The Sports Monitor

Heralded running back Rushel Shell wanted to leave Pitt in the spring. So coach Paul Chryst let him go. Shell supposedly was going to enroll at UCLA, but it didn't happen. Last week, Shell wanted to return to Pitt. Chryst said no. Great move. I'm stunned that there are people saying Chryst should allow Shell back. Some are saying give him a second chance. Hey, if Shell wanted to enroll at Pitt, he's free. He has no right to be on the football team, however. What Chryst did will help more in the long run than the Panthers might experience in any hurt this fall. I applaud Chryst. There are other options for Shell close to Pittsburgh. West Virginia immediately comes to mind.

Is it possible that Rushel Shell is not the next Tony Dorsett? It seems that there was a lot pressure on Shell to take the Pitt Panthers to the national championship like Dorsett. Shell rushed for 641 yards as a freshman last year, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. That's pretty darn good. Is it irreplaceable? I guess we'll now never know what Shell would do after he announced he's transferring. With all the buzz around Shell, I expected more from him, especially that 79-yard effort in the BBVA Compass Bowl on 25 carries in a loss to Ole Miss. Maybe that's why he's leaving. Maybe he wants to carve out his own path somewhere else. Who knows? I'm not convinced it's a huge blow to the team. There are other running backs on the roster. Maybe an incoming freshman, McDowell's James Conner, for example, can fill the roll in Paul Chryst's offense. Conner rushed for 1,680 yards on 155 carries (10.8 per carry average). It's disappoint ne...

What a difference a year makes. And a new league. The Pitt football schedule was released and the Panthers will open the season in prime time, facing Florida State on Labor Day at Heinz Field. It's a great way to start off play in the ACC. The game will receive plenty of hype and attention between now and then, and it's likely the Panthers will get routed much like they did in Dave Wannstedt's highly touted debut against Notre Dame. But that's not the point. This schedule looks much better than the Big East days. After Florida State, Pitt gets New Mexico, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, Navy, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Syracuse and Miami. Can't wait for the season to start.

Just when you thought it was safe to celebrate another Pitt football bowl berth in the BBVA bowl, signs are pointing in the direction of a coaching change. Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema resigned as coach of Wisconsin to take the job at Arkansas. So there were immediate links of Pitt coach Paul Chryst leaving for Wisconsin before you could even finish the thought, why would Bielema leave Wisconsin for Arkansas? (Probably money and the allure of the SEC.) Chryst was the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin and he played for the Badgers, so, naturally, everyone began connecting the dots. I think Pitt and Chryst tried to sever some connections with this statement, but I'm not so sure: I understand the speculation surrounding my name given today’s developments. I am committed to the Pitt football program and the University of Pittsburgh. I am focusing all my time and energy on our team’s bowl game preparation and recruiting a great group of young men to join our program and this ou...

I've been a fan of Pitt athletics since I was a kid. I've grown accustomed to failures and shortcomings the past 25 or so years, so it's hard to not take a cynical view of things. When Maryland announced it was leaving the ACC and moving to the Big 10, it seemed like a minor loss for Pitt fans. Maryland football is nothing exceptional, but the basketball program could excite. Today, espn.com announced the ACC has landed Louisville to replace Maryland. As a Pitt fan, that's good news. I think Louisville is an upgrade in football and turns the ACC into a superior basketball conference. In fact, I think the new ACC will be better than the Big East's basketball conference, which, before the defections, might have been the best ever.

The Pitt football team still has a shot at a bowl game. While I'm not sure if that's a good sign or not, I'm pretty sure it's a sign of how watered-down the bowls have become. But, if the Panthers (5-6 overall, 2-4 in the Big East) beat South Florida (3-8, 1-5) on Saturday, they should be on their way to the prestigious BBVA Bowl or the granddaddy of them all, the Beef 'O'Brady's Bowl. It's a game Pitt should win. Which means it's very likely they'll lose. I'm not sure how a losing record in the Big East should qualify any team for a bowl berth, but it does. But I guess we should look at the bright side: a season that started with an embarrassing loss to Youngstown State could end up with a bowl trip, no matter what bowl it is. At least that's some momentum to bring into the ACC.

The Pitt football season started with an ugly loss to Youngstown State. I guess you could say my enthusiasm for the season left before the Panthers left the field that night. I think Paul Chryst can be a good coach and I think the move next season to the ACC should be good for the program. I'm not sure Tino Sunseri is good for the program, however. After nearly pulling off the upset against Notre Dame last week , Sunseri threw kicker Kevin Harper under the bus, backed up, drove over him again and tossed him in the garbage. Harper, you see, missed a field goal that would have won the game. "We missed a field goal; that's why we lost the game," Sunseri said after the game. "It came down to a special teams play, we didn't make the play. Give credit to Notre Dame for being able to finish it off." Maybe I'm being too harsh. I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Sunseri has cost the Panthers a game or two in his career. He certainly ...

