Commentary
Vacant AD position made Pitt’s search for a basketball coach more difficult PITTSBURGH – Tuesday was a good day for Jamie Dixon, not such a good one for Rick Kehoe and a busy one in Pittsburgh sports.
Dixon took over the Pitt basketball program from his old boss and Kehoe was dropped as Penguins coach with a year left on his contract.
Only one of the moves seemed very likely a few weeks ago.
Let’s deal with the puzzling situation at Pitt.
The coaching search was made more complicated by the vacancy in the athletic director’s position at Pitt.
Steve Pederson announced he was leaving in December but the job is still open.
Assistants are handling the day-to-day operations but there are indications the unsettled situation is one reason Skip Prosser rejected Pitt to stay at Wake Forest.
Even with the security of a long-term contract, who wants to come into a situation where he doesn’t know who his boss will be?
Beyond that, Pitt inexplicably restricted itself to two candidates. The NCAA Tournament is a coaching convention, yet Pitt apparently chose not to take advantage of that environment.
John Calipari of Memphis and Manhattan’s Bobby Gonzalez were never formally approached to talk about the job.
Pitt apparently set it sights on Prosser and had Dixon as the only fallback option when Prosser said no. They quickly went from the ACC Coach of the Year to an assistant who has never been a head coach.
Dixon may turn out to be the ideal candidate. The current players endorsed him and his hiring will apparently placate the incoming recruiting class.
You’d feel better about his selection if Pitt had made the choice after talking to a wide range of candidates.
There is also a feeling that Pitt was sensitive to the notion that Sonny Vaccaro of Adidas calls the shots in their athletic department. Vaccaro, a behind-the-scenes power broker, recently went public to claim credit for bringing Ben Howland to Pitt, then steering him to UCLA.
Gonzalez is another “Vaccaro guy” and that affiliation may have worked against him for the Pitt job.
On the other side of town, the Penguins were taking care of the necessary business of re-assigning Kehoe, who served as head coach for two years.
Kehoe is a loyal soldier who will find another role in an organization he’s been with since 1974.
Kehoe may not be a bad coach but he wasn’t a good fit for the type of team the Penguins have become.
They need a teacher with excellent communication skills. That’s not Kehoe’s strength. Nor was he likely to get much help from his staff, which consisted mostly of coaching novices.
Kehoe would have been adequate with a more veteran team that needed minimal guidance.
The Penguins are going to be hockey classroom so they’d better get a professor. The choice here is still Herb Brooks, who is already on the payroll as director of player personnel.
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There was a mini-controversy during the series between the New York Mets and Montreal Expos over the weekend in Puerto Rico.
Mets’ first baseman Mo Vaughn got an apparent single to right field. Expos right fielder Vladimir Guerrero charged the ball and tried to throw Vaughn out at first.
Vaughn was safe but he glared out at Guerrero, letting him know he didn’t like the tactic. In ballplayer parlance, Guerrero tried to “show up” Vaughn.
In fact, he made a good baseball play. You need 27 outs and you take them wherever you can. If you catch an extra large hitter taking it easy down the line, take a shot at throwing him out.
When Rick Reuschel pitched for the Cubs, he was a decent-hitting pitcher. He was also a big man. Manager Chuck Tanner had right fielder Dave Parker under orders to throw to first if Reuschel singled to right field.
Getting an out takes precedence over protecting someone’s pride.
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The Mets didn’t get into their Pittsburgh hotel until 3:30 a.m. after returning from Puerto Rico.
Still, at least one player didn’t mind the inconvenience, considering the alternative.
“Going to Puerto Rico as opposed to going to Montreal? Thumbs up,” Mets infielder Jay Bell said.
Montreal has never been a favorite stop for players because of the hassles of Customs in and out, the language issue and the currency exchange.
Ballplayers are always in fear of over-tipping because they don’t understand the money.
Sports correspondent John Mehno can be reached online at: johnmehno@lycos.com