Here’s the main page. Video interviews and stuff all day. This is the main page.

According to the list of attendees (PDF), Pitt is bringing Derek Kinder, Scott McKillop and LeSean McCoy for player appearances.

Yesterday was golfing day.

Lots of stuff to blog the rest of the day.

Useless information that only I might find interesting: college basketball rosters for the 2008-09 season are supposed to be updated and available to the media starting on Monday. Why? Because of the preview magazine business. They have to start work in July to get them out in September and October. That means collecting the basic information, as early as they can.

It can also mean that the never-ending Mike Cook-NCAA-Eligibility saga should get a little more media attention in the next week or two. Someone will have their curiosity piqued if Pitt gives them a roster with an asterisk or a blank spot. That is unless the NCAA finally makes a decision today.

It’s also why Austin Wallace is getting his paperwork in order for a medical hardship application.

Pitt forward Austin Wallace is going through the paperwork for a medical hardship because of a serious knee injury he suffered last December practicing before Pitt’s game against Washington. The move will free up a scholarship for Pitt, yet allow Wallace to retain a scholarship to attend the school.

It’s not a surprising move since Wallace’s injury was known to require a good two-years of recovery. kind of a surprise they waited until now. His basketball career is still at risk with a fractured left patella.

Pitt’s troubles to find an opponent for Madison Square Garden continues. Maybe Stanford?

Odjakjian said it’s unlikely Pitt would play a smaller school at the Garden, even if it’s a New York-area school. The gate wouldn’t justify such a matchup at a 19,000-seat arena.

“It’s certainly up to the Garden if a lesser opponent would be acceptable,” Odjakjian said. “If the game is not going to draw a lot of people, they aren’t going to bother.”

Which is why they wanted a team from a BCS school. Even if they weren’t particularly good. As long as there was an alumni base of some size in the area to buy tickets. I’m guessing Pitt isn’t being picky at this point.

According to this report the Memphis deal fell through for more than just timing issues.

Pittsburgh Sports Insider has been told that Pitt has been trying hard to schedule Memphis, however, Tigers head coach John Calipari wants too much in return.

The obvious implication being a road game to Memphis next year and no true home game for Pitt.

If you are in Pittsburgh, have diabetes, or want to know more about diabetes there is the Diabetes Expo at the David Lawrence Convention Center this Saturday. Oh, and the Pitt men’s and women’s basketball team will be there signing autographs.

So Pitt and Coach Jamie Dixon are going to host a Coaches vs. Cancer event in Pittsburgh this year. Along with the American Cancer Society and UPMC it will be the first ever Hoops for Hope Basketball Gala on May 31 at the Petersen Events Center.

How’s that working out for the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament appearance?

Rich (Pittsburgh): Andy – Coaches vs Cancer or Legends Classic for Pitt? I am hearing conflicting reports on which tournament they will play in.

Andy Katz: Right now Pitt is being moved over to the Legends Classic in New Jersey. This isn’t done but that appears to be their spot.

That noise started last week. Looks like the organizers want to have better odds of a Duke-UCLA meeting. From a marketing standpoint I can see it. Michigan is a likely non-factor to challenge, but is a name school. Adding Rutgers is reasonably safe to get that Duke-UCLA match-up.

I don’t like it as a Pitt fan, and if the goal is supposed to be to raise money for Coaches vs. Cancer it’s a mistake overall.

Pitt is hosting it’s first gala in support of the charity. Hopes were being raised that the basketball team was going to be a participant in the Tournament. That kind of synergy would really help the Pittsburgh event. Now, Pitt is being pushed to a one-game neutral site. Not nearly the same.

EDITOR CORRECTION: My bad. The Legends Classic is a not a one-off game. It is a mini-tournament like the Coaches vs. Cancer. Thanks to Bethlehemjohn for the correction.

Still not particularly happy since it does at least present a perception of being shoved down a tier for the profile of the event.

UPDATE (4:36): Per Andy Katz’s blog today (Insider subs.):

Pitt is no longer a lock to go to the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament in New York with UCLA, Duke and Michigan. The Panthers are more likely to land in the Legends Classic in Newark with Texas Tech. Five schools in the mix for the four remaining spots in the two tournaments are Pitt, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Washington State and/or Southern Illinois.

Yeah. Downgraded. Definitely downgraded.

Some sad news, Dennis who has been contributing to PittBlather for the past year is leaving.

