Pregame Pittsburgh

Sorry for the late post, was doing WTIC pregame.

First off, bowl prospects. I didn't talk to Sun Bowl executives directly, but the rest of the beat has and I will relay their thoughts. Here is the gist of things. Sun is here to see Pitt. If Pitt wins, they will be presented with a Sun Bowl bid. If Pitt loses, it goes until tomorrow.

West Virginia is next in line. Those are the two teams the Sun is really looking at. As far as UConn, they can put themselves in the mix with a win, but don't hold your breath for El Paso regardless of what happens.

So where do the Huskies end up? Ken Hoffman, the executive director of Motor City Bowl and International Bowl, is scheduled to be here. He hasn't arrived yet, but he is on the list.

There was talk that Rutgers would be matched up with Ball St. in the Motor City, in place of international, which would move UConn to Papajohns.com. That ship might have sailed with a Buffalo win over N0. 12 Ball St. yesterday.

Quite simple. As far as opponents? In Toronto it's Buffalo, in Birmingham it could be Arkansas State (with a win over Troy today) or it will be an at large team. North Carolina State looks to be a good fit.

We'll see after today.

As far as today's game, there is no one here. The parking lots aren't nearly as filled as they should be. It's not a sellout, and there is a good chance we will see some no shows. I'll report back for Senior Day.

My money is UConn 20, Pittsburgh 17 today.

Update 11:48 p.m.: Senior festivities. Nice touch by the Huskies. I would say there is about 10,000 fans in the stands, maybe.

Here is how it looks from the press box. 5 MINUTES BEFORE SENIOR DAY!

Friday pregame

I am off to a Christmas Party tonight. Tried to get Mrs. Silver to sit home and watch the MAC title game and it was a no go. I don't get it, out all dressed up and being fancy and sociable? Or the MAC Championship, Ball St.-Buffalo. I will tape it (love how the verb to tape it has developed into a word to include watching all recordings, even those recorded digitally)

The story isn't up on the JI website, but I had the chance to write about Dahna Deleston for Friday. Here are some thoughts on him that I didn't include in the story for length reasons and because they are just tidbits and don't really connect to the theme.

I was covering a lot of high school football when he was at East, so I got to know a lot of people in the area in regards to high school football. When Deleston was offered by UConn there were many who thought it was just a throw away give the local kid a scholarship. Deleston was a great offensive player in high school, but didn't translate at the college level. Safety isn't a position you look for in high school anyway. It's perhaps the most different position in college from high school there is. In high school, safeties just play deep and that's it. There is a tremendous amount of reads that go into playing safety at the college level. I give Dahna credit for that.

The first time I saw Deleston however was not on the football field, but the baseball field. I was in my first week at the JI and my first assignment was to cover an East Catholic-Plainville baseball game. I can't remember anything about the game, but I do remember a sophomore center fielder who looked like a tremendous prospect.

Several year's later I used to be the JI's beat writer for the NECBL Manchester Silkworms. I got to know some scouts and there was one veteran scout who I respected a lot. He was retired and was just doing some part-time work (side note, I spent 5 innings talking with this guy about a pitchers delivery once). We were talking one day and he asked whatever happened to the Deleston kid from East Hartford? Told him about football etc. and he gave a disappointed exhale. He said if Deleston wanted to play baseball he would have been a sure-fire pick 20 years ago if that was all he concentrated on. Kid had it all athletically, and if he worked as hard on baseball as football he would be playing professionally.

Dahna just liked football better. I talked to him about this last year and he

It also strikes me with how much different a person he is. During his freshman year I wrote a special section story on the local kids UConn signed -- Deleston and Windsor's Nollis Dewar. I was struck by both their demeanors. Deleston was shy and almost embarrassed to be talking to me. He was so quiet I could barely hear him on my tape recording. He said everything was a whirlwind and he was pretty much confused about everything. Dewar? He scowled at me an acted as if I was bothering him.

How did their careers end up?

I have to get going to the party so check back later. I have the keys to the game and more bowl thoughts. The Star Ledger says that Rutgers could take the International and in a switch, play in the Motor City against Ball St. Interesting. That would put UConn in the Papajohns.com against an at large or Sun Belt 7-5 team Arkansas St.

I don't want to criticize other teams, but Connecticut playing Arkansas St in football in Birmingham, Alabama four days after Christmas is just insane. I can't think of any positive for the Huskies except the extra practice.

Where does ND go?

Saw the shocking end to the Syracuse game, and as Mr. Anonymous stated in the comment portion, has ND "jumped the shark?"

This is going to get ugly because from the reports I have read, the Sun Bowl is very interested in ND at all costs. They have said they would strongly consider ND at 6-6. Make no mistake, Notre Dame is going get drilled by USC next week. No 7-5 bailout for ND or the Sun.

Now, this is where it gets messy. The Gator and the Big East have a "handshake" agreement about not taking ND with three wins less than the Big East's candidate. And, the Gator is unlikely to take a Big East team anyway. They are going to let ND/Big East ride and take their shot next year at perhaps a better ND team. I expect Nebraska to go here unless something crazy happens (like three Big 12 teams in the BCS game, which was ruled possible if Missouri gets the automatic bid and two Big 12 become at larges).

The Sun has no such verbal agreement. The Sun Bowl likes hype and matchups and this may be the only time they ever get a chance for ND to go to El Paso. When the bowl agreements are up for 2010, what happens if the Sun loses its Big East/ND tie in with the Gator?

So, what about being 6-6? ND is its own conference. They are eligible because they have a tie-in at 6-6. I would say even if a 7-5 Big East team is left out because of lack of bowls, ND will get theirs.

It's a legal mess. Do you consider ND a separate entity, or are they part of the Big East for purposes of bowl bids? Or, is ND's agreement similar to Navy's agreement with the Congressional Bowl. Once they are eligible the bid is theirs if they want it? The key point is that the Big East is included in these agreements because of Notre Dame, not the other way around. There is no Gator/Sun deal without Notre Dame.

I can't fathom the outrage if say a 9-3 WVU team, which is 6-1 in the league, gets bumped down to the Car Care bowl. That could also move a UConn team that is 9-3 (big if and tough task) to the International Bowl. Ouch.

Notre Dame plays by its own rules.