Lacey blog

As W.Va. awaits, Pitt's offense lacks consistency

PITTSBURGH – Pitt leads the Big East Conference despite going nearly a full season without its offense living up to expectations.

The deep passes to Jon Baldwin are missing, and his statistics are way down. All those long runs by Dion Lewis are missing, and his statistics are way down. With a couple of regular season games remaining, Lewis has 1,138 fewer yards rushing than he ended with last season, and Baldwin has nearly 500 fewer yards receiving.

Some coaches would be panicking. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt has the same patience he had when the season began.

With the conference title still unclaimed and rival West Virginia arriving on Friday with a defense that hasn't allowed any opponent to score more than 21 points, this would be a good week for Pittsburgh's offense to begin showing some consistency and big-play capability.

Pitt ranks only 75th nationally in total offense with a 362.1 yards per game average, down from No. 52 last season. West Virginia is 74th offensively, but is No. 4 defensively. Pitt is No. 12 defensively.

"We're still a work in progress, but we have made progress," Wannstedt said Monday. "If we don't turn the ball over, if we protect the football, we have a chance to go out there and be productive on offense. I think we need to let West Virginia know that Jon Baldwin is capable of breaking the game open, as are Mike Shanahan, Dion Lewis and Ray Graham. I think both offenses have enough talent that you just can't let your guard down."

Pitt (6-4, 5-1 in Big East) can claim the conference title if it beats West Virginia (7-3, 3-2) and Cincinnati (4-6, 2-3) on Dec. 4. The Panthers will claim at least a share of the title if they win Friday, but won't get the accompanying BCS bid unless they also win at Cincinnati or Connecticut (6-4, 3-2) loses to Cincinnati on Friday or at South Florida on Dec. 4.

The Panthers might be more confident of finding a seam or two in West Virginia's unconventional 3-3-5 defense if Baldwin was getting open downfield like he did last season, when he averaged 19.5 yards per catch. This season, he has a 16.1 average. Or if Lewis was running like he did when he gained at least 110 yards in each of Pitt's last eight games a year ago.

Lewis has been held to two 100-yard games this season, including a season-high 130 against Rutgers on Oct. 23. He had 106 yards and a game-deciding 22-yard touchdown run Saturday as Pitt edged South Florida 17-10.

Lewis isn't Pitt's leading rusher, as Ray Graham has gained 804 yards. Most games, Wannstedt sorts out which back is running better and stays with him.

"We played Dion Lewis a lot more last week," Wannstedt said. "We felt that Dion Lewis had a little hotter hand and was seeing things quicker, so we went with him more."

While quarterback Tino Sunseri's statistics are up since early in the season, he's still not as consistent as Bill Stull was in 2009. Pitt's offensive line also hasn't played up to the level of last season's line, which was much more experienced.

"Consistency wise, it's a challenge every week," Wannstedt said. "The thing that can sometimes make an offense look not as effective is it could be that just one guy is off. All it takes is pressure from one lineman who misses his block or doesn't read it right. Everybody else is perfect, the route is perfect, the quarterback knows where to throw the ball and you throw it away."

Huawei Names Ex-Nortel CTO to North America R&D Post

Huawei Technologies has named former Nortel Networks Chief Technology Officer John Roese to lead its North American research and development efforts.

As senior vice president and general manager of Huawei North America R&D, Roese will lead the China-based company's research centers in North America, including those in Santa Clara, California, and Ottawa, Ontario. He will be based at the Santa Clara facility. Roese will be the first executive dedicated exclusively to overseeing R&D in the region.

Huawei has become one of the world's largest makers of telecommunication and networking gear, partly through successful engagements in developing countries, but has met with some opposition in attempts to capture big carrier contracts in the U.S. Earlier this year,because of national security concerns about relying on a Chinese supplier for critical infrastructure, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The appointment of Roese, who is a veteran of Broadcom, Enterasys and Cabletron as well as Nortel, signals that the company remains dedicated to North America. In addition to running Nortel's R&D operations, Roese worked with that company's leadership on pursuing new market opportunities and forming strategic partnerships, according to a Huawei press release. Roese joined Nortel as CTO in 2006 and , which has since been split up and sold off.

