3-pt Play: To Fix the Knicks

Without a doubt, the NBA is much better when the Knicks are a competitive team.  That is why most of the last decade sucked for basketball because the Knicks were god-awful.  They rose to prominence last year with Amare Stoudemire coming to the Big Apple.  They reasserted their position in the NBA universe when they acquired Carmelo Anthony.  Too bad that trade became their Midas touch, with a 1st round exit last year and a woeful start this year.  There are reports of infighting and Coach Mike D’Antoni is walking on thin ice.  There have been many rumors of trades to help fix the situation in New York; Stoudemire to any team from Philly to Phoenix and in between.  Melo to New Jersey for Deron Williams.  Others simply have said to get rid of D’Antoni because there is no ‘D’ when it comes D’Antoni and the Knicks.  All that is well and good but here are my simple solutions to help fix the Knicks this year.

– Carmelo must learn to pass:  There is not enough balls to go around for all the Knicks to be happy.  Stoudemire is moping all over the place as Carmelo jacks up shots.  Even worse is that Melo isn’t making them.  That’s a recipe for disaster.  For one, it’s probably a bad idea to have these two volume shooters that don’t play defense on the same team.  Because Melo is the best player on the team, the subpar PGs defer to him, therefore Melo gets the ball.  He doesn’t shoot in rhythm and refuses to pass out of double teams.  With that formula, the Knicks have lost 9 of their last 10 as of Monday afternoon.  During their one win, against the Bobcats no less, Melo scored 1 point!  He only took 7 shots but grabbed 11 rebounds and dished 4 assists as the Knicks blew out the Bobcats.  More team ball is necessary in New York which brings up the next point.

– PG wanted at MSG: Remember when the Knicks were trying to get a trade together for Chris Paul before GM David Stern went wild on us?  There is a reason for that; and it is evident every night when the Knicks play.  The club needs a quarterback for the D’Antoni system; they need someone that can run the offense and make Melo and Amare happy.  Right now, Toney Douglas is not the answer and Iman Shumpert is too young.  The Knicks gave up too much to get Melo, especially in trading Raymond Felton.  Them banking on Baron Davis shows how laughable the situation is currently.  That’s why you hear rumors of Anthony for Williams, though that would be dumb.  Look how potent the Knicks were with Chauncey Billups as PG last year; that team was a threat and Billups isn’t even that good anymore.  Could the Knicks hire Jack Bauer to get Aaron Brooks out of China earlier than his contract will allow?  Will that move even matter.

What Is Defense?

– No D in D’Antoni or NYC: I don’t think D’Antoni is the right coach for this squad.  Hell, D’Antoni isn’t the right coach for a lot of squads, especially one with a superstar who likes to play a slow-down half-court style (Anthony).  Even worse is that this squad has no defense intensity.  What can Tyson Chandler do with a power forward that has never played defense and a small forward who wants to use all his energy on the offensive end?  Coach D’Antoni’s best defense strategy is to score 120+ points a game!  That’s not going to work with this squad.  Sometimes is not that the coach sucks, it’s just that he’s not the right one for the job at hand.  However I blame Knicks management for making the Melo trade last year without thinking everything through.

2. Sixers and Nuggets – The Un-Knicks: Two teams that nobody talks about, the 76ers and the Nuggets.  No superstars, no problems for these squads.  They play great team ball, the Nuggets on the offensive side, the 76ers on defense.  These squads are easily top 5 in both of their respective conferences.  Both teams play very well together, and are led by two great coaches.  How far can they good in a league that is dominated by superstars?  For the 76ers we’ll see these next two weeks; the combined record of their next 7 opponents starting Monday (the Magic) is 94-48.  If they can make it through at 4-3, they can make some noise in April and May.  If they are 2-5, I’m sure they will be calling the Knicks to see if Amare Stoudemire likes cheesesteaks.

3. We Watch So You Don’t Have To – Wizards Update: Let’s see, Flip Saunders got fired, Andray Blatche is hurt, the Wizards won two games.  The team has turned from one of the most entertaining, ratchet, wretched teams in the NBA history to just another boring, underachieving squad.  Ah well, as long as I can get tickets to a game for 30 cents, that should tide me over for the rest of the season.

AFC & NFC Champs!

