Now the on-the field problems. Kicker David Abdul and return-man/3rd Wide Receiver Terrell Allen will be out for the season still recovering from injuries. Abdul broke his leg in February, in a car accident when he fell asleep while driving. It appears that his kicking career is in serious jeopardy. Allen had wrist surgery after he tore ligaments in his left wrist during spring practice. He is taking a medical redshirt.

Both hurt the team. I think Allen's may be the worse of the two. He excelled at returning kicks and punts. He showed great explosiveness and helped keep Pitt in the second half of the Continental Tire Bowl by giving Pitt good field position. Personally, I expected him to push Brockenbrough and Lee for a starting WR job this season.

Abdul's loss is mitigated by JUCO All-American transfer Josh Cummings. Still, despite his horrible kicking last year, Abdul was expected to compete for the job.

This article is almost a week old, and I held off on posting about it because I was hoping there would be an explanation.

Pitt football coach Walt Harris was a no-show for the Big 33 Media Conference on Friday afternoon.

Harris was scheduled to speak at the 30-minute press conference, which also included Penn State coach Joe Paterno, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and former Penn State linebacker and Detroit Lions president Matt Millen.
...
"We have no word yet," Big 33 media representative Greg Hoffman said. "We've tried everything and we've got nothing right now."

Harris did attend last night's Big 33 Honors Banquet at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center.

Like I said, I have no idea why he missed. Whether it was because of a misunderstanding, miscommunication, a recruiting visit that went long, I don't know. I e-mailed the reporter a few days ago, but he never responded.

This is probably a minor thing at most, but it strikes me as embarrassing. That the head coach of Pitt would miss the press conference for the Big 33 game is unbelievable.

Pitt still hasn't released it's basketball schedule for 2004-05, but for the second straight year, they will be playing in the  Jimmy V. Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. This year, Pitt will take on Memphis.

Memphis should be  a tough opponent for Pitt. They have one of the best incoming recruiting classes in the country, and most of their starters are returning. This is great news. A good, tough non-conference opponent and televised on ESPN.  

I want John to get this grill cover to protect his new grill.

So, I noticed on the Pitt Insiders message board comments about the new Pitt Nike hat. It's nice with the simple block lettering of "PITT," but I'm not a big fan of having the Nike Swoosh on the front. This one is more what I like, even if I'm not as wild about the font taken from the present unis, at least it still just says "PITT." Lots of styles to choose (even if none of them are offered in the Lids stores in the Cleveland area).

Of course, you can actually get your hands on the older style Pitt baseball cap at a reduced price. Looks like they are still trying to clear out inventory. Though, if the colors are accurate, it looks more like the hats when they hadn't redesigned the actual baseball hats yet with the new logo, but simply updated the colors after the switch.

I haven't actively looked to see if any other Pitt alum are playing in the NBA summer league since the beginning of July. Thankfully, the Trib provided an update for me.

Lett with the LA Clippers
Jaron Brown is playing for Memphis
Brandin Knight is playing for Golden State

No word on what Julius Page is doing.

Anyone looking to get me a birthday present couldn't go wrong with this sweatshirt.


Any excuse to get the old script Pitt logo on the blog. 

At ESPN.com, Andy Katz has put together his list of the top 50 teams in what can only be considered a pre-pre-preseason list. Part of me is annoyed because, shock of shocks, they list 4 ACC teams in the top ten. Instincts scream, typical ESPN bias to the ACC. Then the semi-rational part of me has to concede that the ACC placed 2 in the NCAA Final Four. Really, I question the placement of North Carolina at #2, but that is as much pro-Roy Williams bias by ESPN as anything else.

The important thing, Pitt. #18 in the list.

WHY: Point Carl Krauser and forward Chris Taft are two of the most talented players at their respective positions. Sure, the Panthers will miss Jaron Brown and Julius Page, but having Chevy Troutman for another season is a huge plus. He gives them the toughness needed for them to carry out Jamie Dixon's style.

WHY NOT: The Panthers still need a reliable perimeter threat. If they can find one, then they could crack the top 10.

SUMMER BUZZ: It's all about Taft. NBA personnel were already pumping him up to be a top 10 pick in 2005. He still has plenty to learn, but he's on track for a banner sophomore season.

