Congratulations to Dom DeCicco and Henry Hynoski. Now that the NFL Lockout is finished, NFL teams are permitted to sign undrafted free agents. Today is the first day that players can officially sign

DeCicco will get a chance with the Chicago Bears.

“I knew my time would eventually come,” he said, pointing out that waiting for the lockout to end was difficult.

“The only (thing) I can compare it to is when you play a bad game and you want that next week to come so bad so you can prove yourself.”

DeCicco, who played on one PIAA champion and two WPIAL title winners at Thomas Jefferson, said he had calls from the Steelers, Bills, Bears and Saints on Monday. He chose the Bears because they brought him to Chicago for a pre-draft visit and he developed a relationship with linebackers coach Bob Babich of Aliquippa and scout Rex Hogan.

“It made the most sense, even though they weren’t offering the most money,” he said.

Hynoski will take a shot with the New Jersey Giants — after a little debate.

It’s the July recruiting period. That means Coach Dixon and assistants Brandin Knight and Bill Barton are out watching kids at tournaments all over the place. Twitter updates when sited by the various media folks also watching. Right now, so many players that Pitt is potentially pursuing for 2012 (2 scholarships), 2013 (2 scholarships) and 2014 (3 scholarships).

It’s nice seeing Pitt listed in the mix with players that have big name interest, but at this point in the recruiting cycle it is hard to be sure how realistic some are — especially for 2014 recruits. There are actually some good recruits from Pittsburgh on the radar. Granted, James Young, is going to HS in NJ, but he is a kid from the Pittsburgh area.

Still, some of it are from the kids themselves just rattling off names of schools they heard from. Not even always with confirmed offers. The compliment is seeing Pitt listed among the top teams at least looking at the kids.

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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.

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Yes, there is a looming dearth of news, so this gets posted with more than simply part of a round-up.

The NFL Lockout may continue, but LeSean McCoy carried forward with his second annual community day in Harrisburg.

McCoy’s second annual event was highlighted by the basketball tournament and other activities.

McCoy, who held a bowling tournament Friday night to benefit Alzheimer’s research, said he has been working out, mainly in Miami, under the direction of a trainer affiliated with his agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

“It’s so tough now, with the lockout,” he said. “I really can’t work out with my teammates. Good weather [in Miami], I’ve gotten some of that bad weight off.”

And in case you really thought the running back with two years in the NFL really had any influence with the Eagles in drafting Dion Lewis — no.

McCoy said he was very happy to see the Eagles draft his successor at Pitt, Dion Lewis, although he clarified he was just joking when he tweeted after the draft that he had advised Andy Reid to take Lewis.

The charity bowling took place in Palmyra, to raise money for ALS research.

Big Pitt event the other night. Athletics at Pitt: The Forefront of a Century of Change.

Many former Panther greats were in attendance, including Tony Dorsett (Pitt’s only Heisman Trophy winner), Larry Fitzgerald (first sophomore to win the Walter Camp Award and a unanimous first team All American selection), and track star Trecia-Kaye Smith (15-time NCAA Champion).

Individuals such as Bobby Grier (first African-American ever to play in the Sugar Bowl) and Hugh Green (three-time All American; winner of the Maxwell Award) shared the red carpet walk from the dais to the main stage with more recent Panthers such as women’s basketball standouts Lorri Johnson (all-time leading scorer) and Jennifer Bruce Scott (second leading scorer in history).

Short films narrated by broadcast pioneer Jack Whitaker and CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield – who was in attendance – and former Panther star Mark May brought to light the path of African-Americans in sport at Pitt. Costas conducted a question and answer with several former athletes, including all-time leading men’s basketball scorer and shot blocker Charles Smith and two-time Olympic gold medalist Roger Kingdom.

All former athletes in attendance were asked to sign a commemorative banner which will be placed on display in the Petersen Events Center.

The event culminated a dream for dinner chair Herb Douglas. The 89-year old, the oldest living former Panther athlete, had a vision of gathering as many generations together for one evening to celebrate the past 100 years and embrace the future. Douglas was the 1948 Olympic bronze medal winner in the long jump.

