And I am not displeased.

Hat tip to Jamie for the notification that the basketball non-conference schedule has been released.

Saturday, Nov. 19 ——- ST. PETERS

Wednesday, Nov. 23 —– ROBERT MORRIS

Saturday, Nov. 26 ——– MAINE

Tuesday, Nov. 29 ——– ST. FRANCIS (N.Y.)

Sunday, Dec. 4 ———– AUBURN

Wednesday, Dec. 7 ——- at Duquesne

Saturday, Dec. 10 ——– PENN STATE

Saturday, Dec. 17 ——– VERMONT

Wednesday, Dec. 21 —— COPPIN STATE

Wednesday, Dec. 28 —— at South Carolina

Saturday, Dec. 31 ——— WISCONSIN

No it isn’t the most difficult schedule, but it is definitely an improvement over the last year. There are, of course, some patsy games, and no sure losses, but there are several games that should be tough and/or toss-ups.

Based on last year’s RPI, the St. Francis (NY) appears to be the biggest dog. They had an RPI of 261.

The toughest games will likely be Wisconsin and at South Carolina.

Kudos to the Pitt Athletic Department, Jamie Dixon and the basketball program for improving the non-con (finally).

I’m sure to have more on this later.

Score one for common sense from a court.

Andrew Bourne of Liberty was paralyzed in an accident after a Ball State University Cardinals football game on Oct. 20, 2001. The Cardinals upset the Toledo Rockets and, to celebrate, a crowd gathered and climbed up on one of the posts on the field. Soon the crowd’s weight toppled the aluminum structure. Bourne was hit by the gooseneck of the post.

Two years after the accident, Bourne sued Gilman Gear, a Connecticut company that makes goal posts for high school, college and professional football teams. Bourne claims the structure gave way too quickly instead of bending over slowly in the way he said he was accustomed to seeing on television.

[Emphasis added.]

Yeah, that’s what I always think when you see kids trying to rip down goalposts. That the darn things are just so flexible. Judge David F. Hamilton of the Southern District Court of Indiana ruled for Gilman Gear. No surprise that Bourne plans an appeal.

Link via the blog of the sexiest NY Timesman. Hey, Warren, I never got my copy of RJYH.

Ron Cook goes for the full-court backing of Carl Krauser returning to Pitt. I’ll give him credit for going fully to one side in declaring this very good for Pitt. He’s gone opposite Smizik on the issue.

Me, I’m still stuck somewhere in the middle. I wish I wasn’t being so wishy-washy. Love Krauser and his game. Plain worried about how the coach will handle him and the whole team; and I worry about how Krauser’s long decision making after the draft about coming back affects the team.

This is why Jamie Dixon gets paid to be a Division I head basketball coach. The expectations should be lower, even with Krauser back, but the ceiling will be higher for this team.

He will have a talented, mature Krauser. A guy who always wants to be out there. Wants to be playing. He also has a young, talented and raw kid for the future in Fields. Not just at point guard. There is a lot of young talent on the team that should push the guys in front of them.

Fields will benefit from having Krauser around. Not just learning to lead the team and run the offense (and defense), but from going up against him in practice.

Last year, Krauser averaged just under 36 minutes a game. Fields will have to be worked in more, and given opportunities to run the team in anticipation of the future. That means Krauser should see his minutes drop. He will have to be held out for periods lasting more than one or two minutes.

Dixon will have to be keeping him from barking and complaining from the bench about wanting back in.

The situation, frankly, will be more about what kind of coach Dixon is than anything else. Even if Pitt has an up and down year — which I expect they will. A lot of focus will be on the decisions and coaching of Dixon. How does he handle the players? Substitutions? Intensity? Focus? How does he handle the scrutiny of what he does?

Lots and lots of questions for 2005-06.

Starting international, the Under-21 (U-21) tournament got under way with Canada coming back to beat Australia. Kendall had 13 points, but reportedly “struggled from the field.” Canada faces Greece tonight. No box score has been located, and the game was witnessed by crowds in the hundreds.

