Some recent news items in sports worthy of comment while wondering how Chuck Noll would have handled Jim Harbaugh at midfield:
ITEM: Big East to delay Pitt exit.
This creates a big problem for Pitt and Syracuse.
Big East commissioner John Marinatto confirmed Tuesday that Pitt and Syracuse will be held to the 27-month waiting period, meaning they will not join the Atlantic Coast Conference until June of 2014.
That's two more full football seasons plus what's left of this one and three full basketball seasons - a very long time to be a lame duck as a sports team going into a hostile arena.
Pitt has had issues with fans pelting the court at the West Virginia Coliseum when the two were in the same conference.
It will need heightened security every time its football or basketball team steps into Morgantown - especially given the uncertainty of what conference the Mountaineers will reside.
Conference jumping and re-alignment have created a lot of moving parts so maybe the departure dates will change.
For the sake of Pitt and Syracuse, let's hope so.
ITEM: District 6 disqualifies Hollidaysburg golfer.
Most troubling about District 6's handling of Hollidaysburg junior Quincy Gildea at last week's championships is the fact that her rules violation on a slight technicality did not come to light until the round was within two holes of completion.
Gildea used her club to point toward the target and in doing so tapped the ground in front of her ball. The assistant pro at the host course (Penn State White Course) who is empowered to handle any rules interpretations confirmed she was in violation.
While she broke a rule and learned a tough lesson, this kid was not moving her ball in the fairway or cheating on the scorecard.
Congratulations to the State College camp that saw fit to report her - just when they were sure they couldn't win the team title any other way.
ITEM: Angie Gioiosa dies.
You've read the fitting tributes by Jim Lane and guest columnist John Foreman on the passing of Gioiosa, a world-class runner who died last month at the age of 72.
Gioiosa was an old-school coach/character from an era where some of the tactics wouldn't quite fly today. But they're sure worth re-telling.
When he presented Gioiosa for induction at the 2002 Blair County Sports Hall of Fame banquet, close friend Dick Gottshall related a story of Gioiosa's disappointment with his team's performance in a meet at Tyrone in 1972.
Gioiosa was so upset that he ordered his top 15 runners off the bus, Gottshall said, "near Bellwood."
When the half-empty bus pulled up at Mansion Park, concerned parents wondered where all the runners were.
Angie checked his watch and said, "Right now, they should be passing the Pinecroft Fire Hall."
Rudel can be reached at 946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.
