As usual with media days, plenty of articles and stories. So getting to them all takes a little time.

The day of Media Day, Paul Zeise had a solid article. It notes the expectations are there for this team, and of course Coach Wannstedt spoke well of the off-season preparations.

“We’ve had an unbelievable offseason, these guys have worked their tails off and have gotten into shape,” Wannstedt said. “[Second-year strength coach] Buddy Morris and his program have really kicked into high gear.

“Our guys are slimmer, in better shape than since we’ve been here and have gotten so much stronger. Some guys have added 30 or 40 pounds to their bench press and whatnot. It has been impressive.

“I don’t know what is going to happen during the season but I’ll say this — these guys have taken the offseason seriously, they have put in the work and they’ve put themselves in position to be successful and that’s all you can ask.”

And as you can expect with any article talking about Pitt’s chances, the question is still: What about that O-line?

The offensive line, however, is the key to the season and Wannstedt said even though it lacks experience, it is talented and, more importantly, healthy. And like the rest of the team, the players are in great shape and that bodes well for the future.

“We don’t have a guy more than 300 pounds, they are slim and trim,” Wannstedt said, “[Right tackle] Joe Thomas is like 285, [left tackle] Jason Pinkston, same thing. And the injured guys, like Chris Jacobson, are healthy and looking in great shape as well. Our line will hold the key to our season, but it is going to be better than some people think.”

It has to be. Otherwise it will be back to multiple QBs — mainly because they will be carted off the field.

Back to the expectation thing.

Questions need answered in camp. Position battles haven’t been won. Heck, a down needs to be played.

But the expectation season has begun. The numbers have grown since before last season, or two seasons ago.

And they’re heavier.

That’s the sign of a growing program. The Panthers merely need to add more victories to equal those expectations.

Of course, that’s the toughest part of this equation.

The players feel that this is the time to meet the expectations.

Time for something good to happen to the Pitt football team under Dave Wannstedt.

Three straight Top 25 recruiting classes – it’s just time.

“It’s finally time,” wide receiver Derek Kinder said Tuesday at the annual Big East Media Day. “We’ve gotta put it together.”

Of course another conventional portion of talking about Pitt this year is how the team ended the season with WVU. Something that WVU people can’t quite forget.

We have gone over this game in great detail in the past, but always from the West Virginia angle.

Pat White was injured. Play selection was terrible. The team choked. The coach choked.

But here at Big East Media Day, it was finally time to get the other side.

What in the name of LeSean McCoy got into Pitt?

How could the pathetic Panthers pull this off and, in some ways, had the upset altered the direction of the Pitt program as much as it did the West Virginia program, although in the opposite direction.

That’s all great, but I’m with Scott McKillop on this one.

“That victory was very, very important for our team,” said linebacker Scott McKillop. “It was a great stepping stone, but we’re aware that we have a long ways to go. We can’t really stay focused on it though. We can’t keep saying, ‘We beat West Virginia, we beat West Virginia.’ If we do that, they pretty soon we’ll be playing West Virginia again and we’ll be 4-7 again.”

Perhaps it’s the blunt honesty with which McKillop speaks about last season’s watershed victory. Having not made a bowl game for the last three seasons, Pittsburgh could have hung its hat on that win and called it a day. But it didn’t and the more one looks at Pitt, the more one realizes why they’ve been picked to finish so high.

So, as much as there are lots of expectations, Coach Wannstedt wants to keep things in check.

“There is with our fans. There is with our alumni. There is with the media. And there is with our team,” Wannstedt said Tuesday at Big East media day, after Pitt was predicted to finish third in the conference in a media poll. “It’s my job as head coach to make sure we keep our feet on the ground and understand that we’ve got to start working on Tuesday (at) training camp, and it’s going to be tough. We’ve got to go out there and put together a good football team during training camp and not worry about those other things.

“If we do that, good things will happen.”

AD Steve Pederson, as the story points out, has to sell the expectations to get butts in the seat.

“What you want is a program that has expectations. You don’t want unrealistic expectations, but you do want expectations in your program,” Pederson said. “What we want is to continue to see progress in the program. It’s kind of funny. No matter what expectations I have, the coaches and players always have higher expectations. They set their own bar high.”

I’d say fans are expecting at least a +3 increase in the win total.

