June 25, 2014

Vol. 105 Issue 10

79°|64°

@thepittnews

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Normcore clothing: The Anti-Trend

JAZZ UP YA LIFE

Nerine Savignanam For The Pitt News

Electric cars coming to Pitt this year Harrison Kaminsky Assistant News Editor

The same queasily colored Patagonia fleece your dad wears has been popping up around college campuses — but now, it’s endearingly nicknamed the “fratagonia” by those who wear it.

The fleece is a part of “normcore,” a new term buzzing throughout the fashion world to describe a trend that is the lack of all trends.

Leeann Duggan, style features editor for Refinery29, an independent fashion and style news website that covers emerging trends, defined normcore as “the aggressively unfashionable style that has, ironically, become a total fashion statement.”

“Many people interpret normcore as simply unbranded or plain-looking clothing, but I would say that those are more minimalist fashion,” Duggan said. “Normcore looks more like the ‘totally unaware of fashion’ looks that your dad or a clueless tourist would wear. New Balance 574s, cargo shorts or a baggy Nauticabrand tee fit the term.”

The point of the trend, which is really more of an anti-trend or non-trend, is to wear clothing that blends into the crowd and removes all traces of individuality. The trend accepts uniformity instead of going against the grain.

When normcore began blowing up in the fashion world in February 2014, clothing companies and manufacturers, including Gap and Hanes, which sell relatively conventional and

Normcore

Pittnews.com

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Dianne Reeves performs at 2014 JazzLive International Festival on Penn Avenue.

Theo Schwarz | Staff Photographer

Cars that cost only 25 cents per day to operate and can connect to the Internet may sound like an idea out of a sci-fi novel but they’re coming to Pitt this year.

Internet2, a collaborative research group, selected Pitt along with three other universities to each receive four Innova Dash electric micro vehicles for research on reducing the campus’s carbon footprint throughout the next year. The electric vehicles will arrive on Pitt’s campus later this summer and research for the Internet of Things University Electric Vehicle Research Project will begin in the fall and continue through summer 2015.

Brian Stengel, who works as a staff member at Pitt in the Office of the Chief Information Officer, will serve as project manager and outreach coordinator for Pitt’s research team on the project.

“One aspect of the project will be collection of data related to length of the charging period and the cost of the electricity needed to charge the vehicles,” Stengel said.

The Innova Dash, according to Roman Kuropas, founder and CEO of Innova UEV LLC, manufacturer of the vehicle, is a two-seat “university electric vehicle,” or UEV. For research, the vehicles will feature sensors to determine the driver’s heart rate and blood pressure, calculate a wellness score and more. The UEVs will also have three GoPro cameras on board

Cars

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FROM PAGE 1

NORMCORE

simple clothing items, took to social media by hashtagging “#normcore” on Twitter, while advertising how their companies have always carried normcore essentials.

Elizabeth Mattingly, a sophomore majoring in nursing, said she notices the trend occasionally around Oakland.

President Obama sports Normcore. MCT Campus

“I see a decent amount of Pitt students wearing normcore accessories. A lot of students wear North Face jackets throughout the fall and winter and a lot of guys wear souvenirlike baseball caps,” Mattingly said.

Mattingly said she can see Pitt students beginning to following the trend even more in the future “but only for comfort, so maybe in the library to study or just to go eat at Market.”

Kasey Paul, a sophomore, said she has also seen the trend popping up around campus.

Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.

June 25, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 1

CARS

to include video sensing.

In addition to a number of different sensors, the UEVs will be connected to each schools’ “eduroam” wireless network, just like a student’s laptop computer. Because the UEVs will be connected to the Internet, the research teams will be able to access all of the data collected by the cars’ sensors, analyze the data, determine the location of the cars and more.

The cars’ connection to the network represents an increasingly popular concept known as the “Internet of Things,” which refers to previously unconnected objects going “online” to support a new Internet-like structure.

Aside from Pitt, teams from Colorado State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Washington were selected from the 11 submitted proposals to Internet2 and Innova UEV LLC. The four winning proposals were announced by Internet2 and Innove UEV LLC on Monday.

According to Stengel, Pitt was a strong candidate for the project because it has an existing campus sustainability plan, campus cyber-infrastructure plan and strong research in sensors and sustainability.

The team has not yet received a specific date for the UEVs’ delivery but the cars will arrive on campus this summer.

Because the UEVs cannot reach a speed fit for driving on the highway, Pitt students and faculty members can expect to see Pitt employees driving the vehicles around campus when the fall semester begins.

Pre-identified Pitt employees can drive the UEVs, which will be accessible through their Pitt account username and password.