Last year Pitt was around #23 in these lists. This year, cracking the top-20. I really can't argue with what Katz writes about the team. Pitt really needs someone to be able to hit an outside jumper. Someone who can at least shoot 40% from outside. Krauser will put up the shots from anywhere, but he is most effective as a shooter on the drive. Will it be one of the new guys? Will McCarroll show some consistency with his outside shot (and play defense)?

The Big East will be tough as hell this year. Syracuse, UConn and BC will definitely be good. Notre Dame might be better or about the same as last year. Villanova has all the talent, and their late run in the Big East Tournament suggests they might finally be putting it together. I don't think Providence will be as good as last year (before their fade), but with Gomes back for another year they will still be tough.

In response to Lee, I don't know many -- outside of a few contrarians and people at ABC Sports -- who actually like the BCS. The new formula is amusing and more than a little ironic in that the whole point was to add to the accuracy and pull out some of the human element that helped screw up the national championship before hand. Unlike Lee, I think the problem isn't so much with the AP Writers Poll as it is with the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Stewart Mandel of SI.com (admittedly a sports writer, but not an AP Voter) addressed it in his mailbag.

The new BCS formula gives added weight to the AP poll. Does this mean some stricter voting guidelines could come out for the writers? Just seems that writers with an agenda could affect the outcome of who should be on the field rather then the players.

I don't think you have to worry about that nearly as much as you do with the coaches, who have an actual vested interest. Believe me, 95 percent of writers are more interested in finishing their story before the bars close or counting their Marriott points than whether a certain team is ranked second or third.

That is where I'm concerned. Well, concerned is probably the wrong word.

With the Writer's poll, there is some transparency. You can find out how the writer voted (some will even post their voting order online after the poll comes out). The Coaches' Poll has no transparency. And you don't think there is bias in trying to pump up your conference and teams? Then there is the issue of whether it is actually the coach who is voting and evaluating. Wasn't it some coach in Central PA who had someone else in the athletic department fill it out for him? Plus, how much time does anyone believe a Div. 1 Head Coach is going to have to evaluate his picks? Please.

We're stuck with a screwed up system until the college presidents help end the hypocrisy. Really, they are the ones who I blame. From PSB fave, Matt Hayes from a month or two ago:

We begin with a story of college baseball -- the ping of aluminum, the double-digit innings, the 5-hour games ... I'm already bored. We're talking baseball because without it, we can't see the BCS for what it really is: an exclusive, hypocritical, members-only club.
...
The Big Ten Conference is upset about (I swear I'm not making this up) competitive inequity in college baseball. The league that, along with the Pac-10, is holding the BCS hostage while dangling the lucrative Rose Bowl is upset because The Man is keeping them down. Yep, they say, forcing Big Ten teams to play baseball on the road in February and March because their fields are snowed under creates a competitive disadvantage for the league when it comes to qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and the College World Series.

So the Big Ten wants the baseball season moved back, beginning at least a month later (early March) and ending well into July. And it's probably going to happen.

"I don't see how it couldn't," says a member of the NCAA baseball committee.

The reason, of course, is money. When there is money to be made -- college baseball is a clay-covered Cullinen diamond waiting to be spit-polished -- everyone has his hand out.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, we give you the connection to college football: By moving the baseball season back, the presidents of these prestigious universities are allowing an NCAA sport to be played not only beyond its proposed semester but beyond the school year. Meanwhile, the steadfast argument against a national football playoff has been that it would extend the season into the second semester. When the fifth BCS game was announced last month, it was revealed that the championship game would be played a week after the other four BCS games -- or one week into the second semester.

Read the rest and laugh.

The NCAA is apparently considering extending player elegibility to five years.  I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but Bob Smizik has a definite opinion on the matter.  Discuss!

It's hard to imagine karma hitting the ACC this quickly isn't it.

I mean, less than 2 weeks ago Miami and Virginia Tech were quietly welcomed into the ACC. No big press conferences, no huge announcements. Just a little press release to make it official.

