There hasn’t been any news about the re-seating extortion plan at the Pete and the lawsuit since late March. To be honest, though, I haven’t exactly been looking hard for any.

It would appear that a settlement is at hand.

The deal protects the majority of the class for 5 more years.

Members of the class-action suit, which was filed by the law firm Stember Feinstein Krakoff, will retain their seats at the Petersen Events Center for the next five years by maintaining a minimum donation level set by the university. The minimum donation to retain seats for next season is $250. That sum will increase to $300 for the 2006-07 season.

Season-ticket holders in the general seating area selected their seats before the 2002-03 season, the first at the Petersen Events Center. In 2003-04 and this past season, season-ticket holders in the general seating area were able to retain the same seats they had selected in 2002 whether they made any contributions to Team Pittsburgh, the fund-raising arm of the university that has since been renamed the Panther Club, in each of those years.

Only 18 percent of season-ticket holders last season had to give a donation to buy a seat. Those were ticket-holders who had seats in the club seats, loge seats or VIP seating.

John Stember, an attorney at the firm that filed the lawsuit and a Pitt season-ticket holder, said about 650 people will be protected by the settlement. Class members have a right to object to the settlement agreement and may do so in writing. Class members may choose not to accept the benefits of the settlement and can instead participate in the reseating plan previously announced by Pitt. The proposed settlement can be accessed at sfklaw.net.

AD Jeff Long was diplomatic.

“Although we firmly believe Pitt athletics already is living up to its past commitments, there was some misunderstanding about those commitments,” said athletic director Jeff Long in a statement. “We are taking an approach that recognizes prior and ongoing support and advances our efforts to raise the much-needed funds to compete at the NCAA’s highest level.

“Maintaining Pitt’s strong fan base is important when making any decision,” Long said. “Our goal is to generate additional funds to provide student-athletes with the best opportunity for academic and athletic success, while also rewarding fans who have maintained or increased their contributions to support our growth.”

In addition, Pitt will pay attorney fees and court costs. About $35,000 for the class.

The agreement is still preliminary, but is expected to be approved next month.

UPDATE: Pitt now has a press release on the preliminary settlement.

Looks like there will be extended tailgating for the first game of the Dave Wannstedt era. The September 3, ND-Pitt game is scheduled for an 8 pm start time. It will be a split national telecast withTexas A&M-Clemson will be the other game. I think the map showing TV coverage for the two games might just be slightly skewed in favor of the ND-Pitt game.

The game at Nebraska on September 17 will be televised regionally by ABC at 3:30 pm.

Let’s see, 8pm for the first game of the season… Extended tailgating… Notre Dame is the opponent… New head coach… High expectations… The return of Harlan…

Start making arrangements now for that hangover.

Another recruiting tidbit.

Aaron Smith is yet another elite prospect from the state of Pennsylvania. Smith, 6-0 and 185 pounds, plays quarterback for Monroeville (Pa.) Gateway High School but projects as a likely wide receiver in college. This season he will also play wideout, safety and cornerback.

“I have 17 scholarship offers,” said Smith. “Michigan State (verbal) just offered me today and Notre Dame told me today that they will offer me this summer at their camp. It’s been a good spring. Pitt., Penn State, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Florida (verbal), Minnesota and all the MAC schools have offered.”

According to Smith he will have a busy summer and camp at Penn State, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

“Right now I like Pitt., Penn State, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Florida or Notre Dame.

“Coach (Dave) Wannstedt and the staff at Pittsburgh are great. Plus my cousin (Josh Lay) plays there.[“]…

I’d say it’s still wide open for his services.

I want to be a homer. I really do, but I’m having trouble believing or even understanding how this conclusion was reached.

The Big East has the toughest schedule strength overall largely because six of its eight teams went to bowls last season. The league got a huge boost in schedule strength by inheriting Louisville and Cincinnati, two 2004 bowl teams from Conference USA.

Seven of the top 12 teams in CBS SportsLine.com’s strength of schedule rating are from that reconfigured Big East. That will be a big surprise to SEC (No. 2 in schedule strength) and Big 12 (No. 3) loyalists who annually argue about the strongest conference.

Pitt is listed as tied for 1oth with UConn for toughest schedule in the country.

The Taft draft stock freefall continues.

