I still don’t know how I feel about bringing back Steve Pederson because of what he had done for the school in his first stint. One thing that bother me though is the fact that he had that previous term here in the first place. He was here for six years before bolting to Nebraska. He didn’t want to have anything to do with us and left. When he couldn’t get it done there they fired him and without question we welcomed him back.

Some people believe Pitt is a second-rate program, and by bringing Pederson back because he couldn’t get it done at a “higher level” shows that even Pitt’s administration feels we’re inferior enough. Or, as Panthoor said in the comments:

Man leaves Pitt for mighty Nebraska…Man falls on face, Pitt hires him back.

As I said in the comments, I’d much rather see winning sports teams first and foremost — the logo and identity issues are of very small importance in comparison. However, Pederson addressed the issue briefly at the press conference yesterday.

“It is Pitt,” Mr. Pederson said, “In 1996, this was a different place and, to some extent, we were fighting then for everybody’s attention, so we made decisions then that we thought were in the best interest of our program and we were very proud of the association with the city of Pittsburgh, which we feel is unique because the city and the university are so intertwined. That’s why we made the decision back then.

“But we’ve been through enough logo changes around here for now, and I like our uniforms, I like our look so we are going to worry more about supporting our teams now.”

We’ll see how long he sticks to that attitude.

It’s under way.

I’ll get back to this later. Just wanted to give the links.

The preseason coaches poll has Pitt picked to finish 4th.

2007-08 Preseason Coaches’ Poll

 

1. Georgetown (8)                            217

Louisville (8)                           217

3. Marquette                                    191

4. Pittsburgh                                    170

5. Syracuse                                     153

6. Connecticut                                  149

7. Villanova                                      143

8. Providence                                   141

9. Notre Dame                                 122

10. West Virginia                              112

11. DePaul                                       79

12. Cincinnati                                    62

13. Seton Hall                                   56

14. St. John’s                                   52

15. Rutgers                                      32

16. USF  23

 

First-place votes in parentheses

This despite not having a single player selected for the 11-player (huh?) pre-season All-Big East team. Levance Fields only merited honorable mention

A week of website redesigns in Pittsburgh; first the Post-Gazette decided that they wanted to be NOW, and today the PittsburghPanthers.com redesign was revealed.

Most noticeably, the redesigned PittsburghPanthers.com features a larger lead photo for fans to appreciate the great photography and great moments in Pitt Athletics. The site also features a media player to provide users with free samples of Panthers All-Access as well as listings of upcoming events on Panthers All-Access.

Aspects of the website that remain but have been slightly refined is the Store/Tickets/Auctions tabs, Fan Poll and easy access to purchase tickets, merchandise and links to the Panther Club.

The navigation has changed from the left-hand side navigation to a horizontal navigation system with drop-down menus. The new masthead continues to feature Pitt student-athletes and select team shots; it also features Pitt facilities and monuments such as the Cathedral of Learning and Petersen Events Center. Also with this feature, users can click on picture in the masthead and be linked back to the main page.

Also available near the top of the page is the Gametracker scoreboard that provides direct links to audio, video and gametracker for upcoming Pitt athletic events. Farther down the page is an Events, Results and Photos section, this section provides up to date information along with photo galleries to coinciding events when applicable.

It doesn’t look all that bad to me although I’ve found a few problems (although it might be just my computer).

Just got back from Fan Fest — words and pictures to follow tomorrow.

EDIT: If anyone took pictures at Fan Fest and wouldn’t mind them being used in a post (with credit given to you of course), please e-mail them to dennis.pittblather@gmail.com.

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.

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.

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.

Deep breath everyone. It may be a lousy logo replacing a lousy logo, but it is only a secondary logo. For example, that needed replacement of the 1997-era “Pittsburgh” logo and panther head in the Pete that was in the paper today. It’s not like it’s going to be with the new dino-cat. They will just have the block “PITT.” Right?

That’s because a giant tile logo that reads “Pittsburgh,” built at a cost of more than $100,000 into the main lobby floor of the Petersen Events Center, will be torn up and modified under an effort to put the “PITT” back in Pitt athletics.

Jeff Long, the school’s athletic director, yesterday confirmed the planned work this summer inside the 12,500-seat arena, which opened in 2002 and is home to the school’s basketball teams.

