Saturday, September 06, 2003

Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford could have handled the situation he encountered in a Station Square parking lot early Monday morning a bit better.

Pitt coach Walt Harris couldn't have handled the aftermath any worse.

I hesitate to rush to judgment before all the facts are in. But it seems that all the facts are in, despite Harris' claim that he is investigating the situation further. Walt Harris, P.I. Maybe he can help O.J. catch the real killers.

What Rutherford did was no big deal. People lose their tempers sometimes. Nobody got hurt. There was minimal property damage. At worst, Rutherford will be convicted of a misdemeanor. From a Pitt football standpoint, the only additional issue might be that Rutherford broke curfew.

So what, exactly, is the point of not starting Rutherford tonight against Kent State tonight but letting him play?

If Rutherford is convicted of a misdemeanor, there will be an outcry for further punishment, perhaps a game's suspension. If Rutherford were benched for the entire game tonight, that could retroactively serve as the suspension. But by making Rutherford sit out only part of the game, Harris hasn't built up any equity toward future punishment.

What if this thing drags out a bit longer and Rutherford gets convicted of a misdemeanor the week before Pitt's visit Sept. 27 to Texas A&M? Pitt could beat Kent State without Rutherford in the lineup. Things would be a lot hairier at Texas A&M minus Rutherford.

If you believe Rutherford should not be punished because you're innocent until proven guilty, I can live with that, too.

It seems Rutherford is being benched for part of the game tonight because he broke curfew. Of course, we don't know that for sure, because Harris says it's none of our business.

But then, the workings of the Pitt football program have suddenly become none of our business, mainly because Harris has turned into Captain Queeg. "Infamy, infamy. They've all got it in for me!"

Not-my-fault-Walt pulled a real fast one on a couple of local reporters this week. Acting through the Pitt sports information department, Harris asked two guys who cover Pitt for a living to puh-leeze not ask any questions about the Rutherford incident during the weekly Big East media conference call. The story had not yet broken nationally.

In exchange, Harris said he would address the incident with said two reporters later in the day. The reporters took the deal. Suckers! Harris stiffed 'em. Backed out on his part of the bargain. That is a dishonest act, pure and simple.

Harris capped off a splendid week of PR by closing practice to the media, probably because he didn't want anybody to know who would start at quarterback against Kent State tonight, as if it were a nuclear secret or something. Geez, it's only Kent State. You, the reader, could start at quarterback tonight and Pitt would win.

In fact, do you want to? Show up. Maybe Pitt won't be able to keep Luke Getsy and Tyler Palko away from Station Square.

The handling of the backup quarterback situation is another charade. Getsy is No. 2 because Harris wants to redshirt Palko, thus giving Getsy and Palko three years of eligibility once Rutherford is done. But if Rutherford can't play for an extended period this season, Harris would ditch Palko's redshirt and play him.

Harris frequently has stressed that Getsy is the backup . That's right. He's the backup to Rutherford or the backup to Palko.

Getsy, however, will start tonight. That information was passed to me, in code, by Aldrich Ames.

Harris' act has worn a bit thin. Good coach, yes, although Pitt's primary trademark under him is that it almost beats good teams, and that dog won't hunt this season.

I remember when Harris first came to Pitt, and the program was in shambles, he was ultra-cooperative with the media for the sake of helping the Panthers rebuild some credibility. Now that Pitt hovers at the fringes of the Top 10, Harris treats the hacks like they smell bad.

Harris double-crossed the Pitt beat guys this week. He used to kiss up to the media. Now Harris drastically limits access to the team and to himself. The message should be clear to local ink-stained wretches and microphone jockeys: Don't do Harris any favors.

For reasons listed here (and for some not listed here), Harris has proven to be a high-maintenance coach. Unless he wins big this year, I say he's not worth the trouble anymore. Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads is going to be a head coach somewhere real soon. He's considered a defensive genius (as opposed to a quarterbacks genius) and is very much in demand. There wouldn't be anything wrong with Rhoads being Pitt's next head coach.

Meantime, if you really want to punish Rutherford, make him switch to safety.

Mark Madden is the host of a sports talk show from 3-7 p.m. weekdays on WEAE-AM (1250).

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