Seriously? Again? What more info could they possibly need (Insider subs).

Pitt was supposed to hear this week from the NCAA about whether Mike Cook would receive a sixth season of eligibility. But the NCAA asked for more information, and Pitt has still not gotten a decision. Cook tore his ACL against Duke on Dec. 20.

I did check the date on Andy Katz’s blog post on this. It is for today, so it isn’t a rerun from info of last month. This is getting beyond stupid. The other problem with the continued delays is that it screws up the system if they do turn Cook down.

The NCAA system allows for appeals and requests for reconsideration. If the NCAA takes this long to make the first decision, there will be no practical chance to make an appeal and have a decision made before the school year starts. More than just making it very difficult for Pitt to set a roster, they are keeping Mike Cook’s life on hold with this. He’s in limbo with moving on to the rest of his life.

Ole’ Dick Rod has agreed to pay the $4 million buyout to the Hoopies. Damn.

I wanted this to go to trial. I wanted to have his wife deposed. Pastilong. Everyone. It was just so much fun to follow, watch and laugh.

A local Fox station in Memphis reported that Memphis and the Big East were hot and heavy in negotiations to have the Tigers join.

Ever since the Memphis Tigers got left behind in the Great Bum Rush to leave Conference USA– also known as the Big East expansion in 2003– Tiger fans have had one singular goal. To follow their old rivals from Louisville, and Cincinnati to the greener pastures of the Big East.

And here’s where it gets interesting.

Sources have confirmed to FOX13 Sports that University of Memphis officials have been in serious talks with the Big East about joining the conference.

Of course the Big East is denying this story.

…Big East spokesman John Paquette to track down these rumors that Memphis might join the Big East and he categorically denied them.

“No truth,” Paquette said by phone from Rhode Island. “I saw the clip. It’s a TV report with no named sources. No one from the University of Memphis. No on-the-record sources. We’ve been down this road. We are not talking about expansion with any institution.”

Repeat after me, there won’t be any expansion until there is a split of the conference between the football schools and the basketball only schools.

The meme on how loaded the Big East will be in basketball for 2008 continues to worm its way around. Per Jay Bilas at ESPN (insider subs.)

It’s still too early to put together a coherent Top 25 for next year, but it is not too early to determine that the Big East will be the best league in the country.

By October, expect the backlash. At the first stumble of an expected top team in the Big East there will be the “ah-ha, see the BE isn’t that good!”

One of the stories I have always been fascinated, because of the consequences and that shows how effed up college sports can be has been the Baylor-Dennehy scandal. This was where a Baylor basketball player was shot by one of his teammates in the off-season. As the investigation was getting underway, the then coach, Dave Bliss, wanted to cover-up how he was secretly paying the way for walk-ons who had transferred — including Dennehy. That included trying to mislead investigators that Dennehy was shot because of a drug deal — despite Dennehy having no involvement in that. He even wanted the assistants to help with the cover-up. One young assistant and former Baylor player was so disturbed by this, he taped one of the conversations.

He went to see a lawyer who eventually leaked the tape, and helped blow the whole thing up. In the fallout, Abar Rouse became blackballed in D-1 because he “betrayed” his head coach. This long piece on what has happened to him is a hell of a read.

Many coaches, including Hall of Famers Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski, have said that Rouse had crossed the line. “If one of my assistants would tape every one of my conversations with me not knowing it, there’s no way he would be on my staff,” Krzyzewski told “Outside the Lines” in 2003. The rank and file has fallen in step.

Despite beating down seemingly every door and mailing out countless résumés, Rouse has had only one basketball job in the past five years, a graduate assistant position at Division II Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. In October he made the agonizing decision to quit, unable to survive on the $8,000 annual salary.

…

Assistant coaches are basketball’s Secret Service, there to step in and take a bullet when one is fired at the man in charge. Indiana’s Senderoff was sent packing long before the NCAA’s tentacles reached Sampson; Dwane Casey took the initial heat for Eddie Sutton at Kentucky in 1989. Taking the fall is an act of honor, despite the fact it usually means some sort of violation occurred.

