early window, just let you come in for a period. But we go O-line versus the D-line in that period, and so it’s really pass, but it’s only two guys coming so we don’t really crush the pocket. I think that’s just so Kenny is getting pressure in pass skelly as opposed to no pressure at all, which anybody can sit back there in pass skelly and throw it, so it just gives him a fresh look at guys coming after him hard. We’ll call sacks in that period and guys will come up and try to tag off. We don’t hit the quarterback, but is that — there’s so many things you can look at. Was it a better job game planning? I don’t know, but there’s a lot of things that we addressed and tried to clean up and maybe it’s had an impact, I don’t know.

    Q. I know it’s been your philosophy having a consistency treating every week and every game as though it’s the same, but for a game like this where the stakes are different, where the circumstances surrounding your team are different, how are you, if at all, going to approach this week differently with your team?

    PAT NARDUZZI: The same. Come on, man. Last week was critical. I wouldn’t sit here and say it, and I didn’t say it to our kids, but it didn’t take me long to spit it out after the game in the locker room that, hey, you’re bowl eligible. That’s one monkey off your back; don’t even have to worry about it anymore. How would you like to go into this week, hey, you’ve got a chance to be bowl eligible and you’ve got a chance to do something else, too.

    It’s the same thing. It really is. I’m not going to talk about it. It doesn’t matter. When we’re going in there to play Wake Forest, it’s a one-game season right now. Nothing else matters. Good things can happen we know, and it doesn’t matter. If they’re worried about that, it’s — your focus has got to be singular right now, and if you’re worried about these other things, you just get — you’re wandering off.

    Like he is right now, he’s kicking his feet, he’s got no focus. I mean, you can’t do it all. He’s like, get this old guy out of here.

    Q. When I was talking to Connor after the game —

    PAT NARDUZZI: Connor Dintino?

    Q. Yes. I mentioned the ACC standings after the game. He pretty much said he wasn’t even thinking about that. How do you get them to think that way when everybody wants the instant gratification side to it?
    PAT NARDUZZI: I don’t know, maybe he lied to you. I don’t know. They’re on Twitter. As a matter of fact, Dintino is not on Twitter if I’m right. He might be the one guy — I probably should know everybody that’s on Twitter and who’s not, but he’s a guy that’s not on social media, so you maybe asked the wrong guy. But I’m sure they look at it, probably hard to avoid it. We try to tell them to avoid it.

    I know our kids know where they were about four or five weeks ago, zero, and where they are now. And it’s funny you go from being a hero to being zero like that. But it’s that focus, and I think they know what the focus has done for them, the consistency has done for them, and if the medicine is treating you right, then just stay on the same medication, don’t change medications. Doctor said this is the medication, take the medication and shut your mouth.

    Q. To stay on that topic, you’ve been saying that you’re a championship team since before the season started. The media has not been that way and now it seems to have flipped. How does that affect how you attack the game, how your players attack the game?

    PAT NARDUZZI: First of all, I didn’t say we were a championship team at the beginning of the season. You must have misquoted me. I just said the goal — our kids talked about it, I guess, first, and there’s not a team in the country that doesn’t say I want to win a championship. So I didn’t say we were a championship team. I’m not saying we’re a championship team. I just want to be 1-0 this week. That never really came out of my mouth, but the kids want to do that, and that’s great. I want to win each week. I want to win each game. I want to have focus on that.

    So I’m glad we solidified that problem there.

    But we are what we are right now. Right now we haven’t won a game. We’ve got one game to win this week, and maybe there’s a celebration, maybe there’s not. We’ve still got another one. Miami I think is going to be a fun game, too. But we’ve got a lot of work to do and not much time to get it done. I hope I answered the whole question.

    Q. Darrin Hall kind of mentioned there was like a team meeting going into the Notre Dame game or something like that. Was that kind of a turning point? Was that kind of calming for a team that kind of struggled a little bit?

    PAT NARDUZZI: You know what, I don’t remember a team meeting. I don’t remember any team meeting. Maybe they had it without me. And again, every once in a while — I don’t remember that. But it wouldn’t surprise me if I did know about it and I don’t remember it. Maybe they had a barbecue. I don’t know. Maybe they had some good ribs. They didn’t invite me to get any. But it could have happened. That’s something you can ask maybe after practice some of the other guys.

    Q. If you go back to early October, what indicators or signs did you see after the Central Florida game that you could get this pointed in the right direction?

