Sports Beat

Sports Beat

By Rich Briggs
The Weekly Recorder
March 21, 2008

As of this writing, two of our area’s sports teams have been getting red hot. The Pitt Panthers basketball team won four straight games to win the Big East Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City. They secured a four seed in the NCAA Tournament and will have played a first round game against Oral Roberts University on Thursday. I have to admit that I have watched very little college basketball this year, even though I prefer it over pro basketball, of which I have watched none. This Pitt team is capable of doing some real damage in the tournament, or it could get eliminated in the first round.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been on a roll as of late and the most impressive thing about that is the fact that they have done it despite a rash of injuries to some key players, including superstar center, and franchise player, Sidney Crosby. Those who have played in the absence of these key players have stepped up their games and made an impact on the ice. Some have even said the team may be playing better in Crosby’s absence. We need to be careful when making such a statement.

When Mario Lemieux, now the team’s CEO and Chairman, was the team’s franchise player, he suffered through some major injuries, including those to his back and his bout with Hodgkin’s Disease. Those who stepped in, and stepped up, in his absence helped to carry the team while he recovered. However, it was behind Lemieux that the team won two Stanley Cups in the early 1990s. He was surrounded by a pretty impressive cast and they did their jobs well but, without Lemieux, those Cups would not have been won.

Evgeni Malkin was going to be this team’s franchise player when he was drafted second overall in 2004, one year before the Penguins “landed” the rights to draft Crosby. Malkin has picked up his game, having scored his 40th and 41st goals this past Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Even though he does not wear a letter on his sweater, he has emerged as a leader on this team. The downside is that he defers to Crosby when he returns from his high ankle sprain. This is a matter that must be resolved in short order.

When Lemieux played, many of his teammates were caught out of position because they were mesmerized by his immense talents and missed several opportunities to capitalize on his efforts. That same issue is happening, now, with Crosby. His talent is so incredible that players will get caught watching him instead of getting into position and being where they are supposed to be during a play. As was also the case with Lemieux, several players defer to star players instead of complementing them and making themselves better. However, Malkin is a star player in his own right and should not defer to Crosby when the two are on the ice.

Watching the performance of the franchise player should inspire the others to perform to a higher lever and, thus, match what the star player is doing. When Crosby does eventually return from his injury, Malkin needs to maintain his high level of play. Despite Crosby’s incredible skills, the most important thing to him is to win. He was drafted to bring the Stanley Cup (back) to Pittsburgh. Malkin was drafted to do the same thing. Together, along with their teammates, these two can light up the scoreboard and leave their opposition scrambling as to how to defend each one.

Crosby is more of a playmaker than he is a goal scorer. He is more in the mold of Wayne Gretzky than he is of Lemieux. Gretzky has said that if he stays healthy, Crosby is capable of breaking all of his records. Malkin, on the other hand, is more of a goal scorer. Yet, both are centers on a team loaded with skill at the center position. Each must bring his own skills to the table, complement the other, and help the team win. When the trade that brought Marian Hossa to the Penguins was engineered, it was designed to help the team win the Cup this year. The expectations were raised with this trade, so now Malkin needs to maintain his level of play when Crosby returns from his injury. By doing so, he gives the Penguins a deadly combination of skill and grit, the same ingredients that allowed the team to win those two Cups back in the early 1990s.

Just as injuries have plagued the Penguins for much of the season, so have injuries played a part for much of the season for the Pitt Panthers. The mark of any team is the ability to fight through adversity, including injuries, and rise to the occasion when it is called upon. While the Panthers suffered through some losses during the regular season, they never gave up. They played with a resiliency and a resolve that allowed them to become only the second team in the history of the Big East tournament to win four games in a row and claim the championship.

The Panthers have been to the championship game seven of the past eight years, yet this is only the second championship they have claimed, the last coming in 2003. The fact they have gotten that far so many times is a measure of heart and desire. Talent played a role as well, but talent isn’t always enough. Some of the most talented players in the world have very little desire, only allowing the talent they have to get them as far as they can. Players with heart, and talent, will get you a lot farther because they have a never say die attitude. This was on display this weekend.

I watched the Big East championship game last Saturday night and the Georgetown Hoyas were favorites going into the game, having played Pitt in the same capacity last year and coming away victorious. However, this time, the Panthers were on a mission. They played not only for themselves, but for those who came before them and got this far, only to not be able to close the deal. That made this championship that much sweeter.

The NCAA tournament is normally won by traditional powerhouses. This year the number one seeds in each region are North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis, and UCLA. Of those four programs, three are rich in tradition. The North Carolina, Kansas, and UCLA college basketball programs are synonyms with tradition and have deep legacies to follow. Many are picking any of those three to win the national championship, and with good reason.

Surprisingly enough, Bob Knight, the former great Army and Indiana basketball coach who just stepped aside from coaching at Texas Tech, made a very bold prediction during ESPN’s broadcast of the selection of programs who will be participating in this year’s tournament Sunday night. Knight predicted that Pitt would not only make it to the Final Four, but also the championship game and win the title. As much as I would like to believe Coach Knight, there are a number of factors involved that would have to allow that to happen.

To win the national championship, a team must win six straight games, or two each weekend of the tournament. Pitt has proven it can win four in a row, on successive nights, to win its conference tournament. Pitt had to play some solid programs in Louisville, Marquette, and Georgetown to get that far. Now, playing in the South region, Pitt would likely have to get though some of the following teams, at some point, to reach the Final Four – Memphis, Michigan State, Marquette (again), Kentucky, Stanford, and/or Texas. These are all very formidable foes and stand in the way of Pitt making a trip to San Antonio for the Final Four.

Looking further at Pitt’s bracket, the Panthers stand a very good chance of making it to the Sweet Sixteen, where they have been a number of times. There, they would likely meet number one seeded Memphis, which lost only one game all season. If they can somehow pull off the upset of Memphis, Pitt stands a very good chance of going to the Final Four. But, with all things athletics, that is why they play the games. Good Luck to the Pitt Panthers in this year’s NCAA Tournament.