The Big East has created a new position called Associate Commissioner for men’s basketball. Kind of makes sense with 16 teams in basketball. You have to imagine they may need a little help. This is what the position will do.

In his new role, he will serve as the league’s primary basketball administrator and contact. He will represent the conference on a day-to-day basis in the overall administration, management and control of the men’s basketball programs. Additionally, he will serve as the office liaison with all internal basketball constituencies including institutional administrators, coaching staffs and game officials.
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Gavitt will also be at the point in developing and cultivating relationships with all television and sponsor partners, providing oversight and administrative direction to the Basketball Supervisor of Officials and assisting with the basketball television/scheduling processes. Further, he will also be asked periodically to assist with basketball media relations, NCAA and league compliance matters, and other conference related functions.

To fill the position, they hired the AD from Bryant University in Smithfield, RI. The Bryant Bulldogs are Division II. His name, Dan Gavitt. According to this bio, he barely leaves the state of Rhode Island, Oh, and Dan Gavitt, just happens to be the son of the first BE commish, and the guy who first hired Mike Tranghese.

Think I’m kidding about not venturing far from Rhode Island? He was the AD for 6 years. Here’s the rest:

Before assuming his position at Bryant, Gavitt had established himself as a prominent figure on the Rhode Island and New England sports scenes. He was the president and owner of Craigville Sports Associates, Inc., a sports marketing and event management firm based in Providence, from 1995 to 1998 and enjoyed a distinguished career in intercollegiate athletics as a coach.

Gavitt also spent six seasons as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Providence College, working with current University of Texas head coach Rick Barnes. During that time the Friars amassed a record of 108-76, qualified for three NCAA tournaments, made two appearances in the NIT and won a Big East championship while maintaining a perfect graduation rate.

Dan earned an MBA from Providence in 1995 after accepting a bachelor’s degree in history from Dartmouth College in 1988.

In addition to his work with Bryant University, Gavitt also serves on the board of trustees at the Rhode Island Sports Council and Providence Country Day School. Gavitt serves as chair of the NCAA Division II Northeast Region baseball committee and is a member of the national committee for that sport as well.

I wonder if he risks bursting into flames if he physically leaves the state?

I never got back to that vital sartorial issue. It seemed to generate some comments. I did not buy the very, very retro cord hat with the script traditional Pitt script. As far as I know, it is still languishing there, waiting to be rescued. Instead, I bought this one:

This was a style of hat I had previously owned but it eventually reached the end of its natural life. It had been a very durable hat. Trust me, the photo doesn’t even come close to doing justice to the dust that was on this thing when I bought it. It’s been through the washer a couple times now.

I know that if I had gone out to the malls I could have found a new model of the Pitt hat, probably to my liking but I was not going to spend my brief time back in the ‘Burgh going out to the mall.

I’m sure that the Pitt Store was trying to clear out old inventory, but then you need to mark them down. Far too much of the gear was still at regular price while still sporting the “Pittsburgh” logo.

I don’t like to mail order hats. I like the chance to look at them closer, and get an idea as to how they will fit. Despite an outsized ego, I do not posses a particularly large skull.

I’m sure come September I’ll be investing in yet another Pitt hat.

Want to see a bunch of middle-aged, overweight, mostly white guys in suits get fired up for college kids and their coach? Then make plans for lunch the day before the ND game.

This exclusive Panther Club member event will kickoff the Coach Dave Wannstedt era and the 2005 Pitt Football season. Hosted at the Hilton Hotel-Pittsburgh, the event will feature introduction of select football student-athletes, as well as comments from Coach Wannstedt.

The cost of the event is $40 per person. Tables are also available for purchase at $400 each. All tables are rounds of 10. While reservations are required and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, tickets will not be mailed in advance. All table assignments will be provided at the Hilton the day of the event.

The reception will begin at 11:30 a.m., while the luncheon will start at noon.

Be there!

Apparently Coach Dave Wannstedt was feeling laid back.

Some wore ties with school colors, others donned dark blazers and swanky summer shirts. They came dressed for the media, wearing their smiles and buttoning their lips to talks of game plans and punditry. Hopes were high in the room. “Last year was last year, let’s talk about this year” was the mantra. So, they did. They got back into “move forward” mode. Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese called the day exciting, but it was the new Pittsburgh coach who seemed most relaxed. He called it comfortable, and lived it so, as well.

