The “Backyard Brawl,” the moniker given for the rivalry between Pittsburgh and West Virginia, took an unpleasant turn last night. After a late second-half comeback by Pittsburgh in their game against West Virginia, some fan in the Mountaineer crowd threw something toward the Pitt bench, launching a bizarre sequence of events and technical fouls that eventually led to West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, in a delightful fit of irony, lecturing the crowd on their behavior.

Huggins grabbed a microphone and addressed the fans a short time after objects were thrown on the court with 12:08 left, telling the crowd, “don’t throw anything on the floor. That’s stupid.”

As the crowd applauded him, Huggins then asked if someone did it again, “point him out so we can throw him out of here.”

It’s just part of the legacy of the Mecca of the burning couch.

West Virginia’s students were sent several e-mails by a university official in recent weeks over their behavior at games. They were asked to tone down their language after profanities were heard on national TV in a Jan. 23 win over Ohio State. Against Louisville last Saturday, fans chanted the name of a woman that Cardinals coach Rick Pitino admitted having sex with outside his marriage. –Y! Sports.

The object turned out to be a coin that hit a Pittsburgh assistant coach in the face. West Virginia was assessed a technical foul as a result. Huggins had a DUI charge in 2004 that eventually led to his dismissal at Cincinnati, so it’s hilarious to me to see him lecturing others on how to behave in public. That said, the beatnik that mistook the basketball court for a water fountain at the mall has no business being anywhere in public. We’re in a recession, yo. Keep that money in your pocket and pass the savings onto yourself.

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