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January 5, 2012

That’s it for my ‘reporter’ attempts my friends.  The one time I played ‘reporter’ with rock solid info I got burned.  From now on I’ll stick to throwing opinions and links up here and then take what you guys want to talk about and run with it.

Obviously the Huxtable hire trumps my news that Tomsula was going to be hired on staff.  The word I got was that Tomsula had accepted the DC offer from PITT over the holidays.  What actually transpired was that Huxtable, as the primary target, changed his mind after Tomsula was contacted and he accepted the DC position.

Now, I’m in an ethical dilemma. Do I bite the bullet and never ever reveal my source like a real journalist would do, or do I weigh that against my great friendship with a guy who, while remaining nameless, has reason to fly to the West Coast to be with an ex-Panther family member on a NFL team there and then parties at the post-game tailgate with that team’s coaching staff, including Tomsula, and players where he learns this information first hand?

No, I’ll take the high road and will not revel that source and will use this incident as a learning experience.  But you can be sure I’ll keep it in my back pocket as something I can beat over my friend’s head until his wallet, debit card and any line of credit he may have runs dry at the bars this season as payback for setting me up (even though he truly didn’t set out to do that).

So, my apologies to you all and I’ll stick to my own predictions from now on.  One of which is that Malcolm Crockett is going to surprise us with the amount of PT he gets at RB.

 





It is always insightful to walk in another’s shoes once in awhile. Builds a little more tolerance in being judgemental of other people’s work, attitudes, actions, etc. Like PZ.

So you got burned Reed. Big deal, its not like you were wrong on breaking a national news flash reporting on a guilty verdict by the jury on the Casey Anthony trial or something. Keep doing what you’re good at and beg for forgiveness, then just move along, move along.

Comment by Dr. Tom 01.05.12 @ 2:12 pm

Reed, keep your source a secret even if you have to go to jail … and being that Zac Brown is out, Crockett getting a lot of PT would not be surprising.

Being a journalist, like everything else, is a learning experience and you will get better. Just don’t be so trusting of the people you interview and/or cover who have a shady past.

Comment by wbb 01.05.12 @ 2:12 pm

say 5 Our Fathers and 5 Hail Marys and don’t do it again. (apologies to the non-catholics). You are forgiven. Your excellent posts and informative reporting from Pitt camp & throughout the season far outweigh this minor gaffe (if it even qualifies as that).

although now you have me guessing. Plenty of Pitt players past and present on the 49’ers. Might have to subpoena you and put you on the stand, Reed.

Comment by Bossdaws 01.05.12 @ 2:19 pm

I assume you mean PT for Crockett next year, right? He is a redshirt right now, correct?

Comment by miarunner 01.05.12 @ 2:20 pm

Reed you are forgiven. We all know you were blinded by the moustache.

On another topic, is anyone else going to the BBVA Compass Bowl? I’d love to put some faces to names. I’ll be in section 10, row 1, wearing a Blue Pitt hoodie. Sans script, sadly enough.

More importantly, are there any good bars in Birmingham????

Comment by Atlanta Panther 01.05.12 @ 2:29 pm

Hmmmm, keep it a secret, but, since some clues were thrown………hmmmmm….Spencers, too long ago, no,……..Lee’s ?? No, from S.Carolina……………hmmmmmm

Damn those Byham’s!!!!!!!!

Comment by Dan 01.05.12 @ 2:32 pm

Reed has had his Herbstreit moment. Congrats.

Comment by Chas 01.05.12 @ 2:45 pm

93.7 The Fan’s Chris Gates reporting that J. Johnson will start at guard tonight over Cam Wright. Nice. But will he start at PG? And when the f@#$ is Woodall coming back?!

Comment by Carmen 01.05.12 @ 3:02 pm

Yes, please leave the real reporting to Chas.

Comment by ReedsTaint 01.05.12 @ 3:07 pm

Reed dont say that number one the Tomsola thing was a lot of fun no one says you have to be 100 percent right all the time.
we all take chances with what we hear i have been wrong 3 times on here once when i saw something on a blog but i did not know it was a blog tahes to long to explain and twice when people changed there mind.
but dont stop post all info even if you are only 90 percent sure.
and you know what i think tomsula would have been a better choice, i will bet he really could have recruited
dont stop reed all info is good for big picture.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 3:16 pm

Reed you just gave us important info at least i think it is important
the outhe sites that i go to thought that huxtable was just keeping things nice nice till after the bowl game so that the players would not get upset
but thanks to you we know he just changed his mind which is what i thought all along so that info proves me right and is useful i think.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 3:49 pm

Reed, It’s like raising kids, by the time you get to what you’re doing, you’re out of the buisness.

