There is a sense of deja vu after watching Pitt's loss to Louisville Monday night

It is going to be the same story again for the Pitt basketball program this year. It is near the end of the season and the Panthers will blow the Big East title and dog it in the NCAA tournament as they have historically [done].

Once again it is due to a lack of coaching. Jamie Dixon is not a coach; he is a babysitter. The players are talented and they don't respect Dixon. This point is clear since he is not managing this team; it manages itself.

For Louisville to come into "The Oakland Zoo" and leave with a 13-point victory at a time when you have away games coming up against Georgetown and Marquette shows you are not ready for the big show. And it shows that Dixon had no clue on how to get this team to play up to its potential.

DENNIS PASPARAGE, Regent Square

800 with style

Phil Axelrod's story recognizing Bill Shay's 800 wins was concise, well-written and long overdue. Shay is a most under-appreciated gem in the coaching fraternity ("Shay does it his way, retains thirst for victory," Feb. 9).

His deportment, on and off the court, should be emulated by coaches from elementary school through college. Unlike so many of his peers, he does not prance up and down the court seeking to call attention to himself (and probably serving as a distraction to the players).

Rather, he recognizes that players win games. What a quaint philosophy. CCAC-Allegheny is fortunate to have him and so are we. Here's hoping he wins 800 more.

BILL DAPPER, Brookline

Penn State's broken trust

The news about Penn State University, its women's basketball coach and a discrimination lawsuit is not about a coach and her athlete, or a lawsuit and its settlement. It is about education. And it is about a broken trust.

Penn State coach Rene Portland is an adult working on a college campus who has created a hostile and intimidating environment for students. As a university educator, she has harassed students, and continues to get away with it. As a longtime educator, I cannot comprehend that a university administration would allow this to continue.

While Portland is entitled to her personal opinions on homosexuality, creating a hostile environment -- as Penn State officials concluded, and for which they fined her -- for student-athletes she suspects are lesbian, is a much different matter.

We trust adults on campus -- professors, deans, student life staff, and yes, even coaches -- to uphold community standards and work on behalf of all students, regardless of whether they agree with a students' politics, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation.

Until they terminate Portland as coach, Penn State officials are failing in their commitment to honor the dignity of all students and to protect students from those who would intimidate, harass, and bring harm. Failing students and parents alike, Penn State officials are violating a most sacred and essential trust.

HARRIET L. SCHWARTZ, Squirrel Hill

A coach out of work

It appears Duquesne University athletic director Greg Amodio has made the right choice in the hiring of Ron Everhart as men's basketball coach. However, there is a young lady sitting around doing nothing at the present time who would be a great addition to the women's program. The Lady Dukes have been mediocre at best. Maybe it is time for a change. Mr. Amodio, [former Oakland Catholic and Minnesota Lynx coach] Susie McConnell Serio is out there doing nothing. You should sign her on before Penn State comes calling.

DON R. SALERA, Kennedy Township

A lesson for a son

This past Friday, my son decorated a T-shirt to look like the jersey of Marc-Andre Fleury. Saturday, we excitedly watched part of the Penguins game in a restaurant. Sunday, I tried with little success to explain how and why Chris Newbury of the Toronto Maple Leafs was recovering in a hospital after receiving a bare-handed beating from the Penguins' Ronald Petrovicky.

Why is it that hockey is the only major professional sport that permits fighting. In baseball and football, fighting results in ejection and often suspension. While it is a fact of life that many are drawn to a fight and fights likely increase attendance and TV ratings, it just does not make good moral sense. What is the NHL teaching kids about sportsmanship?

I must contradict what Chris Newbury said in response to the incident. Fighting does not belong in the game and freak accidents, like Saturday's, should be eliminated rather than tolerated.

MICHAEL FLYNN, Allison Park

Letters should be addressed to Sports Mailbag, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh PA 15222. They may also be sent by fax at 412-263-1926 or by e-mail to sports@post-gazette.com. All letters must include signature, address and phone number for confirmation and are subject to editing.