So is everyone else finding the Trib site to be hit or miss as to whether it will actually function lately? Given all the doom and gloom over media business the past few weeks, that can’t be a good sign.

The AP All-American team was announced and they somehow thinks there are six running backs in the country better than LeSean McCoy. Scott McKillop made 2nd team.

Sports Illustrated had McCoy and McKillop as 2nd team All-Americans.

Last week was the Sun Bowl press conference — where the coaches fly down there and talk about how excited they are for the bowl and to play each other. Lots of friendly coachspeak.

Riley and Wannstedt were in town to tour the place they will call home from their arrival — Christmas Day for Oregon State, Dec. 26 for Pitt — through game day on New Year’s Eve.

For Riley, this is a refresher. He and the Beavers beat Missouri two years ago in the Sun Bowl.

“That’s why they are two-touchdown favorites,” Wannstedt joked.

“Three points,” Riley corrected.

Wannstedt, too, is familiar with the Sun Bowl, though his experience is dated. His first professional job was as a graduate assistant at his alma matter Pitt in 1975, when the Panthers beat Kansas, 33-19, in the Sun Bowl. Pitt and star running back Tony Dorsett used that as a springboard to win the national championship the next season.

“I remember the great hospitality,” Wannstedt said of his last trip. “I was young and all wide-eyed. I remember saying, ‘I’m going to like this coaching part.’ It seems like nothing has changed.”

Despite both teams being ranked, and the limited amount of tickets they have to sell, there are concerns because of the economy and other factors.

Pitt Athletic Director Steve Peterson and Oregon State Athletic Director Bob Escaroles both think our troubled economy will be a factor in how many people travel for this year’s game but are optimistic.

“Our ticket manager has mentioned that he thinks we might hit 2,500,” said Decarolis.

“I think we’ll bring a very nice-sized group,” said Peterson. “It would be hard to guess after three days of selling tickets exactly how many we’ll end up bringing.”

Olivas wouldn’t offer any estimates, but knows the bottom line on economic impact is heads in beds and overnight stays.

Time will tell and factors are not encouraging.

Traditionally, Pitt fans have not traveled well and Oregon State fans will have to come to El Paso for the second time in three years. This year, the Sun Bowl was a small consolation prize after the Beavers missed out on a trip to the Rose Bowl with a season-ending loss.

The hotel and restaurant business are going to be the big question marks. More than simply getting people to come for the game, it’s getting people to get out in El Paso and spend money. It’s the same sort of thing that goes into pro-convention center arguments.

I’m sure many of you have received the e-mail from the alumni association trying to gauge interest in a 2-night charter, rather than a 3-night. While it is good to know the 3-day charter is sold out, it is telling that the hotel was already opening up rooms for only 2 night packages rather than keeping them blocked off for 3-night stays.

Back to the non-economic aspects of the Sun Bowl. Have you heard? The coaches claim friendship and history. Another big theme that was cited from the moment the pairing was made: good running backs.

Two of the nation’s best will add their names to that list on the final day of 2008, when Oregon State and Pittsburgh bang bodies.

Pitt will bring LeSean McCoy, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound sophomore who has run for 1,403 yards this season. Oregon State will bring Jaquizz Rodgers, a 5-7, 193-pound freshman who has run for 1,253 yards. Rodgers, who is from Richmond, Texas, recently was named the Pac 10 Offensive Player of the Year — the first time a freshman has ever taken home that honor.

The two talented young backs have almost identical statistics. McCoy averages 4.9 yards a carry and 116.9 yards a game. Rodgers averages 4.8 yards a carry and 113.9 yards a game.

Rodgers, though, is dealing with a shoulder separation, and is still in question for the game. Actually, it might be worse. It seems he has a broken bone in his shoulder blade. That definitely puts his availability into question.

Scott McKillop and LeSean McCoy did a teleconference interview with other media. An Oregon State beat writer blogs it and his impressions. First McKillop.

On the phone, McKillop comes off as thoughtful, articulate, and oozing with a the competitive fire that all great LBs must possess.

McKillop said he likes to take the responsibility of the defense on his shoulders, including the kind of criticism that rained down on the Panthers after their season-opening loss to Bowling Green.

Asked what kind of challenge Pitt faces in stopping Oregon State, he mentioned the Rodgers brothers and said the Panthers know all about Jacquizz Rodgers, the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year.

“They play a lot bigger than what they are,” he said. “They make a lot of people look silly.”

McKillop said he is aware that James Rodgers will miss the game with a broken collarbone, and that Quizz is not 100 percent certain to play yet (so says coach Riley) because of a sore left shoulder.

But Pitt players expect Quizz to play. “He’s a warrior,” said McKillop, making a very good read from long distance. “We’re preparing as if he will be out there.”

Taking pains to say something nice about anything in an OSU jersey, McKillop said that OSU offensive tackle Andy Levitre stands out on film, and QB Lyle Moevao impresses him.

Then McCoy.

But the player who has been nicknamed “Shady” since childhood re-iterated Monday that he’s planning on being a Panther again in 2009, and that hopefully Pitt will win more games, go to a better bowl, and maybe even contend for a national title. … that last time that happened, 1976, Dorsett was Pitt’s star player and a guy named Wannstedt was one of TD’s blockers.

McCoy praised Oregon State’s defense and said he has been watching video of the Beavers in action.

I asked him if he has seen the Oregon game yet, and he said no. “We haven’t broken that one down yet,” he said.

