I'll Say It Again...Pitt Isn't Good Enough To Cut Down The Nets

Five things...

1. Pitt easily handled the Bearcats on Saturday----as expected. And just like last year, I'm here to tell you that Pitt, despite a 23-2 record and a top five ranking (including No. 1 in the RPI) has no shot -- NO SHOT -- of cutting down the nets in March. I repeat: Your 2009 NCAA men's basketball champion will not be the Pittsburgh Panthers. The reason? Talent----or lack thereof.

Sam Young is a nice player, but it's not like he can give you an easy thirty.

DeJuan Blair is an animal, and probably not getting the recognition he deserves, but I can't remember the last time a 6'7 post player was the centerpiece of a championship squad.

And even though Levance Fields (aka "eighth-year senior") might be the headiest black point guard of the past nineteen years, he still gets swallowed whole by teams with bigger, more athletic point guards (i.e., dudes generally playing for teams who make deep runs in the tourney). Don't get me wrong, he's an easy guy to root for, but that doesn't mean he's good enough to lead a marginally talented, overachieving bunch to six consecutive wins in March.

Don't ever forget: High-end talent (more than coaching, hustle and luck) remains more important than anything when it comes to March victories...I don't care what Dick Vitale says.

2. Charles Barkley wasn't a part of All Star weekend, and it was difficult to watch. He will, supposedly, return to his post at TNT on Thursday. If that's not appointment television I don't know what is.

3. Am I currently reading an Andre the Giant biography? Yep. Was it the impulse buy of all impulse buys? No doubt. Do I feel like an idiot for spending free time with it? Sometimes. Will I apologize for learning of classic tales involving the likes of Ted Dibiase, Don Muraco, Big John Studd, et al.? Never.

4. Morgan Freeman was in a 1987 film titled Street Smart, and his performance was so outstanding that he was nominated for an Academy Award. This is not interesting to me, as I've never seen the movie and didn't know it existed until three hours ago. What is interesting to me, or at least funny, is that his character in Street Smart was simply known as Fast Black (see for yourself). I hope this doesn't confuse future movie-goers when they're watching Fast Black: The Adrian Peterson Story (narrated by Morgan Freeman).

5. My favorite Rolling Stones song is "I Am Waiting." Enjoy...

-Brad Spieser (Brad@TwinKilling.com)
2/16/09