“Pittsburgh Live” and now “Post-Gazette NOW.” Oy.

At least the Trib, finally figured out that no one cared or particularly like the whole “Live” thing. They’ve stuck with the URL, but “LIVE” longer appears anywhere on the site or in the web banner.

The whole “NOW” thing is just as stupid and should be dropped. It’s one of those moronic things where the marketing department sat around looking at the redesign thinking about how they can stress the newness and updates. One of them looks up from his box lunch at the conference table and says, “NOW!”

The new design isn’t bad. It’s clean, easy enough to read and the navigation seems simple enough. A little generic, but I’ll take generic and easy to use over visually stimulating and confusing. It is loading quite slow, however, and maybe that’s just an early glitch.

— A “marathon” negotiating session last week led to former Panther Darrelle Revis getting a deal done with the New York Jets. Aside from 1st overall pick JaMarcus Russell and Revis, every other 1st round pick had been signed. Revis has a bright future ahead of him, and SI’s Peter King lists him as a CB on his “All-Future Team.”

The Cleveland Browns thought enough of him to have him ranked as a top-five player in the draft this year — and the Jets thanked their lucky stars Revis was still there at No. 14. He’s got excellent cover skills and is a willing tackler.

— CBS SportsLine predicts Pitt will finish sixth in the Big East over UConn and Syracuse.

6. Pittsburgh: Which way you headed, Wanny? Without a proven quarterback and six new starters on defense, Dave Wannstedt is on the hot seat. Watch roadies at Virginia and Michigan State. They will be an indicator of his future.

Pitt and Cincinnati in the 5/6 spots seem to be a toss up. And the comment about Wannstedt being on the hot seat is a bit premature; but it got some talk in the discussion thread.

— Sports Illustrated devoted this week’s issue to previewing college football. They also have Pitt coming in at #6 in the BE with a 5-7 overall record and 2-5 in conference. Not a ton of love there — but they do give a nod to Oderick Turner who is going to be a little more widely known since he’s our top receiver right now.

— Both PSI and Kevin Gorman report that freshman offensive guard Chris Jacobson badly hurt his right knee and will need surgery. The procedure will like take place next week and though he will possibly miss the whole season, Wannstedt did not entirely rule him out for the rest of the year. Obviously, redshirting him is looking like the smart option.

— Beano Cook was a guest on Mark Madden’s show on ESPN Radio 1250. Cook, who Madden calls the “Pope of college football,” says Pitt’s home schedule is the worst it’s been since World War II. That’s not a joke — Beano knows. He also says that LeSean McCoy will see a ton of playing time this year and will make an immediate impact. I found it funny when Cook, at a young 75 years old, referred to McCoy as “Shady.” He also says McCoy will be Pitt’s running back for 3 years before jumping to the NFL.

Steelers camp started, so Pirates season is over. Or at least we wish…

The Pirates’ Sept. 8 home game against the Chicago Cubs is being listed as a 3:55 p.m. nationally televised game for Fox on that network’s Web site.

Officially, though, the first pitch remains set for 7:05 p.m., as no one has informed the Pirates of a switch.

Although Fox has the right to shift a limited number of games for its national broadcasts, the Pirates can be expected to resist this one because the University of Pittsburgh has a noon football game against Grambling at noon that day at Heinz Field. That could wreak havoc not only with traffic but also with staffing, as the two North Shore stadiums employ many of the same service workers.

The first time I read that (from the P-G, by the way) I couldn’t get past the sentence, “a noon football game against Grambling at noon.” Once I made it through that though, I realized that if the Pirates are unable to get the time changed back to 7:05 then the entire date of the Pitt game could be in trouble.

I’m not certain how the decision works as to whether it will be kept at the time Fox wants or moved to a night game. Looking at the potential amount of room the Pirates have to make a case with, things don’t look too good: One of the worst records in the league (Cubs are fighting for the NL Central lead) and a TV market that is much smaller in comparison to Chicago.

You might remember that the start time of the Michigan State game last year had to be moved to noon because the Pirates have the parking lot priorities and lots need to be emptied 1.5 hours before the first pitch. With a 3:55 first pitch, lots need to be empty at 2:30, so we’d be looking at a 10:30 kickoff…or another Thursday night game.