I simply can't believe it's been more than a month since my last post. And, as a writer, I can't believe how easy it is to get out of the habit of posting something here. I'll try to get back in the habit of posting regularly again. There certainly has been enough news going on in the sports world to comment on. The Steelers have a two-game winning streak, the Tigers looked inept again in the World Series, and there's no hockey. Penn State football seems to have recovered, Pitt football actually has won a couple games and Hurricane Sally lived up to it's billing. Again, sorry I've let things slip. Thanks for checking in with the site and please return again.

The Pitt football team lost to Youngstown State 31-17 Saturday. Let that sink in for a minute. The Panthers, in the first game of the Paul Chryst era, lost its home opener at Heinz Field to Youngstown State. 31-17. And it wasn't that close. Youngstown State did what it wanted on offense. Pitt couldn't do much on offense or defense. An ugly loss? It was worse than that. An all-time loss. In their last season in the Big East, the Panthers didn't even look ready for Division III football let alone the ACC. There's no way to erase the stink and stench of this loss. It almost makes you yearn for the days of Todd Graham, who just happened to win his team's season opener 63-6. But Pitt fans have to live with the fact that their team lost to Youngstown State. That's not the way to start a season. On the bright side: It can't get any worse.

The Pitt football team scored six points in its spring practice game Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. The defense, however, gave up 28 points at Legion Field. OK. It wasn't Pitt's spring practice. It easily could have been. It was Pitt's BBVA Compass Bowl loss to SMU on Saturday, and it certainly wasn't any more entertaining than a spring practice. The Panthers gave up 21 straight points before you knew it and had to go through the motions for three more quarters to secure a 6-7 record. The highlights of the game included a blocked punt, a field-attempt hitting the post, a lost fumble by quarterback Tino Sunseri and a pass bounce off the helmet of one player and into an SMU player's hands. Yep. It was that kind of a day for Pitt. Actually, it was a fitting ending for a season that spiraled out of control, highlighted by former coach Todd Graham bolting before the bowl game. Now the Panthers can look forward to the future with new coach Paul Chryst. T...

There are a lot of names out there being tossed around as possible candidates as the next Pitt football coach. There's one name that I like, Mario Cristobal. Who? He's the coach at Florida International. He's turned around a program that was dreadful and has a team with two winning seasons and two bowl berths. Actually, I don't thin dreadful is a strong enough of a term. He runs a spread offense, something I think is needed in college football, despite what Todd Graham unveiled this season at Pitt. Some are quick to disqualify Cristobal because he'll leave after a couple seasons for a bigger and better job. I understand that argument, but I don't think you'll find a coach to stay that long at many places. I especially don't think you'll find one to stay that long at Pitt. The key would be finding one that would be the anti-Graham, leaving the program better than you found it, and leaving with class. That shouldn't be too hard.

I liked the Todd Graham hire by the Pitt football team in January. I was looking forward to seeing his high-powered offense in action. I liked the idea of his commitment to Pitt he said after his hire. He talked a great game. Less than a year later, I have lost all respect for the man. Graham up-and-left for Arizona State, leaving Pitt, his players and the program on a whim. Well, maybe it wasn't a whim. Maybe he knew his up-tempo style just wasn't going to work in Year 2 at Pitt. Maybe he couldn't get the right quarterback to run his offense. Maybe he wanted to leave before everyone else figured out that he wasn't as good of a coach as he made himself out to be. Maybe he didn't like the weather. He's a Sun Devil now. Ask a Pitt player, and I'd guess they'd say he's something like the devil instead. Graham notified his players by text or email -- how nice. Nothing being committed to your job. Athletic director Steve Pederson agreed: ...

I never was a big fan of the Mike Haywood hiring by Pitt last year. I thought he was overrated and got too much credit for his Miami (Ohio) team's 9-4 record. Why, nearly a year later do I bring up Haywood? A quote from today's Post-Gazette: Pitt senior Chas Alecxih: "Our first meeting with Haywood, he came in with a wrinkled suit, the worst suit I've ever seen, then acted like we owed him something. He was very arrogant. And when we walked out of the meeting we all said, 'Wow, this is going to be our next coach.' So when he got fired, I was happy, and obviously we got a great coach in Todd Graham to come in." Not exactly a ringing endorsement of Haywood. That quote alone should keep colleges leery about hiring Haywood.

That wasn't a Backyard Brawl in Morgantown, W.Va.,  on Friday. It was a display of how to lose a football game. And it was classic Pitt football from the 2011 season. I bailed on Tino Sunseri as Pitt's quarterback back in September . Pitt escaped with a win against Maine, and Sunseri looked like a quarterback better suited for Division II or Division III, not a team that had aspirations for winning a Big East championship. Nearly two months later, Sunseri hasn't changed. Left with a chance to beat West Virginia, Sunseri looked awful. I'm not sure awful is strong enough, but Sunseri stunk when it mattered most. Faced with a three-man rush, Sunseri got sacked four times on the team's final series and had an intentional grounding call, all of which were poor decisions. Sunseri can't be counted on when the game is on the line. Heck, he can't be counted on to protect a lead. Maybe things would have been different if running back Ray Graham didn't...