Matt Hayes at the Sporting News tells the ACC it can say hello to being a football conference:

It took Miami and Virginia Tech less than one week after they became official members on July 1 to show why. The one-time basketball league now is a football factory, for better or for worse. The ACC will get its million-dollar championship game in 2005, and it could get as many as two BCS slots per year. But it also gets this:

Miami recruit Willie Williams, arrested 11 times since 1999, was given three years of probation last week, stemming from his latest incident. Now he'll start the process of enrolling at the university.

Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick, less than two months removed from being sentenced to 30 days in jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor -- he was one of three Tech players who gave alcohol to underage girls -- was arrested last week and charged with marijuana possession.

"It's certainly not the best way to start a marriage," says one ACC official.

But the ACC knew what it was getting into by inviting Miami and Virginia Tech to the party. These are football schools, pure and simple. They bring nothing to the table other than their ability to recruit, win games and shovel potential bowl money into league coffers.

An ACC official told me weeks ago that the league office was watching both cases closely to see how the respective administrations would deal with the off-field issues. The last thing the publicity-conscious ACC wants is to be linked with the SEC and Big 12 as football factories. But after the events of last week, the first step already has been taken.

Of course you can also add the indefinite suspension of Miami CB, Antrel Rolle, after he was charged with (felony) battery on a police officer and misdemeanor offenses of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence.

Oh, and then there is always squeaky clean Florida State to jump into the fun. Bobby Meeks, the starting guard, is facing felony charges from this past weekend -- battery against law-enforcement officers and resisting arrest with violence.

You will know it's all over for the ACC when Duke football players get arrested.

Plenty of coverage in Cinci in the last few days on the hiring of former Pitt great, Sean Miller as basketball head coach of Xavier, replacing Thad Motta. Kind of makes sense, when the only big issue regarding UC is, "When does Huggins sober up return from suspension. From the shot taken at OSU's hiring process (also mocked by national columnists) to the 'no brainer' decision on the hiring. Then there is the assembling of a new staff. Of course there is the obligatory article about Miller's coaching bloodlines. Finally, a 5 question sitdown with the new coach.

1 What is your favorite moment as a player? (Miller is a former All-Big East point guard at Pittsburgh.)

A: When I was a freshman (in 1988), we played Syracuse on the final Sunday in March. Both teams were tied for first place, so it was for the Big East championship, and it was the largest Carrier Dome crowd for a basketball game at the time.

We went in there and won it, and it was an amazing moment to win the Big East title against a team like that Syracuse team.

2 What did you think last season when you saw ESPN replay the Jerome Lane dunk? (Lane, who played with Miller, broke a backboard on a dunk in 1988 after Miller threw him a pass on a fast break.)

A: It reminded me of how much weight I've gained since my playing days. That clip right there is keeping me alive.

That was a Big Monday game on ESPN, so for him to do that on that stage was amazing. It had very little to do with the pass.

I admit, it feels kind of odd that college basketball recruiting for 2005 is now underway with the 3 shoe company basketball camps happening. (Read this Gregg Doyel article on them.)

Pitt is active though. The coaches are on the road, at the camps and taking in the players. Pitt looks to be active for many top recruits from the NY/NJ area again. Very encouraging stuff, mostly.

I don't want to complain, but I worry. I guess, I'd like to see Pitt geographically expand a little more in their recruiting. This NY pipeline thing is awesome, but it makes me feel the program is a little too dependent on one area and if Assistant Coach Barry Rohrssen is the main guy as it has appeared in charming the kids to come to Pitt -- then it would be real easy to tumble when he leaves for his own coaching gig in a couple years. Not to mention if St. John's rebounds and Rutgers ever really gets it together. A little more diversity would be nice.

Have to give credit to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Joe Bendel for actually covering the summer camps and recruiting. (Not to mention a decent piece on Carl Krauser playing in the Rucker league games.)Aside from the pay-to-view recruiting sites , the Trib has been the only media outlet to provide info on the Pitt basketball team this summer. They seem to have figured out that people are still interested in what is happening with Pitt basketball even in the offseason.

Looking over the referrer logs always yields some interesting things. A few of the searches that have gotten people to Pitt Sports Blather:

pitt panthers fan websites football on Yahoo! has us at #1

Simply looking for pitt panthers on Yahoo! puts us #5 on the list

EA Sports NCAA 2005 Rutgers Ratings through Google put us in at #9

Someone looking for more info about the Ohio State scandal, specifically searching for the Kim Roslovic affair found us on MSN at #3

We don't have the information, but we were #1 in a search for pitt football cheerleaders names from 1978

And finally...