Turning a coach in, deservedly or not, is viewed through an altogether different prism. Among coaches who pontificate about integrity and ethics — the NABC, then headed ironically enough by Sampson, called an emergency summit the fall after the Baylor scandal to discuss the very thing — there is a hypocritical silent code: Thou shalt not drop a dime on one another. Or at least get caught doing so.

And in a career in which networking is critical for job placement, those who go against the silent code are exiled, left to scrap their way back or wait in hope that someone offers a lifeboat.

Bliss, by the way, got to coach in the NBDL for a year and actually felt like he has re-habbed enough to start showing up at the Final Four once more. Read it all.

East Carolina desperately has wanted in to the Big East since the re-formatting a few years ago. They still want to find their way in. Even if just in football.

OK, but what if a deal too sweet to beat existed? Just for kicks, let’s put one on the table in the form of, say, a job application. The school should be willing to:

• Play a conference football schedule with zero compensation from the Big East so current members don’t have to give up any of their share of revenue.

• Be responsible for negotiating a television contract for home games until the league wants the school to be a part of its package.

• Not expect any of the league’s BCS revenue until earning a BCS bid of its own representing the conference.

• Come in as a football member only. Other sports would play in another league in order to not interfere with the league’s current 16-member setup for all other sports.

• Show a solid track record of putting fans in the seats at home, on the road and at bowl games — all on a trial basis for a few years.

The Big East still won’t bite. They don’t have to. As much as it makes things difficult to schedule in football,  even a provisional, part-time new member would likely upset the delicate balance with the basketball schools. Until the conference realizes it has to split, ECU has no chance.

Finally, congrats to Dick Groat and Pitt great Don Hennon on being included for induction into the WPIAL Hall of Fame. That they weren’t been inducted years ago is more of a shock than anything else.

Last night was the night to get the taxes done. Anyone know if you can just not pay the taxes owed and let the IRS simply take the money from that “economic stimulus” check? Just asking. So, I missed the always startling news of player discipline issues.

Pitt defensive back Sherod Murdock has been suspended indefinitely for disciplinary reasons. Athletic department spokesperson E.J. Borghetti said the school has no further comment on the incident, which led to his suspension.

Murdock is a 6-foot, 170-pound redshirt freshman from Tampa, Fla. He is competing for one of the reserve safety spots.

Never like to read any player getting in some trouble. The vague reason just furthers message board/comment speculation. Of course, cynicism says this isn’t particularly problematic since Murdock would only be a back-up most likely. Plus, the suspension will only cost him the Blue-Gold Spring game. Most likely he’ll be back for training camp in August.

This is more troubling.

Pitt starting left tackle Jason Pinkston is being investigated for his role in an altercation on campus over the weekend.

It’s a relatively specific issue: on-campus “altercation” (reading as: fight). Considering Pinkston has been out of spring drills as he recovers from his shoulder injury, this is not the way to help the rehab.

UPDATE: Per the Pitt News, this bit.

Pitt defensive back Sherod Murdock was involved in an incident at Sutherland Hall Saturday night, Pitt Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Robert Hill confirmed.

Murdock was then suspended indefinitely from the football team yesterday for disciplinary reasons.

Pitt police responded to Sutherland at about 11 p.m. Saturday for “a disturbed, potentially violent person,” their log reported.

Hill said that Murdock’s suspension was connected to the incident, but added, “I had not said [this person and Murdock] were one in the same person.”

Um, and he didn’t say that he wasn’t. Sutherland Hall holds about 739 students and they were in lock down with this matter.

The police log said Pittsburgh medics transported the person to the hospital.

A UPMC Presbyterian operator confirmed Murdock had been in the hospital over the weekend and had been discharged. The operator would not give patient details other than name confirmation, including when the patient came to the hospital or when he was discharged.

Hill said one other member of the football team was involved in the incident, although his status on the team is not in question. The action, Hill said, is no longer under review.

Still, nebulous, but not good. No wonder EDSBS is looking to give Pitt some big points in the Fulmer Cup when this finally gets hashed out.

