COLLEGE BASKETBALL IS HERE!!!!!

To kickoff the College Basketball season, we at The Rant are counting down the Reasons We Are Looking Forward to the Start of College Hoops Season. I say we because this basketball season my friend and most biased Pitt fan I know, Jason Dugan, will join me occasionally on The Rant. He threw out this idea to me and I picked it up and ran with it. Jason wanted to guest blog about what he is looking forward about so I got his listed and added some thoughts of my own. Enjoy!

Jason’s List:

20.) No more Billy Packer.
I cannot say enough about how excited I am now that Billy Packer is off the air. He started his broadcasting career before Magic Johnson beginning his career at Michigan St.... think about that for a minute. Magic Johnson has been out of the NBA for 20 years and out of college for 30 years. The game has changed so much in both of those time frames and yet Packer was still voicing his belief that the dunk should not be legal, dribbling between the legs was showboating, What? The final straw for me as a fan was during the National Championship game last year between Memphis and Kansas. When the OT was about to start Packer made this statement... "Kansas has the edge when it comes to playing in a National Championship Overtime game. The 1952 NCAA final game went to OT and Kansas won with Wilt Chamberlain." Why would a team made up of no player over the age of 23 have experience winning an OT game because their school did 56 years earlier? Bye Bye Billy.

19.) 3 days after the Steelers season ends, the local media will acknowledge the existence of a Pitt Basketball team.
This is an odd phenomenon, every season it is the same thing - the Steelers rule and that is that. Last season Pitt has arguably the biggest win of the program's history when it beat Duke in OT at Madison Square Garden. It just so happened that the Steelers were playing a meaningless game on the same night on the NFL network, and although the Steelers won despite a season ending injury to their running back, the cover of the Post Gazette sports section the next day was covered with Steelers info with a by the way Pitt beat Duke. As soon as Pitt loses a game or their season ends there are 3 to 4 writers trying to tell us what Pitt needs to do better next season or in the future overall to succeed. Really Smizik, does Pitt need to prepare more for the NCAA tournament more than the Big East tournament? Get a haircut and shut up.

18.) Every week there will be 6 days of anticipation and skepticism about where Pitt stands in the ESPN power rankings, then 1 full day of being pissed off and feeling as if Pitt was screwed.
I am ultimately a fan of college basketball, but admittedly am also a bit of a homer when it comes to Pitt. I feel like they are not given the respect and attention that they have earned in the National media. So, every week when the power ranking come out on ESPN.com I find a reason to hate one of the panelists that vote on those rankings. I will fire off an email or 15 with no more than minor threats, and sometimes outlandish statements, but ultimately if a member of the National media is thinking about Pitt, if for no other reason than they know I will send a strange email, then at least they are thinking about Pitt... And my sanity remains intact.

17.) Erin Andrews on the Saturday Gameday telecasts.
Enough Said. I could go for a few more full body shots however, because if Erin does have a weak spot it is her face.

16.) Sam Young highlights on SportsCenter.
My prediction is that there will be at least five this season, the best of which will be Young attacking and throwing down a thunderous tomahawk over Hasheem Thabeet which will be reminiscent of Julius Page's dunk over Georgetown's Ruben Boumjte Boumjte.

15.) Jim Calhoun looking at at least 3 of his players like he just saw them on Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator.”
It never fails, some UCONN player makes an ill-advised cross court pass, or a foul on a 3 pointer with 1 on the shot clock and Calhoun will do 2 things. 1.) The camera will focus on Calhoun looking like he just read a transcript of a chat between said player offering to bring Vodka and fireworks to a 12 year old boy’s house, with a picture of his little husky. 2.) He will be on the bench within seconds.

14.) Doug Gottlieb's ridiculously idiotic blogs on ESPN.com.
I would not be surprised if he is stabbed while calling a Siena vs Vermont game in mid February because on one of his blogs he makes a statement along the lines of. Vermont would have been better off if Tom Brennan and Taylor Coppenrath never came through Vermont because of their hatred of Maple Syrup. Because both Brennan and Coppenrath, although mediocre as a player and as an analyst, both are much better overall the Gottlieb in either playing or broadcasting. I have come to accept that Gottlieb is Mark Madden without the weight and overall lack of athleticism.

13.) Bracketology.
Joe Lunardi's weekly predictions about who will be seeded where when the dance begins. No explanation necessary other than I am completely amazed and impressed with the accuracy in which he predicts these seeds. One questions does arise however. When does the NCAA completely abandon the selection committee and just let Lunardi do it by himself?