Comment by Justinian 01.05.12 @ 3:57 pm

Reed I thought you qualified your information and your source perfectly as you gave it (you had your doubts, and most of us could read into that).

If John Johnson starts,it has to be at point guard. It is the logical step for JD. Gibbs is wasted at that position and Moore has shown little talent at much of anything. Our problems at point guard have lead (like dominos falling) to problems at almost every other position. JJ at least fixes the quickness problem and while his defense is suspect, others are much worse. Last but not least, it is a major change on a team in big trouble….how much worse can we be??

Looking forward to tonights game. Vegas has Pitt as a 5 point favorite. They must know something I don’t. I would not make Pitt a 5 point favorite over Allegheny Community College the way we have been playing. Let’s hope tonight is the start of agreat sports weekend…Pens tomorrow, Pitt football Saturday and Steelers Sunday.

Comment by Dan 72 01.05.12 @ 3:59 pm

Reed, Let me re-phrase that.

It’s like raising kids, by the time you get to know what you’re doing, you’re out of the business.

Look at the bright side, at least you didn’t go on air on the 6:00 o’clock news and tell everyone that Tom Bradley was going to be the next Pitt football coach.

Comment by Justinian 01.05.12 @ 4:04 pm

I just hope that Depaul doesn’t throw a zone at us. Against Cinci, we stood around, dribbled and passed around the perimeter(slowly). No cuts through the zone and no entry passes were tried. Plazing defense is easy if you are not challenged by the offense.

Comment by jw in Raleigh 01.05.12 @ 4:10 pm

I meant Playing.

Comment by jw in Raleigh 01.05.12 @ 4:11 pm

There’s no way in hell that Pitt would take Huxtable over Tomsula. You better leave the reporting to the professionals.

Comment by Mike 01.05.12 @ 4:15 pm

info for you fot thoes who worry abought tod dodge dont he is now the head coach at marble falls high school in texas

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 4:17 pm

ment for thoes Bossdaws that is for you i am kind of back on track

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 4:23 pm

“Do I bite the bullet and never ever reveal my source like a real journalist would do, or do I weigh that against my great friendship with a guy who, while remaining nameless, has reason to fly to the West Coast to be with an ex-Panther family member on a NFL team there and then parties at the post-game tailgate with that team’s coaching staff, including Tomsula, and players where he learns this information first hand?”

Reed, I enjoy your posts and find them informative; however, I need a translator to help me understand the above sentence.

Comment by BigGuy 01.05.12 @ 4:24 pm

from Malcolm crocketts scouting report out of high school, he was portrayed as a balanced back. he was good at everything but not great at anything. does anyone know if this is true? also, Pitts stable of running backs is phenomenal. if Graham is healthy, I’d imagine the depth chart is graham, Bennett, Crockett, Shell. I think people expectations for shell are unrealistic.

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 4:26 pm

Shell will be No. 2, No. 1 if Graham isn’t healthy. He’s so much more talented than Bennett and Crockett that it’s just silly.

Comment by Mike 01.05.12 @ 4:33 pm

mike, there is no way that shell comes in during camp and surpasses Bennett and Crockett who will have been acclimating to college ball for a year. shell is definitely more talented but he won’t be as good as any of those 3 this year. you’re all expecting waaaaaaaay too much from him.

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 4:38 pm

Big Guy i know you will get me for this but i under stood Reed saw nothing wrong in his sentence

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 4:39 pm

MIKE FROM WHAT YOU POSTED I CAN TELL YOU DID NOT THINK IT THRU HE WOULD TAKE HUXTABLE BECUSE HE WORKED WITH HIM AND TOMSULA WOULD BE HIS SECOND CHOISE/
YOU SHOULD NOT TALK TO REED THAT WAY
YOU ARE EITHER A KID IN WHICH CASE YOU SHOULD NOT BE ON HERE OR A TROOL.
REED AND CHAS KNOW MORE OF WHAT IS GOING ON THAN ANY OF US AS FAR AS THE TEAM AND THEY ARE THE ONES IN CHARGE OF THIS POST LEAVE IT TO THE PROS HOW RUDE IS THAT AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO SAY THAT.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 5:03 pm

It’s running back. Freshman star all the time. Bennett and Crockett aren’t even close to the same class as Shell. Be serious.

Comment by Mike 01.05.12 @ 5:04 pm

mike, you clearly have no grasp on reality. how often do you see true freshman runningbacks come in and surpass other backs, like Bennett who averaged 4.8 yards per carry. it doesn’t happen and won’t happen. shell is 3rd string at best next year.

