The last practice was yesterday. Tonight is FanFest at Heinz Field. Unlike previous years there won’t be any practice to watch. All the other bells and whistles — autographs, music, cheerleaders, live media interviews, kids’ stuff — barely a half-speed practice.

“Tomorrow we have FanFest so we’ll get down to the stadium in the afternoon and give the guys a chance to get in the locker room and do the pre-game warm up and do limited work on the field. We’ll still throw the ball around a little bit and give them a taste of what it’ll be like come game time. So, I think we’re right on schedule at this point. I’m glad we’re not playing Saturday; we’re not by any means ready to play a football game. We have to clean some things up in all phases and we have to get a little better in all phases. We have time, and we will. But, I think we’re right where we need to be at this point.”

I’ll be curious to find out what kind of turnout will take place, especially with the weather being overcast and possible rain all day.

Coach Wannstedt also addressed the return game. Something Pitt struggled with last year.

On Aaron Smith and Cameron Saddler concerning punt return drills:
“I thought we started off the season doing a poor job with our return game in general. We ended up first in the Big East in punt returns, but we started off not very good and so we did spend more time with that and we tried to create more situations where they would have to make decisions and handle the ball under pressure, and they’re both doing a good job. Right now we probably have four or five guys that can do it, Aaron Smith and Cam Saddler would be the top two.”

Concerning kickoffs:
“We got Cam back on kicks, we’re working Aundre Wright, and we’re working Dion Lewis. We have Antwuan Reed back there. We haven’t finalized anything yet.”

Losing Saddler in training camp last year was a big hit to what was expected in the return game. As long as his ACL is healed and he trusts it, I am expecting him to have a significant impact in the return game.

(more…)

Okay, so I’ve seen the new uniforms. Eh. Can’t say I have strong feelings one way or the other. They aren’t radically different, and that’s probably a good thing, since anything like that would probably make my eyeballs bleed. Unless they went back to the old colors — which we all know is not going to be happening.

They are a bit bland and strike me as generic Nike unis, but that’s about the extent of my negative feelings.

New gear has arrived.

The press release (at least at the moment) has no pictures of the new football uniforms or any of the new unis for any sports.

“We are excited about our new partnership with NIKE,” Pederson said. “Most importantly, our student-athletes are thrilled to be wearing the NIKE brand. We are anxious to have our fans see the new lines of NIKE Pitt products as well.”

“The University of Pittsburgh is an outstanding institution with a rich sports heritage,” NIKE director of college sports marketing Kit Morris said. “NIKE is excited to become the official supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and equipment for the Panthers, and we especially look forward to outfitting all of Pitt’s student-athletes and coaches from its 19 sports programs.”

Given the Pitt store’s propensity to sell old gear forever (really? still selling an “iron bar” Pitt logo hat?) rather than eventually just ship it to a 3d world country to avoid confusion, count on being able to get older Adidas stuff for several more years.

Nike is doing the throwback gear. Just it now has a swoosh right in the front of the shirt rather than on the sleeve as Adidas did. That Nike subtlety.

Just a couple little things.

He never saw the field because he couldn’t get out of bed and did not even get to El Paso, but Ronald Hobby is trying to start fresh at Liberty. Good luck with that.

The countdown clock to the first game is running. Why they don’t have a simple little widget of this for people to grab, post and promote is beyond me.

Panther Rants is back to posting.

The Pitt Consortium section of the blogroll has been updated to add The First Church of Fitzgerald and Eye of a Panther.

Do not confuse recent Pitt verbal Dan Schneider with this Dan Schneider.

The iCarly movie stars Miranda Cosgrove as Carly, Jennette McCurdy as Sam, Nathan Kress as Freddie and Jerry Trainor as Spencer. Victoria Justice guest stars as Shelby Marx and Reed Alexander guest stars as Nevel. “iFight Shelby Marx” is written by Dan Schneider and directed by Steve Hoefer. iCarly is from creator and executive producer Dan Schneider (Zoey 101, Drake & Josh).

There was a Big East Bloggers Pre-Season Poll, and somehow I got left out.  Simply more shenanigans from Rutgers folk.

Something of a review here. With Father’s Day coming quickly a Pitt product that should be on the list. This one was sent to me a little while back, but has been simmering for the right time.