Stengel said Pitt employees will park the UEVs at the O’Hara and Posvar parking garages, where they will charge for the next use.

Stengel said the pre-identified employees

will include people from the Swanson School of Engineering, CSSD and Parking and Transportation. The drivers will receive an orientation on driving the UEVs before they drive them.

According to Steve Wolff, interim chief technology officer for Internet2, the selection committee chose the four schools based on a variety of factors.

“Each of the selected campuses had strong sustainability commitments, research initiatives underway and the caliber of the faculty and the individuals supporting the research were very strong,” Wolff said.

Wolff said each of the selected proposals had a different focus.

“First, they’re electric cars. We’ve got to start thinking about how we can change our cars, and this is one way,” Sejdić said. “Second, it’s ‘the Internet of Things.’ The cars allow us to communicate between different sensors.

Lastly, we’d like to maximize our profits by minimizing our investments. Sustainability is a big issue for us as well.”

Because Pitt’s campus is in a rather hilly geographic location, Sejdić said the team will be able to test some of the car’s energy aspects while driving in certain situations and even test the physiological and behavioral characteristics of the driver.

When the project is completed next sum-

Two Innova Dash vehicles will arrive at Pitt before the end of the summer. Photo courtesy of Innova UEV LLC and Internet2.

For example, the team from the University of Wisconsin will implement a UEV sign-out system for people in the university community, using their university IDs. The collected data, including engine performance, will not only be used for research purposes, but also for university-wide awareness of its energy consumption and carbon footprint.

Pitt’s research team, led by Dr. Ervin Sejdić, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, includes faculty, graduate students and IT staff from the Swanson School of Engineering and staff from CSSD. According to Sejdić, there were several reasons Pitt became interested in the project.

mer, the data collected from the research will be shared with the public to review or use as the basis for their own research.

“An important goal of the project is to generate data that will lead to new kinds of research questions,” Stengel said.

Members of the University community will be able to keep track of the project by following the #DriveGreenPitt hashtag on Twitter and Stengel said the team hopes that the UEVs themselves will visibly spread awareness of the project.

“We plan to make the UEVs a part of key campus events related to sustainability, research and Internet2 technology,” Stengel said.

June 25, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

EDITORIAL

OPINIONS

Summer country concert poses concerns for future

Another year, another massive country concert — 50,000 people flocked to Heinz Field this past weekend to see country music superstar Luke Bryan perform fan favorites such as “Drink a Beer” and “Drunk on You.” Fans took the country star’s lyrics a little too literally — plenty of beer was drunk and plenty of people were inebriated . Fans began tailgating as early as 11 a.m. for the 6 p.m. concert, resulting in a day filled with booze and drunken negligence, leaving more than 300 public safety incidents and a sea of garbage in its wake.

According to the Pittsburgh PostGazette, city officials estimate the resulting cost for the city to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

“Enough is enough,” Mayor Bill Peduto said in response to the mess at Heinz Field. “There is no reason that large events like the one Saturday on the North Shore should force city taxpayers to bear the burden for outsized amounts of garbage removal and public safety response.”

Peduto is right. Crowds of drunken concertgoers should not be allowed to run amok and tarnish our city’s reputation. But it’s not like this is something new to the City of Pittsburgh or Heinz Field.

Both have had experiences before with country concerts and the inevitable horde of tailgaters they bring.

In fact, the consequences of this year’s country act pale in comparison to last year’s Kenny Chesney concert at Heinz Field, where 73 citations were handed out — as compared to this year’s 37 citations — and roughly 45,000 to 60,000 pounds of trash were left in and around Heinz Field.

It could have been worse but with 18 arrests, 254 calls to 911 and 34 people transported to hospitals, the

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aftermath of the Luke Bryan concert was certainly not a point of pride.

“Compared to last year’s concert, it was much improved,” Ralph Reetz, general manager at Alco Parking Corporation — which handles all the parking lots around the stadium — said. “But there is still much room for further improvement.”

How can Heinz Field and the city lessen the wrath country concerts bring every year?

For one, parking lots for tailgaters can open much later. This will give concertgoers less time to become intoxicated and less time to create trash.

“People who came earlier [for tailgating] really trashed the place up, as opposed to those who came later,” Reetz said.

Some simple deductive reasoning can tell us why that is: More time for tailgating equates to more time to get belligerently drunk.

Tailgating also occurs for other events at the stadium, such as Steelers games. Reetz acknowledged that Steelers fans consistently return to these tailgating spots and, therefore, care more about their upkeep, as opposed to concertgoers who only tailgate at the venue once a year.