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 5:12 pm

mike, also, have you ever considered that shell might be a bust? until he steps on a field with the big boys and proves his worth, he shouldn’t be granted any spot high on the depth chart. if he gets to Pitt and is as good as u dillysionally say he is then I’ll admit I’m wrong

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 5:15 pm

dilusionally

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 5:15 pm

pk i think mike is a kid cant you tell he just says things with out thinking and most likley should not be on here

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 5:19 pm

Do you forget how well McCoy and Lewis acclimated as freshmen RBs?? Not sure why some of you think there is no way Shell will get #2 RB status (at least #3). He’s very talented and we watched two other talented RBs come right in for PT.

Also – no problem with the bad intel. You got my hopes up – we could have had Ron Jeremy and Booger (Wisconsin coach who picked his nose and at it last week) on the sidelines next year! That would have been fun and like the college football version of the movie Major League!!

Comment by dish 01.05.12 @ 5:25 pm

FRANKCAN – watch when mentioning kids you might be linked to Sandusky. Sorry that was low, but could not resist!

Comment by Winedogs 01.05.12 @ 5:25 pm

frank, I dont think him being a kid is what annoys me. I mean, I’m 17 but I think I’m objective and actually bring legitimate arguments/points to the table. mike is seeing the “4 stars” by rushel shells name and assuming he will come in and be the savior of Pitt football. it just doesn’t happen.

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 5:26 pm

McCoy didn’t gave any good running backs in front of him.

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 5:28 pm

Unless Shell gets hurt in fall camp, I predict that he will see the field early in his freshman year. Where it goes from there anybody knows.

This kid is no sleeper recruit like McCoy or Lewis were. Both turned out to be pleasant surprises,Graham for that matter too.

In contrast, Shell is a know entity at the HS level and has proven to be sooo far ahead of the others at that level that he is a total game changer, proven beyond a doubt.

He has the size and talent to make a major impact immediately. This kid is gone in 3 years GUARENTEED!!!

Therefore no need to waste a redshirt year on him and lose a year of production that he could contribute while at Pitt.

He not only sees the field next season, I predict he will be pushing for 1st team All Big East his freshman year if he stays healthy.

You’ll see.

Comment by Dr. Tom 01.05.12 @ 5:30 pm

dr. Tom, you may be right. to be honest, I hope you’re right I just don’t see him surpassing Bennett, Crockett, and according to some Graham right off the bat.

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 5:34 pm

From my watching Shell play on TV, it appeared that he lacks upper body strength. Those that have seen him in person: is this just an illusion on my part? (Obviously, his body will become more developed under Pitt’s strength and conditioning program.)

Comment by BigGuy 01.05.12 @ 5:39 pm

big guy, I haunt seen him play, but if I had a guess it might be due to fatigue. he plays defense defense and special teams in addition to carrying the ball 40 times per game. that tends to where a kid out haha.

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 5:45 pm

pk i could tell you were a kid also but like you said i could tell you were trying real hard to give grown up points of view that is why i never called you on it.
info for you all chryst has hired jim hueber from the vikings to coach the OL.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 5:46 pm

frank, where do you get this info haha you’re always right

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 6:01 pm

Yea, FRANKCAN is always right. Now if we could just teach him to type!

Comment by Dr. Tom 01.05.12 @ 6:12 pm

First off – my initial post was a little bit tongue-in-cheek but I actually did believe that Tomsula would be on staff.

Second, I am not a journalist nor will I ever be. Doing this takes way too much time and $$ as it is – and that’s without any pressure to produce. I was just passing along to the Blather readers something that they may get before anyone else. Didn’t work out that way.

Wbb, I was talking about Crockett for 2012, I don’t think PITT will burn his redshirt for one game. But I do think it would be cool if the NCAA allowed guys to play in the bowl game of their redshirt year and still keep that year of eligibility. Also, funny you mention my guy “having a shady past” – we all know his back story BTW. I’m not too sure he has been that shady – but he looks like it.

Third – Mike, you see things that aren’t there. Nowhere did I say Crockett would play in front of Shell. All I said was we’ll be surprised at the amount of PT he gets. I understand you get a chapped ass when I write stuff but c’mon man. Although, I do agree with you that Shell could easily come in and produce right away – we’ve seen that happen a few times in the last seven years at PITT.

Big Guy, I rewrote that sentence three times then finally said “screw it”.

Finally – appreciate all the good words but truth be told I’m not upset about being wrong at all. This whole deal is done for fun only and I just don’t get that wrapped up in it.