It was suggested that maybe Pitt coaches are keeping that one from McCoy, because if he sees what UO’s Jeremiah Johnson did (219 yards rushing) and what Oregon as a team did (385 rushing) he might get over-confident. .. .McCoy laughed at that. “I didn’t know it was that crazy (nearly 400 yards),” he said.

“I think (OSU) is still a good defense. … every team has their day. I’m sure (OSU) just made some mental errors.

“You can’t go in thinking the same thing is going to happen.”

No. Especially when you know a defense will do all it can do to force Pitt to throw the ball rather than let McCoy run.

Punter Dave Brytus has a unique distinction.

“I think it’s pretty cool,” Brytus said. “I’ll probably be the only college football player to start on two different teams and play in the same bowl game, at least since the (NCAA) transfer rules came into effect.”

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound fifth-year senior, a West Allegheny graduate, averaged 48.9 yards on eight punts in a 27-23 loss to Arizona State in the ’04 Sun Bowl. He recalls dropping five inside the 20-yard line, but best remembers the difference of kicking at 3,740 feet above sea level.

“It was a good day all around for punting,” said Brytus, who had a long of 58 yards. “For us kickers, it’s nice because it has high elevation so the ball stays up there longer. You get more hang time, more distance on it.

“It’s a huge difference. At Heinz Field, it gets real windy. It doesn’t go in one direction. It swirls. You can’t tell which way it’s going. The air is real thick. You feel like you kill the ball and it just dies. When you go to Texas, you don’t think about the elevation. I wasn’t even hitting the ball hard and it was just flying off my foot.”

He took home an award for best special teams player at the 2004 Sun Bowl.

Sam Young gets a puff piece from SNY.tv. It covers the usual things — poetry, gymnastics, piano, his brother — but adds a new addition.

One day last summer, Young was just messing around in the school pool when he caught the eye of Julian Krug, Pitt’s assistant head coach for diving.

“Totally unbeknownst to me, he went right up to 7 1/2 meters, went out to the end and stood there for a second,” Krug recalled. “I made sure there was nobody below him. I thought he was going to do a plain old jump.

“But he raised his arms and ended up doing a straight two-and-a half,” Krug said, referring to two flips and a dive. I’m thinking in midair, ‘Oh my God, I just killed a basketball player.’ It only lasted a second, but he went straight up and down in the water. His body was too big, but he could’ve been a diver.

“He got two thumbs up. It’s mind boggling to see somebody that big go up there to 7 1/2 meters. We all clapped like the dickens. It was amazing.”

I think I’m beginning to hate Sam Young.

Worst loss of the weekend? Gonzaga losing to Arizona. Now the AZ folks are seeing flaws in Mark Few, and making Coach Dixon more attractive.

Few’s on-court presence is, shall we say, minimal. He just doesn’t have The Look. Yes, his record speaks louder than his presence, but he doesn’t have a commanding presence. He comes off as a Mystery Guest more than a Court General.

In a face-off, he is a distant third behind Pitt’s Jamie Dixon and anyone else you choose to name.

I try not to think or worry about it, because I don’t want it to ruin what could be a great season and so many other things could happen. Still, it’s hard not to cast an eye that way periodically.

The good thing about the time off for exams, the early injuries are not too much of a problem now.

“It’s good that everyone is getting healthier,” senior forward Sam Young said. “DeJuan [Blair] is getting in shape. Levance is getting in better shape. It’s about that time that we’re getting closer as a unit. We’re starting to get that chemistry that everyone looks for at the end of the year.

“We’re definitely coming to that hill, and we’re moving up at the right time. We’re going to play Siena. After that it will be some really tough teams. We’ll be getting into Big East play and it’ll be a tough matchup every night. We’re progressing as a team.”

Fields and Brown especially looked to benefit from the time between games. Fields, who had been struggling to find his 3-point shot, was 3 for 3 from behind the 3-point line against UMBC. He appeared quicker and had more jump in his legs than previous games.

Jermaine Dixon’s groin is the only thing still hurting (insert cheap joke, here).

Not that it was much of a concern in the decimation of UMBC. If you watched the game, the second half had a small parade of guests including Football Coach Dave Wannstedt. Half-jokingly, the discussion turned to which of the players could be on the football team. DeJuan Blair was mentioned. Looks like someone else listening decided to ask Fittipaldo.

Q: I think DeJuan Blair’s size leaves him a tad too short to be drafted for a power position in the NBA whether playing power forward or especially center, but perhaps ideal for the NFL. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him as a tight end instead, ala Antonio Gates, who played hoops for Kent State. Your thoughts? Does he ever talk about the NFL? Did he play football in high school?

Fittipaldo: Blair did not play football in high school and I can tell you he is 100 percent committed to a basketball career. I asked him once about football and he said he never had the desire to play. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen down the road, but it’s not in his thoughts now. People get excited about the thoughts of basketball players playing in the NFL because of the success of Gates and Sam Clancy, the former Pitt hoops star who went on to a successful career as a defensive end in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts. But those guys are the exceptions. People seemed to think Chevon Troutman, who actually did play a little high school football, had a chance to play in the NFL because of his size and athleticism. The Washington Redskins had him come down for an open tryout, but Troutman did not perform very well and was sent home. For every success story like Gates and Clancy there are probably 10 failures.

Troutman was just trying to get paid somewhere in the states. Rather than focus on basketball first or  get ready for football tryouts, he tried to do both right after the season ended. Antonio Gates took a couple years of trying to play basketball before deciding to give football a chance.