Other changes should include stricter consequences to discourage fans from acting carelessly. Actions such as public drunkenness, urination or fighting should come with not only a loss of tickets but also a ban from Heinz Field itself. This will ensure that there are long-term repercussions for these irresponsible actions.

As Peduto said, “We’ve worked too hard to build the quality of life in Pittsburgh to let others get away with destroying it.”

COLUMN

Tradition of violence undermines its real impacts Danielle Dyal For The Pitt News

The recent shooting at Reynolds High School in Oregon, in which 15-year-old Jared Padgett shot and killed another student before taking his own life, has been described as “yet another school shooting” — key phrase: “yet another” — as if the story of school shootings has become a terrible pattern.

However, it isn’t ungrounded. Within the past month, news headlines of school violence have threatened to become routine — a campus shooting on Thursday, June 5, at Seattle Pacific University resulting in one dead and two wounded was quickly followed by the June 10 fatal shooting in Oregon. Between the December 2012 Sandy Hook shooting and the Reynolds High School shooting, there have been more than 70 school shootings in the United States.

School violence does not cease at shootings. In Milford, Conn., a 16-yearold boy was accused of fatally stabbing another student in April after she declined his junior prom invitation. Also in April, in Murrysville, Pa., a 16-year-old was accused of committing a stabbing spree at Franklin Regional High School, in which more than 20 students were injured, along with a security guard.

Reasons behind the increase in school violence vary but mental illness appears to be a sweeping factor. In an interview with Pacific Standard on June 10, 2014, Jeffrey Swanson, a Duke University psychiatry and behavioral sciences professor, said, “People with serious mental illness are three to four times more likely to be violent than those who aren’t.”

Having a mental illness does not automatically make an individual violent.

There are other contributing factors.

A violent mindset is becoming prevalent in our country, evidenced by popular television shows such as “Game of Thrones,” “True Blood,” “The Walk-

ing Dead,” “Hannibal” and “Dexter,” as well as consistently favored crime shows like “NCIS” and “Law and Order.”

These shows range in target audience and genre but all share violence as a form of entertainment.

Mirroring the steady increase in school shootings is the increase of exposure to the media, via television and the Internet. The Kaiser Family Foundation — a U.S.-based non-profit and non-partisan foundation that focuses mainly on healthcare policy — conducted a study in 2009 and found that children between the ages of eight and 18 spend an average of more than four hours a day watching television. To this point, The National Violent Television Study by the American Psychological Association found that in 1998, 60 percent of television shows included violent themes. Revisited in 2006, the study found a significant increase in violence during every time slot. Specifically, violence in shows airing at 8 p.m. increased by 45 percent, violence in shows airing at 9 p.m. increased by 82 percent and violence in shows at 10 p.m. increased by 167 percent.

Albert Bandura, a psychologist at Stanford, found a correlation between real-life and on-screen violence through a research study he performed in 1965.

Bandura’s conclusions are based on the sociological concept of “social learning” — the act of learning through imitation.

Bandura found that increased exposure to violence increases violent tendencies in those who view it. He said that such exposure “decreases viewers’ concerns about victims’ suffering, decreases viewers’ sensitivity to violent acts and increases the likelihood that viewers will emulate the aggressive acts depicted in the show or movie.”

Additionally, advancements in tech-

Dyal

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June 25, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

FROM PAGE 3

Health found that of the 80 percent of seventh and eighth graders played video games in the past six months, about half played at least one M-rated game regularly.

A combination of the mature content of video games and their increasingly hyper-realistic graphics makes this form of entertainment hard to ignore in the context of increasing violence among young people.

Actual news stories of real-life violence have no entertainment value but they’re becoming as prevalent as the

DYAL

nology have led to further desensitization. Such advancements are specifically evident in video games.

The Mature rating label on video games — which informs that content in the game is suited for those 17 and older — appears to be taken as more of a suggestion than a rule. A 2007 study conducted in Pennsylvania and South Carolina in the Journal of Adolescent

THE PITT NEWS

E S T A B L I S HE D 1 9 1 0

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staged violence we pay to see and participate in through screens and games.

With the increasing frequency of school violence, each instance is threatening the norm we used to call safety. We must always question school violence.

Violent television and video games aren’t solely responsible for the deaths and injuries resulting from campus crimes. But combined with mental illnesses, both are high risk factors — Adam Lanza, the accused Sandy Hook shooter, an allegedly mentally unstable person, racked up more than 83,000

Editorial Policies Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each.

Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions expressed in columns, car toons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter in - than 250 tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University- affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@pittnews.com. The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left.