Huawei said it has 17 research sites around the world and employs more than 43,600 employees in R&D. The company filed for 6,770 patents in 2009 and has filed a total of 42,543 patents overall, Huawei said.

FIRST LOOK: TSA exploring ‘G-rated’ body scanner

Welcome to First Look, a daily roundup of early-bird news and a preview of what's to come:

o In a global survey of children in poverty, kids stressed the importance of education. ()

o Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hits back at critics of his stimulus tactics. ()

o The Transportation Safety Administration is exploring a more G-rated body scanner that would just show a "stick figure" image. ()

o Some shoppers don't care that their reusable bags may have dangerous levels of lead. ()

o China may adopt a cap and trade system to cut emissions. ()

o The poverty rate in the United States is at its highest level in 50 years. ()

o Twenty-seven workers are missing after a mine exploded in New Zealand. ()

o Congress failed to extend jobless benefits to the unemployed yesterday, even as it appears increasingly likely lawmakers will extend tax cuts for the nation's wealthiest families. ()

Have something you'd like to see in our daily First Look post?

FIRST LOOK: TSA exploring ‘G-rated’ body scanner

Welcome to First Look, a daily roundup of early-bird news and a preview of what's to come:

o In a global survey of children in poverty, kids stressed the importance of education. ()

o Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hits back at critics of his stimulus tactics. ()

o The Transportation Safety Administration is exploring a more G-rated body scanner that would just show a "stick figure" image. ()

o Some shoppers don't care that their reusable bags may have dangerous levels of lead. ()

o China may adopt a cap and trade system to cut emissions. ()

o The poverty rate in the United States is at its highest level in 50 years. ()

o Twenty-seven workers are missing after a mine exploded in New Zealand. ()

o Congress failed to extend jobless benefits to the unemployed yesterday, even as it appears increasingly likely lawmakers will extend tax cuts for the nation's wealthiest families. ()

Have something you'd like to see in our daily First Look post?

Bermuda braces for Hurricane Igor; Karl dissipates

HAMILTON, Bermuda – Tourists caught the last flights out of Bermuda and locals stocked up on emergency supplies Saturday preparing for Hurricane Igor, while Mexicans mourned at least seven killed by Hurricane Karl.

An extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane earlier in the week, Igor was still a Category 2 storm, and officials warned that its pounding rains and driving winds could be deadly.

"This storm will be a long and punishing one," Public Safety Minister David Burch said. "The potential for injury and physical damage is great."

High surf kicked up by the storm has already swept two people out to sea in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, far to the south.

Several people stared mesmerized at the 12- to 15-foot waves (4- to 5-meter waves), including Peter Mills, 44, who took his wife and two children to John Smith's Bay Park to watch.

"It's absolutely spectacular, but it's probably going to be absolutely horrifying come the next couple of days," Mills said.

In Mexico, meanwhile, the remnants of Hurricane Karl soaked south-central portions of the country as authorities sent helicopters to rescue dozens of people stranded by flooding and hunt for others feared washed away.

At least seven fatalities were reported. A 61-year-old woman and a 2-year-old girl died when a landslide buried a house in the town of Nexticapan in Puebla state. In Veracruz state, a woman and two young children were swept away by a rushing river in Cotaxtla and two women were found dead in Felipe Carrillo.

Tropical-storm-force winds were forecast to start battering Bermuda Saturday night, with the hurricane expected to pass directly overhead or nearby late Sunday or early Monday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Igor had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 kph) and was located about 285 miles (455 kilometers) south of Bermuda late Saturday. Hurricane-force winds extended about 90 miles (150 kilometers) from the storm's center, and it was headed north-northwest and expected to curve during the night toward the British Atlantic territory.

Tropical storm conditions were expected in Bermuda beginning Saturday night, and forecasters said Igor could bring 6 to 9 inches (15 to 23 centimeters) of rain and cause significant coastal flooding.

Hotel cancellations were reported across Bermuda, popular with tourists for its pink sand beaches and with businesspeople as an offshore financial haven.

Sophie Dier, a spokeswoman for Elbow Beach hotel, said it was almost fully booked for the weekend until a business group and a wedding party canceled. Now the hotel will be around 10 percent full, she said.

