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On Pitt’s 49-27 win, Tyler Boyd and Some Other Thoughts…

Sep 162013

Loose-leaf observations from a tight-bound (Evernote)book.

Youth Movement

Pitt blooded 11 freshmen against Florida State two weeks ago. Against New Mexico, freshmen accounted for 37 of Pitt’s 49 points. The other 12 were accounted for by first-year starter Isaac Bennett, who as a junior will be around next year as well.

Pos	Player	Year	Points
RB	James Conner	Freshman	12
RB	Isaac Bennett	Junior	12
WR	Tyler Boyd	Freshman	12
TE	Scott Orndorff	Freshman	6
PK	Chris Blewit	Freshman	7

On James Conner, Isaac Bennett and the Running Game

I really like James Conner. Kid is 6’2″, 230 lbs and runs downhill, as the saying goes. As much as the spotlight has fallen on Tyler Boyd (as well it should), I’m almost more excited about Conner. His stats from the FSU game weren’t great but I felt his had a couple good runs anyway. He’s a hard runner and seems to show a nice burst once he gets through initial contact.

Conner rang up 112 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns. His 38-yard touchdown run was pretty impressive. I’m not necessarily advocating for him to start over Isaac Bennett, who also had a strong game against New Mexico with 101 yards on 14 carries and 2 touchdowns. We all know Chryst’s penchant for creating strong running offenses so there are plenty of carries to go around.

On Tyler Alexander Boyd

Regardless of the level of competition, Tyler Boyd finishing with 195 all-purpose yards (22 return yards, 39 rushing yards, and 134 receiving yards) and two touchdowns is pretty frickin’ good. His touchdown catch at the end of the first half was positively Larry-like.

Talent can only take a kid so far. Boyd has it in abundance. Michael Jordan used to say that performance is based on 10% talent, 90% hard work. With the exception of perhaps Randy Moss, most of the great players work their tails off. Boyd has an immense amount of confidence, which is warranted given his production. But one huge positive I often read is that Boyd works very hard. That’s good to hear. Larry would be proud.

Which is to say, Engram and Chryst told Boyd that if he worked hard, he would play right away. Engram wasn’t worried about Boyd’s work ethic. A superior craftsman of a receiver who finished his NFL career with 650 catches, Engram spotted a kindred spirit in Boyd.

“Over the recruiting process, you get to know these guys pretty well,” Engram said. “I just sensed something special about him. Obviously, he’s a talented player. But the type of young man … he’s grounded, he’s humble, he’s hard-working. When he’s with his boys in the crowd, you can’t tell who he is because he isn’t trying to put himself above anybody.”

Humility

At the end of Pitt games, it’s a tradition that the team will walk over to the student section and join the band and students as they sing the Alma Mater. As Boyd was walking over to the students section, a couple little kids yelled over at him and held their hands out. Boyd diverted from the team, walked over to the kids and shook their hands. It’s a small gesture but I admit I was struck by it. You can tell little kids that sports stars shouldn’t be worshiped but good luck making that one stick. I’m sure Boyd made their day.

Adam Bisnowaty also walked over to the kids after singing the alma mater and gave away his game gloves. And a couple other players high-fived fans as they walked off the field. Nice gestures, all.

Why Nobody Really Agrees with NCAA “Violations” Anymore

Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Sep 132013

When I was writing about the principle of punishing NCAA-member institutions for gross violations, I felt like I was just writing copy. The subject feels tired and although I got a few hits for the article, I kept thinking to myself that folks would just shrug their shoulders over Okie State and if/how much it gets punished for transgressions committed against the NCAA system.