The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is pub lished Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer.

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TPN -

“kills” in an online first-person shooter game as he trained himself for the horrific massacre.

Schools have a responsibility to take action to draw and emphasize the lines between real-life violence and violent entertainment and especially to make this distinction clear to individuals with mental illnesses. School shootings must be addressed in classrooms nationwide and children should learn at a young age that even though school shootings are frequent, they are not justifiable.

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June 25, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

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T N E M N I A T R E T ARTS & EN

Thursday was a laidback but sometimes emotionally exhausting evening with Van Etten at Mr. Small’s. Photo courtesy of Brian Conway - Pittsburgh Music Report

Van Etten stuns in chilling performance at Mr. Small’s Shawn Cooke A&E Editor

On record, Sharon Van Etten is downright exhausting. Because it often seems like she’s putting her entire emotional and physical being into the vocal performance, it’d be reasonable to wonder how she could match — let alone come close to — that gripping sensation of longing and heartbreak in a live setting.

During her stop at Mr. Small’s Theatre on Thursday, Van Etten frequently matched the emotional sincerity and hopelessness of her studio work but it’s a relief that she also made room for some fleeting moments of joy.

Perhaps just as essential as the pleading, sorrow and devastation on her best-yet fourth LP Are We There is an outtake tacked on at the end of its closing track, “Every Time the Sun Comes Up,” which finds Van Etten and bandmate Heather Woods Broderick in hysterics after a botched rendition of an earlier album cut, “Nothing Will Change.”

Broderick, who takes keyboard and backing vocal duties on tour, exchanged many a smile with Van Etten throughout the night — even during some of the more draining numbers. With their almost sisterly chemistry and gorgeous harmonies, it’d be tough to suppress the satisfaction.

In between songs, Van Etten also kept things breezy by responding to loud proclamations of “I love you,” with retorts like, “You don’t want to know me like that.”

Van Etten wisely stuck to her latest album, performing 10 of the 11 tracks on Are We There, but also made room for a few from her last two LPs, Tramp and Epic. Based on the setlist distribution, she seems to share the affection for her new album — so much so that it may be overwriting her memory of past successes.

“Leonard,” a song from Tramp, required two false starts before getting some help on the lyrics from her band.

For a self-serious and pretentious per-

former, this moment might have been an embarrassing deal-breaker but for Van Etten, it was just another endearing glimpse into her laidback approach to musical therapy.

When Van Etten hit her stride on the more bracing centerpieces — “Afraid of Nothing” and “Your Love Is Killing Me” from Are We There and “Don’t Do It” from Epic — the results were appropriately chilling. Her hair often covered her eyes like an impenetrable wall but Van Etten compensated for any lack of eye contact with her near-perfect vocal strength and timbre. During the most impassioned wails, she reeled her head away from the microphone to look skyward, for the rare display of physical reaction.

The band mostly went about its business on autopilot since so few Sharon Van Etten songs call for an overwhelming sonic punch. But for the more lively numbers, such as “Don’t Do It” and the rollicking “Serpents,” Van Etten’s supporting cast swelled with propulsion

to make her seem more rock-star than vulnerable singer-songwriter.

Opening for Van Etten was Jana Hunter, frontwoman for Baltimore’s ethereal dream-rock outfit Lower Dens.

Hunter’s last stop in Pittsburgh was at WPTS Radio’s Fall 2012 concert with the band but this time she was only accompanied by her electric guitar and laptop.

That laptop brought backing tracks for a gloomy cover of Hall & Oates’s “Maneater” and five excellent new Lower Dens songs from an, as of yet, unannounced album. The new songs were just as textured and hazy as we’ve come to expect from the band but also featured some more conventional nods to that “rock” half of the dream-rock tag, including bigger choruses and even a few guitar solos.

Hunter said after her set that the new Dens album should be expected sometime early next year, so Van Etten fans who showed up early have already heard what should be one of 2015’s first great records.

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June 25, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Biting, balls and Ken dolls: A&Eʼs guide to the World Cup mania

Christiano Ronaldo sports one of soccer’s biggest personas. MCT Campus

Grace Kelly Staff Writer As the World Cup rolls on, there is still the familiar grumble from many Americans that soccer is nothing but 90 minutes of running around. So what draws some people to obsessively watch every game and overload Twitter with playby-play commentaries? Why is soccer arguably the most popular sport in the world? In other words, as many of my friends have gruffly asked, “Why should I watch the World Cup?” Here are several reasons to tune into the month of soccer mania. From the silly to the serious, these reasons may

convert — or at least intrigue — even the stodgiest of anti-soccer folks.