Welcome TheManCave06 readers. Thank you for keeping up with TheManCave06.com. We love your support. Anyway, on Sunday I was able to witness two fantastic conference championship games while discussing football eating ManCave food and drinking some beer. Just the way it was intended. I decided to do a video today to breakdown both championship games for you, and add in my SuperBowl prediction. So sit back watch and enjoy. Continue to support TheManCave06 or its #BTTK for you.

“She Wasnt With Me Shooting In the gym!”

The title for this post came from an Aubrey Graham line. This, combined with the fact that this blog has nothing to do with the actual  game of basketball, slightly blows me on several fundamental levels.

Last Friday, instead of pre-game excitement over the NFL conference championships, I logged in to Twitter and found myself reading a slew of tweets that could’ve started the biggest gender war since Susan B. Anthony n ’em.  What caused this uproar? Kobe and Vanessa Bryant’s impending divorce, his alleged $75 million shell-out to Vanessa, not including alimony and child support . I politely and diplomatically (I cant emphasize those words enough) asked what both sides thought about the situation, and several women responded (vented, however you want to see it) as such:

“it’s a lot of things that happen in life that just aren’t fair. like how men who sleep w mad women are so cool but when a woman enjoys sex w more than a couple guys she’s a hoe….and when a rich athlete cheats & has no prenup she gets half—- lol. there’s lots of things that aren’t fair, so lay off of Vanessa!”

“men fail to realize that when you mess w our most prized possession (or hearts) we (some) will go after yours (your money)”

“Why why y’all so passionate anyways? half y’all don’t got more than the women u lay up w so trust me, you prolly won’t have #kobeproblems“

“breach that contract there are penalties. like breaking any contract. get over it. he shouldve had a prenup”

“vows r a covenant relationship between u, ur mate n God. The moment u break that covenant u should pray material possessions r all that go. Sin. Painful child birth. Multiple langs. Fire. A flood. All consequences that came bc of a broken covenant.”

” I don’t feel sympathetic for Kobe at all. Maybe I don’t agree with giving 75mil and 3 mansions, but Vanessa Bryant certainly deserved a lump sum…People (mainly dudes) are sayin that Drake line “she wasn’t with him in the gym” True. She also wasn’t with him in the bed with all those women that got him into the place. What’s killing me the most are the men who are callin Vanessa a hoe & gold digger. She is his wife. Mother of his 2 kids & even stood by him when he was accused of being a rapist.”

“Im not a fan of giving up 50% of your assets that wasn’t acquired together due to divorce, but I also don’t support letting someone walk away scotch-free for consciously & selfishly breaking up a marriage. Pay up! And unfortunately for Kobe, in the state of Cali…that can be up to 50% of your assets. Maybe he’ll make better decisions next time.”

“a) when you are valuable you protect your worth. he’s the fool for not having a prenup.

b) “you wasn’t with me shooting in the gym” devalues a wife’s role.

c) break my heart, i break your pockets –PERIOD.

d) WHY is Vanessa getting 1/2 so surprising. It’s what happens when you get divorced. even if her 1/2 is MILLIONS.

pea brained niggas are tripping. and are probably single. or dogs, themselves.”

It was all good a week ago.

This goes on for a while, but you kind of get the gist of it. Womenfolk have no remorse when it comes to Kobe’s adulterous ways. In the words of a 90’s California gangbanger, COME UP OUT THEM POCKETS, CUH!

The men, on the other hand had a different perspective.

“kobe got some secrets he willing to pay for…”

“She only ‘reconciled’ after the rape for a bigger payout down the road’

“If she knew about all these women, why didnt she leave earlier. #paperchasinhoe”

“anytime a woman get a nice lump sum of money like that with no argument or prenump….its bonifide hush money. #iwonderwhy

“”B*itch, you wasnt with me shooting in the gym!” x about 1000, seriously.

“As if she wasnt out here doing her thing on the side too. Smh”

Im not writing this blog to come to some resolution for each side, nor will I try to the role of relationship guru.  We all know what “The Three C’s” are, and if you dont, then read about it.

What I do notice is that women are concerned about the actions of the men, and men are concerned about the motive behind the reaction from the woman.  Personally, I think Kobe should have listened to his parents when they said to not marry the girl in the first place, that he was too young and immature. In Vanessa’s case, nobody really knows her motives, but something is quite fishy when you wait this long after so many alleged women. (109 women is okay, but 110? Oh, thats my breaking point, Kobe. This marriage is over.) Its weird that neither side made much mention about the kids. But I guess money talks the loudest in this situation, right?