The fact is that the NCAA reeks so much that the public doesn’t necessarily get outraged over these recruiting violations and pay-for-play scandals anymore. From Tarheel Blog:

Beyond the reporting aspect, there is a clear and palatable fatigue with the NCAA over the pursuit of these types of violations. When UNC’s scandal cropped up three years ago it, along with Ohio State shortly thereafter and USC just prior constituted the first major programs to really get serious NCAA looks in quite some time. Maybe there was some thirst for blood and despite everyone knowing the NCAA system was broken, seeing major programs run through the ringer was worth good sport and nice material. Then the Miami investigation began to play out. Initially there was public disapproval of Miami’s behavior but that opinion eventually turned when it was discovered the NCAA had engaged in below the belt tactics. Suddenly no one cared what Miami did since NCAA corruption, long simmering just beneath the surface, finally boiled over. Overnight the NCAA truly became the villain losing whatever meager credibility it had left on the enforcement front.

I think the recent Miami scandal was really the turning point. We all knew the NCAA was corrupt beforehand but the ridiculous and underhanded tactics employed really brought it home. The NCAA succeeded in making Miami look sympathetic. The Miami Hurricanes, a program that was once so corrupt that SI ran an article calling for them to drop football. So corrupt at various times that even SEC teams looked clean in comparison. How unbelievable is that. I doubt that Miami didn’t commit those violations but if the investigating body can’t do its job cleanly, how are we trust its findings. Even the appearance of misconduct is enough to derail investigations.

Can you imagine SI running this cover article nowadays?

Oklahoma State Allegations, Pennstate and the NCAA

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture 2 Responses »

Sep 122013

A friend of mine recently emailed me about the Oklahoma State scandals that are breaking. With his permission, I’m publishing his missive and then my response.

So what are your thoughts on this whole Ok State issue? So far I haven’t read anywhere that the NCAA is even looking into it, which is laughable in my opinion (if these allegations are true). That being said the NCAA’s outdated and draconian practices for meting out punishments is absurd at best. I’m sorry but punishing the current athletes and students for things that people that aren’t even with the university anymore did is just wrong on so many levels. There has to be a better system in place or at the very least, a way to punish those responsible. I just see what has happened at PSU as a wakeup call because the people who were responsible for the horrific actions that took place are either in jail or about to have their day in court, so why then, are the current players and coaches being penalized for things that happened when they weren’t even at the university. I guess what I’m getting at is the currently players/ coaches at Ok State should not have to deal with the possibility of the death penalty when they weren’t even there for when the alleged pay for play was happening. Just curious to hear your thoughts on this.

Here’s my response:

To your question, it may not seem fair that current players at PSU or Okie State would seem to be punished for things they didn’t do. If Okie State is punished in any tangible way, its players should be allowed to transfer immediately without sitting out just as PSU’s players were allowed to do.

However, justice cannot be tempered because of collateral effects. It does matter at the institutional level. We don’t fail to prosecute rule-breaking institutions in the ‘real world’ because of downstream effects. Enron shouldn’t have escaped punishment because its lower level employees and/or its employees’ families, who had no knowledge of its illegal activities, would’ve been adversely affected. Okie State football, as an institution, fostered an environment that led to these transgressions.

Texas vs. Oklahoma State at Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Yes, they can try to punish the individuals responsible (primarily Les Miles, I guess). But the idea here is also to punish the institution so that it doesn’t get lax about controls in the future. If Okie State (or SMU back in the 1980’s) isn’t punished because it would negatively affect current players and administration, it sends the message that they can do almost anything they want. If Miles was still at Okie State, they could just fire him and disassociate from some boosters and keep on making payments to players. The lesson would be just don’t get caught! I would be ok with punishing Les Miles (via suspension or a show-cause penalty), but that hurts LSU football, which as an institution hasn’t done anything wrong that we know of, and its current players who are even further removed from the Okie State scandal. The Okie State football institution still has to learn a lesson.

I am a Pitt Fan

Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Sep 012013

I’ve sat through 2-9 records. I’ve been disappointed by 9-4 records.

… watched 13-9, jumping up and down, hooting and hollering throughout that agonizing and ultimately triumphant fourth quarter against West Virginia.

13-9

… was present when Rod Rutherford scampered 62 yards to score the lone touchdown as Pitt beat Pennstate, 12-0, at Three Rivers Stadium in 2000.

Pitt 12, PSU 0

… started the “asshole” chant at Joe Paterno in 2000 at Three Rivers Stadium.

