Had to work at 4 am today. Then deal with my kids on summer vacation. So, I go and take a nap and wake up to this?

On hiatus since 2000, the Pitt-Penn State series will again resume after the two universities signed a home-and-home agreement for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Pitt will host the initial game at Heinz Field on September 10, 2016. The Panthers will play at Penn State on September 16, 2017.

“This is an exciting day for college football fans,” Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson said. “The tremendous history of this rivalry is well documented and the passion that fans have for this game is enormous. We are very pleased that this two-game series is now in place and a new generation of fans can experience the excitement of a Pitt-Penn State football game beginning in 2016.”

“As a young football fan in Texas, I used to love watching Pitt and Penn State play every November,” first-year Pitt head coach Todd Graham said. “The games were intense and featured some of the greatest players in the history of college football. The resumption of this series is great for the two schools and football fans everywhere.”

Just how long was I really asleep?

And from the Penn State side:

One of the nation’s fiercest football rivalries is set to be renewed, as old rivals Penn State and Pittsburgh will meet again on the gridiron in 2016 and 2017.

Tim Curley, Penn State Director of Athletics, and Steve Pederson, Pitt Director of Athletics, made the announcement today that the long-time rivals are scheduled to meet September 10, 2016 in Pittsburgh and September 16, 2017 in Beaver Stadium.

“We are very excited about renewing our rivalry with Pitt,” Curley stated. “We have worked our schedules to play some of our neighboring rivalries like Syracuse, Rutgers and Temple and are glad to have identified dates that worked for our schedules to play Pitt. The Penn State-Pitt game was one that football fans across the Commonwealth have been passionate about. There have been many memorable Penn State-Pitt games, featuring outstanding players and coaches, and we look forward to playing the Panthers again. “

(more…)

Not much right now. Boy, there isn’t much right now. I guess the quiet is good. Considering the programs getting the most attention for the past few weeks have been WVU and Ohio State, quiet is definitely preferable.

That seems to be what is still up for discussion.

Kevin Gorman talks to the top player in the WPIAL about what he has learned from the Terrelle Pryor stuff.

“I learned that at every college there’s something going on,” Hopewell star Rushel Shell said. “It’s just a matter of if you get caught.”

Now that’s cynicism I can get behind.

That brings us to Shell, the record-setting running back ranked No. 10 in the nation by Scout.com and No. 33 by Rivals.com. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder, who should shatter the WPIAL career rushing record and is a good bet to break the state mark this fall, counts Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, Pitt and Virginia Tech among his leaders, which change weekly.

Ohio State was considered Shell’s favorite last summer, when he wore a Buckeyes replica jersey with Pryor’s No. 2 to a WPIAL football media event. That was before the NCAA investigation involving players trading memorabilia for cash and tattoos, before it forced coach Jim Tressel’s resignation and Pryor’s premature departure.

The possibility of probation has soured Shell on the Buckeyes.

“Early in the recruiting process, they were up high, in the top two or three,” Shell said. “But I don’t want to go to a school where everything is uptight.”

Seeing Pryor become the scapegoat has shown Shell how fickle fans can be. Ohio State followers cheered the star quarterback as he led them to Big Ten titles and BCS bowl victories and chastised him for bringing a black eye to their Buckeyes, all while turning a blind eye to his behavior in between.

“No matter where you go, in-state or out-of-state, everybody will embrace you when you pick their school,” Shell said. “And they’ll do the opposite if something goes wrong.”

Yes, and? That shouldn’t be a shock to anyone.

(more…)

Since taking the Towson job, Pat Skerry has actually gotten Towson more attention than it has in prior years. He’s grabbed some decent recruits for the CAA, and they have this new funky court action shamelessly ripped from what Oregon did.

In interviews has praised his single year working under Coach Dixon. The track record for coaches who have been assistants under Coach Dixon finding success in their own coaching gigs has been mostly successful. Only Barry Rohrssen has not been able to sustain any success.

The one thing that hasn’t been answered is what it is about coaches hired under Dixon finding success once they get their own program.