The reason I really wrote this blog is to show how assumptions truly make asses out of us all. We dont know that Kobe slept with over 100 women, we just read about through unverified stories. We dont know how much hes paying Vanessa, we just saw a number and ran with it. Same thing happens in the Tiger Woods/Elin fiasco. We dont really know if Vanessa made a home for Kobe, loved him, nurtured, supported him and their children. She might have been trifling. For all we know, the entire marriage could have been as Hollywood as Kim Kardashian’s, just longer. The fact is that we really dont know, but judging from these emotionally charged quotes, we really do care.

Caring passionately about something that you know little about is how terrible things happen.

ManCave rule #913: Do not talk what you do not know. Violation of these rules will result in immediate BTTK status or worse.

Lastly, before I finish off, this was the one response I got on Twitter that resonated with me.

“ Alimony doesn’t heal a broken heart.“

3pt Play: Momma Knows Best, But Should She Say It

What’s up Cavers.  I know we have much more important things to worry about these days, like the NFL Championship Games, but I could not let this story rest.  If you haven’t read Mike Wise’s column on Javale McGee’s mom and her feelings about the Wizards, it is one of the all-time greats you will read in this new year.  Ms. McGee doesn’t say anything particularly wrong in the article; she says that the Wizards haven’t provided the instruction and nurturing that her young son needs to develop into the center that his freakish talent could produce.  She is also right when she says that Javale shouldn’t be institutionalized to a culture of losing that has settled on the organization.  You also have to love a mom sticking up for her son during a very difficult time for him.  So is this a BTTK moment or is Ms. McGee on to something here?

First, I must say that I am a Javale McGee convert.  I am all in on him and his talent.  Before the last two games for my Wizards, he easily was the only player that looked like he was getting better.  Defensively, he is a force, if not refined.  He is 2nd in the league in blocks with 3 per game.  Now there is the problem with goal-tending, but McGee has cut that down this year.  He is learning that just being a 7-footer in the lane could be better defense than just leaving your feet for every shot in the key.  McGee is also top 10 in rebounding besting a fellow young big men in Tyson Chandler, Roy Hibbert and DeAndre Jordan.  He could get better with boxing out (compounded with that he needs to get stronger) but he hustles, a lot more than Andray Blatche.

His offense is coming together.  While his shot is unorthodox to say the least, he has developed a hook shot, and his jumper looks better than John Wall.  Of course, nobody wants to see McGee shoot jumpers so he needs to play on the block.  But Javale has a back to the basket and face to basket game that I didn’t think I would ever see.  He could become more polished, but for a player that didn’t receive consistent playing time until last year, Javale has really improved his game.

Unfortunately, the reputation that has come with playing with clowns like Blatche and Nick Young (another player I like on a good day) has overshadowed the progress he has made.  When Javale threw the alley-oop to himself vs the Rockets, everyone overreacted and said that Javale will never get it and the Wizards should trade him.  Are you serious?  McGee just turned 24 so it’s not like when the Wizards get good enough to compete for a title he will be 35.  I’m tired of the Wizards/Bullets trading young guys because they acted like young guys (Rasheed Wallace, Chris Webber, Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace) only to see them blossom somewhere else.  I see the flowers of promise this year from Javale, so I want the Wizards to build their frontcourt around him.  Because when he matures, it’s going to be problems.

But that’s the thing, when will he mature?  It won’t happen with Momma McGee making these comments.  If you’re 24 and you’re momma is fighting for you, that’s a problem.  You don’t here other successful players having their momma being their spokesman.  Can you imagine the smacktalk that Javale will face without Momma to protect him?  I want Javale to become stronger physically and mentally; and while Ms. McGee didn’t say anything to terrible (I actually want her to be the GM of the Wizards over Ernie Grunfeld with those comments), the only way Javale will become stronger is if Ms. McGee takes a back seat to his progress.