Standing amongst the other coaches with their best corporate attire, selling the company line and grinning for the cameras, was Dave Wannstedt. Wearing his white Pitt golf shirt and holding the team’s gold and blue helmet in his hands, he looked laid back amongst his new coaching comrades. Just there for the show, not really worrying about the upcoming battles. Not on this day. Not with the atmosphere all set for relaxation.

“Look at these other guys in the room. I would’ve showed up here in shorts if I didn’t know. I’m still underdressed a little. Typical Miami. No socks. Everybody else has got suits and ties,” said Wannstedt as she showed his sockless ankles and calm demeanor.

It’s no exaggeration as this BE Coaches photo shows. Got to admit, the man keeps finding ways to stand out in the crowd.

There has been no shortage of Ricky Williams stories as he reports to Dolphins training camp. I was going to ignore the stuff, because I just don’t care. Still, Ron Cook decides to be a harpie on it, going with the oh, so unexpected angle of getting more comments from his former coach and of course head coach at Pitt, Dave Wannstedt.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Let’s call Dave Wannstedt!

The new Pitt coach comes to the phone quickly, his voice clear and strong, the enthusiasm in it palpable. Wannstedt is still riding the high of his first eight months on the job, time in which he has worked tirelessly to get commitments from several top recruits, mend the fences with local high school coaches, rebuild the relationship between the football program and the university’s students, faculty and alumni and generally enthuse Pittsburgh to the point we’re going to be in for a real downer if the Panthers don’t whip Notre Dame in that opening-night game Sept. 3 at Heinz Field.

Then, Williams’ name is mentioned.

A couple of things are clear immediately.

One, Wannstedt is glad he no longer has to deal with the Williams headache. And two, Wannstedt’s worst nightmare has nothing to do with the possibility of Pitt coming up short against Notre Dame.

Okay folks, it is time for some honesty about Ricky Williams. He handed Coach Wannstedt to Pitt. His “retirement” cleared the way.

Consider this. Suppose Williams didn’t retire just before training camp. He shows up, then gets the 4 game suspension. The Dolphin season is toast, but things definitely don’t result in Wanny resigning halfway through the season. Wannstedt was already on thin ice, but the suspension results in A) Wanny hanging on through the full season and/or B) Wanny given yet another year in Miami, because it wasn’t his fault that Williams was suspended.

If Wannstedt even makes it to the end of the season, Pitt has to hire someone else. Which could very well have meant talking about Head Coach Paul Rhoads. Or Pitt would have had to wait until sometime after he was fired in January.

Think about how well Wannstedt hit the ground on recruiting and salvaging the 2005 recruiting class. That wouldn’t have happened. At least 2-3 weeks would have been lost.

Nope, the cynical, selfish fact is we owe Ricky Williams for getting Wannstedt to Pitt.

In that respect, I have a hard time getting too interested in Ricky or condemning him.

Yeah. I had nothing else for the post title.

The Canadian Under-21 team starts tournament play tonight. They are taking on defending champ Australia. In a couple weeks, they play in the actual world championship.

Pitt forward, Levon Kendall is not only on the team, he’s a key player.

Crook is looking to Vancouver’s Levon Kendall, a six-foot-nine forward at Pittsburgh, to lead his squad.

“He’s been our go-to guy for the last three years, and with this group has just done an outstanding job, a very, very good young player and I think he’s got a great national team player,” he said.

The team plays aggressive.

Crook said his club, sparked by standout 6-foot-9 forward Levon Kendall of Vancouver, brings a dynamic brand of basketball to the court.

“We push the ball up the court and are aggressive offensively,” said Crook. “Defensively, we’re hard-nosed and play a lot of man-to-man.”

Last year, Kendall starred on the Canadian under-21 team and it gave him some real confidence in his game. The confidence faded, but hopefully he is getting it built back up and will work his way back into Pitt’s rotation come the fall.

