The Pitt News 12-2-14 by The Pitt News

Vol. 105 Issue 80

@thepittnews

Tuesday,December 2, 2014

Pittnews.com

Students evacuate following Tower A fire

City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire responded to a fire on the eighth floor of Tower A. Jeff Ahearn| Assistant Visual Editor

Cristina Holtzer, Danielle Fox, Harrison Kaminsky and Natalie Daher The Pitt News Staff A fire on the eighth floor of Litchfield Tower A Monday night prompted the building’s evacuation. The fire originated from the eighth floor, and someone inside the building pulled the fire alarm, according to Pitt spokesman John Fedele. The call to emergency services came at approximately

5:35 p.m. on Monday, Fedele said, and Tower A was evacuated. There were no injuries in the fire, according to Fedele, and Pitt Police and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire were still investigating the cause at the time of publication. Alex Nally, a freshman economics major, lives on the seventh floor of Tower A, and said his floor’s fire alarm did not go off. Nally said a woman knocked on dorm room doors telling students to evacuate. Jonathan Hranek, a freshman psy-

chology major, was in his dorm room on the eighth floor when he began to smell smoke and the alarms sounded. It was “pretty thick, grayish smoke,” Hranek said, and he immediately evacuated once he heard the alarms. “I walked downstairs and was like, ‘Oh my god,’” he said amidst crowds of students in the Towers Lobby. Pitt did not send out a campus text or email alert about the fire, which Fedele said was because the fire was not a “campus-wide” emergency.

As of approximately 7:15 p.m. Fedele said all Tower A residents except those on floors seven and eight re-entered the building. Fedele confirmed at 9:30 p.m. that between 12 and 14 students were displaced from the fire, and said Student Affairs typically offers living accommodations to displaced residents in available University housing. Representatives from Pitt Police did not respond to multiple requests for comment by the time of publication.

December 2, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Pittsburgh ranks lowest in crime compared to peer regions

2+ = B< # 6C <0 # A5 "#D 4/ +B< # 3< 5 68 0 29 4+5# =0 E#= F2 C1# =0 ?4 ,< F+ ## 68 +6 6 3= =G# ?G 9 ; 40<# +?H # =/ E I= << 6# =#F K6 +5J :+ =6 # => 4? +-# #

+?=

;

+-@

-5

!"#$%&&'($)*#'$%+#',#$'-../' ,!,0&%+)!12'3.-4'

Crime in the Pittsburgh metropolitan region increased in 2013, but the numbers were still good enough for the area to have the lowest crime rate when compared with peer benchmark regions, according to a recent FBI report. The 2013 edition of the FBI’s annual Crime in the United States report, released Nov. 10, also showed that Pittsburgh had the lowest rates of both forcible rape and motor vehicle theft per 100,000 inhabitants. The benchmark regions for comparison included Boston, which ranked second-lowest for overall crime rate, Philadelphia,which ranked fifthlowest, Denver, St. Louis, Detroit and more. According to an FBI release, the report is a “statistical compilation of offense and arrest data reported by law enforcement agencies voluntarily participating in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.” An interactive graphical display of Pittsburgh-related data from the report was made available on pittsburghtoday.org last week.

The report includes nationwide crime data from 18,415 city, county, state, university and college, tribal and federal agencies. )&!!!"!!# In 2013, according to (&$!!"!!# the release, there were (&!!!"!!# an estimated 1,163,146 '&$!!"!!# '&!!!"!!# violent crimes in the %&$!!"!!# country — the catego%&!!!"!!# ries which made up the $!!"!!# !"!!# total, including murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, each showed a decline when compared with estimates from the Data from FBI Uniform Crime Reports Harrison Kaminsky | Assistant News Editor 2012 report released last year. Pittsburgh also ranked well in categories bery, behind Denver. The rate of robberies per Pittsburgh Police spokeswoman Sonya where it did not have the lowest rate. 100,000 inhabitants decreased from 89.9 to Toler said she can’t say whether or not the The region ranked fourth-lowest in mur- 83.7 from 2012 to 2013. rankings were expected, as it was not some- der — the rate decreased from 4.2 to 4.1 In other categories, the city ranked fourth thing that was a focus of the Bureau, but she murders per 100,000 population from 2012 in lowest rate of aggravated assaults, second in said “all of the Bureau of Police’s efforts are to 2013. lowest rate of burglaries and second in lowest aimed at crime reduction.” Pittsburgh ranked second-lowest in rob- rate of larceny-theft. *+

