Sorry for the delays. Some outside activities today and I just received the Red Dwarf VII DVD as further distraction.

Anyhow, Pitt got some commits today. One we were waiting on and one everyone is still trying to get figured out.

Aaron Berry committed to Pitt. This was very good news, and definitely blunts some of the bounce in WVU’s step.

With the verbasl of Porter, Gary, and Chappel already taking classes, Pitt’s secondary looks to have a lot of speed and potential. Should be a dogfight to see who can go on the other side of Revis. I would also expect a couple of them to take a crack at returning punts and kicks.

There was also the commitment from Greg Romeus out of Florida. A defensive end, who to be honest, most of us never heard of (hat tip to Neil). He apparently had offers from UCF, Rutgers and UConn. Definitely seems like a development project.

According to the e-mail update from Pittsburgh Sports Report (and really, what self-respecting Pitt fan doesn’t have the free subscription e-mail?):

GREG ROMEUS, a defensive end from Coral Glades High School in Coral Springs, FL, will give a verbal commitment to the University of Pittsburgh later today, according to his head coach. Romeus, 6’5″ 228-pounds, has received a lot of attention late in the recruiting process. He only began playing football this fall, but he runs a 4.6 forty and is considered a raw talent with a very high ceiling.

“Greg and his parents met with coach Partridge today, and I haven’t talked to Greg yet, but it looks like everything will be wrapped up tonight,” said Coral Glades head coach Rex Nottage.

“He moves quick on his feet and turns his hips better than most defensive ends who have been playing the position for awhile,” says Nottage. “He has tremendous reach. He has a wing span of almost seven feet…the sky’s the limit for Greg.”

Well, you don’t expect his high school coach to say the kid sucks, do you?

From a media standpoint, expect to hear a bit about how Marquette head coach Tom Crean was an assistant at Pitt in the 90s and other stuff.

Crean is looking forward to Saturday’s game in Pittsburgh because it will mark his first return to Pitt since he was an assistant with the Panthers during the 1994-’95 season.

“I am looking forward to going back. It is the first time I have been to a school where I had a chance and now go back as a head coach. My wife graduated there, my little girl Megan was born there.

“It is a phenomenal place, but most importantly, they have one of the toughest minded, physical, aggressive teams in all of basketball.”

And of course, something about that Sweet 16 game against Pitt back in 2003 might be a topic.

Ah, the joys of having the ESPN Full Court basketball package on the TV. It’s addicting. Watched several games that related to Pitt.

Got to see Florida go down to South Carolina. Nice. I’m sure there will be some argument made to diminish the Florida loss because Brewer’s ankle is hurting. To counter that, consider that the Gamecocks lost their starting forward, Brandon Wallace in the first half to a scratched eye. Definitely helps Pitt as it raises USC’s RPI and hits Florida again.

The key to a WVU loss? make them hit only 5-30 from 3-point range. Ewww. Big gak to Marshall.

I didn’t actually see the game, but I’m stunned by Seton Hall blowing out NC St., 83-65, in Raleigh. I just can’t make any sense of that one.

I know the final score doesn’t look that close, but St. John’s actually gave UConn a real hard time. They Red Storm defense is very good. It held UConn to its second lowest point total of the year. Jeff Adrien, who chose UConn over Pitt, last year has a real nasty streak. He’s a tough but very good player. The kind you hate on the other team. He would have been a great fit in Pitt’s defense, though.

I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but when the ACC raided the Big East the one thing I never understood was why Wake Forest supported it. It seemed to be against a small school’s interest to expand in a way that would either force them to spend even more money on athletics or fall further behind other teams. Even more increased competition and diminishing the relationship with the NC teams in terms of rivalry. Doubly so for the true passion of the region — basketball.

Looks like at least the sports writers for the paper is thinking about that.

Three years later, it’s harder to tell which league was the victim.

The Big East groaned, but added five schools — four of them with proud basketball traditions. The ACC gave up its famed double round-robin schedule and absorbed three football schools.

Now the Big East dominates the Top 25 basketball rankings and one of its previously unranked schools, Georgetown, knocked ACC leader Duke from No. 1.

The ACC has big football names, but not big success. Miami lost 40-3 to LSU in a Peach Bowl game marred by a melee near one of the field exit tunnels shortly after the game. Boston College gave away its BCS hopes with a loss to North Carolina. Virginia Tech flopped in the first ACC Football Championship Game and contributed Marcus Vick’s act to the ACC.

The ACC, once known as a basketball league, is now one-third football schools, plus several basketball schools that are playing like football schools.

Maybe it will get better as we get used to the new ACC. Or maybe we will have to get used to it not getting better.

The ACC made a deal, and it wasn’t with the Devils. Or the Tar Heels. Or the Wolfpack, Deacons, Terps, Cavaliers or Yellow Jackets. At least it wasn’t with their basketball versions.

It was a deal with football. The implications for basketball remain unclear. But already, there are some impressions. One is that losing the double round-robin took away more than a few follow-up games. It has changed the rhythm of the league, the relentless pace than made every team better and made “ACC basketball” synonymous with intensity.