Actually, she did say something crazy.  Momma McGee said that Javale is the future of the NBA.  No Ms. McGee, I don’t want Javale to be the future of the NBA.  Hell, if he turns into a more offensively potent Tyson Chandler, I’ll buy a Pam McGee Olympic jersey…for my mom of course.  Two more for the 3-point play:

2.  People say that the Oklahoma City Thunder paid to much to extend Russell Westbrook (5-yr, $80 million).  Here is what I say; look at the Wizards upset over the Thunder on Wednesday.  How many points came from the starting lineup outside Kevin Durant and Westbrook?  A grand total of 8 points, which equals LeBron James Game 4 poin…sorry I am watching First Take while writing this.  Anyway, look at the Thunder; where are they getting their offense from if it isn’t  from Durant and Westbrook.   That’s why you have to keep those two guys together.  Besides, do you think the Thunder extended Westbrook without Durant’s blessings?  So calm down, the Thunder will be alright.

3.  I know I just ragged on the King, but all I have to say is this: Right now LeBron > Kobe.  Fight me.

Enjoy Championship Weekend everybody.

#BTTK How to get sent #BTTK Part 1

If you are doing what you are suppose to do and following @themancave06 you already know what #BTTK stands for, but if you don’t let me break it down for you. It means BACK TO THE KITCHEN!!!!!!! A phrase that is used when a certain group of women who do not know their place do the unthinkable, and make highly irrelevant comments in TheManCave.

With the playoffs coming to a close and SuperBowl parties right around the corner. Here are a view sayings that will you ladies sent #BTTK during SuperBowl parties. So watch and learn this is TheManCave06.com approved. I will soon release a video that will demonstrate appropriate comments for women if they are granted access into TheManCave.

Weekly NFL Picks: Division Championships

Welp another week down. And it is getting down to the wire. Not just for these remaining NFL teams but also for us doing these here ManCave football picks. Only 3 games left to decide who will be the champ for this year. Here is how things ended last week:

Marissa 3/ Yannick 3/ Carmen 2/ Renard 2/ Dara 1/ Lebron 1/ Richan- no picks

This brings our overall standings to:

Dara- 68

Carmen- 68

Renard- 67

Marissa- 64

Lebron- 63

Yannick- 63

Richan – 61

Here are this week’s games and picks:

	Ravens vs. Patriots	Giants vs. 49ers
Carmen	Patriots	Giants
Marissa	Patriots	49ers
Dara	Patriots	Giants
Renard	Patriots	49ers
Lebron	Patriots	Giants
Yannick	Ravens	Giants
Richan	Ravens	49ers

Happy Picking All!

Tebowmania is over!

Look at this throwing motion. He look like he about to pop off Swag Surf

I had to take a break from discussing Tebow during his win streak. There were simply too many ideas clouded by Tebowmania to fully evaluate his season as a QB. Since he has lost, and the madness has ended. Let’s take a look inside the numbers for Tim Tebow. Two things that boiled my soul about this season. Discrediting the effort of the Broncos defense during the win streak, and ignoring Tebow’s quarterback stats.

Tim Tebow Total QBR By Quarter
1st	38
2nd	17
3rd	15.2
4th/OT	55.5

Tim Tebow	1st 8 Starts	Last 5 Starts
W-L	7-1	1-4
Comp pct	48.9	40.8
Yards per att	6.4	7.4
Yards per rush	5.5	4.8
Turnovers	5	8

Out of the 7 games during the Broncos win streak, only two teams scored more than 15 points in those games. If your defense is only giving up two touchdowns over a given period of time you as the offense have a very great chance of winning that game. You may only need 13 points to win the game! Takes a lot of pressure off a quarterback is doesn’t necessarily throw the ball to well.

Everyone says Tebow plays better in the fourth. With a 55.5 QB rating your are right he does play better. The highest average he has in the previous 3 quarters is 38 with the low as 15.2. Not to difficult to eclipse those numbers. These numbers are pathetic lol including the so called clutch in the fourth. Back to the kitchen all you Tebowers! During the playoffs  Tebow went 19-47.  Tebow completes less than 50% of all his passes. If Tebow is to become a quarterback in this league he will need to complete more than 10 passes in a game, and the completion percentage needs to increase to at least 55%. This is shooting low, I would like to see something in the 60’s, but we are talking about an awful throwing motion. Congratulations on a successful 8-8 season with the Denver Broncos, but I sincerely hope your fans realize you are just not NFL ready.

Sibling Rivalry

I am tired of Peyton getting all the credit!

While enjoying the Giants vs. Packers game this past weekend in my mancave. I  developed an astonishing theory. Considering that Eli Manning just beat reigning SuperBowl champion, and MVP Mr. Discount Double Check, if Eli(te) were to win another ring this year. Is he then better than his brother Peyton Manning?

