Standing Tall ... For Now

Well, Joe Lunardi still thinks Pitt is it. At least for now.

But this week will be the first test for the Panthers, and there are plenty more to come.

And I'm not talking about a showdown tomorrow with USF, although I'm sure it'll be fun for Sam Young and his old pal Chris Howard to meet on the hardwood.

I'm talking about Saturday's showdown with Louisville ... in Louisville. Did you see the Cardinals last night? Sure, Notre Dame gave Pitino's crew all it could handle, but Louisville looked great in OT, winning by 14. And the home crowd really spurred the Cardinals on.

Just wait until Saturday.

Once the point guard position is solved, Louisville will quickly return to elite status. But for now, as long as Terrence Williams is posting triple-double kind of numbers, I think Louisville will be just fine.

Notre Dame sure thinks so.

So as much as it has been fun for Pitt and its fans so far, last night showed how difficult a test it's going to be to hold on to the undefeated record and top ranking. Not that anyone would look past South Florida ...

Elsewhere
-- Last night, I was all about the statement game. In that case, I was referring to Louisville's win against Notre Dame. Today, I'm referring to Oklahoma's clobbering of Texas.

-- Max Good is a name I saw a lot growing up in Rhode Island. He was a very successful coach at Bryant College in the Ocean State. Now, he's taking over Loyola Marymount in L.A. Movin' on up, I'd say.

-- Did "Tool Time" go off-air once "Home Improvement" did, or did Tim and Al stick around for more?

-- Speaking of "Home Improvement," my buddy and I have solved the show's extremely easy formula for each 22-minute episode. In no particular order but in the show somewhere ... an episode of "Tool Time" where Tim makes jokes about Al's mother and then Tim gets hurt or does something stupid; Tim making fun of Jill for being a woman; Tim working on something, either a car or an appliance in the house; Brad and Randy making fun of Mark (who wouldn't, right?); Tim and Jill fighting; Tim seeking Wilson's advice; Tim mangling Wilson's advice in the process of the great dilemma being solved; everyone's happy.

Did I miss anything?

-- This is a nice dunk.

-- If you have any desire to laugh, read the Trillion Man March.

-- And this is always fun.