… bore witness when Larry caught that touchdown pass. And that one. And that one. And that one. And that one.

… will never forgive Oklahoma’s Jason White for denying Larry Fitzgerald the Heisman Trophy.

… saw Tyler Palko lay the wood on that BC player and Darrelle Revis’ ESPY-winning kickoff return for a touchdown.

… was so fucking proud when Pitt beat Notre Dame in five overtimes at ND Stadium.

… think Walt Harris made the right decision to start Palko over Joe Flacco.

… watched helplessly as Cincinnati came back in the fourth quarter to deny Pitt a BCS bowl berth.

… stood in the home student section at Beaver Stadium, too afraid for my life to say a word, watching Pitt fight and scratch and claw against Pennstate, only to lose 20-17 when LeVar blocked a last gasp field goal attempt.

… remember the “slide” against UConn.

… shook Dave Wannstedt’s hand after watching him give a talk to alumni after he was hired at Pitt.

… tried putting on a brave face when Mike Haywood was hired. (I couldn’t even convince myself though).

… was subjected to the Swinging Gate.

… wish Walt’s experiment with the Spread Offense, years before it became en vogue, had succeeded.

… refreshed ESPN Gamecast over and over and over again sitting on a connection in Bangladesh, ‘watching’ Pitt win the Tangerine Bowl vs NC State.

… sat through that entire bullshit meltdown in the rain against Youngstown State last season.

… saw Chryst rally the program to thump Virginia Tech after starting out 0-2.

Pitt 35, VT 17. Sept 5, 2012.

… have said a couple nice words about Tino Sunseri and even Bill Stull before him.

… DITKA, Dorsett, Marino, Curtis Martin, Russ Grimm, Chris Doleman, Rickey Jackson, Joe Schmidt. Beat that. Only three other schools can. Ruben Brown, Larry Fitzgerald, Darrelle Revis. We’re coming for the last three.

… have been a Pitt football season ticket holder in all but one year since 1998.

… refuse to give up hope.

HAIL TO PITT.

On Paul Chryst and Overhauling the NCAA

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Aug 282013

As the host of College Gameday (both football and basketball), ESPN’s Rece Davis has a front seat view for the major events in college sports. He has to control and manage the sizable egos of his co-hosts. But he has some really great insights as shown in this interview with Cardiac Hill.

On overhauling the NCAA system:

I’m like most college fans. I love the nostalgia associated with the game. I wish that simply donning the blue and gold and hearing Hail to Pitt made every player tear up and that was reward enough. For some, it is. What I can’t come to terms with is restricting athletes in ways that no one else associated with college sports or no other student on campus is restricted.

I fully realize there would be issues, probably major ones, but I think it would be more a transparent enterprise. In the long run, it would be healthier for the game.

Davis is absolutely right. Holding to the status quo does nothing to save the games from Athletic Directors and Presidents who have lost their minds and morals chasing greater and greater TV revenues. If these so-called academics cared about the principles of amateurism, they wouldn’t have expanded the calendar to 12 and sometimes 13 and 14 games. They wouldn’t relax their academic standards to such a degree that “passing the SAT” (read: 800) is an actual thing.

There has to be a middle ground between providing some compensation to players for their efforts on the field, ensuring that they truly receive an education and, well, winning.

Pitt vs Virginia Tech, 2003

Pitt Logos Through the Years

College Football, Football 3 Responses »

Aug 222013

Golden Panther on the prowl with tail up

Or… Really, He’s Writing About the Damned Script Logo?!

Yesterday, I wrote about the second most annoying common issue that Pitt partisans bring up – the lack of an on-campus football stadium. Today’s let’s delve into the most aggravating common issue – the script logo, which Pitt used from 1973-1996.

I get why people pine for the return of the script logo. It’s pretty unique and just so happens to coincide (at least in its early years) with one of Pitt football’s most successful spells, a period that included a national title and three straight 11-1 seasons as well as a cavalcade of stars. Of the 8 Pitt players enshrined in Canton, 6 wore the script logo – Chris Doleman, Tony Dorsett, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Dan Marino and Curtis Martin. Ruben Brown stands a decent chance of adding to that total.

