I don’t think anyone really expected anything other than this for the initial preliminary hearing for Jabaal Sheard’s adventure in Barkleyism.

A preliminary hearing for suspended Pitt defensive end Jabaal Sheard has been postponed to Aug. 4.

Sheard’s attorney, William Difinderfer, asked for a postponement while he and the prosecutors attempt to negotiate a plea agreement, prosecutors said.

By the time the plea agreement is reached, you can expect the felony charge (aggravated assault) to be reduced to some sort of misdemeanor level.

Training camp opens August 7, so you know that Sheard’s attorney is pushing to get a resolution by the August 4 date.

If charges are withdrawn, defense attorney William Difenderfer said he will recommend his client be reinstated to the team in time for training camp next week.

…

Sheard’s lawyer said the hearing was postponed until the court could determine the cost of Parker’s medical bills and lost wages, which Sheard is expected to pay.

I can see Sheard reinstated for camp. Unless the plea agreement gets things down to a mere disorderly conduct charge, though, I can’t see how Sheard isn’t suspended for at least one game. Unlike DGunn’s incident last year, this wasn’t a relatively victimless incident. There have to be some consequences.

Jabaal Sheard’s preliminary court appearance is set for July 28. That means at least a week before we can expect any initial plea and if any additional information is revealed.

Details at this point are entirely from the police report and officer’s affidavit. The motives and reasons for Sheard going Barkley on the guy are unknown at this point.

Sheard’s high school coach is at a loss for the actions.

[Al] Lang believes Sheard’s actions are not indicative of his character.

“He had every opportunity to get into trouble down here, and he kept his nose clean,” Lang said. “He did a great job, and I think this is a one-time thing.”

At the moment the charges are aggravated assault, resisting arrest, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. It remains to be seen what other charges might be added or subtracted.

Bob Smizik posts about the issue of punishment from Pitt and Coach Wannstedt. He rightly points out that there is no clear answer at the moment.

I doubt Sheard will get off that easy, although his case sounds no more serious than [Penn State QB Rahsard] Casey’s was.

I’m opposed to suspending Sheard for the season, as some have suggested. He made a big mistake. That’s no reason to possibly ruin his life.

Still, a serious suspension would appear to be in order. Two of Pitt’s most difficult games are among the first three — Utah and Miami. A suitable punishment would be for Sheard to miss those first three games and then be returned to the team.

If Wannstedt chooses less or more that’s his choice. Although Sheard faces possible punishment from the criminal justice system, as far as Pitt is concerned Wannstedt is judge and jury.

Clearly more information is still needed. We don’t know anything beyond the police report and there is a broken door.

I expect that Sheard will have to be suspended for the season opener. Beyond that, I don’t know.

Well, that’s something isn’t it?

Garrett Brown, a city officer working an off-duty detail, said Mr. [Jabaal] Sheard, listed at 6-feet-4 and 260 pounds, ignored his commands to stop fighting Edward Parker, 27, of Stanton Heights.

Officer Brown said Mr. Sheard kept punching Mr. Parker as the officer and other city officers tried to break up the fight. After absorbing several of Officer Brown’s baton blows to the body, Mr. Sheard picked up Mr. Parker by his clothing and threw him through the glass door of the gallery, then continued to punch him in the face as he lay bleeding on the floor inside the business, according to an affidavit.

Officers finally subdued both men with OC spray.

Not surprisingly, Sheard has been immediately and indefinitely suspended from the team.

Congrats on disrupting what had been a quiet boring summer off-the-field for Pitt football. All by his lonesome, Sheard has tallied 7 Fulmer Cup points for Pitt. Not enough to make the top-10 programs at this point, but just on the outside. There’s more work to be done.

(more…)

Pitt picked up a couple off-season Fulmer Cup points for Jonathan Baldwin being charged with indecent assault, harrassment and disorderly conduct. After a long and winding delay, and an eventual non-jury trial, the judge found Baldwin not-guilty on all charges.

“It should have never been there (in court), to be honest with you,” said Baldwin’s attorney Craig Lee. “The only reason it was there was because it was Jon. There was no evidence whatsoever, other than it was meant to be a playful gesture — not an insult — although Jonathan felt bad about it and wanted to apologize for it but never was presented the opportunity.”

