The University of Pittsburgh men’s’ basketball squad continues to surprise, even amaze some of the preseason skeptics including, yours truly. Before it is all over, I may have to buy some Dr. Scholl’s foot powder and mix it with a little Pepsi to make a special mouthwash to get the toe jam taste from my mouth. In regard to my preseason prognostications concerning Pitt, I was dead wrong.

by Alan Robinson
Associated Press Writer

PITTSBURGH (AP)—The very first basketball game in West Virginia history was against Pitt in 1903, and there have been 179 games in the Backyard Brawl rivalry since then. Not one was like this.

No previous game was so long, with so many swings in momentum and so many emotional ups and downs. So many chances to win—and, too, to lose by a pair of Top 25 rivals who seemingly couldn’t stop playing. So many what-ifs and why nots, so much energy expended and so much time devoted to winning a single game.

CRUCIAL THREE-POINTER —Pitt’s Ashton Gibbs reacts after hitting a crucial 3-pointer during the Panthers 98-95 triple overtime thrilling defeat of West Virginia at the Petersen Events Center.

GRAMBLING, La. (AP)—Grambling State’s permanent tribute to longtime football coach Eddie Robinson is ready to be unveiled.

An 18,000-square-foot museum honoring the coach, who died in 2007, will open on the Grambling campus Saturday.

The building will house many of the awards, plaques and honors Robinson received during his 57-year tenure. The museum also will showcase more than 200 players Robinson coached who went on to pro careers, including Redskins quarterback Doug Williams, who was Super Bowl MVP in 1988.

GUEST SPEAKER —Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was the guest speaker at the dedication banquet Feb. 12. He also gave a few words at the ribbon-cutting Feb. 13.

On Feb. 3, the University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball team moseyed down to Morgantown, W.Va. to play a hoop game. The Mountaineers had the Panthers jumping through hoops as WVU took the Pittsburgh squad out back to the woodshed. West Virginia smoked Pitt 70-51. In the rematch last Friday night between the two squads, Pitt escaped the woodshed then fed WVU a meal that reeked of food poisoning and proceeded to give the Mountaineers the key to the outhouse, minus the Charmin.