There’s a list of some of the former greats of Pitt athletics who attended the event. The collection of photographs could stand to have some captions, but I’m sure you can recognize plenty of people in the images.

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Barely paid any attention to it. Between the lockout stuff, basketball season, and the fact that the NFL is starting this thing on a Thursday night. The Thursday night thing seems to really have me thrown off. The all-day Saturday couch potatoing was a personal favorite for me. Now that’s all gone.

Still, Pitt should have several players drafted this year. Whether Sheard or Baldwin crack the first round is anyone’s guess. That and where Greg Romeus, Dion Lewis and Henry Hynoski get drafted. Plus questions about whether Jason Pinkston and Dom DeCicco get snagged near the end or sign undrafted free agent deals.

Guess at least a rundown on some of the stories. I’ll skip the mock drafts that multiply and come from so many different places these days.

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Okay, if you live in one of these areas, these are the links for Pitt gamewatches:

Cleveland, OH

Denver, CO

Los Gatos, CA

New York, NY

Philadelphia, PA

Scottsdale, AZ

San Francisco, CA

Washington, D.C.

I wish I could do the Cleveland one, but it just won’t happen today.

In a follow-up to the post earlier today regarding the booting of Pitt’s Philly chapter from the original pre-game and gamewatch site, we have a comment from the President of the Greater Philadelphia Pitt Club.

I am reprinting it here, because it deserves a full post on its own, so it can’t be missed.

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I am awaiting word from one of the Philly alumni organizers about what happened/their side of things, so if you know Chad Heffner or what happened shoot me an e-mail to update.

As it stands, now, the event was forced to scramble at the last minute and is at a Fox & Hound in King of Prussia. Sorry guys.

In the meantime, let’s review based on what we do know.

Pitt’s Philly Alumni group wanted to have a pre-game party for the Pitt-Nova game this Saturday night. The usual approach is to try and have it relatively near the location so those with tickets can go to the game and the rest end up staying for watching the game with fellow Pitt grads. If you look at the form the Philly alumni group (PDF) offered, it was clear that there was primarily a pre-game event with what would have been an impromptu gamewatch for those without tickets. There was no drink special for the group beyond the voucher (as part of the cost of the pre-game buffet). The event was listed as only running until 9pm.

This is why bars do this. They get more people staying during the game drinking.

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If you live in the Philly area and/or are planning to go to the Pitt-Nova game on Saturday, you need to go to the Official Pitt Alumni Game Watch at Kelly’s. Or at least stop by and have a beer.

Normally I don’t go out of my way to promote these, but I have to make an exception when the Nova Blog is treating this as a treasonous act. Apparently the fact that the owner is a Nova alum makes it worse. The bar, also happens to be the closest bar to the campus, so by extension to the Pavilion.

Show up, take over the place, and make the economic impact that can only make it worse for the Nova kids.

Did you know that today is Pitt’s Media Day? And I didn’t get an invite. Shocking, I know. Well, that means there should be some more local stories tomorrow. In the mean time, here are some other things to note.

Everyone has probably seen, read and digested the Jamie Dixon piece from the P-G over the weekend. Nice one. I hope Coach Dixon stays a long time at Pitt, not just because he is an excellent coach and appears to be a great guy. But because it would mean Pitt basketball is still thriving. Check out Pitt Script’s take on things.

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Greetings from NYC.

I’m looking over the Nike itinerary and part of the time is a chance for 1-on-1 interviews with the presenters.

As Ruben Brown is presenting the Pitt unis, I now have to figure out what to say to him other than, “Gee, you sure are big.”

Suggestions welcome.

Flight information is set. Transportation from Newark to the city is set. Hotel is confirmed. The Nike fashion show is at 10 am on Wednesday. The only question mark is whether the plane is on time.

With the advice of SilverPanther in NYC, we are going to meet at the Spring Lounge Tuesday night around 7. It’s a decent location near the subway, and a solid draft beer selection.

Hoping there’s a good turnout to talk Pitt football, basketball, lost weekends in Oakland and anything else.

Just find the people that answer to the phrase, “Mark May will drop-kick Lou Holtz this year.”