To go along with the famous Grambling band coming to Pittsburgh, there is going to be a “Battle of the Marching Bands” at the Pete with high school bands from around the area. It is going to be held on September 7 — a Friday. As the message boarder says:

First of all, there aren’t going to be any decent high school marching bands at the event because THEY WILL ALL BE PERFORMING AT THEIR RESPECTIVE SCHOOLS’ FOOTBALL GAMES!!!!!!!!!

Perfect planning, as always.

These are the articles that don’t focus on a particular player, coach, position battle. Just the broad overview articles that bounce from one area, side of the ball and theme quickly trying to weave it all into one cohesive story. Of course the focus will still be on what Coach Wannstedt said, like this from the AP.

But as his players posed for pictures on the day before the start of fall camp, Wannstedt didn’t offer excuses for the failed finish of last year or the perception that Pitt is falling further and further behind the Big East’s best teams.

Rather, he suggested a turnaround is near, now that the majority of starters — at least 14 — are his own recruits and not those of predecessor Walt Harris. Wannstedt also likes the competitiveness at many positions, such as on the defensive line. There, he said, the backups are nearly equal to the starters for the first time since he took over.

Then there’s the picking up of one theme from the day and using that as the story arc throughout.

“Finish,” Wannstedt said Monday morning at Pitt’s Media Day, “is going to be a big word you’re going to hear me talk about.”

After going 6-6 last season – Pitt was picked to place sixth in the Big East in a media preseason poll – the Panthers have been hearing the word so much that it has become a prevalent theme.

“Whether it’s talking about finishing every single rep in the weight room or on the field, every single run or time spent watching film,” junior quarterback Bill Stull said, “the word finish has been embedded in our mind.”

Some, though, haven’t forgotten a huge Dave Wannstedt theme and maybe asks one of the best questions in a stock “5 keys/questions” overview.

5. Will this team be faster?

When Pitt plays Big East Conference heavyweights West Virginia and Louisville, the Panthers’ lack of speed is apparent. Wannstedt continues to recruit faster athletes than previous head coach Walt Harris did. Judging from what the rest of the Big East Conference thinks – Pitt was picked to finish sixth out of eight teams – Wannstedt needs a few more recruiting classes like the one he secured for this year to catch up.

You know, Hoopie fans and others point derisively to Coach Wannstedt’s comments at the halftime of the 2005 Backyard Brawl when Pitt was getting beaten badly about what the team needs to do. “Get faster,” was the comment and that was a long-term thing. The team is supposed to and better be faster this season.

Despite Coach Wannstedt’s efforts to minimize the QB battle versus all of the other position competitions and his back-and-forth attempts to declare the position wide-open, the lead story in multiple papers/media outlets is about who will be the quarterback. Specifically, it will be Bill Stull as the presumed starter. It just seems that there is a countdown until the questions really start coming on who will be the starter.

Some liken this to the most undecided Pitt has been at QB since 1999.

From Pete Gonzalez to Rod Rutherford to Tyler Palko, Pitt has produced a string of successful, efficient quarterbacks over the past decade. Even Matt Lytle, a starter in 1996 and 1998, enjoyed a brief stint in the NFL as a backup with the Carolina Panthers.

Each time a quarterback left, another proved ready to emerge. For instance, when Rutherford left as Pitt’s fourth all-time leading passer, Palko stepped in and put up bigger numbers. The last time uncertainty at quarterback arose, David Priestley and John Turman went back-and-forth as starters. That was during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

Of course, that’s a bit of revisionism — or simply forgetting something. Palko didn’t just step in after Rutherford graduated. He spent the entire training camp in a virtual dead heat with Luke Getsy before getting the nod and Getsy transferred. That actually seems like a closer comparison at this point.

Of course, Stull being the early leader to start means he also faced the most attention in the  media day with the players. He apparently handled it well (…Stull really handled all the media scrutiny very well and he showed he is mature enough to handle the rigors of being in the spotlight), and leads to his first puff piece.

Judging by the way he led his team through spring drills and a tortuous offseason conditioning program – not to mention the way he handled yesterday’s media crush like a 10-year pro — that might not be a bad thing.