Harrison Kaminsky Assistant News Editor

T P N S U D O K U

Today’s difficulty level: Medium Puzzles by Dailysudoku.com

December 2, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

EDITORIAL

OPINIONS

Rhetoric on Ferguson

THE HELGER GAMES

player Jared Cook. Yet, despite the players’ peaceful intentions, the St. Louis Police Officers Association immediately called for the NFL to “discipline” its players for their protest, saying that they were “profoundly disappointed” with the players’ actions. Similarly, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani expressed discontent for the protests in Ferguson on Fox News’ “Hannity,” earlier in November. He called the movement “un-American,” asking viewers, “Isn’t the answer to this: Abide by the jury’s verdict?” The irony here is astounding — in a country founded on free speech and political dissent, it is now considered “un-American” to protest. Of course, this attitude is probably a result of the looting and apparent violence TV crews in Ferguson covered after the Grand Jury’s decision. However, that doesn’t make actual protests, such as those of the Rams players or of many other people across the country, any less of a right. Figures like Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. were able to move toward equality by exercising the right to protest — so let’s not forget its value, even in the face of violence. In moving forward from the crisis in Ferguson, it’s important for us to remember that the movement in Ferguson, when it comes down to it, is a protest. It is a protest for equality in the eyes of the law, not a riot intended to loot and harm others, despite what some outside sources may believe. Even if you disagree on whether or not something is worth protesting, as Americans, we should all agree that we still have the right to do so.

OPEC

The crude, hard truth

undermines right to protest Ferguson. The emotions involved with this St. Louis suburb echo far outside of Missouri. Ever since the grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the killing of the unarmed, black teenager Michael Brown, everyone in the country suddenly became a lawyer, formulating opinions on the case, Darren Wilson, Michael Brown and, perhaps most heatedly, the protestors. As demonstrated by images that appeared on our television screens, it was clear that the town of Ferguson quickly erupted into chaos after the grand jury’s decision — with “protestors” looting stores and vandalizing businesses. Certainly, such actions are not condonable, but where do we draw the line between rioting and protesting? Right now, the answer is unclear, as mainstream media and pundits alike have made little to no effort to draw a line — television cameras seem to have lumped the right to protest and unlawful riots together. Consequently, supporting Michael Brown has become synonymous with approval of the crimes he allegedly committed and a hatred for police officers, according to conservative media and interest groups. In fact, football players from the NFL’s St. Louis Rams experienced such generalizations this past Sunday after they expressed support for the protestors in Ferguson by entering the field for Sunday’s game with their arms raised — a symbol for the movement in support of Michael Brown in Ferguson. “We wanted to come out and show our respect to the protests and the people who have been doing a heck of a job around the world,” said Rams

TNS

Thomas Helgerman Columnist In the wake of the preponderance of fracking, a method of extracting crude oil from the ground by hydraulic means, there has been a large amount of criticism charging that the process has a serious environmental impact. The debate has particular significance in Pennsylvania, because much of the development of fracking has occurred throughout the state. While this issue might not seem relevant to city dwellers, over the summer, Allegheny County approved shale drilling to take place by the Pittsburgh Airport, through which many Pitt students have flown. The decision of whether or not to allow fracking to take place requires a detailed cost-benefit analysis, weighing the environmental and health costs against the increases in employment and oil output. Indeed, many critics have rightly charged that too little weight is placed on the costs of the