NHR: There have been a lot of coaches that have worked for Jamie Dixon that have moved onto head coaching positions after being an assistant for him. What is it about him that allows for that kind of career change for assistant coaches?

PS: “Obviously his track record speaks for itself. He’s incredibly driven. His focus for his system works. He’s had more success than anyone in terms of record in the Big East over the last decade. I think there’s a lot that you can take from him to give yourself a chance to win night in and night out. I kind of feel like I’ve been fortunate to work for him, who’s been the National Coach of the Year.”

I think it goes without saying that Dixon has hired ambitious, good coaches in their own right. Rice, Herrion, Skerry and now Barton. All of them were good/great recruiters who were climbing the coaching ladder (or in the case of Herrion, re-establishing his name).

(more…)

Honestly, I expect Anthony Gonzalez to remain suspended from the team through the summer, and reinstated before training camp. I suppose it could end sooner. First he has to have his day in court.

Pitt quarterback and Liberty High School graduate Anthony Gonzalez has a court date on July 11, when he will go before District Magistrate Nancy Matos Gonzalez to face three charges from his arrest last month.

Presumably, no relation. The three charges are: marijuana possession, underage drinking and carrying false identification.

The possession charge is a misdemeanor that maxes out on penalties with 30 days and/or $500 dollar fine. I sincerely doubt that Gonzalez will see any time for what appears to be his first offense. The other two are summary offenses.

Coach Todd Graham spoke about Gonzalez’s situation without saying anything.

(more…)

By far the best comment about what has happened in Morgantown over the past few weeks came from Matt Hinton (Dr. Saturday):

Dana Holgorsen is about to be the first man ever promoted as a result of a story about him being tossed from a casino at 3 am on a Wednesday

It all started with that ill-fated night at the Mardi Gras Casino. Embarrassing, but Bill Stewart thought he finally had an opening to get Holgorsen. He (or a family member) fed stories to a willing media lackey claiming Holgorsen had lots of incidents already hushed up in West Virginia. At least a couple of the stories turned out to be completely false. Amusingly, WVU in announcing their investigation results that revealed falsehoods were very specific about which ones were complete lies, never actually said if any of the other stories were true or false. Just sayin’.

(more…)

No this isn’t about Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State, Bill Stewart and/or West Virginia. Though, I understand the confusion.

It’s another look at Big East expansion and the next media contract. I’m going to keep this one relatively brief.

Villanova is still out there. Trying to get things lined up so it can be included in football in the Big East. They got some good news this week in that the soccer team that owns PPL Park is undertaking an expansion plan without Villanova being in the picture. Albeit, the pace may be an issue.

(more…)

Today we’ll hit some accumulated basketball stuff — some of which is more than a little dated, though still relevant.

In addition to Cameron Wright getting a tryout for the USA Basketball U19 team, Ashton Gibbs is going to take another shot at being on Team USA. This time with the USA’s squad for the World University Games.

No real downside for Gibbs. If he makes the team, it will likely be a chance for Gibbs to show NBA (and Euro) scouts his game in a different situation and style.

(more…)

Pure speculation, but Terrelle Pryor would not have put Pitt, Michigan or Penn State in the position Ohio State finds itself in. Not because our or any of those schools somehow would have restrained his actions. But because I sincerely doubt he would have been able to go as far with such a blind eye turned by the Ohio State, administration and coaches, and let it come to this.

The comparison to what happened with Oklahoma and Brett Romar makes the most sense. Romar was one of a bunch of Oklahoma players found to be getting paid by an auto dealership/booster for basically showing up and not much else. It came out, and Bob Stoops flat out kicked him off the team for good. The Oklahoma program was not put at risk because of one talented and presumed starting QB.

Instead Pryor could put Ohio State in a hole that may take several years for them to recover on the field. Reputation-wise, even longer. The only solace for Ohio State fans, is they can wear their Scarlet-Gray glasses and blame everything on Pryor. Not at all the Ohio State football culture that Tressel helped foster. Not at all. It’s all Pryor’s fault. His greed. His reckless disregard. No other reason. Nope. Moving on.