Apparently the judge agreed about the charges.

“At best, you have a simple assault — and that’s not charged,” Judge Kevin Sasinoski said Monday, as he dismissed the charges after hearing witness testimony in Baldwin’s non-jury trial.

Clearly dumb, there was no reason to slap a girl on her rear. Especially one he did not know. The mother of the girl was still upset that Baldwin had all charges dismissed.

She should be more upset that the prosecutor’s office tried to stick to over-the-top charges.

For Adam Gunn, apparently this was one of those times.

Gunn’s attorney, Tim Dawson, said by e-mail that his client “issued a formal apology for his conduct, and given the fact that he employed no weapons, assaulted nobody and simply attempted to flee the scene, the (Pittsburgh) Police were willing to drop all charges.”

Gunn can now be reinstated to the team (and there seems little doubt he will be).

He still has to deal with the fact that in running, he could not clear the a parking lot chain. Either very drunk or absolutely no vertical.

This also means Pitt will be losing some points in the Fulmer Cup.

Adam Gunn has had his preliminary hearing continued for a week. It was scheduled for today, but it will be next Thursday instead. Austin Ransom’s hearing was continued as well.

The extra details of the event — from the police report — don’t make it any worse than expected. Just a lot more embarrassing for Gunn.

Gunn and a group of other men were attempting to cut the line at Club Zen late Saturday night. Police officers escorted the group away from the line and threatened to arrest them if they came back.

Gunn then circled around and got in front of one of the officers. When the officer tried to arrest him, Gunn “pulled away and spun around swinging” before he took off running through the Station Square parking lot. Police caught him when he tripped on a chain in the parking lot.

As one officer was trying to handcuff Gunn, Ransom ran up and swung at the officer. Ransom then fought with two other officers before they arrested him.

While that was occurring, one of the other men in the group – Anthony Coleman – challenged one of the officers to a fight. He also resisted arrest and broke one of the officer’s badges off of his shirt. Coleman was Tasered and arrested.

It also seems that Gunn got the taser as well.

This is not “kick off the football team” worthy. It’s a safe bet to assume that the final disposition will be lower. Small comfort right now.

He apparently started serving the suspension a couple days earlier. Of course, Pitt was not going to voluntarily release the information until the story got out there.

“On Monday morning I met with Adam Gunn to discuss his involvement in a weekend incident that occurred off campus,” the cooach said in statement issued by the university. “At the conclusion of our discussion, I told Adam he would be suspended from our team pending the resolution of this matter.

“This incident is both surprising and disappointing. Adam has always been a strong representative of our program and his involvement in this type of situation is very out of character. However, he knows and respects the fact that every member of our team must be accountable for their actions.”

What? No Twitter update from Coach Wannstedt on this?

Of course, we know what the “incident” was. Mildly surprised no mention of former Pitt players being involved is ignored in both stories.

“Resolution” of course could come quickly with the hearing tomorrow. Or it could take a few months. It just has not been a good May for Pitt football.

And this is why I don’t gloat too much over the offseason embarrassments at other programs.

Adam Gunn got the rare 6th year of eligibility.  He’s coming back from a freak injury that broke his neck. He has big plans for the future.

He’s on track to earn his master’s in public administration this December and is already working to start his own charitable foundation for underprivileged children. He envisions a Make-A-Wish type organization where kids who show promise and responsibility get to live out their sports dreams, which will hopefully in turn inspire their peers to pursue the right paths.

“I hope it turns into something national,” Gunn said. “I’m in a position in my life now where I can impact lives, and I want to take advantage of that.”

And late Saturday night/Sunday morning he was entered into the court system as a defendant.

The charges listed:

• Resisting arrest
• Failure to disperse
• Disorderly conduct
• Public drunkeness

According to the docket sheet, Gunn’s preliminary hearing is Thurday, May 14th.

I can only imagine the fun at the Gunn house on Sunday morning for Adam. Especially with a hangover

This has been a less than stellar offseason for Pitt football. Lots of little, stupid crap that just adds up.

I guess after the judicial process runs its course we will find out how Coach Wannstedt addresses this latest hit.

UPDATE: It was not just Gunn. Former Pitt player (graduated) Austin Ransom is involved. He has the same charges, but also  Aggravated Assault tacked on for good measure.