process in the pursuit of lowering unemployment. Whether or not this is the case, crude oil output has become large enough that we must add a few items to the benefits side. This change comes in light of the recent announcement this past Thursday from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that they will not cut petroleum production targets. Originally founded in 1960, OPEC is an oil cartel, consisting of twelve countries, which aims to control the production and global price of petrol. The organization is well known for the gas shortages it caused in the US during the 1970s with the decision to impose an oil embargo. Historically, OPEC has tried to use its market power to keep the global price of oil at around $100 a barrel. With the current price at $73, one would expect the organization to cut production, thereby reducing the global supply of oil and increasing its price. However, OPEC did not decide

to do so, leaving the world to wonder why. While there are certainly many reasons — both economic and political — a simplified look at the economics of the situation might provide elucidation. Presumably, the basic goal of an economic cartel is to maximize the profits of the members. For a single firm in a large market, this is usually not possible, as the firm is forced to sell at a market price that it cannot influence by changing production. However, if a collection of firms create a cartel, they may be able to have a large enough market share how they can impact the market price by changing production. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, OPEC crude oil production comprises around 40 percent of global output — additionally, 60 percent of the oil traded globally was produced by the organization. While a more detailed analysis is required to say for sure, it’s a safe

Helgerman

December 2, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

FROM PAGE 3

HELGERMAN bet that OPEC can impact the global price of crude oil. Thus, the cartel must set a production level such that it is maximizing group profits, while taking into account that by producing more oil, it will lower the price and decrease revenue per barrel. In general, theory tells us that the creation of a cartel will lead to a higher market price and a lower total output for the relevant market.

THE PITT NEWS Natalie Daher Editor-in-Chief editor@pittnews.com

Cristina Holtzer, News Editor news@pittnews.com

Nick Voutsinos, Opinions Editor letters@pittnews.com

Shawn Cooke, A&E Editor

aande@pittnews.com Chris Puzia, Sports Editor sports@pittnews.com

Theo Schwarz, Visual Editor photos@pittnews.com

Ellie Petrosky, Copy Chief tpncopydesk@gmail.com

Stephen Caruso, Layout Editor tpnlayout@gmail.com

However, it is a common misconception that cartels (and monopolists) are able to charge an arbitrarily high price for whatever they are selling and reap the benefits — in fact, the cartel is still subject to market forces — but less so than a small firm, allowing it to reap certain benefits at the expense of the consumer. Therefore, we can conclude that, most likely, OPEC decided not to lower production targets because its impact on market price was not large enough to significantly lower the global price of oil so that OPEC could make a larger profit at this lower output. Clearly things have changed since the

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

Mahita Gajanan, Managing Editor manager@pittnews.com

Danielle Fox, Assistant News Editor Harrison Kaminsky, Assistant News Editor Matt Barnes, Assistant Opinions Editor Dan Sostek, Assistant Sports Editor Jeff Ahearn, Assistant Visual Editor Zheru Liu, Multimedia Editor Joelle Smith, Social Media Editor Becca Nagy, Assistant Copy Chief Emily Hower, Assistant Layout Editor

Copy Staff

Sarah Choflet Anjuli Das Kinley Gillette Johanna Helba Emily Maccia Sam McGinley

Bridget Montgomery Sarah Mejia Shivani Pandit Michelle Reagle Michael Wilson Megan Zagorski

1970s. Part of this situation can be attributed to a lack of global demand, as Europe continues to struggle with large levels of government debt and Chinese growth remains well below its former double-digit levels. However, as many observers have pointed out, OPEC’s decreased influence is largely a product of increased output in the US due to fracking. Thus, by allowing fracking to occur, the U.S. gains the benefit of a weakened OPEC and increased oil independence. Additionally, lower oil prices lead not only to decreased prices at the pump, but also to lower prices in the entire

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 tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 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. Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations -Com mittee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260. The editor in chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor in chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University staff, - fac ulty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business and edito rial offices of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.

