Blogs

Belle Vernon senior offensive lineman Dorian Johnson said Monday night he will not make a previously scheduled visit to Ohio State this weekend after verbally committing to Pitt a day earlier. “I won’t be taking any visits to any other schools,” he said. Johnson, 6-foot-6, 285 pounds, became the 19th member of Pitt’s Class of [...]

Pitt’s NFL touchdown streak ended Monday night at 28 consecutive weeks — the third-longest since 2000 — when Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin left the Steelers game Monday night with head and neck injuries without scoring. The streak also could have been extended in the Philadelphia Eagles’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys on [...]

The weather was sunny and cold in Hartford, Conn., Friday morning. Most of the 4 inches of snow that fell on the region melted, but temperatures are expected to dip into the low 30s for Pitt’s game against Connecticut Friday night at The Rent (Rentschler Field). Lots of talk in the Hartford Courant about the [...]

A couple of Pitt items that interest me (maybe you, too): By the way, I am writing this while watching a replay of the Pitt/Notre Dame game. Yes, it’s worth watching again. – I had a friendly chat Wednesday with Theodore Roosevelt (Ohio) High School coach John Nemec, whose prize pupil is 2013 Pitt quarterback [...]

Pitt redshirt junior Shane Gordon could be a regular presence in the lineup Friday night against Connecticut for the first time since suffering a high ankle sprain Oct. 13 in the Louisville game. If he doesn’t start, Gordon will share time with senior Joe Trebitz. Gordon played only one snap against Notre Dame, dropping Irish [...]

Forgive Willie Dodaro if he misses Mass on Saturday afternoon. After all, Joe Trebitz is starting for Pitt against Notre Dame, and Dodaro believes it would be sinful to miss the game. “I usually go to church on Saturday afternoon because my only day to sleep in is Sunday morning,” said Dodaro, the football coach [...]

Almost exactly one year ago today, this story ran in the Trib on Tray Woodall’s return to New Jersey to help with cleanup efforts after Hurricane Irene. Now, the waters are back again. With so many of the Pitt players from the affected areas, I’m working to find out if their families/homes are OK. Will [...]

Pitt continually found holes in the Temple defense Saturday and built a 31-7 halftime lead at Heinz Field. Pitt scored touchdowns after 90-, 80- and 62-yard drives, the latter ending with a 1-yard pass from quarterback Tino Sunseri to running back Ray Graham with one second left in the half. Graham and Sunseri led the [...]

The cool part about following the region’s sports teams from a media perch is that you don’t need to adhere to those mandates that coaches place upon themselves and their teams. For example, the last topic Pitt coach Paul Chryst wants to discuss is what the Panthers need to do to reach a bowl or [...]

Pitt will meet Buffalo on Saturday with a different look at linebacker, but coach Paul Chryst isn’t changing the lineup for punitive reasons. It’s a simple matter of injury and recovery. Chryst said on his radio show Wednesday that outside linebacker Manny Williams won’t play against Buffalo. He wasn’t as definitive about middle linebacker Shane [...]