    PAT NARDUZZI: You know, there was no indications after Central Florida or any game that you kind of go, oh, we can still do this. I mean, I think you’ve got to have faith and belief every game. We never lost faith as coaches or kids. There was never — so there was never — we never had to get it back because you never felt like you lost it. Does that make sense? That’s not in our vocabulary I don’t think that we couldn’t get it done. So nothing has changed. It was just — you’ve just got to be persistent. You don’t — sometimes you don’t win every game.

    We’ve got a good football team, and to get it done, we show every week. And we talked the last couple weeks, we’ve had a tough schedule, and just because you don’t win them all or lose them by the amount of points you want to lose by, doesn’t make you a failure. You’re only a failure if you quit. Our guys are never going to quit, and there was never a loss of faith or belief that our guys would get it done and come back and play the next game.

    Q. I won’t ask you if this is your best coaching job, but is this is this maybe as much as a team has improved from week 1 to week 10 or 11 since you’ve been here?

    PAT NARDUZZI: Probably. Again, maybe it’s one position, maybe it’s two positions, maybe it’s three positions that you say, hey, he’s made improvement here. But there’s some changes in the off-season. You got a new O-line coach doing new things, new terminology, just trying to get them to be all right. I think that probably has something to do with it. You’ve got new secondary coaches, got a new defensive coordinator, and things take a while to just — people think change and all of a sudden you make a change and it’s going to be perfect as soon as you make a change. I mean, you change your wife, there’s going to be some adjustments real quick, and there’s change in everything that you do. You think it’s going to be all good; yeah, good luck to you. There’s growing pains with some of those things. I think that may be part to do with it.

    I can’t tell you this has made a big improvement any more than the first year, the second year or the third year. We just worry about the next game. We don’t look back like that I don’t think.

    Q. How have you changed in four years, speaking of change, since the day you stood here in December —

    PAT NARDUZZI: My shoulders are sore, I’m balder, Chubbier. I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think I’ve changed personality-wise.

    Q. You had changes on the offensive line last season, getting some new guys in there this year and they’ve all seemed to gel so well. Qadree and Darrin shout them out anytime they have a good game. Is there something you can point to that’s made them gel?

    PAT NARDUZZI: You know, our football team is together. First of all, the O-line, they want to stay Friday night in a hotel all together, so that tells you something right there. They want — have I mentioned this to you guys at all about the O-line? No? I’ll throw this one out here. These knuckleheads, they say, Coach, if we rush for 500 yards, can we stay in the penthouse so we can all stay in the same room together. I’m like, you rush for 500 yards, you can do it.

    Well, they’ve almost gotten close. They were mad that we took a knee and lost a few yards. They were mad they got taken out of the last game because that’s all they’ve been talking about. And Dintino, he might not be on social media, but he’s spearheading — they want to sleep on — they don’t care if it’s a bunk bed. They want to be together.

    To me it’s the togetherness that these guys have. Again, O-linemen are as unselfish as anybody gets, and they just want to block and they don’t care. They’ll tell you, Coach, let’s not throw, can we run block all day; that’s what we want to do. And that’s what we’re going to have to do this weekend.

    This game is going to come down to stopping the run. They can throw it to Dortch all they want. We’re going to stop the run, and we’ve got to make them one-dimensional, and we better run the football, and that’s what it’s going to come down to.

    Q. Was it your expectation at the start of the year that you’d run for 250, 300, 400 a game regularly?

    PAT NARDUZZI: You know, you hope 250, 200. I mean, that’s kind of what you’d like to — now, it wasn’t — 492 was not in the goals, but we’ll take that, too. But that’s what you — you want to run the football, and in today’s world, everybody is just throwing it all over the place, and I still believe it’s a matter of stopping the run and running the football.

    Q. Why do you believe that, that everybody is throwing it all over the place?

    PAT NARDUZZI: You know, again, it’s obviously different games and different ways of doing it, and I think so many teams nowadays are so spread out. We’re going to face another spread team. Our offense will be about as foreign to most teams in this conference and Georgia Tech’s really, because they don’t get to see it every week. You line up Georgia Tech in the backfield and what position is that, they’re going to have to have a lesson, football 101, to say that’s the ‘F.’ I know you guys talk about Ys and Xs and Zs, but that is the ‘F,’ and he’s a fullback, so there’s all kinds of new stuff that they’ve got to worry about.