12.) The first mention of how "difficult" the zone defense of Syracuse is.
That is one tough zone. Bullshit. Last season the vaunted Syracuse Zone Defense implemented by the crybaby, genius Jim Boeheim gave up an average of 81 ppg over 32 games. Although the overall defense improved a bit in their 19 game Big East conference games to 72 ppg, that isn't really that impressive when you consider Syracuse non-conference schedule last year included the likes of Robert Morris - 81 points, Siena - 87 points, UMASS - 107 points. What, an impressive zone that stops no one?

11.) Jamie Dixon's ridiculous comb over and the first time this season it looks out of place.
Actually I think it would be considered more of a flop over than a comb over because it is so long, he just flops it from the back of his head to the front and uses about a gallon of Aqua Net to hold it in place. Hours upon hours of entertainment watching him do everything possible to not let the big bald spot up top be visible.

10.) Big Monday.
Three games starting at 7pm and ending sometime around 2am, it does not get any better.

9.) The first news of Memphis having players arrested.
Most people would think that since the ultimate Thug 4 Life Joey Dorsey is gone that Memphis might have a team with better character this season. Not True. With Taggert and Dozier each having multiple neck tattoo’s the possibility that 1 or both of them will not be arrested for at least a misdemeanor is about 1 in a million.

8.) Indiana with a completely decimated roster, beating on of the so-called giants of the Big 10.
Big 10 basketball sucks. Michigan St bounced Pitt last year yes, but I was not impressed. Indiana now has Tom Crean as their coach and if nothing else he will inspire them to play the right way. I look forward to Indiana beating Illinois specifically because Illini coach Bruce Weber when asked how he felt Indiana would do this season said, "They will suck." What a classless statement by a classless ass.

7.) News that Lute Olsens 1st ex-wife marries former assistant Kevin O'Neil as a way of getting back at Lute for screwing him out of the head coaching job at Arizona.
This dream scenario is quickly followed by news that the same woman stabbed O’Neil as Olsen laughs in whatever institution he is "voluntarily" currently residing at. I vote that there should be a daily log of everything that Lute Olsen, his crazy ass ex-wife and Kevin O'Neil do on a day-to-day basis. Does Lute Olsen consider breaking off his current engagement so that he can be engaged to a chair in the corner of the room? Does his crazy ass ex-wife hide in her yard like Rambo waiting to ambush the mailman? Does Kevin O'Neil have a picture of Lute Olsen on his dart board?

6.) The Big East Conference Tournament.
5 days. 16 teams. Everyone has a shot. This is like Russian roulette for teams like South Florida, and Rutgers. Could they make a move and possibly earn a berth, or do they end up like Christopher Walken in Deer Hunter and shoot themselves in the head with a stupid grin on their faces?

5.) The downfall of UCLA's final four run.
O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D. Josh Shipp, Darren Collison, Alfred Aboya. Kevin Love was not a marquee player despite what everyone said. He was like that guy that everyone knew at the playground, 15 years old playing pickup with the 10 & 12 year olds. He was a lot bigger, but not quicker or that much better. If he was your marquee player and now he is gone how do you expect to succeed with 2 so-so players as your glue, and a 3rd that is named Alfred and is African royalty. By the way being African royalty is kind if like winning a gold medal at the Special Olympics, it is considered quite an honor and accomplishment in certain circles, but for the most part nobody cares because it is not real anyway.

4.) Gus Johnson.
He should be required to announce no less than 6 games a week. I watched the Slamball championship 2 weeks ago on CBS and Gus Johnson called it. I can almost guarantee that he was made aware of Slamball a week before the broadcast via email, and the way he called that game I was really into it and cared who won. This is despite the fact that slamball is basketball with trampolines and is played in a cage. If Gus Johnson can make me interested in slamball then I cannot wait to hear him call a big game on CBS in late January.

3.) Dick Vitale.
He is completely annoying and afraid to make a critical comment about anything specific. Although Dick Vitale annoys me more than anything else in College Basketball, I absolutely love his enthusiasm for the game. I could do without his constant plugs for donations and his name dropping stories about who he had lunch with and who called him, come on. Just once I would love to hear him be critical of a bad decision by a coach or a player, he always speaks in generalities. What coaches do theses days is blah blah blah. Players today do not have the basics blah blah blah. Hey Dickie V., please start being a DICK and you will win back a lot of fans my age that at one point loved you and your commentary, but now consider you not a part of ESPN, but a consultant for Pitino, Izzo, Calipari & Coach K.

