Links From Around the 4-1-2

Here we go with another weekful of links on all things regarding the Confluence:
-If you aren't reading Brian Bennett's Big East Football Blog on the Worldwide Leader, then you my friend are certainly missing out. There is a lot of info here regarding non-Pitt stuff, obviously, but he has put up a fair amount of stuff regarding the Panthers being that they are fairing quite well this season.

-John Buccigross brings up a few different things Penguins in clearing out his inbox. He brings up Geno, the Pens D, Bugsy Malone, the Pens Stanley Cup shot, Matt Cooke, and Jordan Staal. It's not worth reading the whole thing if you aren't an avid NHLer, but there is a lot of quality NHL info here if you are a follower.

-Our hometown hero, Mark Cuban, may be headed to the clink

-The Pitt Basketball Q&A is up and running for the PG, and Ray Fittipaldo breaks down what role he thinks Gary McGhee will have this year. I tend to agree with Ray's analysis here.

-Ron Cook makes the case for James Harrison as the Defensive Player of the Year. And, in case you weren't aware of my feelings regarding the Silverback, look below.

-Peter King lays the smack down regarding the betting line scandal from Sunday's Steeler game in his famous Monday Morning Quarterback column, a must read for any and all NFL fans.

-Nate McLouth got a 10th place MVP Vote from someone which gave him 1 point. This makes him the 27th most valuable player in the NL, and the lowest number of anyone to receive a vote. Check the sidebar toward the bottom on the right.

-A very, uhh, interesting chat with the one and only Nyjer Morgan from the Pirates website. I half expected to go on the transcript and see the Pirates stick Andy LaRoche further down our throats being that this seems to be Neal Huntington's M.O. these days.

-Hey Look! A headline that has the words "Pirates" and "Champion" in it. I mean, even if this guy's job description is to get Neal Huntington coffee every day, this sentence makes it worth it. Man, it's tough being a Pirate fan.

-Daren Elliot does his best to find a comparison for Jordan Staal.

-It appears as though Dwight Miller. the freshman power forward for the Pitt Panthers, will take a redshirt this season, as I predicted in this space a week or so ago. His heel injury made this a near certainty, and even if he had been healthy, I think Jamie Dixon likely would have redshirted him because of the team's incredible depth at Miller's natural position, power forward.

-Jerry Micco's Live Blog of the Steelers Game Thursday night is certainly a little on the long side, but it's definitely worth a read.

-The Buccos make 5 additions to their 40-man roster, including the hometown hero, Neil Walker. Also added was the wildly talented Jose Tabata, the kid acquired from the Yanks this past season during the Xavier Nady trade.

-According to at least one source, our beloved Panthers have put together a top 15 basketball recruiting class for next season. It seems that Dante Taylor is going to be the highest profile recruit to come to Pitt, maybe ever. I will be interested to see how he is worked in to the lineup next season, as those types of players typically don't come to college planning on coming off the bench for 10-15 minutes a game like many Pitt players have in the past. A Taylor- DeJuan Blair front court would certainly be very intriguing.