economy — as oil or gas is an input to almost any good. These large consumer benefits must also be counted. That being said, before bringing out the drills, remember that U.S. oil producers have been hit hard by the announcement, as the lower oil prices means lower profits for them. Further, some have argued that OPEC is attempting to harm the burgeoning fracking industry to solidify its position in the market — so overall, we can only be certain that this announcement has brought more to consider in the ongoing debate over shale oil extraction. Write to Thomas at teh18@pitt.edu. advertising@pittnews.com

Kevin Vanover, Business Manager Advertising@pittnews.com

Kelsey McConville, Inside Sales Manager

David Barr, Sales Manager

advertising@pittnews.com

Account Executives Maxwell Hine Allison Soenksen Robert Capone Alex Kanner Antonio Blundo Joe Leone Joe Kloecker A.J. Campli Sean Leone Franny Tish Kaitlin Kramer

Matt Reilly

Inside Sales Jordan Bullock Victoria Hetrick Julia McKay

Digital Manager Stephen Ellis

Marketing Manager Kristine Aprile

Senior University Account Executive

Marketing Assistant

Ad Designer Mark Janavel

Rachael Hoge

December 2, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT Trey Anastasio Band rocks Stage AE with lengthy, new jams

Anastasio, performing at Detroit’s Cobo Arena with Phish in 2009. TNS

Sam Bojarski Staff Writer Outside Stage AE on the North Shore, Brent Milstrom, a 50-year-old seasoned tour veteran and his friend peer into two narrow windows on a double door. It’s 5:30 p.m. — a full 2.5 hours before Trey Anastasio and his band are supposed to take the stage — and the band is about 1.5 hours into its sound check. Milstrom has seen more than 50 Phish shows since 1992, but tonight will mark his first Trey Anastasio Band (TAB) show. Chris Fulton, Milstrom’s younger, bearded friend recalls his last time seeing Anastasio at the old IC Light Amphitheatre in Station Square. It was 2002, right in the middle of the infamous Phish hiatus, Fulton said. Both men scratch their heads for a second, in an attempt to pinpoint the exact date Phish went on hiatus. Was it 2004? No, that was the breakup — the hiatus must have been 2000.

Then Fulton laughs, recalling the concert at IC Light: “The whole Phish scene hopped on a Trey tour that summer. It was incredible.” Saturday night at Stage AE, there may not have been any falafel vendors or T-shirt peddlers in the North Shore parking lots — two common Phish show staples — but Anastasio, the lead guitarist of the legendary jam band Phish, played to a large, ecstatic audience with a full band. Take all the funky grooves of Phish, introduce a three-piece brass section and synthesizer and you have Trey Anastasio Band (TAB). Building on the success of the immensely popular 2012-2013 Traveler Tour, TAB is hitting the road again this winter in support of an impending album release. The new album, Paper Wheels, isn’t due out until early 2015, but the band debuted several songs that will be featured on the new release. In typical jam band fashion, TAB played two sets, followed by an encore.

Anastasio dropped “Bounce,” a feature song on the upcoming album, in the middle of the first set. Even though the band just recently released the song for download, fans in the building recognized it within the first 10 seconds. Staying true to the song title, his fans took to bouncing when the song changed tempo halfway through, going from a ballad to a fast rock beat. TAB has always been centered on Anastasio’s elaborate guitar work, but songs like “Bounce” give bandmates Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet, vocals), Natalie Cressman (trombone, vocals) and James Casey (saxophones, vocals) more prominent roles as backing vocalists. With the 2012-2013 tour under its belt, TAB’s individual members are coming into their own. The three brass players traded solos on the crowd favorite “Sand,” while Anastasio laid the groundwork with his muddy, effects-driven rhythm guitar. Cressman also

had a fine solo on the ten-minute long “Burlap Sack and Pumps” in the second set. Known almost exclusively for his lead playing, Anastasio has really learned to accentuate a solo by playing chords and working his effects pedals. In typical Phish fashion, TAB’s setlists change from show to show, so fans never know what songs they will hear on any given night. However, Saturday night certainly satisfied both the TAB and Phish fan in everyone. Anastasio pulled his solo classics “Cayman Review” and “Night Speaks to a Woman” out of his deep repertoire early, while featuring Phish staples “Gotta Jibboo” and “First Tube” in the second set. In the crowd, older fans exchanged stories from Phish shows with younger fans, each proclaiming the number of shows they’ve seen as if they were credentials. Another city, another show for Anastasio, his band and the most loyal fans in rock music.