Really it’s just handwringing over “the good-old days,” but this is a down year for the ACC, and the people covering are having trouble with it. They are used to being the conference being in any debate for which is toughest in a year.

Not this year. It is the Big East or Big 11. Actually, the writers don’t even want to consider the possibility of not being in the conversation. Duke is the only stand-out team. Maryland is no where near where expected (and in trouble with its leading scorer off the team due to academic ineligibility); UNC is still reloading; BC didn’t come in and provide the oomph expected; Wake is weak; NC St is okay, but not that good; Georgia Tech seems inconsistent; Virginia, Clemson, FSU, Miami and VT are afterthoughts.

Those are todays news stories.

Regarding the players, right now the NBA scouts are watching Carl Krauser and Aaron Gray according to a former scout for the Phoenix Suns and Pitt player Cleve Edwards.

Most of the buzz surrounds 7-foot junior center Aaron Gray, who is expected to stay at Pitt through his senior year, and senior guard Carl Krauser, who nearly left early after last season to enter the NBA draft.

Gray leads the Big East in double-doubles (nine) and has rebounded in double figures 11 times this season.

NBA scouts are excited about the potential that Gray has shown this season — his first as a starter.

“There are a lot of people who like Gray. He has turned around so much,” said Edwards, a former Fifth Avenue (Brashear) High School and Pitt player who later served as an assistant at Pitt, Robert Morris and Nevada-Las Vegas.

“He’s doing things now that (Chris) Taft couldn’t do,” Edwards said. “Taft was a more explosive jumper, but this kid is a smarter basketball player.”

Or at least a lot less reliant on simple natural ability.

Coach Jamie Dixon gets a puff piece on his job performance to date. Replete with quotes from ESPN analyst Jay Bilas.

“Jamie is a really good basketball coach,” said ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas, who covered Pitt’s 80-67 victory Monday against Syracuse. “Bill Raftery and I talk about it all the time. We get to see him at work at practice all the time. You can tell when a guy is really good and when a guy is not good. Jamie is really good. The results speak to that. You can just tell when a guy has it. This guy has it.”

And with success come other opportunities. At least it will according to, well, you know who.

“It is interesting that ever since Ben left, he has struggled a little bit at UCLA, and Jamie has flourished,” said Doug Gottlieb, an ESPN studio analyst. “Nationally, the ultimate sign of respect is when jobs come open, and Jamie’s name is going to be thrown into the fray because everyone knows he can get the job done. There is a good chance that a job or two is going to come open in the Pac-10 this year. The first name you’re going to hear is Jamie Dixon’s. He’s going to have to make a decision. He has a great arena. It looks like he has good support from the administration. He’s been able to go into New York and get some very good players. He’s got a lot of things going for him at Pitt.”

The only Pac-10 schools that could open would be Oregon, Oregon St. or Arizona St. At best, Oregon would be a lateral move. Unlike UCLA or even USC, those aren’t high-powered step-up jobs. They might help Dixon get a raise, but not better or bigger opportunities.

Gottlieb then gets defensive.

“I stand by my criticism of the non-conference schedule, but I want people to understand that I was not anti-Pitt. I was more anti-the whole undefeated thing,” Gottlieb said. “We all knew no one was going undefeated this season. I was the first one to put Pitt in my power 16 poll on ESPN. com. I’ve been totally impressed with Jamie and what he’s done. They have maybe the best home-court advantage in the Big East with the Oakland Zoo. The names change, but they’re all going to play defense. They’re not going to be flashy, but they’re going to be effective.”

I’ve not accused Gottlieb of any anti-Pitt bias. Outside of maybe Notre Dame, I doubt he has any real biases against a team. Gottlieb is simply “anti-” for the sake of being “controversial.”

Another day, another chance for hearing from some more possible commits.

The remaining pool of Florida players Pitt was still pursuing just got a little smaller.

Geno Atkins, a highly regarded defensive end from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, became Georgia’s 26th commitment Wednesday.

Atkins, who played host to Bulldogs coach Mark Richt on Tuesday, picked Georgia over Auburn and Michigan State. He was also recruited by Pitt and N.C. State.

Figure Coach Wannstedt and the coaching staff will be sending plenty of text messages this weekend, as reminders.

After the official visit to Pittsburgh this last weekend, three-star defensive end Audie Augustine definitely had an increased level of interest for the Big East school.

The 6-foot-2, 234-pound prospect called the visit “amazing.”

“I was totally shocked,” Augustine said. “I never expected to see that. All of their football facilities are simply beautiful.”

One visit is remaining for the No. 21 defensive end in the country to North Carolina State, but it looks like Pitt has improved their position with a solid time on campus. The final trip will be the big step towards a decision for Augustine as things are winding down in his recruiting process.

Today might be the day Aaron Berry announces. Elijah Fields might do it over the weekend.

In the flexibility of how some players are ranked, right now Pitt’s present recruiting class is ranked 9th by Scouts, Inc./ESPN.com (Insider Subs.); 12th by Scout.com; and 22nd by Rivals.com.