Sorry about the dearth of posting the last couple of days. My daughter’s birthday party was this weekend, and as 1 of the 2 members of the planning and decoration committee time was limited.
The short but big news over the weekend, Kicker Josh Cummings was charged with a DUI. It is reported that he blew a 0.131. Big shock, that he must have been drinking on the South Side. Actually, the surprise is that he was caught. I’m not saying anything regarding the way he was driving — since I don’t know. I’m just thinking that at 2:30 am on Friday night/Saturday morning, on Carson Street, that a cop could just pull people over at random with a 50-50 chance of getting someone for a DUI.

The Big East bowl tie-ins are tied to what the Big 11 does with the Capitol One Bowl.

That impacts the Big East because the Gator Bowl, the league’s heretofore non-BCS jewel, has been shopping around. If the Capital One Bowl cements that window, the Gator’s options will be limited.

The SEC would almost certainly be out of the Gator picture. The Capital One, Cotton, Outback and Peach bowls are strong enough to hold off the Gator. So Rick Catlett, director of the Gator Bowl, would have to go after the Big Ten’s No. 4 team (now in the Alamo) or the Big 12’s No. 3 (Holiday).

“Catlett, the Gator bowl, no one will do anything until [the Capital One situation] is resolved,” Tranghese said. “I think the Gator has interest in the SEC and Big Ten. Our primary focus, though, has been dead-on the Gator. We talk daily. I’m hopeful. It’s been a partnership that’s been very good and we’re working very hard.”

Tranghese has met with the Gator Bowl’s board. He’s met with Catlett “on three or four occasions” and phones the director almost daily. What Tranghese is fighting, however, is perception. In the case of the Big East, bad perception.

“When I went to visit the Gator folks, the perception is that we’ve been damaged [by defections],” Tranghese said. “I pointed out that we’re as strong as before. The Gator never took Boston College. Miami went once during its probationary period. The only loss that hurt was Virginia Tech.

“But West Virginia is very attractive. We added a school like Louisville that will fill a stadium. There are new coaches at Pitt and Syracuse. Connecticut is building. And Notre Dame continues to be a great partner.

“Rick Catlett has always understood. But, too, we’re dealing with a board.”

A board and its egos. Which might just get in the way of a smart deal.

That’s more than a bit of spin. Tranghese is doing his best to avoid admitting that the BE has a well-earned reputation for not traveling well to bowl games, not the perception of damaged goods. This is the chance for the Gator to explore other options with the contract open. Admittedly 2 of those schools BC and Miami (unless it was a BCS game) are gone, but the reputation will be hard to shake. Still with Louisville and (I would bet) USF things might be improving. I think UConn would travel decently and if Rutgers could ever get back to a bowl (25 years give or take), their fans would be deleriously happy to go.

Finally, another Q&A with Coach Dave Wannstedt.

Q. How’s life as the Pitt football coach thus far?

A. It’s been more exciting than what I anticipated. It’s been very energizing … what has really been refreshing and (something) that I’ve enjoyed, is in the NFL, you basically get on football from 7 in the morning until 7 at night.

Here, breaking it up a little bit is spring recruiting and dealing with alumni things and being on the main campus with academics. I guess it’s all about how you look at it – I’m sure the other side of that coin is there’s a lot of things college coaches don’t enjoy, and that’s what makes it different from the NFL. For me, it’s been a real breath of fresh air, and the people have been just super. And that has been the biggest factor for me – because of the response I’ve gotten from recruiting from high school coaches and principals, and knowing the people on campus and having a good rapport with people when dealing with issues that relate to our players.
…
Q. What is the main difference you’ve noticed in the college game since you last left collegiate football went to the professional ranks?

A. Recruiting really hasn’t changed a whole lot as far as what you can and can’t do. The time restraints with recruiting (are) different. The time restraints with practice is different, with meetings is different. That’s the biggest change in college football in the last 15 years, in my opinion.

