Sundays are part of the weekend, but it never feels like it. The thought that Monday is around the corner sticks in the back of my mind all day. Ah.

A large number of football recruits visited this weekend for the hoops game against Seton Hall. The list includes verbals like Nix, Burns, and Sunseri plus some hopefuls (most notably AJ Alexander). They were able to pick up their 17th verbal from TE Justin Virbitsky.

Jim Snyder of Pantherlair.com is reporting that TE Justin Virbitsky gave the Panthers a verbal commitment today. Virbitsky is the Panthers 17th verbal commitment. Virbitsky is from Lakeland, Fla. and is being recruited as a “blocking” tight end. Virbitsky was a 3-year starter at Lakeland H.S. and was named to the 1st team Class AA as a defensive end. [PSI]

The “blocking” tight end style is more similar to John Pelusi’s game rather than Nate Byham. Byham is a great blocker but an even better pass-catcher.
Speaking of tight ends (there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere), Darrell Strong played in the Hula Bowl last night. The other Pitt player was Kennard Cox. Two other all-star games will feature former Panthers.

Two-time All-Big East defensive end Joe Clermond will play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 19 in Houston, Texas. The game will be a 7 p.m. (ET) telecast on ESPN. Pitt’s defensive captain, Clermond (Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain) finished the season as the Panthers’ leader in sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (13). His 53 total tackles tied for fourth. An outstanding pass rusher, Clermond’s .88 sacks per game ranked 11^th nationally (tied) and third in the Big East.

Pitt’s starting offensive tackles, Jeff Otah and Mike McGlynn, will play in the Jan. 26 Senior Bowl, held in Mobile, Ala. The game will kickoff at 3 p.m. (ET) and be televised by the NFL Network.

All-star games have never really excited me; now really planning to watch these unless I find myself really in need of something to do. NFL Draft Countdown has Otah going near the middle of the first round and says this about him:

Otah is still very raw and only has two years of division I experience but he has mind-boggling size (6-6, 340) and great athleticism with almost unlimited potential. In college he played left tackle and did a fantastic job but he might have to the right side at the next level and a good way to think of him would be as a poor man’s Jake Long with more longterm upside.

Teams and Detroit and Philly would be two teams drafting in the middle of the round that could use him on their o-line.

To see H.B. Blades and Tyler Palko wearing Pitt helmets. The Under Armour Senior Bowl.

Among the Big East players who have accepted invitations to the Jan. 27 game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium are quarterback Tyler Palko and linebacker H.B. Blades of Pittsburgh, defensive back Tanard Jackson of Syracuse, and a trio of West Virginia Mountaineers — linebacker Boo McLee, wide receiver Brandon Myles and 2006 Rimington Award winner center Dan Mozes.

Previously, two members of Louisville’s Big East champs — defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, who will be the youngest player in Senior Bowl history at age 19, and running back Kolby Smith; and a pair of stars from Rutgers — running back Brian Leonard and tight end Clark Harris, were also named to the 2007 roster.

Looks like most of the BE players will be “coached” by Tampa Bay HC Jon Gruden. Can you believe the NFL managed to snag the broadcast rights to this gem?

After last night’s Orange Bowl win for the Louisville Cards, the Big East bowl record this year moved to 4-0. They joined “West Effin Virginia”, South Florida, and Rutgers in the W column for our home conference and our winning percentage of 1.00 is better than any of the BCS conferences.

Wait, wasn’t this the conference that shouldn’t deserve a BCS spot? The one that the “experts” up in Bristol said might be worse off than smaller conferences like the Mountain West, MAC, and WAC?

The final step towards a great season for the Beast of the East is a win on Saturday in Toronto of all places. Cincinnati (who we were lucky to catch early in the season or else that would have been another loss) takes on Western Michigan. One more win would have probably put Pitt in this game and if the Panthers had, in fact, made it to the International Bowl I’d be nervous. I’d be shaking in my blogger boots.

I’m actually just as nervous with the Bearcats playing in this game but I have more confidence in them than I would have had in Pitt. A 5-0 bowl season would shut up Corso and Co. and although it doesn’t propel us up to the same status the SEC is at right now, it certainly throws a little more respect our way.

More respect leads to more bowl bids which greatly helps mediocre teams like Pitt. A 6-6 Big Ten team right now has a much higher chance to get into a bowl game than a 6-6 Big East team; at least for the time being.