Comment by Reed 01.05.12 @ 6:14 pm

jim hueber was a coach at wisconsin for 14 years 11 of them with the OL than he went to the pros with the vikings
DR TOM you know how i get when i get in a rush plus i am old as dirt be nice DR TOM you know you are one of my Favorites along with Bossdaws EMel and Dan and Reed and big bill and outlaw so be nice. some day i will put youin there pk

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 6:39 pm

winedogs the difference is iwanted the kids to get the hell gone off of here

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 6:43 pm

frankcan, that’d be quite an honor to be included on that list haha

Comment by pk 01.05.12 @ 6:47 pm

FRANK, do you know when Hueber went to the Vikings?? I can’t seem to find anything much on him other than he was w/ Wisky for awhile (dunnp whem) & with the Golden Gophers for a bit as well.

Looks like Minnesota already took him off their coaches webpage…

Comment by Navy_Panther 01.05.12 @ 6:48 pm

How old are you FRANKCAN? I read this board on a daily basis and I didn’t realize you were an old man – I actually thought you were someone in a mental hospital that just posted rambling thoughts on Pitt Blather all day long (I don’t mean this to be offensive, you just post so much and it is always looks like a drunk typing). Over time I have come to appreciate your die hard loyalty to the Panthers. In other news, how about the hoopies dropping 70 on Clemson?

Comment by Howard 01.05.12 @ 7:03 pm

NAVY PANTHER this is what i know hueber was with the vikings in 2010 and in 2004 he was still at wisconsin plus he looks very old did you see his photo. he looks older than me.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 7:08 pm

LOL @ FRANK!!!! He does look pretty ancient; I wish he was my grandpa, looks like a friendly old man!

Comment by Navy_Panther 01.05.12 @ 7:10 pm

Reed, but not trusting people with shady past,I was talking about the fast-talking coach and the Smug AD … both who had a history IMO of not taking responsibility for their deeds.

Pedersen was laughed out of Nebraska while trying to tell everyone he was doing the right thing .. and when a coach tells you toyour face that he is working on a “1st ovetime down by 7” package and a “3rd ot and down by 8” package, I would have to question his sincerity (not to mention what he did at Rice)

Comment by wbb 01.05.12 @ 7:19 pm

HOWARD i dont think Bossdaws will like what you said or EMel or Dan but some people have to be rude
I have a problem that most of the old time posters know abought but i wont go into it it has nothing to do with my IQ which is 128 the norm is 90 it happens when i get in a rush and as long as i have friends like DAN AND EMel and BOSSDAWS AND DR TOM AND REED iwill be ok

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 7:22 pm

navy panther i wonder if the info could be wrong
he looks so old

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 8:08 pm

Lucas Nix was charged with three summary offenses – public drunkeness, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

Comment by usd121 01.05.12 @ 8:28 pm

FRANKCAN, I believe Howard’s message is more to do with your presentation as opposed to the substance of your memo. Your memos normally have many misspellings, bute even more, your lack of punctuation often makes your messages hard to follow … just meant to be constructive criticism. Note that I have issues with typos myself.

Comment by wbb 01.05.12 @ 8:36 pm

It seams as if coach chryst is hireing every ex wisconsin coach he can find
I dont know if these men are on his list but they have just lost there jobs and all at one time or the outher were with wisconsin
tim davis
josh sternquist recruting cord
jeff horton QBs
just names we will see soon.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 8:43 pm

Any of them that are strong recruiters would be most welcome

Comment by wbb 01.05.12 @ 8:48 pm

Wbb did you look at the photo of hueber?
He looks older then me.
If he can coach he can coach.
but i wonder if info is wrong.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 9:13 pm

FRANKCAN no harm intended, just playing. Pitt hoops is starting to look like Pitt football, very depressing.

Comment by Howard 01.05.12 @ 9:44 pm

Howard hoops is very depressing i dont even want to think abought it.
I will stay with football as long as i can all the way till feb 3 .

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 9:58 pm

Nix ripped a door off a house, very nice. Not quite to the level of Jabaal Sheard though. Also like how the Zeise article says Nix didn’t know about the charges? How can you get charged with public drunkenness and not know about it? They just don’t let you go without writing you up (at least they didn’t let me go at CJ Barney’s!).

Comment by Howard 01.05.12 @ 10:09 pm

penn state hires coach bill o brien from new england pats

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 10:24 pm

Hey that’s pretty funny. Someone from the _aytriots is going to be going to Ped State.

Ironic as well.