In the old days at the University of Miami, we had meetings in the afternoon, we would go out and practice, then we would come in and have a two-hour meeting after dinner. Now, you’re limited to four hours total. Same thing with recruiting. I can remember being on the road recruiting on Christmas Eve. And now, they have a two-week dead time (around Christmas).

These young coaches nowadays, they don’t realize how good they have it.

Q. How is the new Big East Conference alignment going to affect the Pitt football program? How will it affect the Big East in general?

A. I think it’s going to be good for the University of Pittsburgh, and I think it’s going to be good for the Big East. From a recruiting standpoint, it’s perfect for us. We can go into any home in the area and say to parents, ‘Hey, you can drive to see your kid play. The only place you need to get on an airplane to go is south Florida.’ And, since we recruit south Florida, it’s a nice fit for us to be able to get down there and recruit.

I think that Louisville is the team to beat, no question. They finished sixth in the country last year. That’s what we’re all chasing.

We still got our rivalries. If we would’ve gotten Penn State back on the schedule … Notre Dame will come back on the schedule, too, so we’ll be fine there. And, we’re still playing West Virginia and enough other teams here locally.

So, I think it’s a great opportunity for Pitt to get in there and do great, and my goal is to be the dominant team in the Big East.
…
Q. You’re not going to become a Top-10 team overnight, are you?

A. Oh, no. … We’ve got to build depth. Right now, we’ve got a lot of work to do. I think everybody knows that. They saw the talent level in the Fiesta Bowl. Our guys played hard, but it was quite obvious that at a lot of positions, that we’ve got a ways to go.

They did a great job last year – coaching staff and players – of winning eight games. Anybody that knows football will tell you that they did a fantastic job.

Less than 80 days to the Domers.

Alternative title:

Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice A Day

Back in November when it was announced that Fox had gotten the rights to all the BCS games except the Rose Bowl, I speculated that ESPN would no longer be complicit in the backing the BCS system. In fact they might really start going after it.

Last week, ESPN pulled its backing from the Coaches Poll, suddenly citing the lack of transparency in the voting as the reason. Dennis Dodd at Sportsline doesn’t buy it.

ESPN ripping its name from the coaches’ poll smacked more of grandstanding than ethics. ABC (parent company of ESPN) loses three-fourths of the BCS beginning in 2006. It retains only the Rose Bowl. The move can be interpreted as a much hyped exit strategy. Why would the Worldwide Leader want its name attached to a system that is now three-fourths Fox’s? And where was ESPN two years ago when the coaches who were previously voting USC No. 1 were forced to vote for LSU (per American Football Coaches Association) in their final poll?

Is it any wonder that the BCS has hired an outside group (PDF) to help them put together a new polling group. Anything to avoid a playoff or to have openness.

Steve Richardson, executive director of the Football Writers Association of America, sees this Harris plan as a panic move by the BCS.

“I think they’re up against it,” he said. “They don’t know which way to turn. They’re desperate.”

Richardson said he knows several media members who have been approached about voting in the Harris poll. He also said his membership has wrangled with the subject, both on an individual basis, and collectively regarding the 16-voter college football poll it does being included in BCS calculations.

“They (BCS) should go to the committee system, like in basketball,” Richardson said. “Put a selection committee together and use polls and computers and RPI like college basketball and it would be no problem. But they don’t seem to want to do that. They seem hung up on the poll deal. It comes back to accountability. They point the finger at someone else and they’re off the hook.”

It’s going to be a rough year for the BCS and college football power-brokers.

Following up a story earlier in the week about Coach Dave Wannstedt selling Pitt is another piece talking about all that he is doing.

“I walked out of the house two mornings ago at 5:20,” Wannstedt offered. “And my wife says, ‘Are you out of your mind? Where are you going? What’s going on? What am I missing?'”

In this particular instance, it was a camp for 6-year-olds (Little Panther Camp).