I love the script logo but I’ve come to accept that the administration won’t bring it back. Furthermore, a whole generation of Pitt fans has grown up without the script logo and so have no attachment to it. The current block logo is pretty decent, if not a little unimaginative. And both Larry Fitzgerald and Darrelle Revis (two possible Pro Football HOF candidates) made it proud.

script logo, 1973-1996

block logo, 1997-present.

If Pitt were to use the old script as a third uniform in the same way that ND occasionally wears their green uniforms, I think that would be a decent compromise. But if the administration really wants to get creative, why not bring back logos for eras past.

Heinz Field vs Panther Hollow

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture 2 Responses »

Aug 212013

… Or On Pitt Sports Capital Priorities

There are two stories related to Pitt sports that just will never die. The first is the Pitt script logo.

The second issue that never dies is the fact that Pitt no longer has an on-campus stadium. The Pitt News reported on a group of alumni trying to drum up support for a new stadium to be located in Panther Hollow. The plan appears to reasonably well thought-out, if not a bit earnest. A couple tidbits:

Mack and Andra’s plan is far from short-term. Both men consider the plan a long-term solution to Heinz Field’s inevitable deterioration within 20 to 25 years. They say that Pitt needs to consider where the football team will play if the Pittsburgh Steelers decide to build their next stadium in a location outside the Pittsburgh city limits.

… In addition to a stadium that could hold from 44,000 to 50,000 people, his plan includes a dormitory built into the stadium, a track surrounding the field for the men’s and women’s track and field team and an area for office space.

… In order to make room for the large new complex, a number of properties in Panther Hollow between Joncaire and Boundary streets and Yarrow Way would need to be purchased. In addition, Mack said the Frick Fine Arts Building would need to be moved onto Schenley Plaza, and Mazeroski Field would be demolished, though he said the new stadium would also include a Pittsburgh Pirates museum.

… Mack said the plan includes the building of a multi-level parking garage that could hold between 1,200 and 1,500 vehicles. He also said that the Allegheny Valley Railroad could expand its commuter service operations and extend into Panther Hollow using the pre-existing railway.

Click here to read the whole Pitt news article or visit the group’s site.

Pitt vs Pennstate at Pitt stadium, 1958

Great Athletes are Corrupting College Athletics

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture 1 Response »

Aug 132013

Johnny Manziel and athletes like him are ruining amateur athletics.

Research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates shows that the redshirt freshman winning the prestigious trophy produced more than 1.8 million media impressions, which translates into $37 million in media exposure for Texas A&M. [Source: TAMU Times]

Johnny Manziel is a disgrace

Manziel should be ashamed of himself. The media (over)exposure and scramble for money resulting from Manziel’s historic Heisman Trophy win is corrupting the pure and righteous ideals of amateur sportsmanship that Texas A&M has already espoused. How dare Manziel play so well that he generates all that money to which Texas A&M can’t say no.

It’s pretty evident that the sports performance of unpaid student-athletes is corrupting the pristine halls of academia. Texas A&M’s move to the SEC as well as all the conference realignment chaos happened precisely because its athletes’ revenue generation abilities have caused scrupulous University Presidents to lose their minds.

Not the converse. Never the converse. It’s all the athletes’ faults.

The Freedom to Love One’s Sport

College Football, Football, Futbol/Soccer, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Jul 312013

The Economist’s Democracy in America blog did a pretty good job recently of refuting Malcolm Gladwell’s analogy betwixt dog-fighting and college football. It centers largely around the idea that by the time a boy has reached an age where concussions and micro-concussions really start to take a toll, he has enough agency to make the cost-benefit analysis concerning future glories/money vs health concerns.

fitzgerald-pitt-vs-vt

However, for me, DiA essentially buried the lede with a rather inane and insecure diatribe about its dislike for the sport of American Football in general:

Then there’s also the fact that American football is a stupid, tiresome sport. I will freely admit that it has taken me many decades to free my mind from the thrilling propaganda of NFL Films and see football for what it really is: hours of tedious milling-about punctuated occasionally by a few seconds of largely incoherent shoving and scrambling. When Canadians feel the need to change your game to make it less boring, there’s a problem with the game. American football is relatively unpopular internationally because it is inane, and slowly but surely doggedly provincial Americans are coming around to the superior form of football enjoyed passionately by billions around the globe.

