Well this should be interesting.

The BIG EAST Conference and ESPN will announce a major new media agreement from ESPN Zone in New York at noon on Tuesday, August 29. The press conference announcing the agreement will be streamed live on ESPN360, ESPN’s customized broadband service.

Michael Tranghese, BIG EAST Conference Commissioner, and John Wildhack, ESPN Senior Vice President, Programming Acquisitions and Strategy will participate in the press conference. Bill Raftery, college sports personality and winner of the 2006 Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, will serve as host.

It seems that some of ESPN360 is generally available to view and some is “exclusive.” Meaning that your highspeed ISP has to be a partner with ESPN on this. Verizon appears to be a partner, but AT&T (formerly SBC) is not. The BE website will post details after the press conference.

We’ve been waiting on this for most of the summer. Rumors have been plenty, but not particularly clear.

Today is the local media day for Pitt. It is also time for the free preview of Panthers All-Access. It runs to the 15th before payment will be required. Right now there are 4 clips for viewing. A profile/interview with H.B. Blades and three with Coach Wannstedt talking about the team overall and expectations and the offense and defensive units.

Coach Wannstedt’s press conference will be carried live on the All-access at 9:15 am.

All-Access uses Windows Media Player, so Apple owners will feel discriminated and persecuted.

Story today focuses on how many players came from successful high school programs and never experienced a losing season until last year.

Given the pedigree of three of Pitt’s most important players, it is easy to understand why all three gave a puzzled look when they were recently asked at Big East media day what’s the best way to recover from a losing season. The Panthers were 5-6 last season, which marked their first losing campaign since 1999 — the same year Palko led West Allegheny to the first of three consecutive WPIAL crowns.

There’s some stuff about how last year with a couple good bounces the team could have been 8-3 and how the prior year the 8-3 regular season could have been 5-6. Which is essentially rebutted as an acceptable excuse.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt understands better than any of his players. Good teams might be a couple of bounces from a losing record, but great teams, the kind Wannstedt is trying to build, dominate most of their opponents and leave little to luck or chance.

“We are just starting to try and reload and build enough depth at every position that we can compete regardless of our injuries or whatever,” Wannstedt said. “I need to find the 22 best football players very quickly in camp this year, the 22 guys who give us the best chance to win, then fill in the spots behind them and go from there. We need to get to the point where we line up and beat people because we are better than they are.”

3 1/2 weeks to opening night kickoff.

Far be it from me to mock another school for having a decrepit football program, but…

Here’s how bad it is for Kentucky? Jim Beam, a personal favorite choice of mine, doesn’t even bother providing a “football” screen saver for the state in which the bourbon lives. Even more insulting, they provide one for Tennessee (no, they don’t have one for Pitt, but then they don’t have any for PSU, ND, and a host of others). Limited choices really — Florida, Texas, Ohio (St.), Michigan, and Georgia.
Just seems sad. Very sad.