Pitt has also conducted, or will conduct Team Passing Camp (40 high schools signed up for that one; others had to be turned away), Specialist Camp and Individual Prospect Camp.

Wannstedt seemingly shows up at more camps than Smokey the Bear.

“We got the camps, and then every night, the social things, or alumni golf tournaments in Mon Valley, Beaver, Erie; I don’t even know where else,” he continued. “Then you got your Panther Club events.”
…
Wannstedt is all about multitasking these days.

“(Tonight) I’m speaking at the Concordia Club,” he said. “Friday night I’m doing a leukemia charity thing. Saturday we have a camp here. Sunday I’m one of the sponsors for a prostate cancer event and I’m doing a 10K walk on the North Side. And then Monday we have another camp.”

This is why college coaches bolt for the NFL and the increased job instability. It isn’t just because of the paycheck and not having to recruit. It’s all the other stuff that you have to do to sell the program. I couldn’t do it. I don’t like people that much.

More thoughts on what Krauser will do (Insider Subs.).

Pitt junior point guard Carl Krauser, who would be a fifth-year senior if he were to return, is going to take his decision down to the final hours on Tuesday. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon told ESPN.com that Krauser has a workout slated with New York before the deadline. The Knicks have picks Nos. 8, 30 and 54. Krauser wouldn’t be expected to go in the first round, but could be a selection at 54.

Krauser said in Chicago last week that he wouldn’t be against the second round. Since Krauser is 24 and has a family to support, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him stay in the draft even though there is no guarantee that he’ll be picked.

Can you think of a better person to help you learn to be an NBA point guard than Stephon Marbury? I know the Knicks are Krauser’s hometown team and he idolizes Isiah Thomas, but geez.

Despite the continual trickle of bad reviews for Krauser’s Chicago Camp Draft performance:

Carl Krauser, PG, Pittsburgh — Krauser didn’t appear quick enough to separate from high-level defenders.

And the fact that other underclassmen are wisely pulling out just based on the knowledge that they won’t get drafted in the first round.

Notre Dame junior forward Torin Francis will withdraw from the NBA draft and return for his senior season, a source close to the Irish program said Tuesday.

The source said Francis would meet with Notre Dame coach Mike Brey on Monday once Brey returned from vacation and send in his paperwork to the NBA. The deadline to withdraw from the draft is Tuesday, June 21.

Francis spent last week at the Chicago pre-draft camp but was unable to convince NBA executives that was worth drafting in the first round.

It is increasingly recognized that Krauser is determined to try and make it in the NBA — or the NBDL or in Europe (despite his protestations otherwise) — somehow.

Krauser, who turned 24 on May 13 and already has earned his degree from Pitt, said he was encouraged by his recent showing at the Chicago camp and is looking forward to a workout Friday with the New York Knicks.

“All I need is one team to say, ‘Carl, we like what you do,'” Krauser said last week in Chicago, where he remained, participating in additional meetings with NBA teams throughout the weekend.

While most NBA observers who were asked about Krauser last week advised the Pitt guard against leaving school early, Krauser remained focused on his plan.

“My mindset is to go to the NBA,” he said.

You would think he would talk to his former teammates about the NBDL (Brandin Knight) and playing overseas (Julius Page) to get an idea of what to expect.

At this point he should just go.

I don’t say this out of frustration with the wait-and-see. I think Krauser should have the right to use all the time possible.

I don’t say this because I think Pitt would be a better team without him. They wouldn’t. I love his game. Even those who are not fans of his style and his game, have to concede that Pitt will be a weaker team. They will be forced to play the new guys sooner and there is a greater element of the unknown. In pure wins and losses, they will be better with Krauser than without.

There is also the selfish reason of seeing them on TV. Without Krauser, Pitt is dropped in expectations and the amount of national TV exposure with the Big East TV deals.