The item in question is the University of Pittsburgh Football Vault.

This is part of the series of college football vaults from Whitman Publishing. Part history, part scrapbook, and completely engrossing.

The Pitt football Vault was put together by Sam Sciullo, Jr., a Pitt alum, former member of Pitt’s sports information office and the writer of several other Pitt-related books.

From postcard reproductions of programs to a small felt pennant circa the early-60s, to the field passes. These items help make the stories and history tangible (and can be quite the attractive nuisance to small children). The copy of Jackie Sherrill’s first contract with Pitt is an amusing extra.

The history runs from the beginnings through the 2007 season and the conclusion of the 100th Backyard Brawl. This is not a stat book. You won’t get lists of all-time numbers. That’s for media guides (if Pitt will even print one this year). This is about the love of Pitt football and its history.

If you or your dad loves Pitt, this is something to get. It sells on Amazon for around $37, and nearly the same price at B&N (w. a member discount).

If you are following my Twitter, then you already know that the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) picked up a new sponsor for insoles and socks.

What made me take notice of the absurd press release was the quote from a coach.

“The care, comfort and health of our feet are concerns for coaches and players in all sports, but especially basketball,” said Jamie Dixon, head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. “We need to be proactive in the care and prevention of foot injuries to our players. At the same time, coaches are on their feet for long periods during practices and games and want to be as comfortable as possible.”

I’m just going to assume that when SofSole was preparing the press release they drafted this and then went to the NABC to have them select a coach to credit the quote. Clearly Coach Dixon got the short straw.

Okay, everyone has been waiting for the announcement. Here it is.

Elite Fitness Systems (www.elitefts.com), an established leader in strength training and fitness products, has provided the University of Pittsburgh football team with its signature strength training equipment to help upgrade the program’s weight room.

The equipment that the London, Ohio-based company supplied to the Duratz Athletic Complex includes: eight EFS Collegiate Power Racks on Platforms, each of which are equipped with a custom chin bar, EFS signature band pegs, and storage for chains and bands; and eight EFS 0-90 Collegiate Benches, which are built for bigger players. Each power rack and bench also comes with a customized Pitt logo.

Well, there it is.

Oh, right, the new Pitt gear was supposed to be swtiching to Nike. Well, still nothing. In the mean time, if you want to buy Pitt gear at the Team Store, you can take 20% off your order through Sunday. Use promotion code: SEASON.

Lots of chatter about it. More than a couple people e-mailed me to say it was happening. The one thing that hasn’t occurred — no press releases or actual press conference unveiling the change in apparel and shoe deals from Adidas to Nike. So, I don’t know anymore than the rest of you.

I have to admit that I don’t have any strong feelings one way or the other about this. When Pitt switched to Adidas from Nike for all gear (at the time Adidas was already the basketball supplier and other sports and Nike was only the football supplier), that there was some acrimony as Pitt had to file suit to get out of the deal.

The deal with Adidas was more lucrative, and Adidas was the company that produced the very pleasant throwback gear. (Hmm. Might have to buy some more, just in case Nike doesn’t continue that line.) Plus, it meant avoiding the dreaded “System of Fit.”

Of course, money talks, and this time it seems Nike has decided that it is willing to pay to get Coach Jamie Dixon (no offense to Coach Dave Wannstedt, but for sneakers the B-ball coach has the value) and Pitt’s apparel. I’m a little surprised that Adidas let Pitt go, considering their investment and actually marketing the team a bit this past March.

Honestly, I’m not sure what difference it makes for the fans. It may be gear in styles we like more. I really don’t see it getting more market penetration. That sort of thing is dependant on the success of the football and basketball programs, than Nike or Adidas. Both have a strong interest in making sure they make money off the deal, so I did not see Adidas as holding Pitt sales back in that regard.

Lots of activities and autograph sessions with some past Pitt players. Q&A with the coaches. The game will be televised locally, but does little good for those of us not living in the ‘Burgh. I would have enjoyed a road trip this weekend just for fun, but between family obligations, taxes not done and, well — I think the wife would have beaten me with a tire iron if I had even suggested any more college sports activities — it just isn’t going to happen.

Still, seems like a lot of fun.