It's clear that it's going to take a while for the Pitt Panthers to adept and learn Todd Graham's offense. A much-closer-than-expected game against Maine last Saturday proved as much. But three things were evident against lowly Maine: Ray Graham really can play, the Pitt defense needs to get better and quarterback Tino Sunseri just isn't getting it done. The high-octane offense that's supposed to be a trademark of Todd Graham was simply the Ray Graham show, which isn't a bad thing. But if you can barely beat Maine 35-29, then there's a problem. And if your quarterback goes 21-of-35 for 224 yards and two interceptions against Maine, then there's a problem. I'd like to see the switch to freshman Trey Anderson. Now. As in this week's game against Iowa. I've seen enough of Sunseri. Graham's offense needs someone to make quick decisions, and I don't see Sunseri as one who can perform at a high level. I'd like to see And...

Finally. Pitt and Penn State will resume their once-storied football rivalry. The only problem is, we have to wait until September 2016 for it to happen. The wait will be worth it, however. If you're a fan of college football and you're from western Pennsylvania this series was the one to watch. The rivalry ended in 2000, so it'll be a long gap between games. So long, in fact, many young fans from western Pennsylvania don't have an idea what it was like to have such a heated rivalry. It was Auburn-Alabama, UCLA-USC or Ohio State-Michigan. Some blame Penn State coach Joe Paterno for the end of the series in 2000. I'm just glad it's back. Do you think JoePa will be on the sidelines for the game in 2016?

OK, Pitt football fans, you have to admit, this was fun to watch. The West Virginia football program tried to clean up its coaching mess Friday when Bill Stewart resigned and Dana Holgorsen took over. Holgorsen, AD Oliver Luck's coach-in-waiting, doesn't have to wait any longer to be the man. The man I find partly responsible is Luck himself. Luck's hiring of Holgorsen and refusal to fire Stewart cultivated the troubles that led to Friday's events. It was supposed to be a smooth transition. It turned out to be anything but smooth. Stewart and Holgorsen didn't like each other. You can't blame them, but you could expect them to act like adults. Holgorsen allegedly got unruly at a casino and had to be removed. Then, the allegations got interesting. Stewart reportedly tried to dig up dirt on Holgorsen. Maybe Stewart thought that he could survive if more reports surfaced about Holgorsen. Instead, when that news broke, it hastened Stewart's departu...

First, let me be up front and say I wanted to see Penn State assistant coach Tom Bradley as the new Pitt football coach. Why athletic director Steve Pederson bypassed Bradley, we might never know. It could be because WTAE-TV reported -- erroneously -- that Bradley was the next coach. It could be the Penn State ties. It could be because so many people were pulling for him and Pederson won't be told what to do. Bradley's recruiting skills were so appealing, and the idea that he might take away many from the Penn State staff had to please Pitt fans as well, knowing that JoePa would be left scrambling. But it wasn't to be. Todd Graham is your new Pitt football coach after accepting the job Monday night. As a side note, did anyone else immediately think of Alex Rodriguez's announcement during the World Series a couple years ago when the Graham hiring came about on the same day of the national championship? I guess that's one way to maximize interest to recruits...

Depending on your choice of news, either Tom Bradley is the next Pitt coach, will be the next Pitt coach or is the leading candidate to be the next Pitt football coach. Whatever the case, it looks like Pitt is zeroed in on Bradley, despite the other names (Sal Sunseri, Teryl Austin, Paul Chryst, Todd Graham) being mentioned as possible successors to the short-lived Mike Haywood experiment. Much to my dismay, Pitt doesn't want Rich Rodriguez. Bradley would be a solid second choice. It didn't seem that way the first time around. When Bradley contacted Pitt about getting an interview he was turned down. My problem with the ascendancy of Bradley is this: If he wasn't good enough for an interview the first time around, why is he now the leading choice? The short answer is, it's just Pitt. Dan Rooney recommended Pitt look at Bradley. It wasn't enough to impress athletic director Steve Pederson. For some reason, Pederson saw something in Haywood that not many ot...

Back in late November, I had the idea of Rich Rodriguez as the next Pitt football coach . I'll be the first to admit that it seemed far-fetched at the time. Dave Wannstedt still was the Panthers' coach and it wasn't certain that he'd be fired, and Rodriguez still was employed by the University of Michigan, although it was a better bet that he would be sent packing. Wannstedt later was fired, which set the ball in motion. Pitt rushed to make a hire that didn't seem to have many finalists, selecting Miami (Ohio) coach Mike Haywood as its new leader. The hiring was unimpressive, and the press conference touting Haywood as a man of character and integrity was less than inspiring. Haywood was fired less than three weeks later after a domestic violence charge, creating the vacancy again and making that press conference seem even more laughable. Then things really got interesting. CBSsports.com's Dennis Dodd touted a Rodriguez-to-Pitt move as a good thing. L...