Two Fairmont hotels also reported a 20 to 40 percent drop in occupancy.

"We have been proactively advising our guests to reschedule their travel plans," said Shelley Meszoly, Fairmont's regional marketing director.

Bermudians were planning ahead and buying up supplies, said Mark Stearns, vice president of Masters Ltd., a home and garden store in the capital of Hamilton.

"We've sold out of generators, tarpaulins, buckets, rope, screws, bottled water, coolers, even trash cans and plastic sheeting," he said. "Anything people can use to secure their homes."

Schools will close Monday and Tuesday, and a local newspaper said it will not print a Monday edition.

"This decision has not been taken lightly," editor Bill Zuill wrote in an article published Saturday. "It will be the first time in living memory that The Royal Gazette has missed an edition."

The government closed L.F. Wade International Airport at midafternoon and likely would not reopen it until Monday. A causeway from the east end of the island to the rest of Bermuda was also to be closed.

The last plane to leave was a British Airways flight bound for London, which departed three hours earlier than usual.

Aboard was Jane Royden, 47, and her husband, both from Birmingham, England.

"We are quite relieved to be leaving and concerned for the safety of the island and everyone here," said Royden, who cut her two-week vacation short by a week.

Traveller's Boat Works marina was running out of space for all the vessels whose owners wanted them out of the water, and arranged to turn a nearby church parking lot into a makeshift boat yard.

"They pushed the panic button basically between Thursday night and yesterday," said marina operator Kristy Roberts. "I had maybe 20 boats to mess with, now I'm up to possibly 40 ... and I think it's going to go well over that."

Bistro at The Beach, a popular bar and restaurant in Hamilton, reported a busy Friday night ahead of the storm.

"I guess people are making the most of getting out and partying," manager Duncan Adams said. "They're going to be cooped up in their homes from today."

In 2003, Hurricane Fabian killed four people when it hit Bermuda as a Category 3 hurricane.

In Mexico, Karl was dissipating over the mountains Saturday, though it could still produce as much as 3 more inches (7.5 centimeters) of rain in some areas, the Hurricane Center said.

Karl had sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) when it hit land at midday Friday about 10 miles (15 kilometers) northwest of the port city of Veracruz, but the storm rapidly lost force over rugged territory that includes Mexico's highest volcano, 18,619-foot (5,675-meter) Pico de Orizaba. The storm's winds were down to 25 mph (35 kph) by Saturday morning.

Mexico's navy sent helicopters to rescue about 40 families trapped on a hill surrounded by floodwaters in the town of San Pancho, north of Veracruz city, said state Civil Protection Secretary Silvia Dominguez.

South of the city in Cotaxtla, a town of about 5,000 residents, a river jumped its banks and flooded homes up to their rooftops.

Mechanic Oscar Rojas Hernandez said he realized in the middle of the night that the water was rising fast next to his family's home and went to get help. By the time he returned, the raging current kept him from reaching the house and he watched helplessly from 20 yards (meters) away as it went under completely in a matter of minutes.

Crews later found the body of Hernandez's son and two other villagers; his wife and mother were among five people still unaccounted for.

"We did not think the river would rise so fast," Hernandez told The Associated Press, sobbing. "I lost my family."

Homes, restaurants and shops along Cotaxtla's main street were choked with mud, water and tree branches.

"There are no words for this," Mayor Cirilo Pena said. "It's something we didn't expect. It's the first time this river has risen so far."

Veracruz state Gov. Fidel Herrera said some 16,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes as the storm roared through, downing trees, power lines and billboards and erasing beachfront huts.

Local forecasters said the storm dumped 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain in the city just in the first 90 minutes after arriving. Flights into Veracruz were canceled, and public transit was shut down on Friday, though air and bus service began to resume on Saturday.

Tropical Storm Julia, far out in the Atlantic, was weakening and not expected to threaten land.

___

Associated Press writers Jason Bronis in Hamilton, Bermuda; E. Eduardo Castillo in Cordoba, Mexico; and Miguel Angel Hernandez in Veracruz, Mexico, contributed to this report.