Fans will have a chance to interact with coaches and learn about some tactical decisions and why they are made, the recruiting process and a typical practice schedule, as well as some other aspects pertaining to the Panthers or college football in general.

Wannstedt said he is looking forward to the event because he thinks it is a good way to get fans more engaged with the program.

“We just decided we needed to change some things up,” he said. “I’ll talk a little bit about recruiting and the process and the program over all and then we will have Phil Bennett talk about defense and obviously Frank Cignetti, the offense.

“Then it will be open to questions, and that will probably be as much fun for the fans as anything because they’ll get a chance to ask questions about what takes place during practice, game day or halftime or whatever they want to know.”

Of course, one reporter said that odds are very good that the first question will have something to do with quarterbacks, to which Wannstedt quipped, “I’ll defer that one to Frank. That’s why he’s talking.”

Seems like Coach Wannstedt went out of his way to stress to the beat writers that the spring game is not any more meaningful than the other practices. I noticed a similar thing in Gorman’s blog post as well.

Perhaps the biggest misconception revolving around spring drills is the importance of the Blue-Gold Game. In reality, it’s little more than a glorified scrimmage in the eyes of Pitt coaches. And they evaluate it as such.

“We’ll put it in the same category as our last (two) Saturday scrimmages,” Wannstedt said. “We’ll look at the execution and how the players respond that way. It will be an important day for our players, no question about that, but I wouldn’t say it’s really any more important than the last two scrimmages.”

Added offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti: “You won’t see much. It will be real vanilla. We’ll just go out there and run a base offense and, obviously, just try to come out of it healthy.”

There is something to be said for the Panthers putting on their uniforms and performing in game-type situations before fans at Heinz Field.

“Just by being in the stadium and having people in the stands and knowing it’s on TV, that has a tendency to affect some players differently than if we were just up here on a Saturday morning, having a scrimmage in the bubble,” Wannstedt said. “That’s good. That type of exposure has a tendency to bring out the best and, sometimes, the worst in players.

“We need to find that out now.”

I think most fans know that it isn’t any more than a light scrimmage that is the end of a spring fan fest. It’s just a way to help generate more interest in Pitt football. The only reasons it takes on a bigger meaning to the fans is that it is one of the only times they get to see the team at this time, and it is the final practice and scrimmage of the spring.

Looks like Pitt’s shoe company does not want to miss out on a chance to cash in (and let’s face it, part of why they do these contracts is with the anticipation/hope of such things) on the success.

This was sent to me by their PR people.

The “March is a Brotherhood” series includes Pitt. They are doing a series of 5 videos featuring NBA stars — who never went to college — adopting a team.

That’s the Atlanta Hawks’ Josh Smith — and no, he’s not actually rocking Tyrell Biggs’ number, that’s his number.

They have the “brotherhood t-shirt” and released a vegas-gold replica jersey using #45. Gee, wonder why.

Any chance they can push the start of spring practice to April?

No?

Pity.

Well, Adam Gunn and Pitt got a pleasant surprise from the NCAA. A sixth year.

Gunn, who redshirted during his freshman season, suffered a broken bone in his neck in the opener last season against Bowling Green when he collided with former Panthers linebacker Scott McKillop. He was knocked out of the lineup for the rest of the season.

Pitt appealed for a sixth year based on medical hardship and it was granted.

“We are very pleased for Adam that the NCAA has given him an extra year of eligibility,” Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said. “The next step is for him to visit with our doctors to see if and when he will be physically ready to begin playing again. We are, first and foremost, concerned with Adam’s long-term health and well being.”

Gunn isn’t expected to be ready to practice — hopefully — until the summer. Still, assuming Gunn comes back healthy, he provides some needed depth and experience at the linebacker spot.

AD Steve Pederson is letting the local media know he still wants to get people in the stands.

Now, a year later, Pitt is pushing to sell out Heinz Field for a team devoid of bona fide superstars — after the graduation of middle linebacker Scott McKillop and early entry to the NFL by tailback LeSean McCoy — but coming off its first nine-win season in more than a quarter century.

To do so, Pitt is offering season-ticket packages ranging from $82 to $280 that increase prices by only $10 despite adding a seventh home game to the schedule this fall. Five of the visitors to Heinz Field earned bowl berths last season, including non-conference opponents Navy and Notre Dame.