The Stanford job is open, but seriously, that’s not a job Dixon would take at this point. Aside from, at best being a lateral move, Stanford AD Bowlsby was an idiot. He put off Trent Johnson’s contract talk all season — then wasted two weeks after the season without making an offer (Johnson was in the last year of his contract). What? He thought no one would be interested in a classy, clean coach who won at Nevada and Stanford?

Besides, how eager would Stanford be to hire a Pitt coach after what happened with Walt Harris?

That said, expect rumors and reports that Jamie Dixon is in California. Because he is.

Pittsburgh basketball Coach Jamie Dixon is returning to the Southland Saturday to be honored by his alma mater, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, at the school’s annual Knights of Honor dinner-auction gala at the Universal Sheraton.

…

UCLA Coach Ben Howland, a close family friend, will introduce Dixon. Jimmy Kimmel is the master of ceremonies at the event.

Yes, Jimmy Kimmel is the MC of a HS alumni event.

Bob Smizik puts himself into an interesting little corner in his chat.

SDWC: Hi Bob, I noticed in your column this morning a line stating “It’s nice to see a coach with his eye on the real target “. Was that meant to be a quiet dig at Jamie Dixon and the Pitt BB philosophy?

Bob Smizik: Yes, it was a reflection on how Pitt proceeds in the post-season. It was refreshing to see Therrien have his eye on the big prize and not the conference title.

There’s a few other Pitt basketball questions after that, and then this.

Baxter: Who has had the more successful basketball program over the past several years? WVU with two sweet 16 appearances and one elite 8 appearance with an NIT title in between or Pitt and its early exits from the NCAA tourney.

Bob Smizik: Pitt, with its Big East TOURNAMENT championship, probably feels it has been more successful. I also think it has the better record, although I don’t have those numbers in front of me. But based on NCAA play, the big prize, I’d say West Virginia has the more successful program.

By recent years, that is then limited to just the past 4 because WVU hadn’t been in the NCAA Tournament since 1998, prior to 2005. Then by that logic, John Brady and LSU is a more successful program in recent years. A lot of good that did the new coach at Arkansas -Little Rock State.

Sorry, I can’t buy into that. There’s no question that the NCAA Tournament matters. That it is the big prize. But to be outright dismissive of the regular season and the Big East regular season and the Big East Tournament is beyond moronic. No, I take that back. It speaks of someone who just doesn’t care about college basketball beyond the NCAA Tournament at best. Arguably, it is one of the worst things about being a college team in a pro town. The mindset.

It’s that reasoning which allows the BCS to survive, as proponents point to the claim that at least with the BCS, the regular season matters. That every game counts and it isn’t just to get to the playoffs.

Personally, I’m not operating under any illusions that the loss to Pitt played any part in Rich Rodriguez’s decision to bolt WVU for Michigan. That’s just a little too much hubris that frankly, Pitt and we fans haven’t earned. To consider the guy who coached the Mountaineers to the upset over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl when held in Atlanta as some sort of choker is just silly. If you want to claim that he’s reached the point where he thinks he can’t go any further and seeks a higher level, I buy that. He nearly bolted last season for ‘Bama, but stayed for less money but key improvements in facilities and assistants pay. Arguing that if he had beaten Pitt, and was playing for the national championship and would have ignored Michigan’s entreaties is something I doubt. He was perfectly willing to go behind his own AD’s back with Michigan not seeking the cursory permission to speak.
I don’t like WVU or whining Rodriguez. I do respect, however, from a pure football standpoint what he has accomplished. His approach on offense and schemes he has developed has been one of the significant changes/innovations to college football in the past 20 years.

I also can’t help but feel a little pity for WVU. To lose the coaches who brought back their basketball and football programs in the same year to the same school is just beyond belief. That has to come back on the Wolverines at some point.

That said, he’s arguably as bad or worse than the duplicitous Bobby Petrino. Rodriguez was happy to use back-channels to let Michigan know he was interested and helped/aided in avoiding even the courtesy of having Michigan seek permission to talk to him. Add in that Rodriguez was a WV native and WVU alum and how much more does it hurt, even with his past flirtations.