None of the off-field stuff equates to playing in a game, of course, but it’s the only criterion upon which to judge Stull thus far.

Point being, he has carried himself like a bona fide leader in his quest to replace his roommate from last season, Tyler Palko.

There’s also a quote from Offensive Coordinator Matt Cavanaugh saying he believes that starting job is Stull’s to lose.

And back with the highlights of the Q&A. Or at least what I felt mattered.

On the subject of QBs, Coach Wannstedt zigged and zagged a bit on the matter. He declared that Bill Stull was the starter if they had to decide coming out of spring practice. Then backtracked to say that all 3 QBs would have the opportunity and play with the first team in training camp. Then came back to say that Stull was still the leader. Honestly, watching the way he delivered the answer made it seem a lot less clear than the press conference transcript.

Is it fair to characterize the quarterback competition as wide open or is Bill Stull the leader?I think that you come out of spring practice (with) Bill being the starter but these next four days will be great for that because Pat Bostick will get an equal amount of reps as will Kevan Smith too. It is open right now but Billy is the guy that they’re trying to unseat.

What do you like about Bill Stull and what are his strengths?

He’s a gamer. The players believe in him. There’s no question about that. He knows our offense. You could go out right now and Billy will run the offense. I think he’s one of those guys who seems to perform better when the lights come on as compared to just in practice. If you go out and just watch Billy in practice, he may not be the most impressive guy but he’s kind of a gamer. He’s thrown a lot of touchdowns in his career. He’s also had a very good off-season and he’s not taking anything for granted. He wants to win the starting job.

Trust me, Coach Wannstedt was not nearly that clear in the press conference. I think it is Stull’s job to lose, and Wannstedt is not ready to make that formal a statement.

Coach Wannstedt ended up going off an interesting tangent when asked about the fact that this team is now mostly his recruits.

…You go into the homes of these kids and talk with their parents and tell them that we’re going to do everything we can to get your son a degree and everything we can to take his football skills to the next level and we’re going to do everything we can to make him a better person four years from now then he is today. You want those things to happen and every situation is not going to work out that way but it’s my responsibility and our responsibility because these are our kids. We’re going to have some kids get off on the wrong path but we’re going to do everything we can to help these kids and try and fulfill that commitment we made to them.

As for what one of the emphasis the coaches say they will be putting on the team: Finishing.

You know, `finish’ is going to be a big word that you’re going to hear me talk about a lot because even in those situations, the players came out of the gate ready to go. I mean the West Virginia game at halftime. The Louisville game at halftime, they’re all winnable games at that point and then we have to find a way to make plays and we have to find a way to finish those games. Even the Rutgers game, it was there to be had. We had to make a play. They made a play and we didn’t. This year, that’s going to be a real focus for our football team.

“Finish” sounds like a fine thing. As in, “finish the tackle,” “finish the block,” “finish the play.”

When asked about the biggest “hurdles” the team has to overcome, he started with the cliche for about half-a-second then got to reality.

I just think a consistency thing. If you want to get right to the point we have to run the ball and stop the run. That’s the two biggest hurdles we have really.

And that of course, brings it back to the lines, depth and players.

Jovani Chappel, we’ve been grooming him to possibly move to safety. He’s a good tackler, one of our better tacklers on the defense, smart kid. He’s kind of our nickel-dime back. So he’ll start working some at safety. Jemeel Brady will be at linebacker. Lowell Robinson will be at corner. We have a couple of these young running backs who I’m not sure are going to stay at running back. We may move them to linebacker or safety. Greg Williams, we’re going to see him carry the ball. Shariff Harris, we’re going to see him run the ball. We know McCoy will be a back, we know Hynoski will be a back but there could be a few more changes. Right now we have 16 defensive linemen on scholarship so there will be a few of those defensive linemen that probably move over to offense.

…

When McGlynn comes back, we’re going play the best five guys and from that standpoint, every guy needs to know that they need to go out and prove themselves. By not zeroing in at one position with McGlynn…hey, if Vangas is doing a great job or Bachman comes on and he’s our center, we’ll move McGlynn to left tackle. I like that mentality and not locking guys in, particularly when they have a lot to improve. I’m really excited about Jeff Otah.