“There’s ‘real’ momentum and, obviously, an excellent team,” Pederson said. “I kind of view this as an opportunity to see a bunch of new, young stars step up. In some ways, it’s even more intriguing to see who the new stars are going to be. … That’s what’s exciting.”

Pitt announced its non-conference schedule and season-ticket prices Monday, as well as new initiatives for the annual Blue-Gold Game. The Panthers will open at home against Youngstown State on Sept. 5, play at Buffalo on Sept. 12, play host to Navy on Sept. 19, at North Carolina State on Sept. 26 and receive the first visit since 2005 from Notre Dame on Nov. 14.

Pitt also will play host to Big East foes Connecticut, Cincinnati, Syracuse and South Florida, and will visit Rutgers, Louisville and West Virginia. The conference schedule, however, has yet to be released.

It all comes down to winning and expectations of winning. That will be what gets more people in the stands.

The things implemented last year remain, and the spring game gets jazzed up a bit.

Beyond ticket prices, the athletic department also will bring back the family tailgate on Art Rooney Avenue, the Great Lawn tailgate for students, the Pitt band tailgate and the revised student shuttle bus program. And once again everyone who buys season tickets is guaranteed the opportunity to buy a parking pass.

The one major new development for this season is in regard to the Blue-Gold spring football game April 11.

“Brand new for 2009 is that, for the first time, our fans are going to get to interact with our football team on that Saturday at what we are calling the spring football festival,” Pitt marketing representative Chris Ferris said. “It will be unlike anything we’ve done before, and like the regular football games, there will be something for everyone.”

The spring football festival will begin at 12:30 p.m. (gates open at noon) April 11 with two events for fans — a football clinic on the field for children 12-and-under conducted by Pitt players, and a “chalk talk” and question-and-answer session for fans conducted by the coaching staff in the club lounge.

Both events are free and will be followed by the Blue-Gold game at 2 p.m. There also will be an autograph session on the plaza and in the Great Hall as well as live entertainment, games and other activities to give the spring game a festival atmosphere.

Sounds like fun.

Finally, since one of the favorite topics of off-season Big East football is expansion. One of the overlooked aspects of conference affiliation still involves the academics of the member institutions.

US News and World Report put together a conference breakdown from their academic rankings. Here’s the Big East. Here’s Conference USA (where the most likely target for additions reside). Note where Memphis and ECU reside in the ranking tiers. In no BCS conference are there schools that reside down in “tier four.” The Big East has the most “tier 3” schools of any other BCS conference with 4 (Cinci, Louisville, USF and WVU).

That has to matter for the Pitt and the other 3 schools that actually have academic reputations.

There’s a fine line between celebrating an achievement and going a bit over the top. Hard to believe that Pitt may have managed to go a bit over the edge this quickly

#1 in the polls

A commemorative t-shirt? For the polls? Really?

I know it’s the first time. I know I said it’s a big achievement and one Pitt fans should be proud, happy about and even celebrate. I’m just not there for a t-shirt.

I really don’t know what to say about that, other than: blatant cash-in/grab.

Do you know what today is? It’s Big East Basketball Media Day in NYC. As is Coach Jamie Dixon’s MO, he’s bringing the seniors (PDF). So DeJuan Blair, but Tyrell Biggs along with Sam Young and Levance Fields.

The Big East is going all out with content.

In the days following men’s and women’s media day, fans will be able to watch a narrated behind-the-scenes look from each event, which will consist of “off-the-cuff” interviews with prominent media members, coaches and players.

Soooo… It’s scripted event, they are trying to make look spontaneous?

As Midnight Madness took place for some, SI.com’s Seth Davis asked questions about each top team.

With DeJuan Blair, Tyrell Biggs and Sam Young, the Panthers are as good up front as any other team in the country. In Levance Fields, they have as tough a point guard as you’ll find anywhere. But they lost three very good outside shooters off of last year’s team in Keith Benjamin, Ronald Ramon and Mike Cook, who together sank 56 percent of the team’s three-pointers. (And keep in mind Cook only played 11 games before blowing out his knee.)