It should also be a reminder/wake-up for Pitt and Pitt fans — and almost any other school and their fanbase — that hiring a “Pitt guy” means nothing. Absolutely nothing with coaching loyalty. If there is a better opportunity, more money or any other reason/excuse a coach will at a minimum listen and use it as leverage for more money.

That Coach Wannstedt hasn’t been approached in his time at Pitt is not a reflection of his loyalty but his win-loss record to this point. In the past Miami and Nebraska have both at least talked to him about their programs before he came back to Pitt.

I’m not trying to be negative, but I do think the coaching carousel deserves hard, cold cynicism. It’s why, when there is a change in coaching or the athletic department, nothing pisses me off more than hearing about the need for some “Pitt guy” or someone who understands the area or a local connection. The most important thing is to find the best coach for the job and who will do the best job. Period.

Don’t think the Big East won’t try. No conference likes to be completely embarrassed by poor, onesided officiating that has everyone turning a jaundiced eye that way. It’s one thing for the Big East to try and gloss over what happened when the announcers during the game and even commentators right afterwards saying things on the air.

It’s something completely different when everyone is putting it in print as well.

Peter King, SI.com:

10. I think these are my non-NFL thoughts of the week:

a. The officiating crew in the Pittsburgh-West Virginia game robbed Pitt, and very nearly caused the wrong team to win the game. Absolutely robbed Pitt. That crew shouldn’t sleep for a long, long time. The two fourth-quarter holding calls on Pitt were the biggest phantom calls I’ve seen in such a big spot in a long time.

Dennis Dodd, CBS Sportsline (Dec. 3 entry):

It looked like Big East officials were trying their hardest to get West Virginia through the Pittsburgh ordeal. The two holding calls on the Panthers receiver — the last one negated a touchdown run — were ridiculous.

Jack Bogacyzk, Charleston Daily Mail:

Even the Big East’s zebra crew seemed to want to pave WVU’s way to the national title game in the Superdome. A pair of holding calls on Pitt sophomore receiver Oderick Turner were particularly odoriferous, consider where and when they were flagged.

“Hey, we knew coming into the game,” said Pitt senior offensive tackle Mike McGlynn, “that the Big East, you know, they were going to try to get a team into the national championship and … they tried.”

Pat Forde, ESPN.com:

The Mountaineers fumbled the ball away three times and failed to take advantage of two highly dubious holding calls on Pitt receiver Oderick Turner that helped keep the game close.

Jacob E. Osterhout, SI On Campus:

We’d like to recognize the Big East officiating crew of the Pittsburgh-West Virginia game for calling two of the worst holding penalties ever recorded.

Matthew Zemek, CollegeFootballNews.com on FoxSports.com:

Well, if the Big East officiating crew hadn’t made a number of highly suspect holding calls on plays when West Virginia corners simply didn’t get off their blocks against Panther receivers, Pitt would have salted away this win much earlier in the evening.

A McCoy touchdown run — earned by a beautiful juke move in the open field on a 3rd-and-5 play from the Mountaineer 13 — was mysteriously called back on the kind of play that simply doesn’t get called at the FBS level. Nearly a quarter later, with Pittsburgh trying to hang on just before the three-minute mark of regulation, a superbly-executed reverse mini-option sprung McCoy for a first down on a 3rd-and-5. However, the yellow laundry emerged again, as a holding penalty was called on the same Pittsburgh receiver (Oderick Turner) who was wrongly flagged for holding on McCoy’s touchdown run.

Just for good measure, the Big East officials punished a Pittsburgh defensive back for celebrating after White’s last-ditch 4th and 17 pass sailed incomplete with 1:34 left in regulation. But by then, possession had already changed hands, and the Panthers finally ran the clock out on the Mountaineers and their national title hopes.

I’m not saying we will ever hear or read anything about this. The fact is, that officiating has been horrible throughout college football this year. The ACC had officials missing whether a FG was good. The Pac-10 has long been inept. You can bet there are complaints with Big 11 and Big 12 officials as well.