I’m  still working out the full details, but I’m coming to NYC for Fashion Day to witness the unveiling of Nike’s new Pro Combat Uniforms for Pitt and those other nine programs on Wednesday, September 1.

Now I’m coming in the day before and with only a couple days before the season opener, it seems only proper to get together with fellow Pitt fans Tuesday night. It seems about time to put some faces to the names of the people who help motivate me to keep this stuff going. Anyone up for it?

Like I said, the details are still being finalized. I know that the hotel where I am supposed to be staying is around Spring and Varick. At the very least recommendations and suggestions on a good place to drink around there would be appreciated.

Summer time. Summer camps. Some mornings go better than others to get them moving. No children died today, but emotional scarring may have taken place.

Chris McKillop, the older brother of Scott McKillop and a good player in his own right at Pitt, has been looking at getting into coaching.

The 25-year-old was brought aboard as a graduate assistant to coach the defensive line at Duquesne this year. Last season, he served as a football intern, assisting with linebackers, special teams, strength and conditioning and equipment management at Division II West Virginia Wesleyan.

“At a smaller, Division II school like that, every coach has a bunch of responsibilities,” McKillop said. “It was a good experience. I got to see what it’s like. Now, I see things from a different perspective.”

He’s also taking a graduate program in sports leadership. Something that can aid for the administrative side of things.

Relating to a McKillop, Scott has been in town to help out at some of the  camps Coach Wannstedt has been running this year. He was in for the 7-on-7 passing camps. As was D.J. Dinkins — who despite being a journeyman NFL player making the minimum — continues to work in whatever community he is based to help kids.

Current and former players were also involved with the youth camp, including D.J. Dinkins, backup tight end for the Super Bowl-winning New Orleans Saints and a former Panther.

“I think it’s great that these boys can come out and just run around and have fun,” Dinkins said. “Through all the publicity and hype that football gets, it’s still just a game.”

Scott McKillop, a more recent Pitt alumnus, also made an appearance at the camp. McKillop is now a reserve/special teams linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers.

“I think it’s awesome,” he said of the camp. “Anytime you can start kids at a young age and get them exposed to football, and show them how fun it is, when they get older they’ll be a step ahead of other kids.”

Very, very interesting about these camps.

That’s why the Pitt coaching staff has changed its philosophy on the prospect camps this year. At a time when many college camps are seeing a decline in attendance because of the economy, the Panthers had almost 300 more players attend their June prospect camps this year than last.

The fix was simple. Wannstedt invited 65 to 70 coaches from more than 40 universities — from the Mid-American Conference, Division I-AA, Division II and Division III schools — to work with and scout players at the camp. As a result, more high school players had an opportunity to get recruited.

“We’d get 100 or 200 kids here [in camp] and, really, we might only be interested in four or five and maybe one we’d offer a scholarship,” Wannstedt said. “That just didn’t sit right with me. I thought we could make the experience better for the players and really make the camps something that could help more kids play college football.

“We can only take 15 to 25 kids every year but there are an awful lot of really good football players out there who we’d bring to our camps and I felt like we could do a better job to make the camps something that would be helpful to them and help them get a shot that maybe they wouldn’t get otherwise.”

Now, beyond the cool thing of simply making more kids available to be evaluated to other programs, this is a brilliant goodwill program in the area.

You not only make the camp more than just learning for the kids, and an opportunity to be seen. You have them going back to their high schools talking about it. How Pitt and the coaches gave them opportunities.

Then there is the goodwill with the lower 1-A schools that get to take part. They know Pitt and Coach Wannstedt are helping them, and saving them some vital recruiting budget money. They can get a chance to evaluate and review more possible kids without having to go out as much on the recruiting trail. They can hone in on others. That goodwill can only help Pitt when it comes to getting the non-con games on the schedule later.

Also have to love how Coach Wannstedt puts all the money to the assistants rather than his own pocket.

Finally, congrats to Nate Byham for signing a deal with the 49ers.

The San Francisco 49ers have signed rookie tight end Nate Byham to a four-year deal.

The team announced the deal with its sixth-round pick Monday. Byham is the fourth of San Francisco’s eight draft picks to sign a contract.