Presumably he was taking notes on the Pitt football team he'll be coaching. Presumably the first eight pages of his notes included the words, "Recruit defensive talent."
The bowl loss took it to a ridiculous level, but bad defense was the reason the Panthers were in the Armed Forces Bowl rather than a more prestigious destination. They couldn't ever really stop anybody when they had to.
Narduzzi is a defensive expert, but his strategy won't matter much unless he has players who can execute his plans. He has one advantage: He can promise recruits they'll have an excellent chance to start as soon as they arrive.
Pitt's football program is an easy target these days. Records are consistently mediocre and constant coaching changes keep realtors and movers busy.
But any perception that Pitt can't be a Top 25 program is off the mark. It would be foolish to predict the Panthers will be playing for a national championship anytime soon, but there's no reason why Pitt can't have the kind of nine-win seasons that will put the school in the rankings.
The Panthers headed into the bowl game 6-6 after losing four games -- two of them at home -- by five points or less. Make a play here and there, and Pitt could have been in the Top 25 and off the minor bowl invitation list.
Those who won't let go of the on-campus stadium issue are disengaged from reality. There's no money build it, there's no place to put it and students showed apathy when they could fall out of their dorm rooms and into the bleachers at Pitt Stadium. Besides, sharing a stadium and training facilities with an NFL team should be a significant recruiting asset.
At Narduzzi's introductory press conference, he was asked legitimate questions about how long he planned to stay. How would he know? Pitt doesn't have an exclusive on the fluid coaching situation that exists in college sports now.
West Virginia native Rich Rodriguez bolted from Morgantown when a better offer came along. After boldly stepping into the Penn State mess, Bill O'Brien packed his bags when the NFL came calling him back. Even Joe Paterno thought long and hard about leaving Penn State when the New England Patriots wanted him in 1973.
The hideous bowl loss notwithstanding, it's not all gloom and doom for Pitt football. But Narduzzi had better find some players for his defense.
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--LESS THAN CLASSIC
The NHL Winter Classic saw a drop in ratings from last year, and there are probably three reasons why that happened.
This year's game had college bowls as direct competition, which hasn't always been the case. The NHL overdid outdoor games last season, which devalued the Jan. 1 game as a special event.
But the biggest reason was probably the weather. Casual viewers are more likely to get hooked when the snow is flying and the players are battling the elements. That will automatically draw people who don't understand or appreciate hockey.
The sun was shining in Washington, DC. In fact, it was so bright that the light and shadows made it almost impossible to follow the puck at the start of the game. It didn't matter how big the screen was or how sharp the HD was, it looked like a 12-man mime routine.
Bad weather makes for bad hockey, but a great spectacle. Good weather created lousy TV, and viewers went elsewhere for their holiday sports.
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--ON THE WRONG SCENE
One of the great things about television is the way it invents its own reality.
With a big Steelers playoff game looming, there was naturally plenty of wide-ranging coverage during the week. The anchors were regularly throwing it to reporters who were standing by at Heinz Field with the very latest.
Of course, game day is the only time any Steelers are at the stadium. The rest of the time, they're at the practice facility on the South Side. That's also where the coaches are, along with all the executives who make any football-related decisions.
But the reporters stand in the cold and dark on the North Side, just in case there's any breaking news from the stadium's 65,050 empty seats or vacant parking lots.
Why? Because that's television.
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