How far could Chris Taft drop if he isn’t selected by the Knicks at No. 8? He didn’t impress Knicks exec Isiah Thomas in his first informal workout and there’s word the Knicks may be looking at Frye at No. 8 instead.

If the Knicks pass on Taft, the Warriors might consider him at No. 9 and the Lakers could bite at No. 10. But if he gets by those three teams, he could be in a free fall. The Magic, Clippers, Bobcats and Timberwolves don’t need or want him. The Nets could use him, but sources say that the Nets don’t like him. The next team on the board that actually has a need for a guy like Taft is the Kings at No. 23.

In an early mock draft, the Kings were tabbed with Charlie Villanueva.

Well, what about the Toronto Raptors who have the #7 and #16 pick? They don’t appear to be sold.

But the one measurement that the team’s talent evaluators are unable to accurately gauge, which is perhaps the most important, is the size of an athlete’s heart, that intrinsic quality that often separates the great competitor from the merely average.

“That’s the toughest thing to measure,” Toronto general manager Rob Babcock acknowledged yesterday after overseeing another group of professional hopefuls who passed through town for a predraft workout. “Even the mind’s easier to measure than the heart. It’s difficult. It’s very difficult.”

Which brings us to Chris Taft, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound brute who was among five players the Raptors took a close look at yesterday, a potential first-round selection at the June 28 National Basketball Association draft whose only drawback appears to be his desire.
…
“He has a tremendous amount of potential, there’s no doubt. But there’s a lot of guys with a great amount of potential. It’s what you can do with that and whether you can develop that, that’s the key.”

Babcock said being able to assess whether or not a player has the desire, the willingness — the heart — to develop that potential is the most difficult aspect of judging talent.

“The way you measure it is, watching him over a period of time, all the background research that you do,” he said. “And then spending time with him.

“But until you go through a season with a guy you really don’t know. You talk to coaches and sometimes you don’t really get the full picture. You have to wait until you go through the season with him yourself.”

I hope Taft proves a lot of people (including me) dead wrong.

Then there is Carl Krauser. He’s down in Houston learning more about being an NBA point guard at the John Lucas Camp.

Lucas established the camp to teach future pros about the NBA game and the perils that come with being a professional.

“I’m doing real good,” Krauser said. “I’m learning a lot of on-the-court and a lot of off-the-court things. Anything I can take from here, I’ll be better off for it. I’m looking at the game a whole lot different than when I was in college. I’m learning how to make the most of possessions, how important possessions are. I feel way different. I feel smarter out on the court.

“They also teach you how to deal with females, how to manage your money, how to use all the free time you have away from the game. It’s all about being a professional. I’ve been listening to how the pros go about their business.”

Krauser admits he will likely go right up to the June 21 deadline. He will be attending the Chicago pre-draft camp, and participating. He also hinted that he will have at least one private workout for a team after the camp.

Taft will also be at the camp, but not participate in drills or games.

There is no indication that Chevon Troutman received an invitation to the camp. His dream to make an NBA roster is dead. He made a huge mistake by not going to the Portsmouth Camp. Now he needs to look into Europe or learning more about being a tight end in the NFL.

While Pitt isn’t off the list, yet. It would appear that it is just hanging on.

Former Tennessee quarterback Brent Schaeffer has narrowed his list to USF, Clemson, Texas A&M, North Carolina and possibly Pittsburgh.

His mother, Chandra Schaeffer, said Tuesday her son visited Clemson last week and will visit Texas A&M in two weeks before deciding where to transfer. She said Brent has eliminated Miami, UCF, Maryland and Miami (Ohio).

I think you can cross North Carolina off the list as well. They just accepted the transfer of former Nebraska QB Joe Dailey (via Rutgers Blog).

Unless he decides to take a visit to Pitt, you can bet he’s not coming. It looks like it will be Texas A&M or Clemson.

Now we all know about Schaeffer’s legal issues at Tennessee. Somehow, the AD at Clemson is pretending not to know anything at this point:

Clemson athletics director Terry Don Phillips said that when it comes to accepting players with legal concerns — such as former Tennessee quarterback Brent Schaeffer — each case must be considered on an individual basis.

Schaeffer took an official visit to Clemson last week and will meet with other schools, including Texas A&M. He is scheduled to appear in court next week for a misdemeanor assault charge from a fight April 10 at a Tennessee dorm.