Reason 1: Weird Hair (Don’t Care) In a trivial sense, hair can make a World Cup even more entertaining than it normally would be. The array of hilarious hair decisions rubs off the sometimes star-dusted sheen that players can emit.

The king of mixing it up both on the pitch and on his head is Neymar. The Brazilian wunderkind goes from an unidentifiable mullet-mohawk to a frostedtipped comb-over between games, leaving fans wondering what the next flick of

World Cup

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June 25, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 6

WORLD CUP his comb will lead to. Fellow Brazilian David Luiz also knows his hair, with long, curling locks that add additional support to his killer headers.

This year, France’s Olivier Giroud took an interesting approach with his pompom puff and cleanly shaven sides. Like a dollop of whipped cream, his flowing coif was extraordinarily picturesque — until he began to score headers against Switzerland. The coif slowly deflated and the 10 ounces of hair gel were apparently no match for a well-placed soccer ball.

Last but certainly not least is the evervolatile Mario Balotelli. The Italian striker is known for his killer goals, along with the occasional bleached mohawk.

Reason 2: Uniforms As World Cups have come and gone, there have been evident style changes, from the big, billowy jerseys paired with the shorts of the early ‘90s that were just a tad too short, to the more recent painted-on look, exemplified by Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani.

Croatia wins for the most dizzying uniform choice. Its red and white checkers mesmerize opponents enough for their key striker, Mario Mandzukic, to work his magic. Then there is the classy, cool collared jersey of the Greeks that adds a touch of elegance to an otherwise very hairy and gritty team.

Reason 3: The Players The World Cup would not be half as interesting if it were played by clones, as the popular animated Nike commercial

suggests. Nike is correct that the personality of the players is a huge part of the game’s allure — and there is a variety of personalities.

For those who love to hate, there is Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who has the body of a Ken doll and an ego that remains steadily inflated by his barrage of goals. Contrast playboy Ronaldo with England’s Daniel Sturridge, whose visit to a Liverpool elementary school will leave you all warm and fuzzy and may even tempt you to try his goal dance yourself.

Then there are the hotheads, who constantly provide drama and intrigue: Italy’s Balotelli, France’s Paul Pogba and Uruguay’s Luis Suarez — infamous for his handball against Ghana in 2010 and for biting players on numerous occasions, including Giorgio Chiellini in yesterday’s match against Italy.

For those watching the game for eye candy, look no further than Italy’s Claudio Marchisio in a Dolce & Gabbana suit or Chile’s Alexis Sanchez after a match — the post-match shirt swap tradition is a beautiful thing.

Reason 4: Goals — The Ultimate Reason For the more traditional sports fan who wants constant action, the 2014 World Cup has proven to be a smorgasbord of tantalizing flick-ons, powerful punts and swiftly sinking headers.

Just look at the brilliant strike by the United States’ Jermaine Jones against Portugal, Holland’s rout of 2010 champions Spain and the flying header of Holland’s Robin van Persie, which inspires copycats left and right. This World Cup

World Cup

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June 25, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

FROM PAGE 7

WORLD CUP has had some brilliant play, with few fouls, few slow games and a dazzling display of sure-footed wizardry.

Soccer fan or not, this World Cup has been providing spills (sometimes intentional), thrills (from own-goals to lastsecond scores) and a plethora of reasons for everyone to put on that old jersey in their closet and yell at their TV screens in passionate aplomb.

Croatia offers the Cup’s most dizzying and distinct uniform designs. MCT Campus

June 25, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

MEN’S BASKETBALL

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SPORTS

Marlon Williamson opens up about why he chose Pitt Ryan Bertonaschi Senior Staff Writer

When former Pitt men’s basketball assistant coach Barry Rohrssen parted ways with Jamie Dixon and Pitt’s staff for the University of Kentucky in April, he left a hole in Pitt’s bench that gaped wider every day.

Nine weeks later, Dixon found the guy to fill the space left behind.

Enter ex-UMass assistant coach, Detroit native, youth basketball figure and former Youngstown State point guard Marlon “Smoke” Williamson, who now describes himself as “simply a coach.” Shortly after informing coaches from UMass and Pitt that he’d decided to continue his career with the Panthers, Smoke spoke with The Pitt News.

The Pitt News: Why the city of Pittsburgh?

Marlon Williamson: It was a good fit. This is my first time out. It was definitely a big time opportunity for myself. The only thing that

really ... had me a little hesitant about pursuing the job was simply my loyalty to Coach Kellogg and UMass, the staff and the community. I’m eternally grateful to him because he gave me my shot and, at the same time, he gave me his blessing to enhance my career and kind of just moving on. It was great. It was something I really took in and appreciated a whole lot.