Media blitz day for LeSean McCoy.

Both Pittsburgh dailies had stories on him. You know he’s been well coached… in media relations.

“It isn’t about yards, about touchdowns, about accolades for me. The only numbers that matter are 5-7 and I want to do everything in my power to make sure we improve on that,” he said of Pitt’s record last season.

“If we go to a bowl game, win a lot of games — that’s how you can judge my season because that’s my focus. Maybe teams will key on me — that will open stuff up for [fullback] Conredge [Collins] or the passing game.

“I don’t know if I can do better individually, but as a team, we all want to and know we can do better.”

Not that McCoy isn’t confident in himself.

McCoy, for one, believes he’s a more complete back after spending a full year in the weight room and conditioning under strength coach Buddy Morris. Most of all, McCoy said he’s become a student of the game by watching more film.

“I understand the game of football. It’s more than just raw talent out there,” McCoy said. “I’m a little more confident now that I know what’s out there and what I have to do. Last year, I was curious about what I had to do and what was going to be out there for me. I was just playing, just trying to do what I do best and just run. Like coach said, I left a lot of runs on the field, a lot of long ones. It was me trying to do too much.”

Well, given the offense last year, McCoy had little choice but to try and do too much.

Sporting News ranked Pitt #26 and has their preview (which is the same that appears in their print preview) and 4th overall in the Big East. UConn is listed as 3d in the print preview for the BE, but #50 overall for their online preview. Huh? USF is #21 and WVU is #8 (which matches the online and print).

In the three seasons since he returned to his alma mater as head coach, Dave Wannstedt has a losing record and no bowl games on his resume. But after producing a third straight consensus top-25 recruiting class — the only Big East school to appear in the 2008 rankings — Wannstedt’s stable of talent should be ready to blossom.

No shock that the area they note that needs to perform this year is the O-line.

Must step up: The offensive line. True, the O-line deserves some of the credit for McCoy’s success. But Pitt ranked next-to-last in Big East rushing as a team last season, and the line breaks in three new starters in 2008.

Now if you like your previews a little more upscale, The Quad from the NY Times reached Pitt a couple days ago and put them at #32. Sadly I didn’t even notice a bump in traffic or any hits from them despite the link at the bottom of the preview.

Credit, though, for having the temp set about right for Wannstedt with regards to the “hot seat.”

Calling 2008 a make-or-break season for Wannstedt may be extreme – barring a monumental collapse, he’ll return in 2009 – but the talent is there for the Panthers to win the Big East. Fans will not be happy with anything less than a bowl appearance. Seat temperature check: baking.

That seems about right. There are expectations. But even if Pitt underachieves Wanny won’t be going anywhere short of a 3-9 type season. Paul Myerberg is expecting 8-4 from Pitt.

Could Pittsburgh be better? Absolutely. There is a great amount of talent: on offense, Turner, Kinder and McCoy; on defense, McKillop, the heart and soul of the unit, is one of the best defensive players in the nation. So why fourth, especially when most publications have Pittsburgh as high as in the top 20 in the nation? For one, I have concerns about Pittsburgh’s schedule, which, while not too difficult out-of-conference, forces the Panthers to go to U.S.F. and Cincinnati, two of the top teams in the Big East. In addition, despite the depth at the position, the Panthers must get more consistent play at quarterback. Though Bostick and Smith showed promise, the pair combined to turn the ball over way too much, leaving their defense in precarious predicaments. However, Stull’s return may alleviate some of the concerns at quarterback. While I like Pittsburgh to take a step forward this season, I think they are a program on the rise for 2009, as the underclassmen who dot this fall’s roster continue to gain experience on the college level and in Wannstedt’s system.

In the famous alumni section they include Ron Paul. Sadly Dr. and Rep. Paul is only a Pittsburgh native. He went to Gettysburg College and Duke Medical.

Go figure at media day there were questions for LeSean McCoy. Mainly about whether this will be his last year before going to the NFL.

“I don’t worry about that,” said McCoy, who ran for a Big East rookie-record 1,328 yards and a school-record 14 touchdowns last fall. “As long as I come into the season focused on what I’m going to do, that stuff will take care of itself. I’m not ready to go to the pros. Those guys are grown men who have to support a family. I’m not ready for (Brian) Urlacher or Ray Lewis. I’ve got to take my time and enjoy college.