(more…)

…The former WVU beat reporter for the Post-Gazette pours some more kerosene on the couch and lights with a small tactical nuke.

Allegations nothing, this was an all out declaration that the bleep has hit the fan in Morgantown. In case you were sleeping, Colin Dunlap went on 93.7 The Fan last night, and well, this:

” … He (Stewart) tried to flame-throw the guy (Holgorsen) in December by calling me and at least one other reporter because the reporter and I discussed it. He said, ‘can you get the word ’scumbag’ tattooed on the front of the sports page?’

“‘(Stewart said) you need to dig up this dirt. You need to get it out on this guy.’ And I said, ‘hey man, I’m not a part of some witch hunt.’”

You can listen to the audio by clicking the link above. But, wow.

(more…)

A promising sign for redshirt freshman Cameron Wright. He’s taking a trip out to Colorado.

Pitt freshman guard Cameron Wright is one of 21 players selected to participate in the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team training camp.

The training camp will be held June 17-24 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and will be utilized to select the 12-member team that will represent the USA at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship in Latvia.

The U19 squad is being coached by now George Mason (formerly Georgia Tech) Head Coach Paul Hewitt. Here’s the list of all those trying out for the squad. Wright was one of five late additions to the tryout roster, after the withdrawal of others like Brad Beal. You don’t knock the opportunity. The late withdrawals led to Ashton Gibbs’ chance to be invited, and that worked out rather well.

Wright already has something of a reputation as a strong defender. That may be what gets him a chance on a squad that likely will have more shooters and scorers.

Given the nature of family relations when it comes to West Virginia, is it any wonder that a member of the Hoopie family may be trying to fuck the coach-in-waiting and Mountaineer football?

There is some serious weird stuff going on in Morgantown. I realize the place is strange enough, but this is something extra.

Last night, twitter started percolating that there was something big and messy brewing with the West Virginia football program. Ultimately, lots of rumors and speculation. Yet nothing substantive.

Today, more of the same but a more specific allegation from WVU blog Smoking Musket: outgoing head coach Bill Stewart was the source of the story that claimed Coach-in-waiting/OC Dana Holgorsen has been partying a bit too hard in West Virginia.

(more…)

It’s a grab-bag of football links to take us into the weekend.

Last week’s Big East meetings gave Todd Graham a chance to meet and mingle with the rest of the Big East coaches. Not to mention any media that will be covering the Big East. His interview with Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports had plenty of bits to digest.

There’s more to what Graham was saying about expecting to win.

“At this level you can’t afford to have rebuilding years,” Graham said. “You have to produce. Our goal will be to win championships. We expect to be competing for the Big East championship. That’s our goal. We’re trying to win every one of them and get to the national championship game. That’s our focus and goal.

“I’m not going to ask kids to work like we ask them to work and not have our goals at the very top.”

My natural cynicism has me at odds with trying to not mock the over-emphasis of “high octane,” but it is clear that Coach Graham is essentially high-octane on everything. And I have to admit, I like this.

(more…)

Gary McGhee, Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown continue to travel the country for workouts to see if they can entice and NBA team to spend a draft pick on them or sign them for the summer league and perhaps beyond.

McGhee is in NYC today to workout with a group of players for the Knicks.

Brad Wanamaker was in San Antonio yesterday for his Spurs workout. A Spurs blogger considers him a longshot pick, but always possible.

Pitt’s Wanamaker is likely destined for the end of the second round, but he’s capable of playing in the NBA. He may need some time in the D-League to add to his game, but he may be an attractive player to the Spurs for many reasons. Wanamaker, who is represented by DeJuan Blair’s agent, Happy Walters, can create offense, drive and dish and while not very fast or athletic at his position, Wanamaker loves finishing at the basket. He’ll attack and finish or get fouled. Wanamaker is also used to playing unselfish basketball, which is preached at Pittsburgh.

Wanamaker also got a pleasantly puffing piece on his odds of making the NBA in the P-G last week.

(more…)