Pitt’s dearth of long-range shooters could be an especially glaring deficiency with the new three-point line. Right now, Jamie Dixon will be looking to three possibilities to fill that role: Brad Wanamaker, a 6-4 sophomore who averaged 2.2 points as a freshman; Ashton Gibbs, a 6-2 freshman from New Jersey; and Jermaine Dixon, a 6-3 transfer from Tallahassee Junior College. Dixon, it should be noted, is the younger brother of my all-time favorite college player, the former Maryland guard Juan Dixon, but until one of those three proves he can make shots, this will remain a open question, dialed in from long-distance.

Not sure why he excluded Travon Woodall except that he might have him in as the back-up PG and so not as the guy to take Ramon’s spot.

While the new 3-point line’s likely impact has been minimized by many coaches — including Coach Dixon — there are some who aren’t so dismissive.

But the only data we have suggests the change could be radical. Those numbers come from U.S. participation in international play, which uses a 20-foot, 6-inch line for the 3-point shot. That’s closer to the goal than the 20-feet, 9-inches that’ll be the new rule for college, yet some of the best young American players have struggled terribly when adjusting to the international distance.

In the past three competitions for college-age players — the 2007 Pan-American Games, the 2007 Under-19 World Championships and the 2008 Under-18 FIBA Americas Championships, the U.S. shot a combined 119-of-393 (30.3 percent) from 3-point range. Now, that figure is deflated by the fact the international game uses a shorter shot clock, but it ought to have been inflated by the presence of elite players on those teams: Davidson’s Stephen Curry, Michigan State’s Drew Neitzel and Washington State’s Derrick Low.

The game could change more than coaches would have you believe.

If so, that’s a big advantage for Pitt, since the reliance on the perimeter shot by Pitt will not be as high as others.

Now ESPN.com has the team breakdowns from Blue Ribbon Yearbook (Insider subs.). Here’s the “Final Analysis” on PItt.

BACKCOURT: B+
BENCH/DEPTH: B
FRONTCOURT: A-
INTANGIBLES: A-

Dixon did an incredible job last year, guiding the Panthers to 27 wins and a 10-8 Big East mark despite the injuries to Fields and Cook. The program’s strength was evident as players like Benjamin, Ramon and Brown stepped into larger roles and filled them.

This year, Pitt will rely on its three all-conference candidates — Fields, Young and Blair — to lead what will otherwise be a very young team.

Pitt owes its recent string of success to the defensive-approach preached by Dixon. Now entering his sixth year as head coach, Dixon thinks this might be his best defensive team yet.

“I like this team,” Dixon said. “I’ve liked all our teams, but I like this team. I think we can be very deep, very tough physically. We’ve got some guys that can make shots and create shots on their own.

“The question to me is how good we can become defensively. I think this can be a good defensive team; as good defensively as any team we’ve had.”

If he’s right about that, Dixon might just take Pitt to its first Final Four.

Homecoming weekend doesn’t end Saturday night, by the way. In lieu of Midnight Madness for the students, there’s the FanFest Sunday afternoon at the Pete.

The University of Pittsburgh will host its fifth annual Basketball Fan Fest and Intrasquad Scrimmages on Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Petersen Events Center. The event will highlight the Pitt men’s and women’s basketball teams and feature autograph sessions, team scrimmages and various fan-oriented events. Admission is free to this family-oriented event. Free parking is available in the OC Lot. Doors open at 12:30 p.m.

So, there’s that.

I probably jumped the shark a long time ago, but this is just a clincher. It also shows how blogs, like radio and other mediums can be used for promoting and selling stuff. Sports Illustrated has a new book being released: The College Football Book.

I received a courtesy copy for review and a chance to talk to someone associated with the book. In this case, David Sabino. He does a lot of fantasy baseball and football these days for SI. This makes sense when you are the Associate Editor in Charge of Statistics. Some are really not impressed by his work. David and I talked on Friday over the phone.

You can listen to the 20 minute conversation — if you can put up with a slew of “ums” and “ahhh” from me. Clearly I need to work on this before I even consider more podcasts. I’ve broken it up into 3 parts, each 6-8 minutes long.

Part 1, is about David Sabino’s background and involvement in the book.

Part 2, covers some of the specifics on Pitt players in the book.

Part 3, is just a bit of a grab bag. Talking a little about the images in the book, future projects, and the changing media.