December 2, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Steel City ʻGodfatherʼ less than convincing Jack Shelly For The Pitt News A&E’s new reality series, “Godfather of Pittsburgh,” doesn’t have anything to do with the Mafia. The show, which premiered this month, follows the life of Allegheny County entrepreneur Vince Isoldi as he manages multiple strip clubs and a limousine business, in addition to living with his wife and three sons. Isoldi makes it clear from the first episode that he is no mobster. “Godfather of Pittsburgh” is very much in same the vein as “Amish Mafia” and “Mob Wives” — highly contrived and inauthentic to the core. The first three episodes deal mostly with Isoldi’s ongoing feud with his former business partners — his sister and brother-in-law. It’s clear the producers were trying to capture something similar to the fascinatingly dysfunctional family dynamics on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” but they came up quite short. The excessive Cosa Nostra (Sicilian Mafia) allusions, from his 11-year-old son’s fedora to unnecessary assurances from Isoldi that he is not in fact a Mafioso, fail to make “Godfather of Pittsburgh” any less boring. Isoldi’s unmistakable yinzer drawl is a far cry from Marlon Brando’s vernacular, and it only makes the series that much more cringeworthy. Most of the scenes portray Isoldi’s interactions with his famIsoldi leads Pittsburgh’s boring reality take on ‘The ily members. In the first three episodes, we see him deal with

The Pitt News Crossword, 12/2/2014

Sopranos.’ A&E

his 18-year-old son, Enzo, whom he encourages to attend college instead of pursue an acting career. Isoldi also teaches his 11-year-old son about how he runs his enterprises. Only slightly more interesting is Isoldi’s conflict with his estranged sister and her husband. Even those scenes come off as fake and put on, especially considering that we never actually see either his sister and brother-in-law but are only filled in on the details by family intermediaries. The scenes that capture Isoldi at work are even duller. Viewers looking for the portrayal of an interesting career would be better served by “Cake Boss.” Played up to be something of a gangster, it’s painfully obvious that Isoldi is nothing more than the proprietor of some pretty scummy strip joints, even by strip club standards. For its next venture into reality television, A&E would do well to look to another Pittsburgh-based reality show: “Dance Moms.” Where “Godfather of Pittsburgh” is off-putting and affected, “Dance Moms” is visceral and raw. As over-the-top and bizarre as the portrayed lifestyle and antics are, the women of “Dance Moms” are undeniably authentic, epitomizing the aggression and callousness of helicopter mothers. The attempt to trick viewers into believing that Vince Isoldi is anything close to a real mobster fails because it’s apparent that no true Don Corleone would stoop low enough to star in a cable reality TV show. In the end, nobody is buying it, and Vince Isoldi’s show seems about as “real” as his wife’s platinum blonde extensions.

ACROSS 1 Royals and Giants, e.g. 6 Tehran native 11 More, in Mexico 14 Top-drawer celeb group 15 “Say no __”: peace slogan 16 Do something 17 Beer named for an American patriot 19 Attempt 20 Summer in Paris 21 Pass along 22 Kismet 24 Girl who found a wolf in her grandmother’s clothing 27 Movie lioness 28 Temper tantrum during a flight 31 Toy soldier 34 Clock radio letters 35 PC memory unit, briefly 36 Responsibility 37 Barely beats 39 Hawaiian coffee region 40 Bus depot: Abbr. 41 Narrow cut 42 Worked in a shaft 43 Big shots 45 Birth announcement subject, about half the time 47 Monaco ruler married to Grace Kelly 52 Fabled Himalayan creature 53 Makes the first bet 54 Abbr. for a person with only one given name 55 In favor of 56 Pacific Northwest range, three of whose peaks end 17-, 24 - and 47Across 59 Big flap 60 Continental coins 61 Skirt named for a letter 62 Darken at the beach

