KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- None of the five players Pittsburgh started in the NCAA tournament regional final last March -- the one the Panthers lost in heart-wrenching fashion to Scottie Reynolds' dramatic drive -- was around for Monday's CBE Classic semifinal against Wichita State.

Well, technically, one was. Guard Jermaine Dixon was on the bench in his warmups, but didn't set foot on the Sprint Center floor; he's still recovering, slightly behind schedule, from a broken foot from last summer. All he could do was watch the five players who had combined for one start last season try to stay unbeaten.

Pitt did, without him. And without sixth man Gilbert Brown, out for academic reasons until the end of the fall semester but one of the scant returning contributors from the 31-5 season that briefly saw Pitt ranked No. 1. It goes without saying that Pitt also did it without DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, Levance Fields and Tyrell Biggs, too. The total career starts for the rest of the roster as the season began was ... one. (Junior center Gary McGhee, early last season when Blair's knee swelled up.)

The punch, which left him with a black eye outside a South Bend bar in the wee hours, should remind Jimmy Clausen that it's time to go. No matter the circumstances -- even if it was as innocuous as Clausen being coldcocked by a jerk as he and his girlfriend were leaving C.J.'s Pub -- it should have been clear as he was absorbing a sucker punch that there's no good reason to return to Notre Dame next season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jamie Dixon smiled when he heard that at about the same time his Pittsburgh team was improving to 4-0 by defeating Wichita State in the CBE Classic, Big East brethren Cincinnati was knocking off 24th-ranked Vanderbilt at the Maui Classic.

Good start for the Big East this year, isn't it? he was asked.

"This year? That's us every year,'' Dixon replied.

True, but this time it wasn't supposed to start off this well. You couldn't find a preview of the conference -- coming off of an NCAA tournament with four teams reaching the Elite Eight and two making the Final Four -- that didn't include the phrase "off-year'' or "down year.'' It may still turn out that way, but November so far says otherwise.

Ah, Thanksgiving. Our annual chance to eat too much, argue with relatives and watch the Lions is back again. We like to take a moment during the course of the feasting and gridiron fun to reflect on the year gone by and offer some thanks for things that have affected our lives. It doesn't have to be anything major or life-affirming, but it's always nice to remember the idea behind the holiday in the first place.

Football teams aren't excluded from the moments of reflection, as even the Browns and Rams among us have something to be thankful for this season. So that's the theme for this week's version of the Power Rankings as we run through the 32 teams and find them giving thanks for something.

It got to the point when all Danny Ainge and his family could do to keep sane was laugh.

So Ainge's teenage nephew, Owen Toolson, offered up a knock-knock joke.

"Knock, knock,'' he said to his uncle.

"Who's there?''

"Owen.''

"Owen who.''

"Owen-13.''

Ainge, you see, coached the Phoenix Suns in 1996-97, and they got off to a 0-13 start. But even Ainge got a kick out of that joke.

For nearly a month, UConn coach Randy Edsall knew what he would do -- he just started to wonder when he would get the opportunity.

That chance finally came Saturday when the Huskies defeated Notre Dame, 33-30, in double overtime. After three excruciating losses, the Huskies finally had a victory for murdered teammate Jasper Howard.

"We've been working very, very hard to get a win for Jazz and his family after his death," Edsall said. "Each week that went by, it seemed like there was a little more burden to get that done. But when we got that taken care of at Notre Dame, I didn't tell the team what I was doing, but I knew what I was going to do once we got that victory."

After the game, Edsall said he talked to Howard's family. Edsall said he will send them the game ball.

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- In any other era of women's golf this thing called the Legends Tour would most likely be viewed as just another overly optimistic venture that would be last seen going nowhere.

After all, if the LPGA, inarguably the best women golfers in the world, can't excite the masses, what are the chances a senior circuit of age 45 and older has-beens can make itself interesting?

This, however, is like no other time in women's golf.

Albert Pujols won his second straight National League MVP Tuesday, a unanimous selection of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Pujols is just the sixth player in National League history to win the award unanimously , and the first since Barry Bonds, who swept the honors in 2002. He is also the 12th player in either league to win the award in consecutive seasons. Bonds was also the last player to accomplish that feat, winning MVP in four straight seasons from 2001-04.

It is the third time Pujols has won the award -- he also won in 2005 -- and he has finished in the top five in the MVP voting in every year of his career except one, 2007, when he finished ninth.

SEATTLE -- David Beckham could be an MLS owner in 2012 and the league is considering letting the higher-seeded finalist host MLS Cup as early as next year, Commissioner Don Garber said at halftime of Sunday evening's championship game at Qwest Field. Meeting with journalists, including FanHouse, during what he called "a very memorable night for soccer in America," Garber touched on those issues, the designated player rule, expansion and more. Take a look at his comments after the jump.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around pointing skyward, while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds for Week 11.

Studs

Ricky Williams, RB, Miami (22 carries, 119 yards, three touchdowns): No, it's not 2002. Yes, Ricky Williams was on the top performers of the week. Williams, filling in as the starting running back for injured Ronnie Brown went nuts against Carolina last Thursday, topping the 100-yard mark and finding the end zone three times -- twice on the ground, one through the air -- in a 24-17 Miami win. Williams' 22 carries were the most he's had since a 28-carry day in Week 17 of 2005. He followed that up by violating the league's substance abuse policy and being suspended for all of 2006. Let's hope he's got healthier plans this time around.