I say it because it seems clear that it is what he wants, and believes he can do. While his game is not ready for the NBA, he is convinced it is close and anything more is just fine tuning he can do at the next level. He doesn’t believe that the college game will help him any longer in reaching the NBA.

This means if he would come back, he would view it simply as a way to showcase himself. That he would be the star attraction and that every game was to demonstrate Carl Krauser. And as the point guard, he could do just that.

Right now, I’m not convinced Coach Jamie Dixon is strong enough to keep him in check. To reach him when the season comes. Krauser has always been one of Dixon’s guys. Krauser was one of the most visible and vocal supporters of Dixon after Howland left.

Long-term, Krauser coming back to Pitt when he doesn’t want it, could do more harm to Pitt basketball if he poisons the clubhouse. If he becomes a distraction and is the scapegoat of the media after every Pitt loss.

The Pitt Athletics site has a press release on the team’s ranking in Street & Smith’s college preview, and notes Palko on the cover for the North Atlantic version.

The magazine ranks the Panthers No. 23 nationally and second in the Big East Conference.

“If (new head coach Dave Wannstedt) can blend his running-and-defense philosophies with a talented passing corps, the Panthers could again be at the top of the heap this season,” Street & Smith’s writes in its preview of the Big East.

The magazine also considers some of Pitt’s players among the best in the country. Junior linebacker H.B. Blades (Plantation, Fla./Plantation) and junior receiver Greg Lee (Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain) were named Street & Smith’s All-Americans. Both were third-team selections.

Receiving Honorable Mention All-America consideration were Palko (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny), placekicker Josh Cummings (Newhall, Calif./Hart/College of the Canyons) and punter Adam Graessle (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman).

Blades additionally was named the Big East’s “Hardest Hitter” and “Top NFL Prospect.” Palko was named the league’s “Best Player Under Pressure.”

The full previews are now hitting bookstores and I was actually able to look at it last night.

S&S has gone along with the cheesecake trend by putting a small little shots of members of cheer or dance teams on a lot of the team profile pages. The writers at PSB wish to commend and support this trend.

Other things in this preview included putting Palko, Lee, Blades, Josh Lay, Cummings and Graessle on the All-Big East Team.

The preview regarding Pitt written by Pete Williams (info here), notes that the big question for Pitt will be on both lines. Whether they will be better and issues of depth.

Chad Ford’s latest Mock 1st Round Draft (subs. only) drops Chris Taft down to #23 with the Sacramento Kings with the following observation.

Taft has the size and strength of a lottery pick and the heart of an NBDL player. He has the physical tools to replace Chris Webber on the Kings’ front line. But will Rick Adelman, or whoever is coaching the Kings, ever be able to motivate him?

It will be something to see if he ever overcomes that reputation.

As for Carl Krauser, despite the fact that everyone is saying he should go back to school and that he won’t get drafted Krauser seems to be leaning towards trying to break in.

Carl Krauser, Jr., Pittsburgh: Krauser was told to go back to school. But Pitt coach Jamie Dixon expects this to go down to the wire since Krauser has the extenuating circumstances of age (24), fatherhood and years in school (already four).

Doyel at Sportsline.com seems even more convinced after talking to him.

Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh: He’s probably gone. One day after telling several reporters, including yours truly, that he would only stay in the draft if he was guaranteed a multiyear contract, Krauser changed his song Friday. “I’ll be a better pro than college player,” Krauser told SportsLine.com. “I haven’t decided yet, but I don’t see why not.”

The heart wants what it wants.

Good piece today on Coach Dave Wannstedt’s recruiting travels in just his first 6 months on the job.

Wannstedt said he visited between six and nine schools every day and made it a point to meet not just with coaches and principals, but also with superintendents, guidance counselors, school board members and teachers.