“Definitely, it’s in the back of my mind. With this sport, this position I play, anything can happen. But, on the same token, to play on that level you’ve got to be prepared physically and mentally. It’s a whole different step. That’s the real world. It’s in the back of my mind but far in the back of my mind.”

He said exactly the right thing. Personally, I think he’s gone after this season — barring injury. He didn’t deny interest. He didn’t say there was no way. He played it humble. Suggested he needed some more experience and conditioning to be ready. You know, like this season.

AD Steve Pederson brushed off stories that suggested Coach Dave Wannstedt was on the hot seat if the team fell short of expectations.

“We’ve made great progress,” Pederson said. “I think often times, particularly in football, it doesn’t always happen as fast as people would like. It takes awhile to get linemen physically and mentally ready to play — it takes some time. And I saw some good things in the WVU game, a lot of good things, and I think we’ll continue to see that.

“And, obviously, by extending his contract at the end of last year, we made a statement about how we feel about Dave and his program. We need stability, and what I like about Dave is he has carefully built an entire program, not just a team, but a program that is going to be good for a long period and he is doing it for all the right reasons.”

It’s something we all do. I don’t really consider  those who have written or said things like that idiots. Just superficial.

Look at a program that has had some past success. Has had a change in coaches with expectations of being better. and has underachieved for 2 – 3 years. Ergo, coach on the hot seat. A lot of times it really is that simple, but it’s a shorthand thing that ignores other things.

In the case of Pitt, with the extension (probably even more than the WVU win) Wannstedt was not in any real danger after last season. Pitt just isn’t prepared to eat a contract extension like that. Add in the intermediate step of assistant coach overhaul that always takes place just before a true hotseat year has yet to occur. Finally, there is the fact that Wannstedt is a big hit with the monied alum/donors. That is a big issue at any school. The unwashed masses may sometimes be screaming at the gate, but more often it comes down to whether the money people like the guy. In Wannstedt’s case, that is not in question.

Just another reminder, College Football Live at 3:30 on ESPN and 6:30 on ESPN-U will have LeSean McCoy as a guest.

Here are just a few interesting things blogged with regards to Big East Media Day unrelated to Pitt.

Troy Nunes IAM goes barrel fishing with a shotgun by breaking down the utterances of Greg Robinson, not once but twice.

USF Coach Jim Leavitt actually will miss Rich Rodriguez — mainly since he went 2-1 against the Mountaineers with DickRod there.

“We beat Rodriguez. We haven’t gotten this guy. This guy worries me. I wish Rich would have stayed. But he didn’t, so we’ll have to go play Michigan now.”

At least Leavitt will be more popular in Morgantown.

The reports that the Big East may be trying to work a deal with Army and Navy. Um, not so much.

Mike Tranghese dispelled the recent New York Post story on the Big East looking at Army and Navy for football. He said the conference had discussions two years ago, but haven’t spoken since. “We had discussions two years ago, the service academies didn’t feel it was in their best interest, and we dropped it,” Tranghese said. “Now this story appears, and it sounds as if it’s happening now, but that’s not so.”

Chip Malafronte also describes WVU Coach Bill Stewart this way, “Actually, he kind of looks and sounds like Lou Holtz, without the speech impediment.”

Outgoing BE Commish Mike Tranghese seemed to really be out to put an end to any expansion talk in his final year.

“I don’t think there’s anybody out there who can make us better,” Tranghese said. “If there was somebody out there who could make us better, I think our people would react to it very quickly. Our people talk about it all the time.”

Sorry, East Carolina.

What will likely be a story with some legs. Or at least some interesting back-pedaling from WVU QB Pat White. The once 4th round draft pick of the Anaheim Angels calls the WVU Baseball coach a racist.

Asked if he had spoken directly with Van Zant about playing for him, White said: “(No), he wasn’t (excited). He wasn’t interested.”

Then he paused and added:

“In my knowledge of West Virginia baseball, there’s not been many players of my race on his team. He’s not too high on it.

“Every player I’ve talked to doesn’t like him. He’s not a well-liked coach but I guess he has tenure so they never got rid of him. They’re not successful at all.”

Asked if he might have played if there were a different baseball coach at West Virginia, White said, “Maybe.”