12/15/14

By Gary Schlapfer and C.C. Burnikel

63 Iowa or Ohio, e.g. 64 Calls for DOWN 1 Shocking weapon 2 Bring great joy 3 Zeroed in 4 The Spartans of the Big Ten: Abbr. 5 Like operating rooms 6 Roma’s country 7 Flying movie monster 8 Sports contest, to the visitors 9 ’60s-’70s war zone, for short 10 1040, for one 11 Will Hunting portrayer 12 Farm measure 13 Pig’s pad 18 Watch readouts, briefly 23 “__ b?”: “Choose one” 25 Vintage autos 26 Swiveled joints 29 Trait transmitter 30 “Golly!” 31 “Gee!” 32 Gung-ho about 33 “Evita” role

Saturday’s Puzzle Solved

34 FBI employee 37 SpaceX founder __ Musk 38 Period of strobe lights and the hustle 39 Brickmaker’s oven 41 Certain Muslims 42 Med. diagnostic test 44 Old PC monitor 45 Rock ’n’ roll musical

12/15/14

46 Writers McEwan and Fleming 48 Spaceship Earth site 49 Low-budget film, often 50 Improve, as text 51 Goes up 52 “Star Wars” sage 55 Chew the __: gab 57 Crude home 58 Bass in a glass

December 2, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

BASKETBALL

SPORTS

Robinson, Panthers continue road trip against Hoosiers

who has averaged 20.8 points per game, led Indiana. Junior guard Yogi Ferrell closely follows him, with 18.2 points per game. After a weeklong break to recover from its tournament in Blackmon is also the most notable 3-point threat for Hawaii, the Pitt men’s basketball team faces its second conthe Hoosiers. He has shot 57 percent from long range so secutive Power 5 conference team in Indiana Tuesday night. far this season, and averages almost six 3-point attempts The Panthers (4-2, 0-0 ACC) will travel to Bloomington, per game. Ind., to face the Indiana Hoosiers (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) as part The freshman leads the team in rebounds as well, of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The game will be Pitt’s first averaging 5.5 per game. since defeating Kansas State 70-47 in the third-place game Young leads Pitt in scoring and rebounding per game of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 26. so far, averaging 14.7 and 8.3, respectively. Junior point guard James Robinson led a balanced scorRobinson is the only other player averaging doubleing effort in that game, and led the team with 14 points. digit scoring this season, with 12.7 points per game. Sophomore forward/center Michael Young chipped in 13 Tuesday’s matchup will feature two of the younger points and seven rebounds in the win. teams in the country. Pitt only returns one senior who “That was a lot of experience for me, going up against played significant minutes last season in Cameron Wright different types of teams that we might see in the ACC,” — Aron Phillips-Nwankwo and Derrick Randall are the Young said after the game. “We’re a pretty young team. So other seniors. this was a great experience.” Indiana does not field any seniors on its roster, and The Hoosiers won their last game against UNC Greensseveral players have left early for the NBA draft in recent boro, but before that, they lost to Eastern Washington, years, including Victor Oladipo and Noah Vonleh. 88-86. Two of Pitt’s more experienced players, senior CamIndiana has shown to be a moderately inconsistent team eron Wright and junior Durand Johnson, are missing the thus far: It lost the game against Eastern Washington only game for different reasons. four days after beating Southern Methodist, which was Wright is still recovering from a broken foot, and Johnranked No. 22 at the time. son has been suspended for the entire 2014-2015 season. This game will be only the ninth meeting between the Tuesday night’s contest continues a stretch of nearly two teams — the series is currently tied 4-4. Pitt and Indiana a month between games that Pitt plays at the Petersen faced off in the 2003 NCAA Tournament in Boston, a game James Robinson has averaged 12.7 points per game this sea- Events Center. It last took the court there against Samford son. Heather Tennant | Staff Photographer the Panthers won 74-52. on Nov. 16 and will not again until it plays St. Bonaventure In last year’s ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Pitt defeated Penn from playing. at home on Dec. 13. Indiana is the last major conference State 78-69 at the Petersen Events Center in the first game “We’re exhausted. There is no question,” he said. “This team Pitt faces before it begins ACC play at North Carolina of the event. is the team we are. Not the team we were a week ago or two State on Jan. 3. Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said after the team’s last game weeks ago, and this is what we are going forward.” The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be available on that the players were looking forward to the week-long hiatus Through six games, freshman guard James Blackmon Jr., ESPN2.