Really, that is all I can conclude Mike Prisuta of the Trib is engaging in for this column.

As unrealistic as it is to consider Tyler Palko a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate this season, the Pitt quarterback’s designation as such according to CBSSportsline.com is, nonetheless, revealing.

Palko put himself on the map last season, which wasn’t easy since he was playing for Walt Harris.

It has to be a parody, because, golly, it was real hard for a QB under Walt Harris’ offensive scheme to complie huge numbers. I mean, Palko put up 3067 yards passing last year and 411 in one game against South Florida (PDF). Good enough for 3rd and 4th all-time, respectively (PDF, p 25).

I mean look at the numbers, 6 of the top 12 passing games for Pitt QBs came during Harris’ tenure. So did 5 of the 10 for a season (again, PDF, p 25).

Palko will have a chance this season under first-year Pitt savior Dave Wannstedt to push himself and his program into the NCAA’s upper echelon, and to establish a reputation and a resume that will make subsequent Heisman hype more than just fodder for someone’s blog.

As for the list CBSSportsline.com compiled last week, Palko was included along with 11 other preseason Heisman hopefuls for 2005.

Still sounds like a parody with the “first-year Pitt savior” crack.

This piece is essentially a riff off of the Pitt athletic department press release, and he is making some weak-ass cut on “someone’s blog?” I thought that was what we derivative, unoriginal bloggers do. Not serious, credentialed sportswriters. Alternatively, maybe he’s hoping to drive up hits by having it linked and read and generate lots of e-mail. Again, subtle in the brilliancy. Hats off Prisuta.

I mean, I haven’t even gotten to the Sportsline.com/CBS advertiser (seriously, half the ads in the mag are for CBS tv shows — hilarious) college football preview yet. The HeismanPundit, doesn’t even include Palko in his top-10. I guess, my question is, where did the snipe come from? Who blogged it to set him off? He isn’t making unsubstantiated allegations, is he? That seems reckless and irresponsible.

And then, the whole parody he was shooting for, stopped. Nothing. I must be missing something. The rest of the piece, makes the entirely agreeable point that Palko will likely be more poised for a potential Heisman run in 2006. Obviously, I am missing more of the subtle nuances.

*Sigh*

Once more I weep at my own lack of skill with words when compared to the masters.

Penn State made the official announcement that it will be playing Temple in football. Renewing that “old rivalry.” Even PSU beat writers had to deride them for it.

The addition of “old rival” Temple, which was announced by Penn State’s sports information office this week, to the Nittany Lions’ future schedules caused the tiniest of blips on the national college football radar (outside of the Temple campus itself), but to some Penn State fans, it is a sign that the team’s nonconference schedule isn’t getting any more demanding.
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Having the likes of Akron, Central Michigan and Kent State filling up September home dates didn’t help, either. But all of that might have been forgiven if, instead of the Owls (who have defeated or tied the Nittany Lions just four times in 35 tries), Penn State had added a certain team from the western part of the state to fill its first NCAA-approved 12th game.

So the logic went pretty much like this — If Penn State adds Pitt, no one talks about the schedule. If the Nittany Lions add Temple, they haven’t played anyone but patsies in years.

Patsies it is, then.

Some small note on the Pitt basketball non-con. The actual schedule hasn’t been released, but one date has been confirmed independently. Pitt will host Wisconsin on Saturday, December 31. In 2006, Pitt will go to Wisconsin. Pitt has an away game in Columbia, SC to play the Gamecocks. Other expected games: Duquesne, St. Francis (PA), Penn State, and Robert Morris. I’m not sure if Pitt goes to Richmond this year to play the Spiders.

Last year, Pitt had 11 non-con games. That means, Pitt has 4-5 more games to schedule. Somehow, I doubt they want to play Bucknell again.

Just as I figured on crashing, there is this.

Carl Krauser had been going back and forth for weeks about his future in basketball. A month ago he was almost sure he would be playing next season overseas for a professional team.

But when it was time to make a decision yesterday, Krauser said it wasn’t the money but the relationships he had forged in Pittsburgh the past four years that ultimately swayed him in favor of returning to the Panthers for his senior season.