Okay, completely unrelated, but too funny not to mention.

A student is facing various charges after police said he entered the Lasch Football Building on Thursday morning and caused $5,000 worth of damage — all while wearing a Penn State football helmet.

…

Following a night of drinking at his friend’s University Terrace apartment and two downtown bars, Costenbader told police he was on his way back to his Toftrees apartment when he decided to hop the fence onto the football practice field. He told police he stripped to his boxer shorts and began running around the field, hitting tackling dummies. He then saw an open gate and headed toward the Lasch building, according to court documents.

Though Costenbader told police he doesn’t remember much about being in the building, he admitted to breaking a glass window as well as being in the locker and weight rooms, according to court documents.

While inside, Costenbader allegedly damaged a window in the training office by throwing weights at it, flipped two tables and two trampolines in the training room and broke a window in the south lobby.

Awesome.

No it’s not part of the BCS poll voting, and this definitely goes in under useless information.  Still the AP Poll is always something watched and debated. I haven’t seen the full list of voters for 2008, but Brett McMurphy of the Tampa Tribune — covers USF — is one of the voters this year and did disclose in his blog who else with Big East ties will be voting.

The others: Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette; Mitch Vingle of The Charleston (WVa.) Gazette; Kent Taylor of WAVE Ch. 3 in Louisville, Ky. and John Silver of the Journal Inquirer in Connecuticut.

Silver is the also has his own blog to focus on UConn football. Taylor already released his pre-season top-25 (he has Pitt #23).

Latest press release has the Big East TV appearances. They grouped them by networks so here are the relevant (Pitt) appearances.

ABC
Fri., Nov. 28 WEST VIRGINIA at PITTSBURGH Noon

ESPN
Thurs., Oct. 2 PITTSBURGH at USF 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 6 PITTSBURGH at CONNECTICUT * TBD (might air on ESPN2)

ESPNU
Sat., Aug. 30 Bowling Green at Pittsburgh Noon

CBS College Sports
Sat., Oct. 18 Pittsburgh at Navy 3:30 p.m.

NBC
Sat., Nov. 1 Pittsburgh at Notre Dame 2:30 p.m.

ESPN Regional/Big East Game of the Week
Sat., Nov. 22 PITTSBURGH at CINCINNATI or WEST VIRGINIA at LOUISVILLE

ESPN Regional
Sat., Sept. 6 Buffalo at Pittsburgh 6 p.m.
SportsNet New York/ESPN GamePlan

CBS College Sports is what used to be the  CSTV channel. They rebranded it during the NCAA Tournament and after CBS purchased them outright.

More games will be added, but this is what is known so far. For example the October 25 BE Game of the week is open — and just happens to be the day Rutgers-Pitt play. So that will likely get added.

Not bad for Pitt to already have 6 games on national (non-PPV/regional) distribution considering the last few years. As for the other schools: Louisville has 6 games, WVU has 5 games, USF has 5, UConn has 5, Rutgers has 4, Cinci has 4, Syracuse has 3

At least until the kids insist I stop trying to use the TV as a baby sitter, there will be a lot of quick brief posts from press releases and media day puffery.

How about the Big East pre-season poll by the BE Media? Looks like Rutgers jumped the gun on the press release — the Big East hasn’t even published it officially.

1. WVU — 22 of 24 1st place votes, 189 points
2. USF — 1 1st place vote, 149 points
3. Pitt — 1 1st place vote (really?), 128 points
4. Rutgers — 110 points
5. Cinci — 98 points
6. UConn — 97 points
7. Louisville — 69 points
8. Syracuse — 24 points (which means every vote had ‘Cuse dead last)

There’s going to be a lot of questions for whoever gave Pitt a 1st place vote.

Since it is Big East Media Day, ESPN-U is replaying the top Big East games from 2007 today.

The Pitt-WVU, game will be airing from 7-10 tonight.

Here’s the main page. Video interviews and stuff all day. This is the main page.

According to the list of attendees (PDF), Pitt is bringing Derek Kinder, Scott McKillop and LeSean McCoy for player appearances.

Yesterday was golfing day.

Lots of stuff to blog the rest of the day.