I realize I don’t see them practice, so I don’t know for sure. I’m just a little confused about Lowell Robinson playing corner, when the need is at safety and Robinson was a standout safety in Junior College, they bounced about in a couple positions last year. I’ll defer to the coaches on this, but I don’t even pretend to understand. When you bring in a JUCO player, it just seems that their time is too short to fool around with their position this much.

I had it planned. I would tune in to the live stream of the Wannstedt opening press conference this morning. (Yes, I broke down at the end of spring practice and paid for the discounted All-Access, but I could rationalize it as a business related expense I can deduct from my taxes when I eventually use something from the All-Access in FanHouse.) Naturally, my kids had other ideas about me being able to listen and take notes. Missed huge gaps, and by the time I had finished listening to the archived version, the transcript was available.

Still, the transcripts aren’t perfect reproductions and I did get to hear the tone of some of the answers to try and divine some of the deeper meanings and how emphatic or not Coach Wannstedt felt in his response.

In the opening remarks from Associate AD E.J. Borghetti it was noted that after the press conference and Q&A it was across the street to the complex to do interviews with the full coaching staff, AD Jeff Long and all the players — except for the 2007 recruiting class as NCAA rules don’t allow them to do interviews until after their first practice which is tomorrow. So, the articles in the coming days will be reflecting that additional interviewing resource for the media.

The personal amusement highlight to watching the video was the scene of Wannstedt taking the podium and saying he was ready to start. Then it was a swarm of media masses rushing the podium to place their digital recorders on the podium.

Some of the things I thought were worth highlighting from Coach Wannstedt’s opening statement about the team and program:

We want to graduate as many players as we can from Pitt and we want to get as many players from our football team into the National Football League. That’s a great reflection on our University. We have 11 seniors going into this year and eight of the 11 seniors will have their degree before we complete the football season.

On a related note, how many noted seeing Rob Pettiti playing for the Saints last night? Hope he sticks. Never quite figured out why the Cowboys cut him last season when he started for them as a rookie the year before.

We came out of spring feeling really satisfied. We felt like we made strides in the areas we need to make strides. Did we solidify a lot of positions? No, but that’s what training camp is all about.

…

With that being said, we do have spots that will have good competition in training camp and that’s exciting. If we didn’t have players that could play and were capable of stepping up, then I think that is when you stand here as a head coach and you feel concerned. I’m not concerned about that because we have players ready to step up.

Whoever our three starting linebackers are, I promise you this, our number four, five and six guys are going to be very close to those starters and that’s encouraging. That’s encouraging from a standpoint of talent and from a standpoint of depth.

Umm, or terrifying.

…but I do know that we’ve had a great off-season. Our kids have done a great job. Some guys have gotten bigger and the guys that needed to get smaller did just that. I do believe that our football team is in great shape. We’re ready to go physically and because of some of the training techniques and some of the things that we demanded from our players through our off-season program, I believe that our football team is mentally tougher.

Hands in the air if you thought a football coach would declare that his team has gotten mentally soft before the first training camp practice. Not to mention declaring that the offseason conditioning was a complete bust. I’m not saying that Wannstedt isn’t correct or that it isn’t true, it’s just, what do you expect a coach to say about those things?

The first week of practice will be the same procedure as last year. Dividing the kids into two groups to practice. The older, more veteran and starting players in the morning will be on these squads and the younger or deeper down the full depth chart players will be in the afternoons. The coaches pull double duty, but all the kids get more opportunity and chances when the first week only allows 1 practice per day.

Coach Wannstedt ended his opening remarks with this:

With that said, this is where we’re at — everybody is here, everybody is accountable and we’re looking forward to getting started.

I think this is where I’m supposed to make a snide comment about DC Paul Rhoads and accountability.

Back later with some of what I thought was interesting from the Q&A.

Chas mentioned that Pitt released the 2007 football media guide for download — so I read it from electronic cover-to-cover. Things that I liked/caught my eye/were interesting/etc…

Page 6, “This Is Panther Football” —

Dave Wannstedt and Stillers’ coach Mike Tomlin posed for a picture together. There was talk that Wanny only took the Pitt job as a way to eventually get the Steelers job. Oh, the irony.

