tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56567832024-03-13T13:30:01.325-04:00A bunch of Pitt fans/alumni writing and ranting about the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and anything sports and entertainment related. Other than being alumni, the writers of this blog have no affiliation or official connection with the University of Pittsburgh, the Pitt Panthers, and related entities. The views expressed on this blog are solely our own. You can e-mail us: <b><strike>PittSportsBlather-at-sbcglobal.net</strike></b>.Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comBlogger2834125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154396902215123562006-08-01T07:02:00.000-04:002006-08-01T07:05:42.296-04:00

It is now up. Posting can be found atPittBlather.com

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154115672301838102006-07-31T12:51:00.000-04:002006-07-31T12:55:28.840-04:00

A recent visit to the Pitt site may have piqued your curiosity about the teaser press release for "Panthers All-Access." It did for me.Panthers All-Access" is a must for the serious Pitt fan. Providing the most comprehensive Pitt coverage on the web, Panthers All-Access gives you such exclusive content as live game broadcasts, highlights, press conferences, special behind-the-scenes features and

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154310824712613862006-07-31T09:45:00.000-04:002006-07-31T09:51:49.573-04:00

A couple weeks ago there was the story about the Pittsburgh summer league in the Trib. Now the P-G adds its own story without much more new info other than to point out that it's got room to grow."It's something all the college kids around here needed," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "It's beneficial for all of the teams from Division I through Division III. It's been great. All the feedback I've

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154304728797465452006-07-31T06:57:00.000-04:002006-07-31T07:02:59.426-04:00

Not sure what to read into this. Pope, who has Pitt on his short list of colleges, was involved in an on-court altercation at the Junior AAU Super Showcase boys' basketball tournament in Orlando, Fla. Pope, playing for the Pittsburgh JOTS, was sent home and will miss the 17-and-under Junior AAU National Championships, which began Thursday in Orlando. "It was how the game was played," Pope said.

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154139628319316462006-07-30T20:01:00.000-04:002006-07-30T20:21:36.473-04:00

This fine bit of cross-stitchery was done by my wife. She located an old Pitt cross-stitch design (apparently they license anything) and altered it slightly. The original design for the "Pitt" name was this style.Not sure what I'm going to do with it, exactly. I suggested that it could be mounted on some other material and used as one of those car flags. She didn't agree. It's roughly 8 X 7

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154269506548151172006-07-30T10:17:00.000-04:002006-07-30T10:25:07.033-04:00

Gene Collier has a nearly sarcasm-free piece on Coach Wannstedt as training camp approaches. When Wannstedt returned to Pitt before last season, he had been out of college coaching for 16 years, out of Pittsburgh for 26, and relearning both instantaneously represented a challenge with which he essentially went 1 for 2. "The easiest things were recruiting and connecting with the community," he

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154134394207025302006-07-29T16:41:00.000-04:002006-07-29T16:48:40.416-04:00

The 'effin FCC has lost its frickin' mind ever since Janet Jackson exposed a nipple. In its continuing crackdown on on-air profanity, the FCC has requested numerous tapes from broadcasters that might include vulgar remarks from unruly spectators, coaches and athletes at live sporting events, industry sources said.Tapes requested by the commission include live broadcasts of football games and

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154181670195557412006-07-29T09:54:00.000-04:002006-07-29T10:01:10.596-04:00

Andy Katz has a little more on Pitt's schedule and the game at Army (Insider Subs). As such, Dixon set up the Maggie Dixon Classic. Details are still being finalized but the unique doubleheader will include Army's women's team against Ohio State and Dixon's Pitt men's team against Western Michigan at the Academy on Sunday, Nov. 12. ESPNU tentatively is scheduled to air the doubleheader.

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1153968918498003602006-07-29T08:01:00.000-04:002006-07-29T08:04:50.490-04:00

This store has some great helmets available. It also affords a little comparison of the helmets and their colors.This helmet is a replica of the Pitt helmet from 73-80.Now you can compare it to the 1996 model.Something even the helmet project missed.The colors got noticeably darker shortly before Pitt went to the navy and gold tones of today. The thing is, I don't think the road jerseys at that

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154053639444047092006-07-28T13:53:00.000-04:002006-07-28T23:35:42.066-04:00

The Canadian media is doing a piss-poor job following the Canadian national team. It may have something to do with the team getting off to a less than stellar 0-3 start. They lost to Italy, Greece and then Serbia and Montenegro.The Greece loss was particularly bad with a final score of 89-59 (so bad, that no one even bothered with a game recap). No one is even hiding how bad the Canucks

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154101295174981392006-07-28T11:34:00.000-04:002006-07-28T12:22:37.186-04:00

You know, I don't like to post too much when something goes wrong for another school. No, really. I worry about that Earl Hickey/Karma thing. Still, it has to be noted the academic problems for some WVU players.Mr. Football appears to be Mr. History. Brandon Barrett, a two-time Kennedy Award winner as West Virginia's finest scholastic football player, has been removed from the Mountaineers'

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154054664289583362006-07-28T10:08:00.000-04:002006-07-28T10:13:21.736-04:00

Pat Bostick is at the EA Sports Elite 11 QB camp, this week. Not much heard about what he is doing. Even though he has given his verbal to Pitt, there will always be concern until he actually signs in February. The good news about the camp is that it hopefully will give him time to bond with one of the counselors (Insider subs.). The young quarterbacks, along with the camp counselors made of

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154086807257798072006-07-28T07:38:00.000-04:002006-07-28T07:46:03.680-04:00

Chris Dokish had it yesterday that Pitt will play Washington in a home-and-home this year. Apparently Washington had a lot of people questioning their non-con slate as well.Last season, the non-conference schedule for the Washington men's basketball team was panned as way too easy. This time, at least when the Feb. 17 game is considered, people might be asking, "What were they thinking?" The