2.) March 19th - 22nd.
The 1st four days of the NCAA tournament. 64 teams. 48 games. 60 beers. BRING IT!

1.) My trip to Detroit for the Final Four where Pitt will be as well.
In 2003, when the Final Four was held in New Orleans, we had made almost all of the arrangements to make the drive to the Bayou for the Final Four. The plans included getting as drunk as possible and potentially sleeping in a van for the duration of the trip. We had thought Pitt was going to easily make it there after Indiana beat Duke and Pitt was playing Kent State to get to the Elite 8. Although Pitt lost the only things I have looked forward to more in the last 5 years have been my wedding and the birth of my son. Do not worry Brady, daddy will pack his Kevlar and have a pre-scheduled emergency room visit planned to pump my stomach after I do 15 Car Bombs to celebrate the first National Championship for Pitt in my lifetime.

I love College Basketball.




My List:

Before I start my list, I would like to point out that, even though Jason claims to love basketball, he did turn down tickets to the Pitt game tonight, and that is just inexcusable if you ask me.

10.) Gus Johnson
For all the reasons that Jason listed, I can’t stand the guy. Okay, I get the idea that he is enthusiastic about the game but really, who cares who wins the Belmont-Lipscomb game (they play January 12th and again on February 12th if you were wondering)? If you get a good game to call then great, sell it. But don’t force me to believe two teams playing that won’t mean a thing in March is somehow relevant to the rest of the basketball world.

9.) The Cameron Crazies and their unbelievably clever and hilarious chants
Really, does anyone compare to the Crazies? Here is a Duke chat forum of some of the best. LINK

8.) Watching Pitt win in Morgantown
That will be on January 25th this season. I always enjoy watching WVU fans lose because that university is all most of them have in life. You take that away all they have is their dog, pick-up truck and sister all staying in a 1-bedroom shed. It makes it even better when they lose to Pitt and a couple thousand Pitt fans are there to rub their faces in it.

7.) The Big East Conference
Never have we seen a better conference in college basketball than what the Big East has put together this season. They look to be a lock in shattering their own record of sending eight teams into the NCAA tournament this March. Think about this, three teams in the preseason top 5. Four in the top 10 and seven in the top 25. They have become in basketball what the SEC is in football, only better.

6.) Billy Packer
Not for the reasons that Jason had mentioned but how about for his blatant disrespect for anyone and anything not Billy Packer. How this man held his job for so long amazes me, especially since he was not even that good at it. Here are just a few of the incredibly terrible and offensive comments Packer has made over the years:
· He called Allen Iverson, “a tough little monkey.”
· In 2000, at Duke when a female student asked to see his press pass, he replied, “Since when do we let women control who gets into a men’s basketball game? Why don’t you find a women’s game to let people into?”

5.) Indiana Hoosier warm-up pants
Nothing says tradition like the circus tent looking striped pants of the Indiana Hoosiers. For any coach to be able to recruit players and have them agree to wear these in public would be an accomplishment in most places, but not at Indiana. It is a privilege in the Hoosier state and a great tradition.

4.) Stephen Curry
Being a scrawny guard that hated going inside and wanted to shoot from the outside all day long, how could I not love everything about Stephen Curry? This guy does it all on the basketball court and does it all for a small school in a no-name conference. It is a shame that nobody in the national media will pay attention to him or his game until March, and just like last year they will fall in love with him all over again.

3.) The Maui Invitational
Is there any better way of starting off the season? Honestly I don’t even think games should be televised until the Maui Invite starts. That should be the start to college hoops on TV every year. Every year they get the top teams playing in what usually are some of the best non-conference games of the year. This year for example, North Carolina, Alabama, Indiana, Texas, Notre Dame, St. Joe’s, Oregon and as always the host Chaminade.

2.) Day 1 of the Big Dance at the Dugan’s
Brackets are in, beer is on ice the ball is about to go up, let the prop bets begin! Sitting down with big-time hoop fans watching every game of the day. The only thing better….

1.) Championship Saturday in Manhattan
There is no better feeling then walking around Time Square or Chinatown or the ESPN Zone or the Blarney Rock wearing your Pitt gear knowing that the Panthers will be playing for the Big East Title later that night, AGAIN. There are very few things in life that are certainties, Pitt playing in the finals of the Big East Tournament in March at Madison Square Garden is becoming one.


Enjoy the season, I know we will.