Krauser has a son who will have his first birthday in two weeks, and the opportunity to be around him for another year while playing in front of what he described as “great fans” was enough to leave the offers he had on the table.

“I’d rather not talk about the offers I had,” Krauser said yesterday afternoon. “But everything was going to work out fine if I pursued [professional basketball]. I had great options. But I wanted to come back for another season.

“I had a long talk with my family [Thursday] night and [Friday] morning. I asked the players on the team about it, and they were cool with me coming back. I get to watch my son grow up for another year. I get another year of playing in front of these great fans in Pittsburgh, where I have been treated great. The fans are the ones who really brought me back. Everyone was asking me if I was coming back. I was at coach Dixon’s camp the other week, and the kids were all asking me what I was going to do. Everyone kept telling me how much they needed me.”

Who needs coffee? Well, I do, but it can wait. I’ve said my good-byes to Krauser a few times already. Now I need to readjust my whole worldview on this. I’m not going to hate on him for this. I have my worries, but it is what it is and I just need to look at the positives. He appears to be academically fine.

There’s the implication that Levance Fields could be redshirted. I’m not so sure about that. Ramon seems more like a shooting guard and Fields could be a hell of a good back-up and come off the bench like Krauser did when Knight was still running things.

Quick Late Analysis, subject to change after some sleep: It does seem clear, though, that Pitt will be a very different team regardless. With Krauser back, the depth and potential strength will be in the back court for Pitt. Opportunities will be there for Biggs, DeGroat, Gray and Kendall to make the front court a factor and really get on the glass, but the back court should be where it is at.

Donatas Zavacas lives. And for some reason he is playing in Columbus, Ohio.

If you are an Ohio State fan, more specifically, an Ohio State basketball fan, tonight was your night in the Worthington Summer League.

Buckeye Corner squared off with Union Savings Bank in the semi-finals of the league tournament tonight. The combined starting lineups had Tony Stockman, Sylvester Mayes, Ron Lewis, J. J. Sullinger, Scoonie Penn, Brayden Bell, Matt Marinchick, Je’Kell Foster and Terence Dials on the floor. The lone starter without an OSU connection was Donatas Zavacas from Pitt.

Apparently he does this, well I don’t know why he does this, but it isn’t a full-time thing.

Buckeye Corner has played with a total roster of five all season, but baseline player Donatas Zavacas could not be on hand for tonight’s game. Zavacas plays professional ball in Europe and has left the country to join his team. Zavacas, a power forward/center, was replaced on the roster by a guard who has played sparingly this season.

Understand, that these stories were one day apart on datelines — July 20 and 21. Any insight into this would be appreciated.

Yogi Roth went home and spoke at the University of Scranton (who knew?) for the Shamus Foundation (I have no idea).

Former Pitt QB, David Priestley just got married and admits he probably won’t get another job in the NFL. He’s now living in New Jersey.

While not an alumn, he was a graduate assistant for Pitt and Walt Harris and he’s from Mt. Lebanon. Brian Lowe is the guy behind the company that will be providing the replay system used by the Big East and other conferences this fall.

Eventually he landed at Pitt, where he served as a graduate assistant under Walt Harris in 1997. It was in that position, while editing tapes, that he realized most of the technology and videotaping systems available for coaches were not well suited for producing coaching tapes.

“I was at a coaches conference and talked with a rep from Avid Sports, which was the company that was producing the system we were using at Pitt,” Lowe said, “and I gave him some ideas on how I thought it could be made a little more coach-friendly. They must have liked my ideas because I was hired and I worked as a liaison between the company and coaches. That’s really how I got my start.”

Avid Sports became Pinnacle Sports and Lowe continued to work for the company until 2001, when he decided to try to produce his own digital video editing and game analysis software for coaches.

He started DVSport that year and the company has grown since. Today, the company has 10 employees and has its technology being used by Central Catholic and Mt. Lebanon high schools as well as colleges such as Pitt, West Virginia, Westminster, Washington & Jefferson and Thiel.

Interesting.