    To me, you want to make a team one-dimensional, okay, and it goes down to the toughness part of the game, so if you’re going to be a tough football team, you’d better stop the run and run the football, and that’s why we live in Pittsburgh, that’s why we’re here. That’s what the Steelers are; that’s what we are; that’s what the Penguins are, tough. And to me if you’re going to be great and you’re going to win a championship, you’re going to do it running the football and stopping the run, and if they want to play basketball and soccer and all that stuff and throw the ball, those are great sports, but it’s just — these RPOs running down the field halfway, 10 yards — I mean, we had people running down the field 11 yards and then backing up past the umpire, and the umpire sees them there and sees the ball being passed over there, and it’s like you still didn’t throw a flag? You couldn’t tell the difference between three yards. So there’s those things going on, but you’d better stop the run, and that’s what we’re going to do.

    Q. Was this intentional? We get Nate [Peterman] the first couple years, he threw the ball differently. When you got here, was this how you wanted to play? You’re not supposed to set school records in this era with 600 yards by running the ball a billion times.

    PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, if you had to say in a perfect world — sometimes you get — sometimes — Wake Forest shut down North Carolina State’s run game last week, and I don’t look at the stats and see what it was, it’s just from watching the game I’m going, golly, what happened. I just remember the dudes — I know they had five — Finley is still there. I know they had five offensive linemen so it scares you because they’ve got — they have the capability of shutting you down.

    North Carolina State doesn’t go big people, but they run a lot of zone and do a lot of the same things we do out of different formations and had to really throw the ball to get back in the game or to stay in the game.

    But you know, ideally you’d like to be able to run the football. If you can run the football, it’s just like the best thing in the world, period. We’re not any different; people like to run the ball out of a spread set, too. Baylor, if you watch Baylor and you looked at Baylor back even when we played them in 2013, they liked to throw the ball, but they would rather run the ball. They would rush for 300 yards a game, period. They ran the ball to the point where you were like, can we stop both the run and the pass, but you’d better stop something. If you are leaking out of both ends of the boat, you’ve got a problem because you can’t fill both holes like this.

    So if you’re going to stop something or be able to do something, it’s got to be running the football.

    Q. You mentioned bowl eligibility a minute ago. Just big picture, how important of a milestone is that for your program after missing out and just the benefits you get big picture?

    PAT NARDUZZI: It’s important to get it before the end of the season, especially the way we started the season and the schedule we had and the bumps in the road that we had. So it’s a milestone. It’s something you can go, boom, done. Put that in your back pocket. Don’t even have to talk about it, don’t care, but at least we got that out of the way. Now we move on to the chore is Wake Forest, and what happens after that game. Do we reach another milestone?

    That’s just kind of like you don’t have to worry about it. You lose to Virginia Tech, now you’re going to this game going, geez, we still have a slim chance of maybe playing where we want to play and we’re fighting our tails off to get bowl eligible, can we do it.

    Now it seems like there’s to me a relief in this room, and I told our guys, hey, we’re going out and playing loose and having fun Saturday. That’s what you guys — we had energy on our sideline. We played loose and had fun Saturday night, and that’s what we’re going to do again. We’re not going to play tight. We’re not going to do anything we don’t normally do. We’re going to treat the week the same and we’re going to have fun.

    Q. You talked about some of the decisions were based on personnel and things that happened, but could you envision running the ball as the offensive identity of this program?

    PAT NARDUZZI: It is the identity. Good question: Is rushing the football the identity. It is. It always has been. I can go back to last year mid-season, I don’t know what game it was, but I think it was the game after or before Duke where I sat down, I think I told you guys a year ago when Brian O’Neill was like, “Coach, we need to run the football.” I don’t know if you guys remember that. It was kind of like, we’ve got to get back to doing what we do best, and I think that was a little bit of a turnaround last year in our season. But that’s what we want to be, and like I said, Dave Borbely, I told you guys after, I think he’s done an incredible job of coaching those guys, and those guys want to play for him, too. It’s not just Xs and Os, okay, it’s not just the fundamentals, but it’s also wanting to play for your coach and you like going to that room, and when they’re in there watching extra tape and there’s a relationship in that room, that’s the key, and he’s done an incredible job in a short time of building the confidence in that room and those guys wanting to play for him.