He said the Panther head inside the logo also will be updated to a newer, sleeker version announced last month.

Oh, wait. Crap.

It would have been fine with just the big block lettered logo. Clean, simple and uncomplicated. On the bright side, when you go into the Pete, you will at least be able to stomp on that dino-cat to get some of the frustration out of your system.

Via Chas at the FanHouse, we get a solid interview of Dave Wannstedt. He talks about last year’s horrible finish to the season and then addresses the possible carryover to this year.

We’ve had a very good offseason. You know, we’re such a young team - I think we only had six seniors starting for us total last season. We’ll probably have five this year. We’re a sophomore/junior team, and we’ve made some changes on the staff.

Changes in staff have been made, sure, but not the change that everyone wants to see involving a certain defensive coordinator.

Which freshmen does he think will come in and make a quick impact?

I think LeSean McCoy has to make an impact on our team, the running back. I think that Tommie Duhart, the top defensive lineman, may make an impact. And then the rest of the team may get a little bit of special teams work.

Then we finally get some insight on the mustache.

SB: When did you decide you were going to adopt the mustache as your signature look?

DW: Well, I always thought the Charles Bronson look was the way to go, and I didn’t realize it would take off. The biggest problem I have is that I don’t have much skill with a razor in my hand. I’ve butchered that thing up more times than not. I had never really given it any thought until someone told me I was on the 10 most viewed mustaches on some Internet service, up there with Charles Bronson and Tom Selleck and myself. So it’s crazy. I’ve been at games in stadiums with students who have pictures drawn up, and that’s all they talk about. It’s hilarious. I don’t plan on shaving it off, that’s for sure.

SB: So is your mustache the source of all your power?

DW: I don’t know. You’d have to ask my wife.

If they want to attract fans they should give away “Wannstedt Mustaches”. Just ask Scott McKillop if it works; the Pirates give away all kinds of garbage, put a horrible team on the field, and still draw plenty of fans.

Pitt linebacker Scott McKillop, a marketing major, is getting plenty of valuable experience this summer. Having to market and promote such a bad team, he gets plenty of work in as a Pirates intern. At least it sounds like he does a good job.

He heard about the internship from someone in the Pitt athletic department who knew someone who worked for the Pirates. But he landed the internship through good interviews, not because he was an athlete.

“He doesn’t have that aura about him at all,” said Chris Serkoch, who is the Pirates’ manager of special events and McKillop’s boss.

“He takes initiative. I didn’t know he was a football player at first.”

For home games, McKillop arrives several hours before game time to help with various office duties, pregame activities and in-game promotional functions.

One night he found that only three of the four costumes were filled for the Pittsburgh Pierogi Race, so at 6-2, 245 pounds, he managed to fit himself in the Cheese Chester Costume.

Secondly, I went to the walkout (or lack thereof) on Saturday night. I got up and walked, and my recap of it all is here. I got to the park right when the gates opened and was there to see the ceremonial first pitches that weren’t the real first pitch done right before game time. One of those was thrown out by wide receiver Derek Kinder.

More photographic evidence after the jump.

(more…)

The Pitt Athletic Department has confirmed the new logo through a press release to the media, an e-mail to Panther Club members, and on the website.

The University of Pittsburgh’s torch-cut Panther head, first unveiled in 1997, is being reintroduced with a sleeker, more polished look. The new mark is the result of the creative efforts of the Pitt Athletic Department and Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC).

I called that they would use the word “sleeker”. By the way, we also know who to blame for coming up with this.

But wait, there’s more of this drivel…

The new Panther head will be a secondary mark for Pitt Athletics. The primary logo will remain the arching block-style PITT, first introduced in 2005. The PITT logo will continue to be the featured mark on the uniforms for each of the University of Pittsburgh’s 19 intercollegiate teams.

“We have been known as Pitt for more than a century and that name and logo will continue to be our primary identity,” Athletic Director Jeff Long said. “After receiving consistent public feedback, we felt the time was right to give our Panther head a more refined, contemporary look and one that is easily reproduced and recognized.”

Merchandise with the “sleeker” Panther will be available in stores beginning July 2. Those of you who can’t wait that long can shop on the Pitt online store which is carrying the new clothing as we speak.