Page 6, “This Is Panther Football” —

We were in a staff meeting and I’m sitting at the far end of the table — it was the ’76 year, the year we (Pitt) won the National Championship — and I think my job that day was to make the coffee. I’m looking at Coach (John) Majors and said to myself, “Someday, I will be the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh.” -Dave Wannstedt

Page 7, “This Is Panther Football” —

I believe I can make a difference on the football field, but just as important, I believe I can make a difference at the university and in the community. I think all those things are vital and all those things are very important.

I hardly believe any college football player would say this without having it written down for him.

Page 8, “This Is Panthers Football” —

With 49 consensus All-Americans, Pitt is 7th among Division 1-A programs. And Penn State fans tell us we have no history.

Page 9, “This Is Panthers Football” —

The outfit Tony Dorsett wore to accept his Heisman Trophy was spectacular. Must have been a ’70’s thing, I guess?

Page 10, “This Is Panthers Football” —

On a page subtitled “Championship Caliber Staff” lies a picture of Paul Rhoads.

Page 13, “This Is Panthers Football” —

A collage of Pitt players in the NFL including Kevan Barlow in his Steelers practice uni. There’s some doubt as to whether he’ll even make the team.

Page 15, “This Is Panthers Football” —

Tyler Palko makes two appearances on the “Pitt Is So Great Because We’re Community Minded” page. Seriously though, Palko is known to be a great guy and his love and care for a friend with Down Syndrome are well documented.

Page 17, “This Is Panthers Football” —

The point in having a page about the Petersen Events Center is what…? I don’t seem to be able to recall the last time I saw a Pitt football game played at the Pete.

Page 20, “This Is Panthers Football” —

The player’s lounge in the Pitt locker room at the UPMC Center looks like a pretty nice place, yeah?

Page 22, “This Is Panthers Football” —

The U of Pitt was founded in a log cabin back in 1787. Our school was founded in a log cabin and I’m damn proud of it.

Page 23, “This Is Panthers Football” —

While Pittsburgh used to be called Steel Town, they need to call it Knowledge Town. -President Bush

That President of ours, always good for some comedic relief.

Page 26, “This Is Panthers Football” —

On a personal note, I almost got my own picture in the media guide (sort of). At College Basketball Gameday back in January I was in the front row, dead center…but in the picture they used, a giant flag is being waved and blocking me from view. Grrr…

Page 41, “2007 Preview” —

The title page of the section about the upcoming season features the picture above. Offensive lineman Jeff Otah blocking…his own teammate?

Page 42, “2007 Preview” —

The QB section notes that Tyler Palko took all of the meaningful snaps of the past three years and I become more and more unsure about the 2007 season.

Page 46, “Preseason Depth Chart” —

The preseason depth chart they have does not include the incoming recruiting class so it’s not really what we’re looking for.

Page 48, “Preseason Honors” —

I never knew that there were s many preseason awards and lists out there. It seems like every player on the Pitt roster is listed with some sort of award they could receive.

Page 64, “Coach Profiles” —

Fact you didn’t know: Chris LaSala, assistant AD and director of football operations, is a graduate of West Virginia.

Page 69, “Coaching Staff” —

Yet another fact you didn’t know: There is such an award called the “Big East Video Coordinator of the Year.” Our video guy, Chad Bogard, is a two time recipient of the award.

Page 73, “Player Profiles: Chris Bova” —

While scanning the profiles I came across the word matriculating. If you know what that means without looking it up then I’m impressed.

Page 92, “Player Profiles: Austin Ransom” —

I think Austin Ransom wins the award for the best hair on the team.

Looks like a certain Simpson’s character.

Page 99, “Player Profiles: Oderick Turner” —

In high school, Turner was the NJ state high jump champion. Jumping over a height of 6-4, he can clear me by 2 inches.

Page 107, “2007 Rosters” —

The pronunciation guide clears up a debate I had with someone last year about how to say Jovani Chappel’s last name. For the record, it’s “sha-PELL”.

Page 113-130, “2006 Season in Review” —

This whole section is just stats from a disappointing year and is pretty dull in general.

Page 134, “Team Records” —

All kinds of fun info in this section and especially on this page.