The other name that is apparently involved in the same altercation is Kashif Henderson. I can’t say I knew that name. Turns out he is another former Panther who graduated in 2008. Even was honored for his good grades that year.

Did Jonathan Baldwin think he was in a Rat Pack movie or something?

…charged with indecent assault for allegedly slapping then groping the behind of a female student, but campus officials aren’t commenting on the charges.

A criminal complaint obtained by The Associated Press shows 19-year-old Jonathan Baldwin is charged with indecent assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. Campus police say the woman complained of the alleged assault April 18 and charges were filed the next day. Baldwin faces a preliminary hearing May 27.

That was good for 4 points in the Fulmer Cup — at this time. If this gets resolved, I think Baldwin should be required to wear this t-shirt for the first week of practice in August.

It was much better when there was no real news to report. This is not.

Pitt sophomore wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin was charged with a misdemeanor indecent assault as well as summary harassment and a summary disorderly conduct after an alleged incident on a campus shuttle bus involving a female student on April 19th.

Baldwin, who is an Aliquippa graduate, will have a preliminary hearing on May 27th.

This took a while before any charges were made. So naturally, the reaction from Pitt is just as predictably measured.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt was not available for comment on the matter, and Pitt associate athletic director for media relations E.J. Borghetti released the following statement: “The matter is currently under investigation and until that investigation reaches a conclusion we will decline comment.”

Not exactly an unexpected response. The charges may be misdemeanor, but the words “indecent assault” and “female” are involved. So, I’m not sure how open my mind is at the moment.

It would be much better if the extent of the Pitt offseason updates were boy scout events and recruiting.

Way to go T.J. Porter. Usually it is just Wannstache jokes that gets Pitt the mentions on EDSBS.

Now this.

Pitt wide receiver T.J. Porter has been suspended from the team at
least through spring football as a result of an arrest on Feb. 22 for
driving while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license. He had
been scheduled for a March 3 preliminary hearing, but that has been
postponed until April 1.

It is the second offense for Porter, who was arrested on May 5, 2008
for DUI, purchasing alcohol as a minor, careless driving and failing to
obey traffic control devices. His license was suspended and he was put
into the court-supervised rehabilitaton program Oct. 24.

It will take a bigger effort than this to win the Fulmer Cup. Get to work, guys.

Looks like Pitt can expect to see Bowling Green do a lot more passing and utilize their “slash” player in the backfield. The starting tailback Willie Geter was suspended for the game.

Three players have been suspended one game for a violation of team rules, a university official confirmed yesterday. Freshman receiver Adrian Hodges of Jacksonville, Fla., and sophomore running back Willie Geter of Miami will not travel with the team to Pittsburgh for Saturday’s season opener. Junior cornerback Robert Lorenzi, who is out for the season with a broken leg, will undergo his suspension when healthy.

According to a police report, Hodges was arrested Tuesday for misuse of a credit card, and Lorenzi, of Concord, Calif., was cited for the same offense yesterday. Both are scheduled to be in court Wednesday.

According to the report, Hodges and Lorenzi found a credit card in the parking lot of a convenience store and used it to make $550.68 in purchases at various stores in the early morning of Aug. 1. Geter, who was expected to start Saturday, is also mentioned in the report but has not been charged.

Poor actions by the players. Strong and swift response by the school and team.

That news completely overshadowed the main story in the article which was all about the BGSU defensive line gearing up to try and stop LeSean McCoy.

Only 10 teams in the country were worse than BG at stopping the run in 2007. Add that to the fact McCoy is drawing comparisons to Tony Dorsett, and the Falcons are sure to face a considerable challenge Saturday at Heinz Field against the 25th ranked Panthers.
…
“He’s one of the top running backs in the country,” BG defensive tackle Michael Ream said. “But our defensive line is pretty good too. If there are no holes for him to run through he’s not going to get his yards.”

For now, Ream’s notion that BG is solid up front is still in question. Of the Falcons’ 13 games in 2007, nine times an opposing rusher eclipsed the century mark. Ironically, BG was able to hold star backs Javon Ringer (Michigan State) and Jalen Parmele (University of Toledo) to below 100 yards, but that fact cannot overshadow BG allowing almost 208 yards per game on the ground. Stopping the run has been a weakness during the Gregg Brandon era, but last year was especially troubling.