TPN: Sometimes hiring an assistant coach in college basketball is more about who he knows rather than what he knows. Would you describe yourself as more of a recruiting specialist or a sideline teacher?

MW: My answer probably won’t be the most popular, but it’s ... the one I feel deeply about.

I look at myself as simply a coach. A coach is somebody who has to take on responsibilities on a day-to-day basis to help better that program. If Monday consists of me going out and really hitting the recruiting trail to help find the next player that’s going to help us win

MEN’S SOCCER

a championship, then I’m on the road being a recruiter that day. Tuesday may require me to be in the gym to assist Coach Dixon and the game planning. That’s what I’m doing that day.

Wednesday may require me to go out with one of our student-athletes just to sit down and talk. Maybe they just need to talk. Maybe we just need to do relationship-building. My goal is to simply become the best assistant coach in the country. I feel like the requirements to that job are endless. In order to be a great assistant, you’ve got to be good at a lot of stuff.

TPN: Dixon has proven to win over the years with defense and rebounding and using up a lot of clock on offense to get the right shot. He’s high on efficiency ratings and things like that. Do [Dixon’s] basketball philosophies match yours?

MW: Absolutely. The goal is to get to the finish line and win. The path that you take may Williamson is known as a good recruiter.

Williamson

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Photo courtesy of UMass Athletics

Panthers become Riverhounds for the summer

Mark Powell Staff Writer

While most soccer fans have their eyes fixed on Brazil during the World Cup this month, three Pitt soccer players have spent their summer playing with other aspiring professionals and local collegiate talent right here in Pittsburgh.

Attacking players Romeo Charron and Ryan Myers, as well as goalkeeper Dan Lynd, are members of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds U23 team in the Premier Development League, which serves as a training system for teams in the United Soccer League, the third tier of professional soccer in America. Founded in 1995, the PDL is widely considered the best men’s amateur soccer league in the United States.

This is the first year the Riverhounds franchise — founded in 1999 — has fielded a PDL side.

The Riverhounds PDL team has a 26-person roster that includes 12 players from universities in the Pittsburgh area, including Pitt, Robert Morris, Point Park, Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon.

“The team was formed to bridge the gap between our youth academy and pro team to

Ryan Myers (center) and teammates at work. Photo courtesy of Pittsburgh Riverhounds

create a pyramid structure, with the pro team on top and youth programs underneath,” Riverhounds General Manager Jon Rotz said.

At present, the team is 1-5-1 and occupies last place in its division. The season, which began in late May, goes until late July.

Rotz added that he sees a lot of promise in the three Pitt players, citing their professionalism in training and games since making the roster.

Lynd — who found out about the opportunity from his position coach at Pitt, River-

hounds goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap — will likely be the Panthers’ top choice in between the posts this season after starting 14 games as a sophomore.

“I know I wanted to play PDL because it’s a very high level,” Lynd, a junior, said. “Training every day allows me to work on every part of my game and will help me stay sharp for the fall season at Pitt.”

Lynd’s short-term goal is to improve for the fall but like most players on the Riverhounds PDL team, he has an eye toward playing professionally after he graduates.

“It’s a benefit to play under a professional team because it gives you an opportunity to show your skills to a pro staff and gives you a realistic chance to play professionally,” he said.

Lynd, Charron and Myers look to lead the Panthers to a better season than that of 2013, in which the team finished the season winless in ACC play and had a 1-11-4 record overall.

The Panthers struggled to score goals last season and added experience against top-notch players could provide Myers and Charron the

Riverhounds

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The Pitt News Crossword, 6/25/2014

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June 25, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com ACROSS 1 With 66-Across, 1967 Petula Clark hit, and a hint to the three longest puzzle answers 7 Address book no.

10 Bal. sheet expert 13 Lure 14 Gas station machine 15 Amtrak and B&O, e.g.

16 Readied for new paint 17 Thing left out 19 __ Paulo, Brazil 20 Web surfing devices 22 Baseball’s Rose 23 1927 soft-shoe classic 26 Body sci.

27 Charlotte and Norma 28 Swear to be true 31 Singer Ives 32 Suitable 35 1971 Janis Joplin charttopper 40 __ diem 41 Morning brew 42 Excellent 43 “Pretty Woman” co-star Richard 44 Med. plan options 47 1972 Billy Paul #1 hit 52 “The Thin Man” dog 53 Andre of tennis 54 Fall back, as a tide 57 On the floor above 59 Johannesburg section 61 Coloring agent 62 Pledges exchanged at the altar 63 “I’m a __, not a divider”: Bush 64 Spanish “that” 65 Guidance counselor’s deg.