The Big East though (and these are only the games that I am thinking of off the top of my head) — the UConn-Temple game (officials on the field were MAC, but the replay official who “confirmed” no catch by the Temple player was Big East); Pitt-Rutgers, the offensive pass interference against Oderick Turner; the Notre Dame-Stanford game had 4 plays reversed by replay in one game — has really lowered the bar this year.

I am not willing to say that the Big East officials were acting under any orders from the Big East to get the Mountaineers into the BCS Championship game. I really don’t believe that. I do think that the official (or officials) in this game, though, were way too easily swayed/influenced by the home crowd/location.

John Soffey is the Big East’s Director of Football Officiating. He has work to do, and the Big East has some serious damage control. Pitt won, so there isn’t that sort of complete outrage. The coaches in the conference, though, are not going to let this go. The way the game and the season was officiated had to put a scare into all of them for future big games. It’s fairness and believing that they will be treated fairly. Right now, that’s in question.

I’m calm, I’m collected. How that office chair went through that window, I have no idea.

I haven’t been drinking to a stupor — though I thought about it — nor did I break my computer in response to the news. I have been trying to do a lot of things in the real world, so I can be clear for the trip to Morgantown. Never even got onto the computer to this point. I had left a message for one of my friends who was going to the game as well early in the afternoon. About an hour later he called me back while I was on my way to take my kid to a check-up at the doctor. That’s how I had the news broken to me that Pederson was rehired as AD. After that he broke the news to me about the Wannstedt extension.

Wow. Way to completely take the little bit of excitement and energy I had for the Backyard Brawl and crush it. Neither of us were joking when we both brought up the idea of bailing on the game completely. If not for the fact that someone else went to the effort of getting the tix in the first place, we probably would have.

This is what I said back in October after Pederson was dumped by Nebraska and there was some speculation that maybe Pitt might contact him.

Pitt and sequels just don’t work. This is not about wanting a Pitt guy/gal as the AD — I don’t particularly care. I want the best person for the job. Not someone the Chancellor already knows and may be comfortable with dealing.Pederson did a lot of good and some bad while at Pitt. He wasn’t the god/savior some make him seem for dragging the primary teams in the athletic department into the modern era, improving the facilities and finally getting a new basketball facility constructed. Nor was he the devil for changing the colors, logo and name and tearing down Pitt Stadium. For the most part he was a good athletic director who provided and acted in a way that helped Pitt. That doesn’t mean he should be brought back now that his alma mater has said “buh-bye.”

I’m sure there will be a column in the next day or two suggesting that it would be a good idea to bring back Pederson. That he would provide the energy to the athletic department and will make the hard choices, etc.

Feh. That’s just code for dealing with the only major public concern regarding the athletic department. Right now the issue is about the football program and its direction. Does the baseball program need shaken up? How about the men’s or women’s basketball? No. I don’t think so.

The athletic department could probably benefit overall from someone aggressive and with personality. It doesn’t, however, need the overhaul and makeover as before. Things have changed.

Bringing back Pederson would be taking the easy way, rather than being serious about looking for a new AD. It would also be one more sign that the athletic department is being run via proxy by Chancellor Nordenberg.

[Emphasis added.] And of course, there was the obligatory column from Ron Cook.

With the almost immediate decision that Wannstedt would get a 2-year extension, that would ostensibly take him into 2012 season. That this is happening means that we know who is really running the athletic department and that no Athletic Director hired would have had a say in the decision.

Hell, the press release announcing the re-hire of Pederson practically made it explicit the relationship.

Together they orchestrated a major revitalization of Pitt athletics that resulted in nationally ranked programs and state-of-the-art facilities. Today, that team was reformed as University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg announced the return of Steve Pederson as Pitt’s athletic director.

I have no animosity to Pederson, on a personal level. Don’t know the guy. I just don’t like trying to do sequels. It reeks of Pitt not seriously looking for the best candidate for Athletic Director. It’s about the guy the Chancellor likes. It means that Pitt never conducted much of a search. That the search committee got used.

