Pitt anticipates big junior day

The 2013 recruiting class is not quite finished yet and Pitt can still add (or lose) some prospects before signing day on February 6. Still, the way college football recruiting works, the next class is beginning to take shape. The unofficial kickoff to the 2014 recruiting class will be this weekend as Pitt will host its annual Junior Day. Most of the prospects will be on hand for the big basketball game with Syracuse.

It is no secret that Western Pennsylvania is looking to be loaded next season with a number of high level prospects. Pitt appears to be in the thick of the race for most of them. Shai McKenzie of Washington looks to be a national level recruit as a running back, and will be a high priority for this staff. Dravon Henry already has assumed the role of the next great Aliquippa star. He will be Pitt's primary Safety prospect. Troy Apke (WR) and Alex Bookser (OL) are two very good players from Mt. Lebanon, where current Pitt assistant, Chris Haering, used to be the head coach. Mike Grimm may be the next big time offensive linemen from the Pittsburgh area, and his 6-7 320-pound frame certainly fits the mold of a Paul Chryst style linemen.

These are just to name a few of the players the WPIAL has to offer this season. Gateway has a number of big time prospects as well along with some Beaver county schools, including Balckhawk quarterback and Pitt commitment Chandler Kincade. Paul Chryst and his staff were able to land some solid players from the WPIAL this season, but could do some real damage next season. The 2014 recruits are very talented and they are there for the taking. Chryst and his staff have also looked heavily into Ohio, Virginia, and New Jersey for 2014. It is a long process ahead, but Pitt is already making strides to really upgrade the talent level of the roster.

Josh Farmer was bound up like a ball of nerves when he stepped into Silver Buckle Ranch's classroom. Hunched over, eyes downcast, the 12-year-old's body language gave the impression he'd rather be anywhere else in the world.

Horses aren't his thing, he said. They smell. They're dirty. And they're unpredictable. When he was 8, Farmer got onto the back of a horse, and it didn't go well.
The Silver Buckle Ranch

Going too fast wasn't a concern during his second session at the 40-acre ranch, which combines classroom and stable activities. With a volunteer horse handler guiding the 1,000-pound equine, Farmer was among the first of seven classmates to hop onto a paint gelding named Cowboy and ride it — at a slow and steady pace — around an indoor arena.

But with more kids entering the program, coupled with fewer paid staff members, the program has been placed under strain, Harrison said. She admits the ranch hasn't done a great job of fundraising in recent years, even as its programs have begun to rely more on donations.

What started in 1977 as a simple rodeo club has transformed over the years. In 2000, Silver Buckle turned into a nonprofit, but the ranch continued making money through its riding programs, lessons and Rodeo Bingo.

Washington's smoking ban put the kibosh on Rodeo Bingo, along with a few other local bingo operators. So for the last couple of years, the ranch has been subsisting on a $1.2 million payment it received from the sale of 20 acres of the ranch's property.

In 2006, the donor-funded Acts of Random Kindness program started. Over the years, Silver Buckle has placed more emphasis on that program, which is for "at-risk kids," or kids with developmental problems such as autism or ADHD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Twenty-something women in Forsyth County just might find Mr. Right, if Brian Murphy has anything to say about it, that is.

Murphy, 26, a graduate of South Forsyth High School, landed a spot on the VH1 reality show, "Making Mr. Right," currently airing episode four on the network.

"The show is a dating show with a twist," Murphy's mother, Donna Murphy, said.

"Fourteen guys think they are on a show called 'Match Me if You Can,' where they will be coached by three beautiful matchmakers to be better at dating and finding that perfect someone, but the matchmakers are actually real women looking for their Mr. Right."

The show's concept is three women — a caterer, an event planner and a construction contractor — secretly mold men into their perfect dating material.