Aaron Gray’s inability to finish around the rim plagued the Panthers during their loss to the Bradley Braves

Bradley stuns Pitt 72-66 ending their sweet sixteen hopes

Pitt got down early and couldn’t amount a comeback as the Bradley Braves outrebouned, outhustled and outexecuted Pitt. Aaron Gray was a big reason Pitt didn’t win. I’ve been saying all year he is overrated and cant finish around the hoop. Even though he was not productive offensively, he was even wose defensively. The big matchup coming into this game was Aaron Gray VS Patrick O’Bryant of Bradley. Gray didn’t even belong on the same court as O’Bryant. Despite all of that, Jamie Dixon deserves a dose of the blame. Why stick with Gray when it was obvious from the start that he couldn’t compete with O’bryant. Same Young who has been one of Pitts best players in the past month was not on the court enough because Dixon went with the combo of Gray and Kendall more often then using one of his best players in Sam Young. Instead we all got a dose of the Great Aaron Gray. Dixon falls in the love with certain players as he has with Krauser and Gray so if you’re going to keep them in the lineup then why didn’t he give Gray some help down low. He couldn’t compete one on one with O’bryant so why not have Kendall or Young help out down low to help Gray’s inability and lack of athleticism defensively.Dixon is a good coach but the University of Pittsburgh better hold off on giving him a extension just yet because there may be a better option out there.


Penguins lose to Leafs 1-0

For the fifth straight game the Pens played a solid game against a playoff caliber team. Last night against the Canadiens the Offense was on fire counting for 5 goals but tonight couldn’t generate much. Marc Andre Fleury was phenomenal once again making big save after big save but Chad Kilger beat him low blocker side on a questionable penalty shot that was the difference in the game.

Buck’s Penguins insider….

The Pens finished the week going 3-2 after beating the Devils 6-2, Flyers 2-0 and Canadiens 5-4. In the three wins except the Canadiens game the Pens outplayed their opponent and deserved to win. In the losses ( Devils 2-1 the Penguins weren’t really in the game and tonight against the Leafs the Pens did enough to win but just couldn’t pull it off. After the recent play this week, the Penguins look like they are finally turning the corner. They look much more confident on the ice and have that edge that they actually believe they can win games.

Sidney Crosby got in a little tussle at the end of the game with Bryan McCabe and it was nice to finally see teammates jump in and stand up for him. Give credit to John Leclair who everyone knows doesn’t want to be here jump into the scrum and stand up for his young superstar. Another player I have to give props to is Andre Roy. He beat the hell out of that guy last night and is finally bringing some toughness to a squad that desperately needs it. Maybe it was because of his eye that we didn’t see him play like this in mid season but he is finally playing like the Andre Roy I saw on the Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup team in 2004. Two players on the decline – Tomas Surovy and Andy Hilbert. Surovy just isn’t cutting it. Hasn’t produced since he was on Crosby’s line and i just don’t see him being a factor on this team in the long term. Andy Hilbert on the other hand brings nothing to the table. Just another wasted pickup by our great general manager.

Pirate Rumors….

The Pirates are on the market for a right handed starter and one name being mention is Red Sox pitcher Matt Clement. The Pirates would then ship Craig Wilson to the Bo Sox. This could happen but the Red Sox are trying to bring in Outfielder Willy Mo Pena from the Reds, so don’t count on the Butler native Clement landing in the Burgh.