Chris Puzia Sports Editor

FOOTBALL

Pitt in the NFL: McCoy, Eagles prepare for playoff push Chris Puzia Sports Editor

As NFL teams prepare to run the final stretch toward getting into the playoffs, several former Pitt players are playing a part in the struggle. LeSean McCoy and the Philadelphia Eagles sit at 9-3 and are in first place in the NFC East division after knocking down their division rival, the Dallas

Cowboys, on Thanksgiving Day. The Eagles cruised to a 33-10 win, and McCoy contributed a season-high 159 yards on 25 carries, scoring a touchdown as well. This also came in only three quarters of work, because the Eagles rested their workhorse running back in the final quarter when the game was already out of reach. With the win, the Eagles control the division and have one of the best records in the NFC.

The Arizona Cardinals are one of the other 9-3 teams in the conference, but that record comes after a 29-18 loss on Sunday to the Atlanta Falcons. Former Pitt wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did not play in that game, which contributed in part to the Cardinals’ lack of offensive success. Fitzgerald missed his second straight game due to a Grade II MCL sprain in his knee. The 31-year-old is on the back

side of his impressive career, and he has begun to lose snaps to young teammates such as Michael Floyd, John Brown and Andre Ellington. But despite these struggles, the Cardinals are still a game ahead of the Seattle Seahawks in the competitive NFC West division, and they sit four games ahead of rookie Aaron Donald and the

Pitt In NFL

December 2, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

LeSean McCoy scored a touchdown against Dallas on Thanksgiving. TNS

FROM PAGE 7

PITT IN NFL 5-7 St. Louis Rams. Donald did not contribute much to the Rams’ defensive effort Sunday, yet the team still shut out the Oakland Raid-

ers by a score of 52-0. Donald added one sack and one pass deflection to the team’s remarkable effort. Donald now has six sacks and 32 total tackles on the season, though it seems likely his Rams will not make the playoffs. Cornerback Darrelle Revis had a difficult assignment in week 13, facing

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in the hostile environment of Lambeau Field. Rodgers has a plethora of receiving weapons at his disposal, and the quarterback threw for 390 yards and two touchdowns on the Patriots’ defense. The Packers went on to win the game 26-21. Revis tallied only one tackle in the game, and he was beaten by Jordy Nelson for a long touchdown pass in the second quarter. The Cleveland Browns and their pair of former Pitt defenders lost to the Buffalo Bills 26-10 to fall to 7-5 on the season. Though the highlight of the game might have been Browns’ backup quarterback Johnny Manziel entering the game, Jabaal Sheard and K’Waun Williams focused more on Sammy Watkins and the Bills’ offense. Sheard recorded four tackles and Williams added two more in the loss. The two former Panthers now have 41 and 33 tackles on the season, respectively. Longtime punter Andy Lee was moderately busy for the San Francisco 49ers

on their Thanksgiving Day game against the Seahawks. Lee punted five times with a long of 53 yards. His longest punt this season went for 71 yards. The 7-5 49ers are right in the middle of the division race in the NFC West.

December 2, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com