I’m guessing the next news will be a new contract for DC Paul Rhoads.

I have been trying to catch up with reality after a long break away over Thanksgiving. That has meant a bit of neglect here on one of the most important weeks for Pitt football. I’m feeling a bit of guilt, so it’s time to kick off a little hate.

The ‘Eers are in the hunt for going to the BCS game. They benefited from the Big East scheduling them to have 3 of their final 4 games at home. Something most teams in a national title hunt would happily welcome. What team wouldn’t want to come down the final stretch and be in front of a home crowd? Apparently the team with a buckskin-clad mascot and like to stress their hale and hearty constitutions are a wee bit put off by having to play so many games in the cold. Seriously?

WVU athletic officials have brought this matter to the conference’s attention, according to coach Rich Rodriguez. He believes the fans deserve a better shake. “I would have preferred to have more Big East home games during the season in the month of October,” he said a week ago. “I think it’s the second year in a row we’ve had more games in November and December.”

Would he? Really? He would rather have more road games at this point for the comfort of fans? Fans who would otherwise be pissed at not having their team at home very much as they approach heading to the BCS Championship? Personally, while I grudgingly admire the coaching of Rodriguez — developing players for his system, teaching them and becoming the Yoda of the spread option — I think Rodriguez is more than a little bit of a whiner who would be complaining if the team had only one home game in November.

My fellow Fanhouser and unfortunate WVU alum, John Radcliff (who wrote the post linked above) has seen Mountaineer Stadium lose its edge in the last couple years. So, he seems to believe that it is the moneyed alum are responsible for bitching to the WVU officials.

Perhaps. Like I said, Rodriguez is a whiner by nature it seems. Whine, whine, whine.

Coach Rich Rodriguez is not exactly giddy about playing a game amid hunting season.

Not so much deer-hunting season — and a host of West Virginians and Western Pennsylvanians partake in that — but rather the period for tracking down prospective Mountaineers still in high school or junior colleges.

“This is the third year in a row West Virginia has missed a week” of the recruiting period, Rodriguez said yesterday. “When we only have six weeks of a recruiting-contact period, losing a week hurts.”

…

“I see a lot of people doing it,” he added of a rivalry finale. “I just don’t like playing it in December. Playing it this late, I don’t know if it’s that fun for our fans out there.”

Pathetic. Mountaineer fans not liking the cold. WVU officials complaining about too many home games late in the season. And a coach always complains about something.

Ahhhh. I feel better.

I’ve tried to not get into this too much, but I think something needs to be said. By now, I’m sure a lot of you have seen the video from Saturday’s PSU-OSU game in Happy Valley. At a tailgate party, Penn Staters throw beer cans and shout obscenities at Buckeye fans. The video made it’s way to Youtube but has now been taken down, probably by the kid who put it up in order to attempt to stay clear of any charges. It’s too late.

First thought: This is a perfect example to throw back at Penn State’s face. Look at their fans, acting classless and stupid, throwing things at opposing fans.

Second thought: Take a step back and look at it a little bit more. There’s no way this represents their entire fan base. Sure they might all be elitists, but they can’t all be the jerks the video showed them to be. When I want to see something involving Penn State, I always turn to Black Shoe Diaries. In Mike’s post with the original video:

This is Penn State, bitch.

No, son, that is not Penn State.

To the Ohio State fans featured in the video, I’m sorry. On behalf of the 99% of Penn State fans that are nice people capable of showing respect to opposing fans, I’m sorry. This is not the Penn State I know and love.

See, they’re not all bad people.

One point that many people noticed, though, was that the cameraman (who, if you saw the video, was worthy of a sucker punch to the jaw) mentioned his beer-slinging friend was from Pittsburgh. It didn’t necessarily mean he was a Pitt student though.

Today (via Mondesi’s House), I saw a link to an update on the story: the kid you see below is, in fact, a Pitt student.