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  64. Any subscribers to Panther Lair should watch when you get the chance The Drive Breakdown Pitt’s 11 Explosive Plays on their Home tab. It’s really an excellent example of how well Pitt has been blocking for our running backs in the VT game. So good at times that even Aston doesn’t have to block anyone before the back is already into the opposition secondary. What I’m not sure about is whether our blocking is so good or the VT defense is so bad. The only reason I think it’s do to our blocking is because we have been doing it to others besides VT.

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  66. How did Q, not win the Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week over a Temple RB who had less yards(210) than Q (235) and it wasn’t even close in yards per carry ?? It took the Temple RB, 30 carries to get the 210, which comes out to only 7 yards per carry.

    Q avg yards per carry was more than double that at 14.7 ypc with only 16 carries. Temple RB did score 6 TD’s but 5 of the 6 were less than 5 yard runs.

    None were close to Q’s amazing run of 97 yards, an all-time Pitt record and he had another of 31 yards and another of 8 yards.

    Another failure of the local Pgh. media jerks not promoting a Pitt star, and therefore the National Media
    basically ignores a historic day for Q.

    I can guarantee you, had this been a Pedo state RB, they would have been doing somersaults over his game and he would have won the award.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Nothing on Pitt football’s twitter feed EE, so I guess tomorrow will be the reveal. Maybe the all-whites since we won with them in Hootersville. Not my fav, but just win baby.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Just noticed tonight that the Pitt BB Court Logo in the Pete is in Script and the Retro Classic color scheme…attended 3 games at the venue and plain didn’t notice it in person…duh.

      Like

  71. Heard that Purdue is losing their FB coach to Louisville. I think Pitt lost out on a few guys to Purdue. Maybe an opportunity to get one or two

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  72. Talk more about this post game tomorrow. It’s every basketball coaches nightmare….at the beginning of the season. Facing a team with a strange hybrid offense…like Central Arkansas opened with tonight. I’ve never seen an offense that ran the patterns that Cent Ak ran tonight. Pitt went down 9 early until their pure talent and aggressive play took over. They l lead by 11 at the half and I don’t see any danger. This Pitt team may be the most fundamentally sound I’ve seen since the Buzz Ridl era. And wow…are they quick in the open floor! Enjoy!

    Liked by 2 people

      1. These guys are relentless in driving to the rim. I don’t think JC will let just anyone throw it up from 3.
        Get to the rack ……Jack !! lol

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    1. Yep ike, x-man got his double digit scoring despite missing most of the first half with fouls.

      Frame sets new record for Pitt as a sub. He’s good offense coming off the bench, I’d say keep him
      there…3 straight 20 point games off bench.

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  76. Dan, I only caught the last 11 minutes, but I saw more exciting plays than I did all of last year. Some of them left me slack jawed. Wow! They sure can move. Can’t wait to see how they do against better competition. I hope they play that hard when things aren’t going so well. Should be a very interesting year.

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    1. There is much to like about this Pitt team. One thing I love is that Pitt under Capel, is a relentless attacking team. Whether they make the shot or not, they are right back quickly to attack again. They handled the talented 7 footer like he was t even there. Pitt has speed and courage. This Pitt team could be anything this year but I will tell you they are WAY BETTER than anyone thought. Last but not least and my worthy of my greatest praise….Pitt does not get into a “jumping contest” for rebounds! They box out, come in at angles and are relentless under the boards. That’s how you even up the size advantage. H2P

      Liked by 1 person

  77. Love the Amoeba talk…haha
    Fran Webster…Tim Grgurich…
    Taking a trip in the “way back” machine.
    This team is fun to watch.

    Liked by 2 people

  78. Did just see….Q did win the ACC Back of the Week (but should have had the National Walter Camp award as well, without question). They might not have wanted 2 Pitt RB’s to win it in back-to-back weeks as Catch 22 won it the week before.

    Jimmy Morrissey won the ACC O-lineman of the week !

    I am not getting tired of all this winning by Pitt Football, the weekly awards, Pitt BBall & Pitt Volleyball.

    Keep it coming. Make Pitt Great Again !!

    Liked by 1 person

  79. Fran, best wishes in your minor procedure. Is that a hippa violation?

    I’m big on body language, I really do think it, at times, the body can speak louder than swords. My man the “X-Man” seems to be a little withdrawn at times when not in the game. Hoping Capel can reel him in just a bit as I think he’s the real deal.