QB	Fourth Quarter Comebacks	Game Winning Drives	Regular Season QB Rating	Playoff Record	Playoff Win%	Playoff QB Rating	SuperBowl Titles
Eli	19	23	82.1	6-3	67%	88.7	1
Peyton	35	46	94.9	9-19	47%	88.4	1

A quarterback should be evaluated by his performance in the regular season, and more importantly the post season. The playoffs are ultimately what separates the average quarterbacks from the great ones. There are always exceptions such as Dan Marino, but sake of time let’s just stick to Eli vs Peyton in this debate. Eli Manning has been great this season beating Tom Brady on a game winning drive and leading the Giants to the playoffs. His recent victory over Aaron Rodgers is also very impressive. How far can he go this year? I believe Eli can make it to the SuperBowl and winning which would undeniably make him better than Peyton. Eli wins in the playoffs as he has a way better win percentage than older brother. Most of you will say Peyton has the better clutch gene. You are right he does have 35 fourth quarter comebacks and an astounding 46 game winning drives. However this stat is skewed compared to those of Eli Manning drafted in 2004. Peyton was drafted in 1998. Eli Manning is not to shabby with his 19 fourth quarter comebacks, and 23 game winning drives.

In the regular season Peyton’s numbers are simply great. Remember I am not saying Peyton shouldn’t be a Hall of Famer. I am presenting an argument that younger brother Eli is the better QB. He wins in the regular season, and he wins in the playoffs. If we wins another ring this year he will increase the gap between him and Peyton in playoff win percentage. Eli currently at 67% and Peyton at 47%.  Peyton has been known to be nothing but a choke artist in the playoffs until he was able to meet current Redskins legend Rex Grossman and the Chicago Bears in the SuperBowl.

If you ask me I would take Eli Manning over Peyton before this season, and definitely after this season. He not only wins in the regular season, but also when it counts the most. In the playoffs. I have given you my scattered opinions on this issue, but tell me your thoughts. Peyton or Eli?

Movie Night with the ManCave: Underworld: Awakening

For the past decade, the world has gone crazy over one vampire film series. You know, the one with the teenage male vampire and a high school girl falling in love. And the vampires’ reaction to direct sunlight isnt death, but a sparkling of the skin. And the werewolves arent humanoid, freakishly strong, blood-chilling killers, just enormous huskies. And the love interest of the protagonist vampire isnt another vampire, but a high school girl. Considering the fact that vampires live for hundreds of years, this is extremely creepy. Meanwhile, purists of both horror creatures have been given a respite from the Twilight bonanza with Underworld, a action series about the history and war between the vampires and werewolves, known as Lycans.

In Theatres 1/20/2012

If you havent seen the first three films, let me sum them up for you quickly. Girl vampire kills lycans. Lycans kill vampires. Girl vampire meets male. Male becomes lycan-vampire hybrid. Girl vampire and hybrid fall in love. Each side wants to kill them. They beat everybody to the punch. Its like Twilight, only realer, darker, sleeker, and sexier. Oh, and very generous with the blood spilling.

Im leaving out some key characters, substantial plot development, and a WICKED prequel film (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans), but its there.

The fourth installment of this film series, Underworld:Awakening comes out on Friday, where the main character Selene (previously mentioned girl vampire, who’s basically Laura Croft with fangs) finds herself captured by government officials who find out about both vampires and lycans. They, in typical human form, want to study them, utilize them to the fullest extent, then kill off both species. Selene breaks free and tries to get to the bottom of this conspiracy, all while looking for her long lost lycan love, Michael (the male lycan-vampire hybrid).

For those who think this movie might be one of those series that gets worse with each sequel, dont worry. The first three movies have gotten better along the way, and even if it does suck, at least you get to see Kate Beckinsale in a bodysuit. If you have the time, watch the first three movies before you hit the movies Friday. It’ll get you caught up on the storyline and if youre in the DC area, you wont have to sit through a Wizards game.The one the

Fellas, if you take your girl to see this, just know you might have to sit through a rom-com in return. I can pretty much guarantee that the ladies will either love this movie or hate it with a passion. So, plan accordingly and get Just Wright next week.

Heres a preview of the upcoming movie, along with an intense fight scene showing Selene  fighting a hybrid vampire and Michael fighting a pretty savage werewolf. Enjoy, and Ill see you at Magic Johnson theater! Get your popcorn ready!