Comment by Emel 01.05.12 @ 10:53 pm

I needed a laugh after the latest hoops fiasco, thanks for keeping us all updated Frankcan.

So is the Joe Rudolph guy from Wisky still in play or was he promoted to OC there?

Comment by Emel 01.05.12 @ 10:55 pm

Howard was just playing FRANKCAN. We always have your back. Anyone can type if they slow it down, but your rapid fire scoops have your sharp mind way ahead of your fingers. I’ll take substance over form anyday. Keep firing away.

And as far as the mental hospital goes, they best open up some new beds for we Pitt hoop fans. And the drunk comment? As an Irishman, I took that to be complimentary. And as I type this, you are reporting on the new Ped State coach. you da man FRANKCAN. Hope your wife is feeling better.

Comment by Bossdaws 01.05.12 @ 10:59 pm

EMel take alook at hueber photo he looks older than me makes me wonder if info is true.
i posted before i dont think rudolph is comeing
if you start half way up from here you will see some outher info.
read some of my outher posts above

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.05.12 @ 11:07 pm

Hueber must have taken PC in under his wing some years back at Wisky. And PC is probably the type of guy who doesn’t forget.

Wonder how ALVEREZ feels about losing ALL his asst’s to PITT now? Would he be so gung ho in lobbying for PC to get the job had he known they were going to lose 3 maybe 4 assts.

Comment by Emel 01.05.12 @ 11:23 pm

Hey Frankcan,

how do we get rid of Tino before next year?

We don’t need him around mucking up the works for the new coach.

Comment by Emel 01.05.12 @ 11:25 pm

EMel before i tell you that try this.
The new penn state coach cant take over untill his job is done at new england per the tv station i was watching.
which if they are in the super bowl is feb 5 to days after letter of intent day how wonderful is that.

now to the tino thing we cant unless he brakes a team rule and gets suspended or a UFO grabs him.
or some fifth year QB transfers to pitt you might want to work on finding one and talking him into comeing here.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.06.12 @ 12:00 am

went to bed good night all

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.06.12 @ 12:18 am

I had to laugh when I saw the story on Lucas Nix this morning. This ain’t the first rodeo for the Nix brothers. A few years ago it was a tag team match between The McKillops and the Nixs with, if I remember correctly, the Nixs emerging from the cage victorious.

It will be interesting to see what Patterson does as far as the game tomorrow, I’d think that with him being in his temporary position as HC, and Nix being a senior, he’ll let this incident slide. Summary offenses don’t mean a whole lot unless you are writing a Sports Illustrated article.

EMel, we’re not going to get rid of Sunseri next year and the new coach sure as hell won’t want to. First off any good offensive coordinator believes he can get the most out of any player, especially one with experience. Secondly, Tino himself must be doing the Happy Dance after hearing that Chryst was hired and after talking with him. (if you have a couple minutes watch the video – kind of amazing)

My only real concern is that Chryst and Bostad and whoever is the QB coach conduct an honest open competition in the spring. We truly haven’t had that in the last two years and it’s hurt us IMO.

It will be interesting to watch if Patterson sticks to what he’s been saying about doing more long, ‘vertical’ passing in the bowl game. If Chryst sees what we have seen from Sunseri all season, in Sunseri’s not being able to hit those deep plays, Mark Myers may start looking better each day.

Comment by Reed 01.06.12 @ 5:38 am

emel ,hate to say it but pc might like tinos moms cooking and he may stay,i could do with out another year of bashing , as u could with his play

Comment by paul shannon 01.06.12 @ 10:28 am

Coach Chryst needs for some of his assistants to
have coached in the nfl.
The new penn state coach will bring in asst from the pros and he is from the pros and he will sell that to kids as dave did.
So Chryst needs some ex pro coachs on pitt staff
to sell the kids.
hope he smart enough to know that.

Comment by FRANKCAN 01.06.12 @ 11:07 am

Howard–You may have missed in the newspaper accounts that Nix apparently wasn’t present when the police arrived. The drunkeness charges seemingly were based solely on what witness told the police and not on an arrest.

Comment by pitt1972 01.06.12 @ 11:16 am

I just never have heard of someone being charged for drunkeness through the mail. I would like to be in the court room when the judge is asking the police officer how he thought that charge was going to hold up with no blow/blood test. Pitt needs some more guys with the rip the door off a house mentality, although Nix hasn’t really done much on the field it seems. Sheard is a different story, he was a beast on and off the field.

Comment by Howard 01.06.12 @ 3:26 pm

Rudolph on PC staff == great recruiter ==

Comment by DC33 01.06.12 @ 4:52 pm

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