Dennis will be entering his senior year of high school (which, given the quality of his writing was a startling revelation to me) and has a crush of the usual issues including a summer job and working on college choices and visits. How he had the discipline, time and interest to post at all is a stunner. Especially when I think back to that increasingly dim memory of my lack of drive in high school.

He passed this along, though, an e-mail from DPJ of Cat Basket about trying to improve the gameday atmosphere at Heinz Field.

I was at a meeting with Steve Pederson and Dave Wannstedt where they challenged myself as well as other student leaders to improve the gameday atmosphere. While others were arguing that free t-shirts and hotdogs were the only way to get people to come, I argued that making the in game experience better was the real key for improving attendance (other than winning of course). Some people on SGB and other organizations felt I was crazy. Luckily Dr. Kathy Humphrey, Chris Ferris, and some other fellow student leaders agreed.

During the conclusion of the meeting, I along with our SGB president and Program Council Lecture Director was placed in charge of trying to figure out ways to make the in game experience better. One thing we all agreed upon was that there doesn’t seem to be anything engaging the fans to make them feel more included in the game. Sure we want to have a beach ball in the student section and to incorporate other ideas to make the entire stadium seem like one cohesive unit. However, we felt that there was one big thing that Pitt hasn’t used to our advantage yet. We have that massive jumbotron that usually is one big advertisement the entire game. Have you ever notice how excited people get when the Heinz ketchup flows??? That is why we decided that one of the most effective ways to improve the atmosphere is to use the jumbotron to get the crowd involved. Have you ever been to a Pens game and seen how they use a small outdated jumbotron to get the crowd fired up? Well, why can’t we use our state of the art equipment to get our fans fired up?

They are looking for more suggestions about improving the gameday atmosphere. So head over there with any thoughts.

This seems to be an ongoing process to try and figure out ways to get people to not only come to the games, but be engaged. You may recall the letter AD Pederson sent to season ticket holders after the 07 season. Cutting ticket prices will help sell more tickets, but the issue is getting the people to actually use them and not just sit on their hands.

Obviously the effort alone is a welcome step. Making an effort to get others to throw ideas out there. Rather than just act without actually talking to others who might be closer to the situation or have a better feel.
Here’s one for the jumbotron when the moment calls for the crowd to get fired up or make noise. It builds off the “shave the ‘stache” concept (yeah, I’m going to keep pushing this). I’m thinking Mike Ditka standing next to a cardboard cutout of Wannstedt. Ditka stroking his own mustache then speaking to the camera, “Hey Panther fans, I want to see this thing shaved as much as you do,” pointing to the Wannstache, “so how about some noise?!”

I’ve been thinking about this for a couple weeks. Ever since I found out about Georgia basketball coach Dennis Felton’s pledge and follow-through.

Before a January game against Georgia Tech, Georgia Coach Dennis Felton addressed the students. He vowed to shave his mustache if the Bulldogs won the SEC Tournament.

Student interest for the basketball games were flagging — to be kind. Of course Georgia won the SEC Tournament, and Felton kept his word.

“To be honest, I seriously don’t remember making that promise,” Felton, clad in a red jacket, told students gathered around a grassy patch between the student center and the UGA Bookstore. “I’ve had this mustache since it first came when I was 3 or 4.”

Felton’s personal barber, Vernell Wilson of Wilson’s Hair World, did the deed. It took a surprisingly long time, considering the pencil-thin style of mustache Felton wears.

But Wilson, who cuts Felton’s hair at least once a week, said he never had shaved anyone outdoors, encircled by a couple hundred students with a grunge rock band playing in the background.

“I’ve never touched his mustache,” Wilson said. “He’s real particular about it. So this was an honor, and there was some pressure.”

They made it into an event.

Now this brings us to Pitt football, the students and the Wannstache. That which he grew to follow the way of the Bronson.

It’s a big season (hopefully). The team needs the students to turn out in full this year. To really help provide the the home field spark. Last year the student section didn’t even sell out.

My thought is that the Coach Wannstedt make a deal. If the student section sells out — and they attend the games — and if Pitt wins the Big East or wins a BCS bowl, then Wannstedt shaves the ‘stache.

How does that not further get things juiced for this season? How do the players themselves not want to make that happen?

You can’t tell me that Schick or Gillette wouldn’t be interested in sponsoring this. There certainly would be ESPN coverage.

I can picture it. Halftime at a Pitt basketball game. A single chair at halfcourt. A small tray with a couple razors and some shaving cream. A barber waiting. Out of the tunnel strides Coach Wannstedt.