Longest play from scrimmage in team history: 91 yards (George McLaren in 1917 and Alex Van Pelt in 1992)

In 1914 we beat Dickinson by a score of 96-0. More recently, we pounded Rutgers 76-0, back in 1977. On the other hand, the biggest margin of defeat came in a 72-0 loss to Ohio State back in 1996.

Page 135, “The Last Time…” —

The last time we had a punt return for a TD is Revis’ against WVU. I don’t think we’ll be forgetting that one anytime soon.

Page 131-164, “Team Record Book” —

The above two items were just a small sample from what I think is the best section of the guide. If you’re going to read one section, this is the one.

Page 166, “Pro Football” —

The guide lists 23 Panthers on NFL teams, however it was done before Curtis Martin retired so the actual number is 22. The most former Panthers on one team is three: Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Lee, and Gerald Hayes of the Arizona Cardinals. The Jets (Darrelle Revis, Hank Poteat) and the Saints (Tyler Palko, Rob Petitti) are the only other teams with more than one former Pitt player.

Page 183, “Postseason Games” —

They have picture of Palko from last year’s Senior Bowl…but not one of the ones with him in a script Pitt helmet.

Inside back cover —

Forget the words, I just really like the actual photo they used.

So there it is, (most) of the good stuff to see in this year’s football media guide. The season is just around the corner.

On the front page of PittsburghPanthers.com is a link to the 2007 Football Commercial and in it we see what look like the jerseys we’ll be wearing this year. The following are screen shots from that commercial.

A view of the front with the block PITT letters bigger than I ever would have imagined, which I sort of like.

A view of the jersey front from farther back.

Helmets look to be the same as last year. The TV numbers are moved from the top of the shoulder to the side.

Numbers also look like the same as last year. Interesting to note that there are no names on the back. I’m pretty sure we’ll see them there by September 1, though. There was never any talk of names being removed and it’s possible that there simply wasn’t enough time to put names on between getting the jerseys and shooting the commercial.

Again, I’ve been told they would be officially unveiled on August 9th.

I don’t know, maybe I’m just not getting enough sleep. It’s hard to be a sportswriter in the late summer when the baseball team sucks and there’s no training camp. So I’m willing to pardon a little stupidity.

While I had been a bit distracted, last week Bob Smizik wrote a piece ripping into Pitt’s home football schedule this year. To some degree, everyone has. Pitt fans and ticket-holders (including myself) have been mocking a lousy, uninteresting home schedule where the marquee game is against Navy. And that was moved to Wednesday night to make it a real pain. It’s such an easy target, no one can resist trashing it and pitying the fans who actually get season tickets.

Since it was Smizik, though, he did it in a way that ensured pissing off Pitt fans. He started by imagining an ultimatum from Penn State for a 3-for-2 deal. It was a lazy column, that didn’t involve much work. Frankly, typical Smizik effort, but hey there are only so many ways to complain about the Pirates by the end of July.

A good amount of the irritation, though, seemed to be from being reminded of it — by Smizik. The overall schedule is fine, but there is nothing about the home slate that makes anyone think they need to circle the dates. Not really sure why the Big East has put Pitt with such an unbalanced Big East schedule with Louisville and WVU (and to a lesser extent with Rutgers) as both being either home or away in the same year. It could be argued that it gives Pitt a better chance at the Big East title in even numbered years, but that presupposes a lot of foresight by the Big East and that Pitt will be in a position to challenge in those years.

Then Paul Zeise got in trouble for comments he made regarding Michael Vick, dog fighting allegations and suggesting that Vick would have been better off committing rape rather than doing dog fighting. Rape was apparently the wrong crime to compare. Everything else is acceptable.

Plus, Vick could have been accused of murdering a stripper, blowing up a shopping mall or funneling his Nike money to Al Qaeda, and people wouldn’t have been even 1% as outraged as they are about the dogfighting allegations. You can get away with just about anything these days; just don’t tick off dog lovers.

Suggesting rape or pedophilia seem to be about the only comparisons not allowed.

The funny thing is that Zeise probably wasn’t wrong. Anyone else remember when Sebastian Janikowski was arrested for possessing the date rape drug, GHB? What was he planning to do with that? He never suffered major repercussions for that, professionally.

The 2007 Pitt Football Media Guide has been released and is available to download.

Get reading.