My thoughts on the book. The photos inside are beautiful as you would expect. There are some of the classic stories from Sports Illustrated through the years, including part of the essay on Tony Dorsett from 1976 written by Myron Cope — the accompanying photo of Dorsett breaking free of some gold helmet wearing defenders trying to arm tackle him is stunning. There are also pictures of Hugh Green and Dan Marino.

Sticking with Pitt players for a moment, the center of the book focuses on All-time College All-Stars. There was also the restriction of limiting it to only one player from a school. Dorsett did ton’t make that list. A tough call, but with Jim Brown and Herschel Walker ahead of him, it is hard to argue too strenuously. Especially since Hugh Green made the cut on the defense. As David Sabino explained, most schools consider their greatest players to be running backs or quarterbacks.

More shocking was Dorsett’s exclusion from the 70s all-decade team. Instead it was Johnny Rodgers (Nebraska), Billy Sims (Oklahoma) and Archie Griffin (Ohio St.). According to Mr. Sabino, that was pretty much by the numbers.

Obviously releasing the book around this time of the year, the hope is that it will be purchased as a holiday gift. It really is a beautiful book, and it is the sort of book that if you stick on a coffee table, will be picked up and paged through.

As I say in the conversation, I got the book a day or two before family came for a visit. My dad — who still loves SI — saw the book and just started paging through it. It just held his attention for a good 30 minutes.

Another bonus is on the decade pages, they show a sampling of program covers from the period. Some great historical stuff. It’s a little sad as program covers have gotten rather boring in my view. It’s hardly worth holding onto the same way.

If you want to get a copy of the book you can find it here and here. Suggested retail price is around $30, is actually sold online for about $20.

It’s a minor thing compared to the on-the-field performance, but there were some noticeable changes at Heinz Field so far this year. I know some of the guys at CatBasket have been helping with suggestions and ideas for Heinz Field to be more of a Pitt home field. Sorry, ripping off “Sweet Caroline” from the Red Sox doesn’t work for me because 1) cheesy Neil Diamond doesn’t do it; 2) it’s just ripping off someone else’s gimmick; 3) as a Yankees fan, it set my teeth to grinding.

There are some hits like the great banner running behind the visitor sideline of Pitt greats through the history. Love it.

Then there’s the clear Pederson influence. The exiting the locker room and coming out of the tunnel camera for the Pitt team led by Coach Wannstedt before the game. That was a Pederson thing from the Harris regime. Then there’s the return of a certain logo.

That’s right the gold and blue blob-cat is back and Jeff Long’s version appears to be out. The old panther head was the only one seen around the field. On the tunnels at the end of a couple banners.

It’s a little thing, but I must have missed the memo on the switch. Was there an official change? Looks that way. This brings up an issue that bothered me when I took a quick look at some Pitt gear in the stadium. The confusion and complete muddling of the logo.

Pitt really needs to just make a decision about old gear. There was gear for sale with all different Pitt logos (and I’m not even including the throwback stuff) — the “Iron bar Pitt“, the new/old panther head, the newer panther head, the old font with “Pittsburgh,” I even saw a couple of the panther tooth items. This extends to the Pitt official store (obviously, since I used their site to show the examples). Where the gear is just all over the place.

The first thing is that it reflects on the obvious cheapness of the merchandising arm not to just say, “screw it,” and ship the old clothing that didn’t sell to South America or some charity overseas. It also shows the general disarray of figuring out the logo.

They seemed to have gotten it right with the arched “Pitt.” I like it well enough. It’s simple and clean. It’s the dominate logo. Now, lose all the old fonts and junk from the past 10 years of misses.

Trying to figure out the right panther, though, has remained a mystery. I disliked both recent incarnations. Pederson panther head is a dense blot of blue and gold that makes my eyes hurt if I look at it too long. The Long panther-dog head was hardly an improvement.

I’ve thought the students have come out strong this year. I disagree with Kevin Gorman who asked, “What? You want a cookie?” It isn’t easy to build the student support when the team has performed the way it has in the Wannstedt era. The Buffalo game was more of a struggle than it should have been and that first game sapped a lot of energy and hope. In the 3+ years of Wannstedt, the biggest wins at Heinz Field were the opening night 20056 thrashing of what turned out to be a bad Virginia team (but at least it was beating a BCS team) and last year’s win over ranked Cinci.