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154023357459549782006-07-27T16:50:00.000-04:002006-07-27T16:54:24.533-04:00

A couple more way too early prognostications on Pitt.Dick Vitale ranks Pitt at #6 in his pre-season top-40. His top-5 are North Carolina, Florida, Kansas, Ohio St. and UCLA. Other Big East teams are Georgetown (8), Marquette (12), UConn (15), Villanova (16), and Louisville (20). Noticeably absent is Syracuse.A syndicated writer from the Sports Network puts out his pre-season top-5:5. Pittsburgh -

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154022166246258792006-07-27T13:35:00.000-04:002006-07-27T13:42:46.620-04:00

I just learned, but haven't had time to start looking through it. The 2006 Pitt Football Media Guide is on the web. The cover features H.B. Blades, Tyler Palko and Darrelle Revis.As usual the Media Guide is broken up into sections and are all in PDF format for downloading and saving or printing. Or of course, you can order a regular copy for $15 (full disclosure, the Pitt Athletic Department is

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154003267571182022006-07-27T10:53:00.000-04:002006-07-27T10:59:48.136-04:00

Banging on Duquesne isn't really fair. It's not difficult, and it isn't that much fun to keep kicking someone when they are down. Still, this new logo forces my hand.What are they? The Duquesne Stage Magicians? The new design, created by Rickabaugh Graphics of Columbus, Ohio, replaces the script "D" and "Duquesne" used since 1998. I wanted to make a note of the company that was responsible, so

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1154000727662980742006-07-27T08:10:00.000-04:002006-07-27T08:14:40.693-04:00

CollegeFootballNews.com has its Big East Preview. They did their Pitt Preview a couple weeks ago. The strange and surprisingly optimistic tone they had for the Pitt preview is now tempered as they pick Pitt for 4th in the Big East. 4. PittPredicted record: 8-4 Conf. record: 4-3Best Player: LB H.B. Blades, Sr.Offense - Running game, running game, running game. Head coach Dave Wannstedt wants to

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1153936317234050862006-07-26T13:44:00.000-04:002006-07-26T13:51:57.616-04:00

Charles Spencer, drafted at #65 (3d round) by the Houston Texans has agreed to terms. The Texans have all their draft picks signed. Not sure what the exact numbers were, but it couldn't be much different from the Texans pick at #66.Winston was the last player the Texans signed. He agreed to a $608,000 signing bonus in a four-year deal, which likely will be restructured after three years. He is

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1153878465195695432006-07-26T10:44:00.000-04:002006-07-26T10:49:47.470-04:00

Way back in May, I posted about the desire of schools with 1-AA football to remove the perceived second class citizen status of that classification. They didn't like that they were being treated like Division 1-AA in basketball and other sports when it came to recruiting and public perception. They were talking about changing the names to something more representative of their respective

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1153858508271323322006-07-26T07:02:00.000-04:002006-07-26T15:00:52.600-04:00

Caught this little nugget from a report on the Reebok Camp.Pitt's Jamie Dixon and Boston College's Al Skinner watched Teeng Akol in the morning along with assistants from DePaul, Florida, St. John's and Georgetown.Akol, is without a doubt, very raw. He came to the US from Sudan in 2005. He's also 6' 10" and apparently loaded with potential. Scout.com considers him a 4-star, 30th best PF prospect.

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1153855593998074642006-07-25T15:24:00.000-04:002006-07-25T15:26:34.483-04:00

The Blue Ribbon Yearbook Analysis of Pitt is at ESPN.com (Insider subs). As usual, it's one of the best and most comprehensive you can read. I'll skip down to the conclusion.Grading the Panthers Unit Grade Offense C+ Special teams B- Defense B- Intangibles A-Wannstedt and his staff learned some realities of making the transition back to the college world in '05 the hard

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1153841881802301032006-07-25T11:34:00.000-04:002006-07-25T11:38:02.170-04:00

No, I'm not doing a podcast or anything. Rivals Radio has a couple interviews, though, you might want to give a listen.This one with Coach Dave Wannstedt (Windows Media), is decent. It's about 10:40 in length. Some of it is stuff already read or heard elsewhere like how this team is really Palko and Blades's. He had a lot of praise for Blades in the interview.On the discussion of the offseason,

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1153778001049642522006-07-25T07:29:00.000-04:002006-07-25T07:33:26.780-04:00

The Explanation of what I'm doing can be found here. Here's Lindy's, CBS Sportsline, and Athlon Preview Mags Pitt summaries.The Sporting News College Football Preview is very unsure about Pitt. They like the team a little more than some, but hedges. In their Total Rankings (p 10) they put Pitt at #42, but then includes them in a sidebar under "Could Fade Fast." The reason for why is not

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1153767644676527562006-07-24T14:52:00.000-04:002006-07-24T15:00:45.070-04:00

Mainly speculative stuff.This story on the action at the Adidas Super 64 Tournament in Las Vegas has a note on a top player Pitt has only recently gotten involved in recruiting.Julian Vaughn said he is drawing closer to making a decision. The Oak Hill bound big man said he could make his decision by late August, early September. Florida State, Pitt, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Kentucky are

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656783.post-1153755559669924662006-07-24T11:34:00.000-04:002006-07-24T11:39:20.123-04:00

Yes, it's a slow news day to start the week.Those Home Depot/Team Colors paints (PDF Listings). They have them for Pitt.I don't know why it took nearly a month to end up on the Pitt site, but a press release about some players from the football team doing some community outreach stuff. Members of the Pitt football team paired with 45 children from two local YMCAs to participate in the First

Chashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12702534723365401683noreply@blogger.com