It’s the in-story in the offseason. ESPN’s Outside the Lines story on Penn State‘s off-the-field issues. I was only able to get around to watching it this evening (I really love having a DVR). There have been enough people e-mailing me about it that I will write something.

There was nothing too earth-shattering in it. That Penn State has had a lot of criminal charges filed against the players in the past several years is not a revelation. This sort of report has been building as it has carried on each year. Suggesting something in the team culture, rather than just the “bad apple” argument.

Joe Paterno’s insistence on denying everything shouldn’t have been a surprise. Even his overall cantankerousness. It’s Joe Paterno. Big shock that he’s old and cranky when the media isn’t asking the questions he wants. I had a sense that if Steve Delsohn — the reporter — held up a blue paint sample and asked him what he thought of this shade of blue, Paterno would have denied that it was actually blue by the end

Remember what I wrote last week about Iowa’s problems? Well, here’s the key bit.

More than that, though, it also becomes an issue of how the fans face such things. Do they look at it solely in what it means in wins and losses? Do they circle the wagons and descend into lunatic-fringe paranoia – seeing conspiracies and attempts to bring down their beloved program at every turn? Do they demand accountability from the program and their school?

That’s what Penn State fans have to address. Is it all just an ESPN hit piece? Numbers without context? Really? The PSU Football team has been a top-510 resident of the Fulmer Cup the past two years. What does that say?

Programs like Penn State, Notre Dame and Michigan love to talk about a special way of doing things and all that tripe in the past. Their fans eat it up and parrot it. Really, what they want is to win. Period. When convenient they will rationalize it with “everybody does it” themes to minimize things. They will accuse all others of being jealous and just trying to bring them down.

It doesn’t go both ways no matter how hard they try. Either accept that the old ways are long gone and the program is just like every other program out there. With periods of bad behavior and problems. Or mean it when you claim the program is different. Demand and act accordingly when the bad crap happens.

It’s not expansion per se, but a kind of interesting plan/negotiations that makes some sense. Army and Navy wouldn’t actually join the Big East, but they would each play 4 games each year against Big East teams.

For example, in a given year, Army would play Connecticut, Cincinnati, Louisville and Pittsburgh. Navy would face Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse and West Virginia.

So far the service academies have said no, but it strikes me as in the early negotiations. Working out the money and how the schedule would work.

It preserves Army and Navy’s independence. Gives them both two solid home games each year. Gives both sides some more set games and less travel issues with the geographic proximity.

It’s not a long term fix — the conference splitting is the ultimate end point — but it could be a good way to lessen the number of 1-AA games and ease scheduling issues.

The basketball summer league in Pittsburgh is over. If you actually care about the outcomes, the team that included Gary McGhee won. Yet, despite finishing with 20 points (including 11-14 on FTs) and 8 rebounds, McGhee knows reality.

“It was something fun to do for the summer time,” McGhee said. “Everyone came out, and had some fun. Sometimes there’s not a whole lot of defense, but it was a good experience.”

What’s good is that Pitt’s primary 3 — Fields, Young and Blair — were listed on the first team squad and more importantly 2 of the newcomers — Gibbs and Miller — made the all-rookie group. The Pitt players were taking it serious enough to go hard and compete. They thankfully didn’t get hurt, this sort of thing can only help team chemistry.

Overall, for basketball in Pittsburgh area, this has been big. Robert Morris is trying to build to mid-major consistency.

“We’ve realized that every step, starting with this summer league, will pay off,” Green said. “This summer league, going against (players from) the Big East and … Atlantic 10, it will help.”

This isn’t fundamental basketball. There are few set plays and little format. Referees’ whistles are rarely heard, and defense “isn’t what I or (Pitt coach) Jamie Dixon or (Duquesne coach) Ron Everhart would like it to be,” Rice said. But it’s a huge step toward improvement. The Robert Morris players will continue their education on toughness and teamwork, and get a first-hand look at how larger programs operate.

“It’s great they’re playing in this league,” Rice said. “They’ll find some bad habits, like shot selection, but when they play at Pitt or Duquesne or West Virginia, those guys won’t take us for granted.”

Duquesne also benefited from playing in the summer league. Even WVU found it valuable to encourage their players to drive up twice a week to compete.

Alex Ruoff has the fading remnants of a sizeable shiner under his left eye. The cause?