I’m getting pretty tired that we seemingly can’t get past the point of trying to say that one sport is better than another. This is sport. American football, futbol, baseball, basketball – there are modern-day spectacles where we gather in our coliseums to watch our versions of gladiators. But it’s just sport! It’s entertainment. The need to praise one sport to the detriment of another strikes me as a very insecure and immature pursuit. It’s apples to footballs. Each sport defines prowess in different ways. The most honest attempt to rank one sport vs another will always be subjective.

Also, note to all those who love futbol and want to see it grow in the USA: don’t trash American football! Or baseball. Or basketball. Or even ice hockey. You’ll only come off as elitist and snobby. You won’t get football fans to see the beauty and grace of futbol. You won’t get them to care about outcomes concerning Liverpool or Manchester United or FC Barcelona or even the LA Galaxy.

Photo Credit: AP

For-Profit Universities are not the (Sun) Devil

College Football, Football, The Bigger Picture No Responses »

Jul 292013

Apparently, the PAC-12 and Arizona State, in particular, have a problem with the idea of admitting for-profit universities to Division 1 athletics. The case surrounds Grand Canyons University’s soon-to-be entrance into the WAC. From ESPN:

“As a Conference — together with our Presidents — we believe that a broader level of discussion is needed before the final decision on whether to grant for-profit institutions membership in NCAA Division I,” the league’s statement read. “We have asked the NCAA Executive Committee to include it on the agenda of their August meeting. Our major concern is how athletics fit within the academic missions of for-profit universities.”

And this from noted party school, Arizona State University:

“We do not believe for-profit schools provide a good foundation to support student-athletes, who work so hard to balance significant time commitments to sports and their academic work,” the school’s statement read. “We cannot play teams that exist for profit and have them use their games against us to advance their stock prices, as was discussed by Grand Canyon University during a recent telephone call with investors.”

Now I tend to believe that student-athletes in the money sports (football, men’s basketball and at some universities, baseball and women’s basketball) get type-cast a lot. They may not be the most rigorous students but eventually most of them straighten-up, get through college and move into the real world. I knew a few at Pitt; these were good kids who knew their role in college. They loved their sports but knew they wouldn’t be making it big-time in the pro’s. So they did their best to balance academics and athletics and got their degrees.

Their universities, however, don’t make things easier. Tutoring and student services notwithstanding, there’s a whole laundry list of evils associated with the commercialization of major university athletics, most of it driven not by the athletes but the the arms races started by the universities themselves. Yet, college presidents and athletic directors go on and on with paeans to amateurism and scholarship, while making it even harder on the athletes. If high-major universities cared less about money and more about their football and basketball players, they wouldn’t deny their four year scholarships. They wouldn’t have added a 12th game to the schedule, with allowances that occasionally allow teams to play upwards of 14 games including their bowl game. They wouldn’t have allowed ESPN and CBS Sports and Fox and other networks to dictate more and more useless bowl games. I could go on and on.

For-Profit status actually saved Grand Canyon University from going-under. The athletics department’s budget went from $3 million to $10 million. It is building a $200 million arena. It has over 44,000 students, 9,000 of whom live on-campus. A school nearly goes bankrupt, gets saved and turned around and yet, the nation’s venerable institutions of ~~hypocrisy~~ higher learning don’t want to let it play at the big boy’s table.

The level of hypocrisy needed in order to call into question a for-profit university’s commitment to its student-athletes while continuing to make a mockery of those same student-athletes simply boggles the mind. Especially coming from Arizona State University, one of the biggest party schools in the country. Pitchforks down.

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