Now if Geter is out, the Falcon defense has more pressure on it.

As for Pitt’s defense. This becomes an interesting test. It’s all been about stopping the run. The Falcons really look like a team where they have to fear the pass. I expect BGSU to use the run — mainly on roll-outs and some option tosses to Turner — to try and keep the defense honest.

It’s the in-story in the offseason. ESPN’s Outside the Lines story on Penn State‘s off-the-field issues. I was only able to get around to watching it this evening (I really love having a DVR). There have been enough people e-mailing me about it that I will write something.

There was nothing too earth-shattering in it. That Penn State has had a lot of criminal charges filed against the players in the past several years is not a revelation. This sort of report has been building as it has carried on each year. Suggesting something in the team culture, rather than just the “bad apple” argument.

Joe Paterno’s insistence on denying everything shouldn’t have been a surprise. Even his overall cantankerousness. It’s Joe Paterno. Big shock that he’s old and cranky when the media isn’t asking the questions he wants. I had a sense that if Steve Delsohn — the reporter — held up a blue paint sample and asked him what he thought of this shade of blue, Paterno would have denied that it was actually blue by the end

Remember what I wrote last week about Iowa’s problems? Well, here’s the key bit.

More than that, though, it also becomes an issue of how the fans face such things. Do they look at it solely in what it means in wins and losses? Do they circle the wagons and descend into lunatic-fringe paranoia – seeing conspiracies and attempts to bring down their beloved program at every turn? Do they demand accountability from the program and their school?

That’s what Penn State fans have to address. Is it all just an ESPN hit piece? Numbers without context? Really? The PSU Football team has been a top-510 resident of the Fulmer Cup the past two years. What does that say?

Programs like Penn State, Notre Dame and Michigan love to talk about a special way of doing things and all that tripe in the past. Their fans eat it up and parrot it. Really, what they want is to win. Period. When convenient they will rationalize it with “everybody does it” themes to minimize things. They will accuse all others of being jealous and just trying to bring them down.

It doesn’t go both ways no matter how hard they try. Either accept that the old ways are long gone and the program is just like every other program out there. With periods of bad behavior and problems. Or mean it when you claim the program is different. Demand and act accordingly when the bad crap happens.

Pardon me, I’m climbing up on a high horse for a minute. Hmm. Uncomfortable.

I try not to kid myself. Pitt, like any school involved in 1-A athletics will have players commit crimes, make mistakes, get in academic trouble and just generally screw-up. It has happened. It will happen. Every school and program has to address this at some point or another. Whether it comes once or in waves.

The issue isn’t having it happen. It’s how the school, the program and the coaches address it. That’s where the character of the school and program really come to the forefront.

More than that, though, it also becomes an issue of how the fans face such things. Do they look at it solely in what it means in wins and losses? Do they circle the wagons and descend into lunatic-fringe paranoia –  seeing conspiracies and attempts to bring down their beloved program at every turn? Do they demand accountability from the program and their school?

My college football FanHouse colleague Adam Jacobi goes down the final path in a post that is absolutely devastating in the issues and questions raised about the University of Iowa. He’s an Iowa alum, and he loves his school. There is no hyperbole. No calls for cleaning house. That’s what makes it such a brutal post for Iowa.

It lays out the issue. It asks questions that have been avoided. The facts simply put Iowa in a bad light and there is no pretending otherwise. This is a “read it all” post.

I hope Pitt never faces this level of crisis. I also hope that if it does happen Pitt fans and I can be that honest about it.

Dismounting.

Unless it is absolutely explosive, this will hopefully be the only mention of this on the blog.

Mark Wogenrich, one of our Penn State football beat writers, tells us that ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” investigative TV show is pursuing a story about the legal issues involving the Lions’ football team since April 2007.

It’s such an easy target, it almost seems surprising that they hadn’t done the piece yet.

That said, they hardly seem worse than so many other teams. But like other schools/fans that play the self-righteous, higher standard card any chance they get, they really can’t turn around and claim they are no worse than any other school.

You can’t have it both ways. Either you are no better/different from other schools and their fans, or you are on a higher standard and have to deal with extra scrutiny when those standards aren’t met and even ignored.