Oh no! A Pitt student did this! Now there’s someone to blame! Whoa, hold on…

A Pitt fan did this? No, not a Pitt fan, but a Pitt student. If he is a Pitt fan, there’s no way in hell he’s up in Happy Valley helping Penn Staters to throw beer at innocent OSU fans. Also, this does not let the other 100 PSU fans involved get off the hook. A lot of them threw beer (but most completely missed) and all should be charged. Hopefully when this is all over, that Pitt student is no longer a student at our school.

Steve Pederson coming back to Pitt now that he is looking for a new job is a bad idea. Okay? Pitt and sequels just don’t work. This is not about wanting a Pitt guy/gal as the AD — I don’t particularly care. I want the best person for the job. Not someone the Chancellor already knows and may be comfortable with dealing.

Pederson did a lot of good and some bad while at Pitt. He wasn’t the god/savior some make him seem for dragging the primary teams in the athletic department into the modern era, improving the facilities and finally getting a new basketball facility constructed. Nor was he the devil for changing the colors, logo and name and tearing down Pitt Stadium. For the most part he was a good athletic director who provided and acted in a way that helped Pitt. That doesn’t mean he should be brought back now that his alma mater has said “buh-bye.”

I’m sure there will be a column in the next day or two suggesting that it would be a good idea to bring back Pederson. That he would provide the energy to the athletic department and will make the hard choices, etc.

Feh. That’s just code for dealing with the only major public concern regarding the athletic department. Right now the issue is about the football program and its direction. Does the baseball program need shaken up? How about the men’s or women’s basketball? No. I don’t think so.

The athletic department could probably benefit overall from someone aggressive and with personality. It doesn’t, however, need the overhaul and makeover as before. Things have changed.

Bringing back Pederson would be taking the easy way, rather than being serious about looking for a new AD. It would also be one more sign that the athletic department is being run via proxy by Chancellor Nordenberg.

Addition: Naturally, that was also the one topic on Zeise’s Q&A today. He’s slightly more receptive to it, but doubts Pederson would be interested.

Okay, the Pitt-Duke game at Madison Square Garden has Pitt making some tickets available to the big boosters, but the general ticket sales will start next week.

Pitt was allotted 3,000 tickets, which it plans to sell to Panther Club members. If tickets remain, Pitt will open sales to its season-ticket holders for all sports and to alumni association members Oct. 22, but not to the general public.

Duke is selling tickets through its Web site (www.goduke.com). Associate athletic director Mike Cragg said Duke’s ticket sales are usually restricted to Duke alumni and donors for neutral-site games, although he did not know the specifics for the Dec. 20 game or whether Pitt fans would be able to get tickets through Duke.

For now, it appears Pitt fans must wait until Madison Square Garden has its general sale. MSG is expected to begin selling tickets to the game next week. Fans can call Ticketmaster or go to msg.com to purchase tickets at that time.

Even though the game is being played at a neutral site, Duke is the de facto home team. The Blue Devils were given the majority of tickets to sell for the game.

Duke has an arrangement with MSG to play in New York or New Jersey every year. This is the fifth consecutive year Duke is playing at Madison Square Garden or the Meadowlands.

So there’s your ticket update for that game.

Over at College Basketball FanHouse I took a look a brief look at all 16 Big East schedules. The Pitt schedule snippet is here.

Another Big East topic I just put on FanHouse seems worth mentioning here.

Last month the Big East changed hosting organizations as it looks to get into more broadband multimedia stuff. They went with a company called JumpTV that is has really done a solid job with soccer content worldwide. Actually sounds like a good strategy.

The problem for the Big East is that all the media rights for football and basketball were granted to ESPN until 2013 under the latest contract. That’s why, even for football games that ESPN regional doesn’t even broadcast, no one else can pick up or show. Including the member schools on webcasts. ESPN holds the rights and as a policy doesn’t release them. I’ve pointed out how shortsighted this approach was back when the contract was announced.

That means most live events or even sporting events you could watch later on your computer are limited to field hockey and soccer. The best they offer for the marquee sports are highlights, audio broadcasts of the Big East game of the week, the weekly audio teleconferences between the media and Big East coaches (formerly free) and video interviews from the media day events. Oh, and the press conferences during the Big East Tournament. Whee.

