PA won the annual Big 33 football game yesterday – forgive the PSU slant with the link but apparently this is the best coverage I can find… (neither of the two major PGH papers had a word on it at the time I wrote this)… even though it looks like Pitt recruits contributed also.  But with three TDs (in only 67 yards) he gets the lion’s share of the publicity.

Our DB Damar Hamlin  did well also.  Pitt had six on the roster compared to PSU’s two.

This is an interesting bit about SYR recruit Joel-El Shaw… apparently he thinks coaching staff’s words don’t carry much weight:

At first, Jo-El Shaw almost balked at the opportunity to represent Pennsylvania in the annual Big 33 Football Classic. It was at the first team-wide practice in April and the Pennsylvania coaches figured Shaw would play fullback since that’s how he’s listed on the roster.

“I told them I was going to go home,” said Shaw, now a Woodland Hills High School alumnus. “I told them, ‘You can go find somebody else, because I ain’t playing fullback.’ ”

To what ought to be no one’s surprise James Conner is still giving back more than he receives…

Conner was honored at a dinner hosted by his oncologist, Dr. Stanley Marks, on Friday night at the Field Club in Fox Chapel.

Not only was Conner honored with the award, which is given annually for the past 30 years to a cancer patient, it was re-named the James Conner Courage Award, Marks said.

“James is the first recipient,” Marks said.

Here is a Trib piece by Jerry DiPaola regarding Narduzzi’s geographic strength in recruiting the Midwest part of the country which makes sense given his tenure at MSU.

Six incoming freshmen with Midwest roots signed with Pitt this year, including four-stars Amir Watts of Chicago, George Hill of Hubbard, Ohio, and Ruben Flowers of Lima, Ohio.

Sibley, who will be a fourth-year starter at Ohio’s Archbishop Hoban this season, will have a chance to make an immediate impact at Pitt, Helmholdt said.

“He was a dude (as a freshman),” said Helmholdt, who has watched Sibley the past three seasons. “He’s ahead of the curve from a skill, experience and developmental standpoint.

“Maybe he doesn’t have as high an upside as (Pitt sophomore running back) Darrin Hall, but Sibley is more ready-made.”

Look at that bolded (by me) quote again.  What the hell does that mean… that Sibley should sit for three years until Hall’s finished at Pitt?  Very strange to hear something like that from a kid’s HS coach.  Here is a look at the Sibley Flip from the Buckeye POV, and a quote from the player that reiterates what we wrote about on here during the three-part recruiting series from last week:

“I’ve learned throughout this entire process that this probably is the most selfish decision you’re going to make in your entire life, and you have to make the right decision,” Sibley wrote. “You can’t do what everyone else wants you to do, you have to do what’s best for you at the end of the day. And I’m finally going to do what’s best for me.

 To close out – here is an old Pitt News article that was written two months ago but is about an issue that always generates good discussions on here.  Beer sales for the Plebian Class ticket holders at Pitt.  As always a good read from The Pitt News.  Barnes said…

He added that Pitt is still in the “research and evaluation stage” of considering to implement beer sales.  Drinking at football games is already a concern for law enforcement and universities, as excessive alcohol usage isn’t uncommon outside Heinz Field’s gates.

But selling alcohol inside the stadium could actually reduce the amount of pre- and postgaming that happens outside of the stadium, according to West Virginia University Associate Athletic Director for Communications Michael Fragale.

At WVU, where alcohol has been available at football games since 2011, Fragle said allowing alcohol sales during sporting events has actually reduced arrests and violence.  “We think there’s a direct correlation to our alcohol sales and incidents going down,” Fragale said.

Along with a no re-entry policy, local law enforcement supported WVU’s decision to allow alcohol sales, and it’s paid off.  “[Allowing alcohol sales] has been very well received from visiting fans from the Big 12,” Fragale said. “Our fans have become accustomed to it, they like it and it’s been a positive thing really for us.”

 Hell, if it worked for them likker’d up Hoopies I think the Pitt Fan underclass could handle it.

We’ll finish with this in case you have any spare $$$ in your pocket.