Phillips said Tuesday he would learn more about Schaeffer’s legal issues from coach Tommy Bowden at a later date.

“He’s made me aware there was an issue there,” Phillips said. “He will fully brief me on it, but I don’t have all the ins and outs of what happened. It’s my understanding he’s visiting with several other schools as well as Clemson.”

Phillips said Clemson does not have a set policy about accepting players who have been arrested.

Such a pathetic attempt at plausible deniability. You mean to tell me that the AD at a Div. 1-A school in a major conference didn’t even know that a potential stud QB transfer had been charged with assault until the football coach mentioned there might be an issue?

Last week in Florida, the Big East had its annual meetings. A lot of the issues concerned basketball. With 16 teams, there are a lot of issues. The coaches seem to be losing on a lot of them. On the issue of the Big East Tournament, 4 of the 16 teams will not even make the BET each year.

Because there are 16 teams, it’s possible to have a four-day tournament involving all of them. It’s also possible that if the league follows that course, it never will have another NCAA champion.

Commissioner Mike Tranghese advocated restricting the tournament to 12 teams and giving byes to the four highest seeds. The coaches opposed that because of self-interest and the possibility that a competent team could finish 13th. But Tranghese is right. If the best teams must play four games to win the championship, they will be at a disadvantage against champions from other leagues.

Say hello to increased job insecurity for all but a few coaches. Speaking of the NCAA bids,

But if this Big East were to enjoy a season equivalent to what the Big Ten produced in 2000-01 — when seven of its 11 teams made it — it would work out to 10 bids for the Big East. That’s nearly one-third of the at-large field, which would be hard for the rest of college basketball to digest — including selection committee members, regardless of their protests that they pay no attention to conference affiliation.

None of these are new issues. They have been discussed before, and will not go away.

Then there is the issue of schedules and placating the TV powers (Insider Subs.).

The first scheduling complaint from the 16 Big East coaches — a desire to play every league team once and one team twice to make up the league schedule — was rebuffed during meetings last week in Florida.

That’s not going to occur, at least not in this first two-year cycle of the 16-team conference.

Under the Big East’s television contract with ESPN, ESPN gets a crack at any matchup selected by CBS, according to Big East associate commissioner Tom Odjakjian. That means if CBS wants Louisville-Connecticut, then ESPN has a right to a second matchup between those two teams.

Given the number of high-profile TV games resulting from those arrangements, the only way to take care of playing every team at least once and still allowing for those matchups would be to raise the number of conference games up from 16 to 18, but the Big East coaches are against that.

So the schedule format will remain as planned, with each Big East team playing 13 of the other 15 teams once, three of those teams twice, and not playing the two remaining teams.

Pitt will be in an interesting place with their schedule next year. If Krauser returns, Pitt could find itself with a BE schedule that would get a lot of national TV time, but could kill them in the standings. Conversely, if Krauser leaves the team could be facing a much friendlier schedule against lower teams.

Additional reading, this story from the Connecticut Post (via Husky Blog).

Like everyone in his profession, Jim Calhoun was a rookie once, too.

To remind himself of such things, Calhoun likes to tell the story of his first trip to the Big East spring meetings. Less than a month after being named UConn coach on May 15, 1986, Calhoun vividly recalls walking into a hotel conference room with two of his fellow Big East coaching rookies.

The intimidation factor was rather high as Calhoun, Boston College’s Jim O’Brien and Pittsburgh’s Paul Evans strode into the room together and looked at the coaches who had already assembled.

Though he had already had considerable success at Northeastern in his hometown of Boston, Calhoun admits he was a little nervous as he scanned the room and saw some of the conference’s — and the sport’s — best. John Thompson of Georgetown, Rollie Massimino of Villanova, and Lou Carnesecca of St. John’s were already legends. Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and P.J. Carlesimo of Seton Hall were getting there. And old friend Rick Pitino, who like Boeheim would take his team to the Final Four in the upcoming season, already had a year under his belt at Providence.

It wasn’t enough to make Calhoun, O’Brien and Evans turn and run, but they were likely a bit in awe of the history represented in the room.

And only Calhoun remains of the 3. Not just in the Big East, but in coaching.