We didn't actually come up on the list when I checked, but it was in the logs and I'd love to know the story behind the search for virginia tech hokie girls santa outfits.

It was noted here back in April. Now, the warrants have been issued.

The University of Pittsburgh said yesterday that four football players face aggravated assault charges in connection with a fight in April during a party at a fraternity house.

The charges relate to an incident that occurred about 11 p.m. April 16 at the Pi Kappa Alpha house on University Drive. Following the incident, two men were treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

Assistant Athletic Director E.J. Borghetti said the players facing charges are Clint Session of Pompano Beach, Fla., a sophomore next season who is expected to be the starting middle linebacker, and three redshirt freshmen. They are Dan Pickens, a tight end from Bridgeville; Chris McKillop, a linebacker from Export; and Lance Asbee, a fullback from Fox Chapel.

Coach Harris has said that internal discipline was already initiated. Further punishment may be given when the matter is resolved by the legal system.

Look either suspend them for a game or don't. Just none of that 1st quarter suspension BS like last year. I guess it's kind of a shame that the Furman game wasn't the opener, then it would be an easy call.

At the Pitt audio section, there is a link to hear "Hail to Pitt." A ringtone service called ringster offers a version as a ringtone. Maybe I just don't hear it well, but it sounds nothing like the real thing. I think part of the problem is that they speed up the tune to an unrecognizable song. What does anyone else think?

Pitt has received a verbal from tailback Irvan Brown from Central Square, NY, in part to escape the brutal upstate/central NY winters -- which would explain why he has turned down offers from Syracuse and Wisconsin. According to the story, he is considered a top 10 player from New York, and as we learned last week, that is different from being on the Insiders top 100 players at the National or in the East lists. At 6' 0" and only 180-190 pounds, it strikes me that the kid will need a season in the weight room to be an every down sort of back.

That is now 2 RBs that have made verbals to Pitt. Considering that depth was an issue last year, and the position is a question mark this season, choices for running backs is a good thing. After getting this verbal, Pitt pulled a scholarship offer to Eugene Jarvis of Central Catholic.

Is former Pitt point guard, Sean Miller. The press conference was this afternoon. He replaces Thad Matta, who left for the Ohio State job.

It's not terribly surprising. Miller had been considered one of the hot young assistants at the start of last season. Xavier's Elite Eight run, only made it surprising that he wasn't interviewed for a head job over the summer.

Xavier has become the place for young coaches to be raided. Makes it hard to feel bitter about Ben Howland being plucked by UCLA when you think that Xavier has had Matta, Skip Prosser and Pete Gillen harvested in the last 10 years.

Sean Miller now gets a chance to prove himself. As the old scoreboard at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse would unoriginally display after a Miller 3-pointer, "It's Miller time!"

This is where kids who didn't get drafted can be given a chance to make a team. Or at least get some more experience. So where are the Pitt players?

Ontario Lett, who graduated in 2003 and spent last year overseas playing for Aras ITU (Turkey) is playing with the LA Clippers.

And right now, that is all I know. Only 12 teams have their summer league rosters up right now. I only saw Lett listed. When the rosters are updated, if other players (Page and Brown) are on the roster, I'll post it.

Pitt has announced its Big East home and away plans. Not the actual times and dates yet, but who it will play and where. Of the 16 BE games, there are 5 home/away games with UConn, 'Cuse, ND, WVU and St. John's. There are 3 home and 3 away games playing a team only once. Home: Georgetown, Providence and Seton Hall. Away: Rutgers, BC and 'Nova.

Unlike WVU, Pitt has yet to announce its non-conference schedule. I will be very curious to see what kind of schedule it will be. I was very critical of last year's non-con cupcake schedule (justifiably in my opinion), so I am hoping they are delaying the announced schedule because they are trying to get some real opponents this year. I'm not looking for them to go out and schedule like Michigan State last year. I just want them to be facing some quality opponents and at least one pre-season top 25 team.