66 See 1-Across

FROM PAGE 9

WILLIAMSON

7/7/14

By Jerry Edelstein

DOWN 1 Recipe amts.

2 Wife of Zeus 3 “Pound the pavement” or “break the ice” 4 Addition result 5 O’Neill’s “The __ Cometh” 6 “Red Rocks” resort near Flagstaff 7 Upside-down puppy’s massage 8 Diplomatic representative 9 Hi-fi spinners 10 Sobbed 11 Prefix with plasm 12 Good __: fixed 14 Ode, for one 18 Health resorts 21 Banned bug killer 24 Make, as money 25 Ship’s wheel 28 Current unit 29 Gesture from a winner 30 Corn serving 31 Finance major’s deg.

32 In times past 33 Calligraphy tool

Saturday’s Puzzle Solved

(c)2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

34 Golf ball raiser 36 Spun 9-Down at a party, say 37 Some tavern workers 38 Crowd with foliage 39 24 cans of beer, e.g.

43 Annoying bug 44 Nightwear, briefly 45 Death-feigning critter

7/7/14

46 Like some dips 47 Bea Arthur title role 48 Cable sports awards 49 On a freighter 50 Smart-alecky talk 51 Deal with 55 Bingo call 56 Bjorn with five Wimbledon wins 58 Goal 60 Green Bay’s st.

differ, but it’s the win. I love to see our team shoot the ball and it go in. I love that at the end of 40 minutes in games, when we go to shake hands, that our 12 to 15 guys and five to six coaches are smiling. I love that. I love to go back to the locker room and clap hands and triumph because we just won. It’s our job to learn his way. When I said I wanted to be a part of the University of Pittsburgh, I adapted and I said, for sure, that I wanted to take on any philosophy that Coach Dixon had and I’m going to do my job at the highest level possible.

TPN: You were a point guard in college.

[Current Pitt assistant coach] Brandin Knight has gained notoriety for nurturing Pitt’s players at that position. Do you plan on working together as a tandem or is there another position Coach Dixon will assign you to?

MW: Brandin Knight is an extended brother to me. He’s got real love for me and that’s my guy. Whatever role Coach Dixon needs, from Coach Knight, from Coach Barton — that’s the FROM PAGE 9

RIVERHOUNDS

confidence they need to consistently score goals and create opportunities in the upcoming season.

“Hopefully I’m able to instill some of the strong training habits I’ve developed through playing in the PDL to help our guys have a better mental state when entering the fall season and ACC schedule,” Myers said.

A rising redshirt junior, he played in all 16 games for the Panthers last season and finished with two goals and two assists. Comparatively, Charron played in 12 games, registering five shots on goal but failing to score. The team will expect more from him as he enters his sophomore season and gets more acclimated to Pitt’s system.

“As soon as the news of the creation of the PDL team was announced by the Riverhounds, our coaches at Pitt asked us to try out for the team,” Charron said. “The intensity of the PDL league helped improve my athleticism, conditioning and work rate.”

Charron, who was faced with a decision to play in his home country of Switzerland or with Riverhounds PDL, said he was glad he chose to stay in Pittsburgh.

“This opportunity to play at a good level and get ready for fall became more important,” said Charron. “So far it’s been a great experience.”

role I’m adapting to. I played point guard but at the end of the day, I was a basketball player, so our job is just to make our kids better and do whatever is needed ... As far as bumping heads to help someone or assist someone, I think that’s the global reason behind being coaches.

TPN: How’d you get the nickname “Smoke”?

MW: My godfather. I was six years old, playing for the Detroit Roadrunners ... Everybody from the inner city of Detroit has a nickname.

Somebody gives you a nickname and it sticks.

I was six my first time going out to play. The whole family was at the game. My family is two generations deep. It was my first time and I didn’t have a nickname and my godfather would always call me “Smoke.” My mother hated it to death. But my godfather would come to the game really loud and yell, “Smoke! Smoke!

Smoke!” He’d always call me that and my teammates heard it and called me that and before I knew it, strangers called me it. It’s primarily because of my skin tone. I’m a dark skinned guy. I was fast, but that was not it. I was Smoke before I came to the gym and he made it global.

He kind of put it out in the air.

Almost all of Pitt’s men’s soccer players are participating in offseason training in Pittsburgh or in their respective hometowns as they prepare for next season. The extra practice is something coach Joe Luxbacher values, since beating the best teams in the ACC requires training just as hard as them.