    I remember after Qadree Ollison’s second year when he didn’t receive the attention or carries, that some thought he may become disenchanted and might transfer. BUT.. I happened to notice him in the locker room (video) that he was always front and center cheering like he just had 43 carries. I could see that there was no wavering on his part. (body language) It’s the players like Ollison that are the reason why I stay so positive because it’s about these young men wanting to do their best for their school, no questions asked! ike.

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  81. Another sweet Victory Thursday for Pitt Men’s BBall team – great prelude to Narduzzi & team’s continuing “ACC Victory March to the Sea” as they rampage through Wake Forest Saturday on their way to Miami then Charlotte. Yes – I am predicting a sure win on the gridiron, along with another hoop victory on Saturday.

    Weather kept us home tonight so not in the Pete – had to watch the game on ESPN Extra. 😦 But the game was fun to watch anyway – not as good as in person (plenty of good seats still available for the season POV’ers) but very entertaining.

    Wilson-Frame makes Pitt history – 20 or more pts. off the bench in 3 straight games – congratulations Young Man. He was a beast again and a pleasure to watch tonight – once again he brings needed confidence to the younger guys when he swaggers onto the court. And he is not being unselfish at all – just taking what the D gives him (and some really good feeds from his teammates). Right place at the right time – WF seems to sniff those moments out.

    Brown had a nice game – looks like he was not thinking as much and just playing; good sign of things to come.

    Overall nice defense against a talented 7 footer. The defense again rose to the occasion, especially in the second half. And the team kept the pedal down on both ends of the court even when they got a good lead – that is so nice to see, not something past Pitt teams were good at.

    Nice to see Coach Capel actually teaching during the game – I really like him and his coaching style. (And that is hard to admit about a former Dukie being that I am a UNC alum and he torched the Heels in in the 90’s).

    H2P

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Meant to add that Coach and I are both Pitt men now – regardless of the sordid past we came from … 😉

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  83. Just got home from the game. What an improvement over the first game I attended vs. UPJ.

    If they keep improving like this they may win a few ACC games. Much more fluid offense, multiple players getting to the rim. Much faster overall, Johnson is very fast and with a good handle. Wilson-Frame not having to do as much is playing in control and taking better shots and he has range. Brown looked a lot better as did Chukwuka, certainly not power men, but getting some boards. Mcgowen looked like he was going to jump out of the gym, haven’t seen that since Julius Page. Oh, and the defense is getting better, fighting for balls, getting fast breaks. Real depth at the guard position. In addition to Johnson, McGowen, and Wilson-Frame Ellison, Toney, N’Dir can all play.

    What a difference coaches can make, you are starting to see the teamwork. They still make a lot of mistakes but you can see the players and coaches working to eliminate them.

    Hard to say what their ceiling is but you can tell they are going to be good, especially when Capel gets a real power forward and center. Brown and Chukwuka will get better, but this year they will get pushed around in ACC play.

    The guards are going to make this team something for a few years, and who knows what Capel will add for next year, no doubt the talent level has already taken a big jump, players and coaches.

    Liked by 1 person

  84. Just want to see what happens when they go up against guys who are just as athletic. Like I said, game against the Nitters should tell us a lot.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. We should know something sooner – they play vs the B1G at Iowa, who is currently leading vs. #13 Oregon, on the 27th. Should be interesting.

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  85. Tommy, I don’t think Iowa’s guards are all that quick. Solid, but think we will be more athletic. They can shoot, and are under control, but I don’t think they are quick. The Nits guards are very quick and athletic. And old! Iowa will be really tough, especially at their place. Can’t wait!

    Liked by 1 person

  86. Great to see the men’s BB team off to a good start. Different story with the women’s BB team. Feel bad for Coach White. Inherited a team with significant limitations. Coach Suzie brought in 3 guards in the freshman class; which is puzzling because Pitt really is lacking in the “bigs” department, but now they have 8 guards on the roster…

    So Coach White has much work to do. I was at the game against YSU, and the Penguins outplayed our Panthers…

    Was fun to watch the women’s team in the days of Mercedes Walker, MallorIe Winn, Shavonte Zellous, and Brianna Keisel …

    I would go to several games in those seasons, but lost interest the last few seasons — Coach Suzie, with her impressive credentials, did a puzzling, amazingly-poor job of recruiting…

    Go Pitt.

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