“Talk is cheap, and I really felt like, particularly in Pennsylvania, every coach talks about reestablishing that connection between Pitt football and the communities and high schools, but for it to be real I needed to get out there and do it,” he said. “People needed to see me and meet me and hear what I have to say in order to see that what I’m trying to do here is genuine.

“The rule states you can have seven coaches out on the road at any given time during the spring, so I decided I’d be out the entire four weeks and I rotated one of my assistants back off the road. It is tiresome and it is a lot of time, but I really enjoy getting out and meeting people.”
…
He believes Pitt should be the top choice for any player in Western Pennsylvania, which is the way it was when he played and coached at Pitt in the 1970s.

“We’re coming in the front doors of these schools and letting people know that we’re Pitt and we’re proud of it,” he said. “We want to get this thing like it used to be. We are going to have our battles but we’ve got to get back to the point where, if anyone is coming into Western Pennsylvania looking for players, we’re the team to beat and they know it, and I don’t care who it is or where they come from.

“That is the mind-set we have here and now we have to go out and back it up. Me getting out on the road and really knocking on doors is the best place to start.”

Under 12 weeks until the first game.

Dustin Ilgenfritz is ranked as the 47th best prospect in Pennsylvania by Pantherlair/Rivals. He attended the Pitt/Adidas camp. He’s a DT from Central Pennsylvania and wants to go to Pitt.

He recently impressed at the Adidas Camp in Pittsburgh. In a field of nearly a hundred high school linemen, Ilgenfritz cracked the top 10 in the shuttle run (placing seventh) and bench press (placing eighth by lifting 185 pounds 24 times.
…
There’s also trips to West Virginia and Pitt — the one place where he really wants to impress. He has relatives who live near Pittsburgh, and he’s always been a diehard Pitt and Steelers fan.

Encouraging.

Okay, bad news first. Pittsnogle has decided to mistreat his newborn daughter by putting her in West Virginia standard housing — a manufactured mobile home* — for a year by returning to WVU for his senior year.

Chris Taft is still somewhere in the first round, but who knows where.

Krauser, is unknown as to what he’ll do.

Krauser has had a solid week of camp but has not done nearly enough to convince anyone he is worthy of a first-round draft pick. That means he likely would have to take the hard road to the NBA — via Europe or a minor league — if he should choose to remain in the draft.
…
Krauser, though, sounded like a guy who is leaning towards rolling the dice.

“This NBA thing is easy,” he said laughing. “I mean, I feel comfortable now after being here for a few days and I feel like I have gotten some good feedback. A guy from the Knicks told me they like what I do and that I can be a great point guard some day. I only need one team to like me enough to pick me, so I am hoping that I can give this NBA thing I try this year.

“We’ll see, though, I have some other workouts and things before I have to decide.”

The local coverage seems to be high on how Krauser did.

Reality, however, could be harsh (subs. req’d).

Carl Krauser, PG, Pittsburgh
He was awful. I know he’s older, but it’s unlikely that he’s drafted if he stays in.

Ouch.

*_{I have no actual evidence of such, but call it an educated guess}

A hat tip to Joel for demonstrating why excessive speculation is never wise (at least for me). He points to info disproving my theory that a top OL from UK might end up at Pitt. The only thing I can fall back upon at this point is the fact that Kentucky’s head coach, Rich Brooks, may not be back after the 2005 season (subs. only) so then, perhaps Miller might consider Pitt.

Alternative title, “A Prude Grows In Waterbury.”

A sportswriter who is actually happy about the decision by the NCAA to mandate the length of media guides.

This guy seems to think that it will bring back the good old days of media guides solely as information for media types — just stats and information to pepper in their column or discuss in a broadcast.

He uses Pitt’s 2004-05 Basketball Media Guide as the example:

An annual report does not require 440 pages, which is what Nebraska’s 2004 football media guide contains. An annual report doesn’t include a picture of four scantily clad co-eds with P-I-T-T etched on their tank tops. You’ll find that on page 25 of Pittsburgh’s 2004-05 basketball media guide. You’ll also find a different foursome in the same outfits on page 26.

