No television cameras, no microphones and no Dick Butkus. For Lou Cerro, this is the way he likes it.

Tomorrow is the official start of high school football practice in Pennsylvania, and the scene at Montour High School will be totally different than a year ago, which was supposed to be Cerro's first year as coach.

Montour was the subject of a weekly ESPN television reality show in 2005. As part of the show, Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Butkus was named head coach. Cerro still coached, but it was a circus-like atmosphere at times. Sometimes six or seven televisions cameras were at practices and games. Production crews followed some players home.

Also as part of the show, former NFL defensive back Ray Crockett was brought in as an assistant coach.

"It's a return to normalcy this year," Cerro said. "It's exciting because we're keeping a low profile."

Cerro wouldn't say he regretted last season. Montour got a new weight room as part of the show, plus other equipment from Reebok. In November, Cerro was given a new pickup truck.

"[The show] was worthwhile for the community and the kids, and it brought a little sense of passion back to the program," Cerro said.

"But now, we don't have to look over our shoulders any more. Coaches, players, administrators, parents ... no one has to look over their shoulder to see if a camera is there.

"Now we can act the way we should be acting, instead of maybe putting on an act for the cameras ..."

Butkus left the team with two games remaining in the season because he said he had fulfilled his contract for the show. Cerro hasn't heard from Butkus since. Montour finished 1-8 last season.

Top TE to Woodland Hills

Woodland Hills has been projected to be one of the best teams in Pennsylvania this season. But the Wolverines got a little better Friday.

Rob Gronkowski, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound senior who is ranked as one of the top tight ends in the country, transferred from Williamsville North High near Buffalo, N.Y., and enrolled at Woodland Hills.

Scout.com ranks him the No. 2 tight end in the country and rivals.com No. 7. He has narrowed his list of colleges to Arizona, Maryland, Clemson, North Carolina, Ohio

State and Syracuse

Gronkowski's father, Gordon, a former Syracuse player, is moving to an apartment in Wilkins Township for a year because he owns a handful of G & G Fitness Equipment stores in the Pittsburgh area.

Gordon Gronkowski's wife and another son will stay in the Buffalo area. Gordon Gronkowski did not try to hide that one of the main reasons his son is moving with him is to play football at Woodland Hills.

Rob Gronkowski attended a combine at Pitt two years ago and got to meet some Woodland Hills players.

"Then we caught a couple of Woodland Hills games on TV in Buffalo," Gordon Gronkowski said. "There's just not the quality of football in the state of New York that there is here.

"We want him to play with good talent around him instead of getting triple-teamed. Here, he blends right in."

Rob Gronkowski also is an excellent basketball player, averaging 22 points a game last year.

WPIAL Executive Director Tim O'Malley said Gronkowski will be eligible to play under PIAA rules because he moved with one, or both, of his parents. O'Malley said someone has to prove athletic intent for Gronkowski to be ineligible.

Woodland Hills coach George Novak said Gronkowski wasn't recruited to play at Woodland Hills, but some coaches are complaining. They say it's obvious Gronkowski moved just to play football.

Rob Gronkowski and his father both said representatives of a few other schools in the WPIAL called Gronkowski and asked him to check out their school. Neither the player nor his father would name those schools.

Recruiting and tragedy

Schenley basketball star DeJuan Blair had an excellent summer at camps and AAU tournaments, and has scholarship offers from Pitt, Florida, Miami, Wake Forest, Kansas State and Indiana, among others.

But Blair, a senior, is dealing with more than recruiting these days. He's dealing with the death of his best friend.

Antonio Hampton, 20, was shot and killed on the North Side July 30. Blair was in Florida then, playing in an AAU tournament with the Pittsburgh JOTS.

"He was like my brother," Blair said. "I'm playing this whole upcoming season for him. This wouldn't have happened if I was here because he would've been with me and not where he got shot. He was breaking up a fight and got shot in the crossfire.

"It's hard to deal with. But this is why I just try to stay out of the way of bad things and play as much basketball as possible."

Blair, a 6-foot-7 forward-center, was recently ranked the No. 44 senior in the country by scout.com, but he was No. 127 in rivals.com.

Walsh opens eyes

Basketball players can enhance their reputations through camps and AAU basketball in the summer. Moon junior Brian Walsh is an example.

Walsh, a 6-4 1/2 guard, met with Pitt coach Jamie Dixon Wednesday and was offered a scholarship. In the past month-and-a-half, he also received scholarship offers from Duquesne, Memphis, Xavier, Penn State and Maryland is very interested.

Walsh opened college coaches' eyes with his performance at the Reebok ABCD camp this summer in New Jersey.

"When I came back from a few camps, I just started getting calls," Walsh said. "I was kind of blown away by the Pitt offer. They're going to be one of the top five teams in the country this year. For coach Dixon to think I can play at that level, is really something."