“It is very important for players to train and play in competitive situations over the summer months,” Luxbacher said. “Playing at a competitive level serves to keep players fit, but just as important are the tactical decisions that players must make during the run of play.”

According to NCAA regulations, the team is not allowed to practice regularly together now but players can join other teams or train on their own during the summer months.

With only five players graduating last spring, returning players Lynd, Charron and Myers will take on roles that will require them to perform well and make use of the professional mentality they acquire this summer.

“I already expect a lot from Romeo, Dan and Ryan ... they are returning players who have been through an ACC season, realize the level of play and challenge that lies ahead and we look to them for leadership and quality on the field,” Luxbacher said. “I am confident they will rise to the challenge.”

The Panthers start their 2014 season on Aug. 17 with an exhibition game at Saint Francis University.

June 25, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

House for rent. 129 Burrows St. 4BR w/ Equipped kitchen, central-air, laundry, 2 car garage. $1225+.

Available August 1, Sachs Management Company, 412-4212140.

North Oakland, Craig Street, Small 1 BR, Air Conditioning, Laundry, Great Location, $695+ electric, 412-271-5550 North Oakland, Craig Street. Safe, secure building. 1 bedroom, furnished.

Newly remodeled, wall-to-wall carpeting, no pets. $775 and up. Heat included. Mature or Graduate students.

412-855-9925 or 412682-1194.

Schenley Farms.

Large one bedroom apartment. Newly remodeled.

Parking.

Close to campus. Security deposit required. $950/mo. and all utilities included.

Please call 412-6702036.

1, 2, 3, 4 BR available August 1st on Bates Street/Melba St. Close to campus.

Clean, living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and porch. Call 412-4229734, 412-780-8909, or 412-521-7121 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 bedroom houses, 2 baths, 2 kitchens, hardwood floors. Available August 2014. Please call 412-287-5712.

2 Bedroom, $850, includes all utilities.

3211 Juliet Street.

Call 412-608-8581.

1-9 bedroom houses, wall-to-wall, washer/dryer, dishwasher.

Available Fall 2014.

Call 412-609-4340.

2BR, 345 Coltart St, kitchen and dining room, living room, call for more information 412-466-0952

3263 Parkview Ave. Large 7-bedroom house. $1095+ utilities. Call Sachs Management Company.

412-421-2140.

6 BR House. 3.5 Bath. Prime location, 300 block of Atwood Street, totally renovated. Available Aug. 15th. 412-414-9629.

11

12 House for Rent. Beautiful 3-BR house newly renovated-Allequippa Street. Close to Peterson Center & Pitt Dental School.

Equipped kitchen, new carpeting, washer/dryer, 2 bathrooms, full basement, fencedin back yard, security system. Looking for 3 students to share/or single family. Discount on first month's rent. Security deposit required. Students require adult co-sign.

Available August 1, $1500+ all utilities.

No pets. For more information, please call 412-303-5043. Email: dtm1003@comcast.net.

Large basement apartment off Parkview.

Kitchen, laundry, large bath. Parking included. $600 includes everything. 412-4771992

Shadyside/Bloomfield, 2 bedroom, full bath, large living room, 2nd floor, carpeted, fullyequipped eat-in kitchen, coin laundry, rent $900, Call 412687-2661 or 412-4961014.

Available August 1st.1 bedroom, large furnished 3rd-floor apartment. Near campus buslines. Large living room, kitchen and bath.

Bright and sunny. Great location.

Grad students preferred. $800+ gas & electric. CALL AFTER 2:00 PM. 808572-6699.

Looking for datenight babysitter for 3 children-7 years, 4 years and 2 months.

412-421-1011

June 18, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com Looking for volunteer to coach basketball at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Shadyside. Clearances required.

Contact Michele Cromer m c r o m e r @ g t n l a w. com Sacred Heart School in Shadyside is looking for responsible adults interested in volunteering their time to coach girls' volleyball teams. Positions available for JV (grades 5th and 6th) and Varsity (grades 7th and 8th).

Practices will begin late July 2014.

If you are interested, please contact Alyssa Ilov at alyssailov@gmail.com.

All volunteer coaches must secure necessary clearances.

Personal, professional masseuse wanted. Permanent position.

Washington County.

724-223-0939 or pager#888-200-8116.

Chucks. Blow guns.

Cuffs.

Billies.

Knives. Swords. BB, Stun Guns.

Sais.

Crossbows.

Kamas.

Throw Axes. Gold, Silver Chains. Diamond Rings.

MARY'S SHOPPE. 4114B Clairton Blvd.

30 Minutes from Pitt.

412-881-2948.