The place would go crazy.

This has to happen.

Really, anytime a special event is announced for April 1, I have to wonder if this is some gag. The Pitt Athletic Department is probably not going to this much trouble for a joke, but you never know.

The University of Pittsburgh will host a special media and photo opportunity on Tuesday, April 1, featuring legendary Pitt running back Tony Dorsett and current Panther LeSean McCoy. The session will be held at noon at Pitt’s football practice facility within the UPMC Sports Performance Complex.

Dorsett, the 1976 Heisman Trophy winner, will make a special presentation to commemorate McCoy’s remarkable freshman season.

Pitt is letting the non-media (i.e., everyone else) watch  the event for free via Pitt’s website at noon.

Pitt has announced its new ticket prices for season and single game tickets. The result, lower ticket prices and more access to parking passes.

Reduced prices: Season tickets, which go on sale today, are less expensive. Student tickets are $25 (down from $49); Upper end zone seats are $72 (down from $99); Lower level end zone seats and some seats in the upper deck are $99 (down from $199); The lower level sideline and upper level sidelines between the 20-yard lines are $144 (down from $199); and Club seats are $270. The club seats and some of the sideline seats will again require a donation to the Panther Club.

“If you look, 33 percent of our season tickets cost less than $100,” Pitt ticket manager Reed Patterson said. “That’s a tremendous value.”

Parking: For the first time since the Panthers moved to Heinz Field, every season ticket holder will have the opportunity to buy a season parking pass for $60, which breaks down to $10 per game.

“We’re selling the spaces at the same cost we pay for them,” Pederson said. “But we needed to make sure that if you buy season tickets you can buy a parking pass.”

The mandatory donations start at $50.

Other things in the works include lots more pregame festivities and activities. They also listened to the complaints about the stating time and if there is no TV coverage, the games will be starting at 3:30 or later.

As for the later start time, that will probably only apply to a couple non-con games. Given the expectations for Pitt this coming season, even if not on ESPN or ABC, you can expect that the Big East will be showing a few more of the Pitt games on the ESPN Regional.

An e-mail that I believe is being sent to all football season ticket holders.

Dear Panthers Fan,

I am writing to thank you for your commitment to our football program as a season ticket holder. Your support means a great deal to our players, coaches and entire athletic department.

I am also asking for your help, input and opinions. As a season ticket holder, you experience Pitt football in many different ways. We are dedicated to ensuring that experience ranks among the very best in the country.To help us achieve that goal, I would like to get your insights on such subjects as the Heinz Field game day experience, ticketing, your interactions with the Pitt athletic department or any other thoughts you may have. We are also interested in your ideas on how to build an outstanding home field advantage by attracting other football fans to Heinz Field.I don’t think this information is best read on a survey. Instead, I welcome you to write me directly, or email me at spederson@athletics.pitt.edu. For your convenience, I am also sending a hard copy of this letter to your mailing address on file with a postage paid envelope if you prefer to use traditional mail. Your opinions and ideas are very important to Pitt and will help us make the best decisions going into the future.

We are extremely excited about our football program. Recruiting has been excellent and that bodes well for future success. Coach Wannstedt has an excellent staff and they are working hard to build a championship future at Pitt.

Under the direction of Coach Wannstedt, our young team made tremendous strides in the face of adversity this past season and saved their finest performance for last. After watching our stunning victory over West Virginia, it was hard not to anticipate the exciting possibilities for 2008. In fact, Sports Illustrated has already looked ahead to next year and highlighted the Panthers as the 2008 college football season’s potential “breakout” team. We return 17 starters, including two of the nation’s rising stars in linebacker Scott McKillop, who was named to various All-America squads this year, and tailback LeSean McCoy, who broke the Big East freshman rushing record and was selected the conference’s “Rookie of the Year.”

We can also look forward to one of our finest home schedules in recent memory. We will play six games at Heinz Field, including Big East rivals West Virginia, Louisville and Rutgers, as well as traditional Big Ten power Iowa.

I look forward to reading your thoughts and opinions. Best wishes for a great 2008 and Hail to Pitt!

Sincerely,

Steve

Got this in the mail a few days ago — sounds like it’s being sent to all football season ticket holders.

The inside reads:

This is just the beginning of something very special
at the University of Pittsburgh.

Thank you for your continued support of our program.
Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season
and a very Happy New Year!

Steve Pederson, Dave Wannstedt, and the Panthers Football Team

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.