For the full package they want people to pay $79.95 a year. Or $9.95 a month. You can buy football or basketball specific packages for $25. Yet the actual live or even archived video football/basketball game content is nil and won’t be changing for some time.

Quite the waste. It’s also worth noting that the Big East still doesn’t get online dealings. I actually made an effort to contact the Big East to find out more about the program. Whether, perhaps, there was any attempt to work out something with ESPN to loosen the restrictions. You would think with a new program and a questionable price point they would want to do what they could to sell and promote this to the hardcore junkies who actually spend a fair amount of time with online and broadband content. I actually waited a few weeks before doing the post hoping to give the other side of this.

Instead, silence. No response. Not even bothering with a form e-mail. It’s like they are just now realizing how stupid their deal on this front is and don’t really want to let people know about how little they offer.

You know, these are the sort of things that convince me that the lack of depth on the lines for Pitt are partially the fault of the whole frickin’ coaching staff, not just blaming it all on Walt Harris.

Wannstedt confirmed that redshirt sophomore Craig Bokor has returned to defensive tackle now that Gus Mustakas is lost for the season with a torn ACL.

Bokor started the season on defense but switched to offensive guard when freshman Chris Jacobson was lost to a knee injury.

This drives me insane.  Bokor is simply an extreme example of it. Craig Bokor is a redshirt sophomore, and they have yet to keep him from one side of the ball or the other. Forget about simply learning positions along the O-line or D-line, they keep moving him back and forth. From Wannstedt down, the Pitt coaches stress the importance of learning the system of getting experience and being ready. I want to know how Bokor can ever be ready when he has to keep changing sides of the ball in his 3d year at Pitt?
At the start of training camp, they said, this time for sure he’s staying at DT on the D-line. In less than a week, after Jacobson went down, back to the O-line. Now, a month later, back to the D-line. His entire Pitt career this has been happening. Exactly how can depth be developed if the coaches aren’t willing to keep players at a position to learn it?
Part of developing players. Especially linemen and just about any “diamond in the rough” type player is keeping them in one position so they can learn, get experience and step in.

Well, this doesn’t look good.

Levance Fields was charged with one count each of aggravated assault, disarming a police officer, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.

The incident took place at 1:50 a.m. at Pure nightclub. According to a police affidavit, an officer working an off-duty detail at Pure spotted Mr. Fields yelling at another police officer. The officer approached Mr. Fields and asked him to stop yelling and using offensive language.

Mr. Fields then went into the street and began arguing with an unknown black man. The officer approached Mr. Fields again and repeated his request that he stop yelling and using offensive language, at which time Mr. Fields cursed at the officer and struck him in the chest, police reported.

Mr. Fields then grabbed at the officer’s duty belt and reached for the officer’s weapon, according to the affidavit. The officer pushed him away, and a security officer shot Mr. Fields in the chest with a Taser.

Fields has a court date on the 24th. Like Coach Dixon, I’m fine with a bit of wait-and-see on what happens, especially considering the preliminary hearing is next Monday.

“Earlier today I was informed of an incident at an off-campus location involving Levance Fields. At this juncture, we will let the judicial process run its course before determining what disciplinary action is necessary. We have built a successful program at Pitt, on and off the court, by prioritizing personal accountability and responsibility. We will not compromise when it comes to those values.”

There is no immediate need to suspend Fields since they aren’t even at formal practices right now. I do expect some sort of suspension for Fields regardless of how the charges are eventually resolved/pled down. Fields clearly messed up, badly.
Seeing the Yuri Demetris comparisons are way off to me. Demetris was stalking, purposefully breaking into an ex-girlfriend’s place. It also took place in the season, necessitating an immediate suspension then being kicked off of the team. The Demetris comparisons are just not apt in my mind.
I’m not trying to diminish the seriousness of what Fields may be facing in charges. Especially with the accusation that he reached for a police officer’s weapon. That’s the part that takes it beyond drunken stupidity.

I guess, Fields was sick of seeing Duquesne get all the fun headlines the last few weeks.