You know, if you are going to create a whole fantasy of a season complete with the games and everything else, how can you not beat your rival. Apparently it is so if you are WVU fan. Words fail me on this exercise in creative writing.

Meanwhile the Charleston Gazette, profiles Pitt as the last in its series on opponents Marshall and WVU will face this year.

Just can’t bring myself to start discussing teams Pitt will face in October and the outlook, nevermind the end of November. Especially in July.

Yeah, I think Rivals.com and Scout.com should definitely be paranoid about ESPN.com’s foray into recruiting information. While it remains unclear as to whether ESPN.com will be dealing in reports about where recruits could be heading, they have set themselves up to provide information on recruits.

Now Scouts, Inc. will take its expertise and apply it to college football recruiting. It will do everything its college counterparts do, but instead of internalizing this information, it will provide it exclusively for ESPN Insider. Scouts, Inc. is dedicated to serving the hard-core high school and college football fan with thoughtful, in-depth analysis.

Scouts, Inc. will be the authority in recruiting. Unlike other recruiting services, Scouts. Inc. employs football scouts and coaches with many years of professional experience and expertise. It will evaluate talent in games on the football field rather than relying solely on combine numbers. The student athletes will be evaluated in person and on video and not by word of mouth. Every top recruit will be compared to players across the entire United States rather than only players within his region. This will allow Scouts, Inc. to judge college recruits and recruiting classes more thoroughly.

This is an expansion of what Scouts, Inc. was. The information will be put behind the Insider Subscription firewall. Obviously, this only increases the value of an ESPN.com Insider subscription, and undercuts the price of the recruiting sites by a huge amount.

Scouts, Inc./ESPN.com tries to give this the most professional appearance. They have a grading system:

8.0-9.0: Rare Prospect
Player demonstrates rare abilities and can create mismatches that have an obvious impact on the game. Is a player that has all the skills to take over a game and could be an impact player as a true freshman.

7.0-7.9: Outstanding Prospect
Player has the ability to create mismatches against most opponents. He is a player that could be a contributor as a true freshman.

6.0-6.9: Good Prospect
Player does not dominate in every game, especially when matched up against the top players in the country. Could become a good starter at the Division I level.

5.0-5.9: Solid Prospect
This player is overmatched against the better players in the nation. His weaknesses will be exposed against top competition. Has the ability to develop into a solid contributor at the Division I level.

4.0-4.9: Prospect
Player has some redeeming qualities, but is not projected to contribute at the Division I level.

They are planning to release their full grades on their “ESPN 150” recruits on August 8. Likely, that will happen to coincide with ESPN The Magazine’s college football preview.

In advance of that they have some of the recruits grades available as sneak peaks. This includes Pitt commit, Dorin Dickerson. Dickerson was graded at a 7.2.

Strengths: Dickerson is a big, physical galloper that can really cover some ground. He has such a long stride that you don’t realize just how fast he is moving, but he will show a sneaky second gear.

He has excellent size and good speed for his size. He can out-muscle smaller defenders. Has no trouble getting off the line of scrimmage. He has long arms, excellent leaping ability and will win many jump ball competitions. He uses his frame to shield defenders. He is a huge threat in the red zone.

Shows good sideline awareness and body control. He can make the acrobatic catch. He is a long-strider after the catch. Will build speed as he goes and is difficult to bring down because of his size and strength. He has very quick hands, can pluck the ball and get up field in a hurry for his size.

Shows good concentration and focus on the ball and rarely drops passes he should catch. Is a fairly precise route runner and will only improve in this area. he is not very sudden in his movements, but the more you watch him, you realize just how elusive he is in the open field and he will show a nice little burst.

Overall: He is best suited as a wide receiver at the college level, but he has experience as a running back and also a linebacker. He is a rangy, smooth athlete with explosive potential as an outside receiver.

The thing that recruiting sites will have to be wary of, is not just the capitalistic pressures. It is the stuff from the NCAA and legislators. There will be lots of talk in the coming year about how recruiting sites work, gather information, talk to kids and pressure them. I will not be surprised by some nanny-state-esque proposal to “protect” the kids from “predators” amongst the recruiting sites. After all, it’s for the children.