While the media may be in favor of such photos, they’re a long way from necessary for the media. But hey, if you’re a 17-year-old looking for a place to play, such a photo just might push you to Pittsburgh.

The NCAA recognized this and at least tried to even the playing field a bit. The nation’s big schools routinely produce monstrous media guides, but the likes of Toledo and Fairfield aren’t capable financially of putting out 300-page guides. Now everybody has the same amount of space in which to get their message across.

Not surprisingly, a lot of schools are unhappy about this. They’ll have to find a way to cut pages. Pitt (hate to pick on the poor Panthers) probably could do without the four-page bio of Mark McCarroll. Four pages on Mark McCarroll? UConn devotes seven pages to Jim Calhoun, who certainly has accomplished a lot more than McCarroll.

Any SID needing help in cutting pages need only consult the media about their, ahem, media guides. This is how it usually goes among sportswriters when the media guides are handed out:

We’ll take one to keep in our cars. That one stays intact. We’ll take a second and proceed to rip out extraneous pages. By the time we’re done, the UConn football and basketball media guides are 100 pages or so and much easier to take on road trips and haul around in a computer bag. Let’s face it, we don’t need the two pages describing all that Hartford offers (who knew that could take up two pages?) and another two pages describing Springfield, New York, Boston and Providence.

For purely informational purposes only, here’s where you can find the, ahem, offending photos (PDF, pgs 28 & 29). It’s part of several pages devoted to the Oakland Zoo and the game atmosphere of the Pete.

Hate to break it to Ed, but the photos are likely staying and the stats will be the things disappearing. He complains that the media guides shouldn’t be about selling the school to recruits. Tough. They are and that still won’t change, page restrictions or not.

Keep this name in mind: Aaron Miller. We might be hearing it again in the future (via Fanblogs).

Offensive tackle Aaron Miller, who started 10 games as a true freshman last season, has left the University of Kentucky football team for personal reasons, coach Rich Brooks announced yesterday.

“We certainly will miss Aaron as a football player, but our first concern is for him, and we wish him well,” Brooks said. “He will not be with us this fall, but we are hopeful he will rejoin us at a later date.”

Miller was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team by The Sporting News and was UK’s Most Outstanding First-Year Player as chosen by the coaches.

Now I don’t know what the “personal reasons” were, but I am assuming he will eventually be trying to go back to a college. Keep in mind that Pitt offensive lines coach, Paul Dunn, served in that same role at Kentucky. Pitt would be a logical destination if he transfers.

A little speculative, but we are in June.

It would appear that reality should be hitting Carl Krauser.

Pitt point guard Carl Krauser, while displaying a crisper peformance than he did a day earlier, managed only three points on 1-of-3 shooting and added three rebounds, three assists and two turnovers in his team’s 97-81 loss. He was guarded mainly by former Marquette guard Travis Diener and ex-Illinois guard Luther Head.

That’s not even going to get him taken on a flyer at the end of the second round.

I actually feel bad about this. It is what he wants, and I think he can make it to the NBA at some point.

He isn’t ready, though. He has to be more consistent, and control things more. This is also a very deep draft for point guards. He is way down on the list. Next year, he should be considered one of the top 10 point guards.

Obviously if he comes back it really helps Pitt. Pitt will be better with him next season than without. Losing 2 starters is tough enough. Losing all 3 of the most productive and experienced players would put Pitt in the bottom half of the Big East for sure.

God knows who is next in the Big East to update a mascot, alter a logo, what have you. I’m just shocked to be writing that Syracuse has changed their football uniforms (via Fanblogs) with the help of Nike and they don’t exactly suck.

Keep in mind the color scheme with which they are working. I like the old school numbers on the helmet thing. The whole thing is very simple, and just a couple stripes on the shoulders. None of that hideous side-striping that has permeated football unis.