A PITT-iful Panthers Basketball Season

I remember my lowest moment as a Panther fan.  It was around 3pm during the Panthers first round game my sophomore year in 2005 in the WPTS radio studios.  I was slated to do the postgame show for an apparent first round victory against Pacific.  Why shouldn’t we be overconfident?  The Panthers had been to the Sweet 16 three consecutive years.  We had an all-world big man in Chris Taft, the explosive X-man Carl Krauser (from the Bronx), and the veteran Chevon Troutman leading our team.  Sure our 2004-05 squad was shaky heading into the game, coming off a season which saw our first loss at home to a non-conference opponent (Bucknell), three straight losses during the season (Nova, WVU, UConn), lost in the first round of the Big East Tourney, and had one of our role players in the Pitt Blotter in one of several strange incidents that season.

Well that Pitt team lost to Pacific in the first round 79-71.  It wasn’t even that close, even with the Panthers cutting the lead to 4 late.  I did the radio show trying to contemplate how Pitt Basketball could fall so low as to lose in the first round.  I hoped to never have that feeling again.

Well the feeling came back, even worse on Wednesday night.  When Pitt lost by 19.  At home.

To Rutgers.

It was the 5th straight loss during the worse stretch of games I have ever witnessed as a Panthers fan, even more than the end of that 2005 season.  This loss especially, to Rutgers, was historically bad.  The Panthers scored only 39 points.  That’s right, the Panthers couldn’t even score 1 point a minute.  It was the lowest point output since December 1973, the lowest at home since 1950, and they NEVER scored that low in Big East play.  Words cannot describe 21% shooting from the field (what made it worse is that I was watching the Wizards perform just as bad in Chicago during time-outs).  But how do you explain getting outrebounded by 20 to Rutgers…RUTGERS!!!  The Panthers never get outrebounded like that.  My how the mighty have fallen.

This season has been a struggle for the Panthers ever since Tray Woodall injured his abdominal and groin.  The offense has been woeful.  Ashton Gibbs NBA stock has nose-dived as it becomes clearer that this guy has to play off someone else.  No one else is capable of getting their own shot as well.    The perimeter defense has been non-existent from the Wagner game until now.  The Panthers All-American recruits have all but disappeared, literally.  Dante Taylor, slated to be a starter, looks like he has had too many late nights snacking on O’s fries (if you went to Pitt you know what I am talking about).  Khem Birch left the program in December to transfer to UNLV.  In short, the program is a mess right now.

We're A Long Way from This

Over the years, the Panthers never had players with all-world talent.  It was a blue-collar team that played a black-and-blue style for the steel city.  The bruising squads over the years would outmuscle and outeffort teams to great success.  The most talented squad was the 2008-09 team with DeJuan Blair with no knees, Levance Fields who wasn’t good at any one thing, and Sam Young who wasn’t a superstar.  Pitt always supplemented their marginal talent with hustle and tenacity.  And it create a wave of success for Jamie Dixon and the Pitt Basketball program.

What’s most disappointing now is that there is no more hustle and tenacity with this Pitt squad.  As the Rutgers lead grew, the Panthers effort dwindled.  That is evident by getting outrebounded by 20.  As Cardiac Hill describes it in their blog, Nasir Robinson was the player of the game for the Panthers with this line: Five turnovers, 3-9 from the field for seven points, and nine rebounds.  The Panthers have been defanged, the Oakland Zoo is now an aquarium.

The problems with Pitt may not be solved with Woodall coming back.  Gone is Brad Wanamaker that added the offense punch that Gibbs seems to have lost.  Gone are Gilbert Brown and Gary McGhee who played the tough defense that Talib Zanna and Taylor seem ill-equipped and/or uninterested in playing.  The Pitt program has been built on young guys biding their time on the bench, learning from veteran players.  That is why Fields, Wanamaker and McGhee did well; they sat behind Krauser, Antonio Graves and Blair respectively.    It seems that Dixon has lost this team this year.

With their next three games against ranked opponents – including #1 Syracuse, things look like it’s going to get worse for the Panthers.  What looked as just a hiccup for the Panthers could be an avalanche of disaster for the team.  Even if they do not have the firepower to be .500 in the Big East, all I ask for is the effort and toughness that made this program a consistent threat year in and year out.  Because right now, not only does it suck to lose, it sucks that the Panthers have lost their bite.