By the way, this name tag I’m wearing says my name is Dennis and I’m a 4 star employee who is happy to help. You’ll soon find out my main hobbies are the use of parentheses (seen here), double parentheses (a.k.a. the use of brackets [seen here]), and Pitt sports. My e-mail address is dennis.pittblather@gmail.com. Feel free to send love mail, hate mail, spam offers for free stuff, and anything in between. Anything not directly for me can be sent to the regular Pitt Blather e-mail address as usual.

So Ron Cook puts the fact that Pitt and other teams that go 6-6 will be going to a bowl at the top of his outrage list for college football. Something that everyone has been well aware since it was announced that they were going to 12 game seasons in CFB and there are just way too many bowls.

Looking for it…

Looking for it…

Searching…

Nope, can’t find the outrage. Can’t work up a lather. Hell, I’m having a hard time working up a lather about the other sins he lists:

Penn State going to the Outback Bowl — big deal. It’s a Big 11 tie-in bowl and that’s where they landed in the pecking order. Why does that make them undeserving? Compared to who else in the conference? They may get creamed by LSU or someone like that, but that doesn’t make them “undeserving” so much as point out how top heavy the Big 11 was. Non-BCS bowls are about money and what schools and conferences can bring the most fans for the games. The Big 11 has among the largest fanbases and has historically traveled to bowls well.

Potential Michigan-tOSU rematch for the BCS National Championship. Wait? You mean the BCS is screwed up? Damn, I thought the system was fine. Again, old news.

It’s the feigned outrage in the column that amuses me. These are old complaints wrapped up in an attempt at mouth-breathing anger. Don’t necessarily disagree with them, but spare me the weak emotional effort.

On top of all the Homecoming stuff, playing a top-25 team, and bowl officials from the Sun and International Bowl being on hand.

There is the added issue of recruiting visits. This trip has 5 kids from Florida including the already verbally committed RB Xavier Stinson. This includes a 300 pound OL with offers from South Carolina and Mississippi. Also a CB with offers from FSU, Florida and Auburn. And a DE with offers from Tennessee and WVU.

Just a couple things that kind of blend lines.

Since it’s completely anti-climactic at this point, it’s not worth its own post. Still, something worth noting. The Big East does not permit transfers of football players from one school to another within the Big East — ever. Incredibly harsh. Once they practice with the BE team, that player is forever off-limits to other BE schools.
Over the weekend was the Big East sponsored honoring of Basketball HoF inductee Dave Gavitt, the force and first commish of the Big East. Coach Dixon was on hand for Pitt, along with AD Jeff Long. Also attending was former BC and disgraced OSU head coach Jim O’Brien — can’t even imagine how awkward any conversation with him was. Even more stunning than O’Brien being on hand was BC AD Gene DeFilippo.

Actually, maybe DeFilippo feels good about making an appearance as the stories appear to be that Syracuse and BC will start playing annually maybe in 2010, ‘11, or ‘12. Matt at Orange 44 is right that the rest of the BE teams (and their fans) probably won’t be too thrilled with that. The bright side, if Tom O’Brien is still on the sidelines for BC, neither will he.

If BC coach Tom O’Brien has anything to do with it, however, when BC moves on to the Atlantic Coast Conference, never shall the twain meet again. Even as nonconference opponents.

“No, I’m not going to play anybody in the Big East, for what we went through,” O’Brien said, when asked if he’d ever consider playing Syracuse in the future. “Absolutely not.”

If, when this goes down, someone needs to make sure to tape the press conference when O’Brien swallows hard and talks about looking forward to it. Then they need to send me a copy. Really, it’s an underrated joy to see a red-ass being forced to eat his words.

Now for the annoyance factor of a BE school playing BC in football in basketball. I would be more pissed if it was basketball. BC is going to run up huge travel costs because there are no local games other than patsies without the Big East schools. This is more of an issue in basketball than football. Still, I’m bothered.
While I understand the logic for Syracuse as Matt gives perfectly reasonable explanation. I don’t have to like it. I also think it’s just too soon. Inevitably there would be a thaw, but this is just too soon in my view.

The faux belt buckle logo is the symbol and shows the name of the new/old bowl that will be taking the place of the Houston Bowl. The bowl website, is very much under construction. According to the site, the Texas Bowl will be “A celebration of the culture, heritage and football tradition of the Lone Star State.” Lone Star Sports & Entertainment President Jamey Rootes had this to say about the bowl:

“We believe we will look back at today’s event as the launching pad for the next cherished Houston sports tradition.”

What were the previous ones?