Yesterday at the end of the post about Clermond having charges against him dropped, I was going to rip the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. They were the first media outlet to report the story of his arrest back on July 24 when Paul Zeise broke the story on the P-G’s website. And when it was published online, they put it in REALLY BIG LETTERS at the top of the page. So I was a little curious as to why it took them so long to put up the story of his release from the charges. Does the Post-Gazette have some sort of anti-Pitt agenda? (Gasp!)

I decided not to bring it up yesterday, and today I learned that it might have just been a product of a bad week for Mr. Zeise.

In introducing the topic, Pompeani said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is “probably going to suspend [Vick] for the rest of the season, the whole year. Is he right to do that given the fact this guy has not been convicted of anything?” Alexander answered: “Absolutely. When you’re indicted by the federal government, you’re going down. Since 1987 they have a 92 percent conviction rate.”

Zeise took an opposing view. “It’s really a sad day in this country when somehow … Michael Vick would have been better off raping a woman if you look at the outcry of what happened. Had he done that, he probably would have been suspended for four games and he’d be back on the field. But because this has become a political issue, all of a sudden the commissioner has lost his stomach for it.”

I don’t know what the best part of the article is: Zeise’s comments or the fact that the apology from the newspaper was penned by the lovable Bob Smizik.

This fails to explain why Pitt coverage has always been a little bit behind from the P-G. Meanwhile, Kevin Gorman over at the Trib does an excellent job and keeps from being a complete homer.

Two days ago the Des Moines Register published an article about Big Ten commish Jim Delany talking about possible expansion from 11 to 12 teams (link via USA Today). Since then it’s been a strong point of discussion on TV, in newspapers, and on blogs.

The expansion talks come with the upcoming release of the Big Ten Network. The network, which is scheduled to launch Aug. 30, could use another big-name university in a large television market to gain more exposure for the network and its sponsors.

So who could be that extra team? Obviously the first team that the conference will give significant attention to will be Notre Dame, but it’s more than likely that ND will quickly turn down the offer. A national TV deal, the ability to schedule whoever they want, and the fact that they can take the Big East’s bowl bids. As long as the Big East is getting a BCS bid then ND will gladly take it. Might as well cross the Irish off of the list of possibilities right now.

Then next tier of possible teams include Syracuse and Rutgers. Syracuse first: they allow the conference’s reach to extend to upstate New York. It’s a decent media market but wouldn’t get the attention of NYC residents. Plus they’re primarily a hoops school and the Big East, while not one of the top two or three football conferences, is one of the best for basketball.

What about Rutgers? They might feel as though if they add Rutgers they will gain a hold on New York City, the #1 US market, but that’s hardly true. Piscataway is over 40 miles from NYC and even after the RU football team has picked up a ton of hype, the NYC market barely notices. NYC is a pro sports town dominated by the Yankees, Mets, Knicks, and both NFL teams — not much room left for a college team, located a half hour away no less, to get attention.

The last tier of possibilities likely includes the following teams: Louisville, Missouri, your Pittsburgh Panthers, and maybe a handful of others. Louisville is a program that as a whole is on the rise…but they’re TV market isn’t all that appealing. It’s no secret that Missouri wants to join the Big Ten and adding them opens up the state of Missouri including possibly St. Louis. But what about Pitt? Well, what are the current B10 members saying about Pitt? One of the best college football bloggers (Brian Cook) on one of the best CFB blogs (MGoBlog) has this to say about the Panthers:

PROs: Geographic and academic fit. Also provides natural rival for Penn State. Football program has rich history; basketball program would be a fine addition.

CONs: Michigan and OSU are already raiding the hell out of the WPIAL. Adding Pitt opens no new recruiting grounds and only marginally raises interest in the Pittsburgh market. Their football fanbase would be amongst the worst in the conference.

Verdict: I guess. I would rather take a chance on Rutgers, personally.

Black Shoe Diaries has this to say…

2. Pitt – This isn’t the smartest choice for the Big Ten, but then this is my wish list. For all the crap I give Pitt around here, I want to see this rivalry played every year. Everyone does. Adding Pitt makes that happen.

But this doesn’t jive with Delany’s wish to expand the market for his new network. If it’s true he has an eye on the New York market, Pitt isn’t going to work.