“Those guys in Pittsburgh,” West Virginia’s senior guard said, “think they’re pretty tough.”

Well, aren’t you the guy with the black eye? Still, that only adds to the rivalry and makes the competition in the summer league better.

The fact that there has been coverage of the summer league by multiple news outlets, beyond a cursory article explaining how it is underway. Add in that the sportsplex was always packed for these games shows just how much interest and a surge in popularity college basketball is having in the region.

It started with Pitt becoming a quality basketball program and has helped raise the other programs in the area. Mountaineer and Dukes fans probably don’t want to admit this, but the best things for their programs is Pitt to continue to have success. It raises the profile of the sport in the region, and encourages the other schools to try and keep up.

Jeff Otah has signed his contract with the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina… swung a trade that included giving away a 2009 first-round choice to land Otah with the 19th pick.

Terms of Otah’s contract weren’t available.

Otah, 6-foot-6, 330 pounds, is expected to add a mauling presence to the right side of the offensive line. He’s first on the depth chart at right tackle after being credited with 192 knockdown blocks in two college seasons at Pittsburgh, including 26 that led to touchdowns.

Another former Pitt offensive lineman, Charles Spencer was released by the Houston Texans.

Spencer (6-4, 337 pounds) is battling back from a serious knee injury he suffered Sept. 17, 2006, against the Indianapolis Colts. He remained hopeful all month the Texans would let him open camp with them Friday.

“They just didn’t feel I was healthy enough to compete in camp, so that’s why they made their decision,” Spencer said. “Only I know how I feel, and I feel like I can compete and be a starter for the Texans. But they make their decisions. I respect that.”

Spencer remains focused on playing again. He said his leg is stronger than it was before the injury, and he is simply working to get back in football shape.

“Of course I’m going to play football again,” Spencer said. “I’ll find a job.”

A third-round pick in 2006, Spencer suffered a serious fracture to his tibial plateau in just his second start. He underwent surgery and had eight metal screws inserted in his knee. He has spent the past 22 months rigorously rehabilitating it.

Well, Spencer was right. He was signed by… the Carolina Panthers. Add in Nick Goings and Carolina probably has the most  former Pitt players in the NFL

That must have been one sprained ankle.

“It’s definitely frustrating, especially when I come out here and watch these guys play,” [Gilbert] Brown said. “It’s tough.”

Brown sprained an ankle at the LeBron James Basketball Camp in late June and has had a difficult time coming back from the injury. He attempted to play one summer league game earlier this month and had a setback. His goal is now to be back at full strength by early September.

Over 2 months to recover from it. Wow. Whether Gilbert Brown starts at small forward or even at shooting guard is still up for some question since there is another player still working to get back from injury. Not to mention just waiting to find out if he will play this fall.

Mike Cook is still in his own limbo with the NCAA.

Cook’s rehabilitation has been going well, but it is a long and arduous process. He is spending between one and four hours a day with Pitt trainer Tony Salesi and strength coach Tim Beltz. On the weekends, he is allowed to shoot a few jumpers.

There is some hope that he will be allowed to begin playing competitive basketball by September, but he first must demonstrate that his knee is completely sound.

“I really don’t know when I’m going to start playing,” Cook said. “Right now, it’s about me getting my knee stronger. I really can’t jump off my one leg. But once I can do that, I’ll be out there playing. But I don’t know when that is.

Cook also gave advice and support to A.J. Price of UConn who is going through the same thing.

Price has had some encouragement from other players who’ve gone through ACL surgery, including Tony Allen of the Boston Celtics (set up by ex-UConn great Ray Allen) and fellow Big East brethren Mike Cook of Pittsburgh and Eric Devendorf of Syracuse.

It was Cook’s words that resonated the most with Price, if for no other reason than the two suffered their respective injuries on virtually the exact same type of move.

“He said he knew it as soon as it happened to me because it was the same move,” Price said. “When I looked at it, I said, ‘You’re exactly right.’ He said the first couple of days are the hardest, but once you get through it, the thing about the ACL is you feel improvement every single day, which is true.”

One thing that all three players have stressed to Price: The hardest thing is the mental aspect of coming back, having that trust in your knee that it’s as good as before.”

I’m just trying to imagine Jerome Lane giving Alonzo Mourning a friendly phone call of encouragement or support after an injury.