Basically it comes down to this — the pros vs. the cons. We’re here in Pennsylvania, so we’re close enough for consideration. We have a long traditional rivalry going with PSU. As Brian says, we have a football program with a strong history and I don’t think things are going to be much worse than last season — things can really only go up. Our basketball team has been one of the best in the nation over the last 5 years and it doesn’t look like it’s going backwards any time soon. Pitt is also more than a two sport school. Many of our other sports are doing well, including a women’s hoops team on the rise. We have great facilities for football, basketball, and swimming, and with the planned renovations, the “Olympic sports” will have upgraded facilities as well.

That’s the good stuff…so what about the bad? Firstly, adding us doesn’t exactly open up a whole new market. Whether we like it or not, there’s a large contingent of Penn State folks here in Pittsburgh, so the Big Ten already has a portion of the city’s attention. We’re not in a recruiting area that hasn’t already been tapped into by Big Ten teams like they might get from a team like Missouri.

So what are the actual chances that we’d ever get seriously considered/invited? If I had to guess, I’d say the list looks like so (remember this is not who the B10 WANT, but the chance of it actually HAPPENING):

1. Rutgers
2. Missouri
3. Pitt

MGoBlog has the same three but instead has Pitt at #2 and Mizzou at #3. Black Shoe Diaries has Pitt at #2.

Say next year we do, in fact, have an offer extended to us. What’s our answer? Do we stay put in the Big East or take it? Personally I don’t know what I want us to do. Maybe we’ll just have to wait and cross that bridge when it comes, but the fact that we’re even in the consideration is interesting enough.

For the Big East media days, Rivals Radio interviewed a player from each Big East team. Pitt’s representative was Derek Kinder and the interview can be heard here. Before even finishing greeting one another, the interviewer immediately asks, “Who is going to be your starting quarterback?” The answer was pretty much what you’d expect: he’s seen three different guys in practice and didn’t say if any where ahead of the others.

He says the upcoming season isn’t looking too bad and that last year’s 6-6 record was a failure in the end. When he talks about them needing to finish games better, I automatically gag and think of the Michigan State and UConn games. In all, it’s a quick little interview, and not a bad listen.

Also, for your Penn State fill of the week, two articles about PSU and more specifically, their fan base. The first is from Rakes of Mallow, a Notre Dame blog. Penn State and Notre Dame are two of the three teams I dislike the most (WVU the third) but the ND writer makes some great points; highly recommended reading.

I don’t blame Penn State for trying to find a rival, as they don’t really have one. Ohio State is considerably more concerned with Michigan, and vice-versa, while the Irish are more focused on the Wolverines and Trojans. They could restart the local rivalry with Pitt, but the Lions envision themselves on some sort of blue-and-white pedestal when it comes to playing the Panthers.

There was also a reader submission from Mondesi’s House about college allegiances. The reader says that his Penn State co-workers dislike his favorite coach, Jim Tressel.

You would think Jim Tressel stole some of these fans’ dates to the prom, they HATE him with such passion.

This is the classic case of where PSU fans are looking for a rival. They try to act all tough towards Ohio State when Buckeye fans simply shrug it off since they have more important teams to throw their animosity towards.

If you have Comcast On Demand, turn it on right now. There you’ll find a replay of Pitt vs. Providence from January 25, 1988. With Pitt holding a 6-5 lead and 15:24 left in the first half, we start the fast break. Jerome Lane gets the ball, winds up, slams it — broken backboard, glass everywhere, crowd goes nuts.

Here’s how: Your Town > Local Sports > Fox Sports Pittsburgh > Pitt Hoops

It’s the original broadcast with a few cutaways where FSN’s Rob King interviews former guard Jason Matthews. Watch it for yourself and you’ll enjoy it. You can also Pitt and UConn play for the 2003 Big East Championship with some commentary from Brandin Knight.

On the football side of the On Demand fun, you can watch the Blue-Gold game that happened back in the spring. I’ve yet to watch more than a few minutes of it but you might be able to gauge how a few more players look after watching it. From the On Demand main menu, go to Your Town > College Life > Pitt > Athletics. Your commentators for the game are FSN’s Marshall Harris as well as Foge Fazio.