Welcome Back 2017 pt. 3

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staff picks

OAKLAND’S INEXPEN$IVE EATS

With Red Oak Cafe’s closure, Pitt students could go hungry come fall. But here at The Pitt News, we won’t let that happen. There are plenty of restaurants in Oakland to choose from — you just need to find the right spots. We’ve enlisted some editors and writers from The Pitt News to compile some of their personal favorite restaurants in Oakland to save you from spending money when taking a well-deserved break from Market Central.

Golden Palace Buffet | Sarah Morris, Staff Writer

Hello Bistro | Luke Stambaugh, for The Pitt News

Photos by Anna Bongardino When people ask me what my favorite things about PIttsburgh are, one of my top answers is a possibly unexpected one — a Chinese buffet. The Golden Palace is a short walk away from campus down Forbes Avenue, and pretty much any conversation I have with friends that starts with, “Where should we go for dinner?” ends with “That Chinese buffet on Forbes.” The selection of food here is great — everything you would expect from a good Chinese food menu, plus some extras. The place is super vegetarian-friendly with options like sweet and sour mushrooms, sesame tofu and a wide array of vegetables. The atmosphere is relaxed, with quiet pop music often playing in the background, and it’s a perfect place to meet your friends for a bite after a long day of classes. Just be ready — you’ll love it so much that once you go, you’ll want to go back immediately.

Living in Oakland, you will often find yourself in conversations about where you and your friends want to go eat. For some reason, you find that even though Forbes Avenue is literally lined with restaurants, nothing seems to fit the bill for whatever your posse is craving. Whenever I am in this scenario, the best bet is usually Hello Bistro. Hello Bistro is located on Forbes and can’t be missed with its garage door-style window. With a quick glance at the menu, Hello Bistro may look like some generic salad bar, but what makes it such an appealing option for students is the variety of items you can choose from. If you or any of your friends are vegan or vegetarian, there is something for everyone, and those options do not feel tacked on. Salads can be custom-ordered for whatever your diet may be, and if you want to get a quick fix of calories, their burgers, fries and grilled cheeses are pretty excellent.

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RETRO PITT:

TAKING A LOOK AT CAMPUS BUILDINGS BY LEXI KENNELL, CULTURE EDITOR | PHOTOS FROM HISTORIC PITTSBURGH IMAGE COLLECTION Students walk down Fifth and Ruskin Avenues and pass Langley Hall every day, but many have no idea that two people died in an explosion in that very building about 40 years ago. In The Pitt News’ New Student Guide that was published earlier in the summer, I started a series — Retro Oakland — that focuses on the University’s past and its impact on students today. And buildings on campus are no exception to sharing Pitt’s tumultuous past. Pitt’s campus has changed drastically since its inception, and there are photographs to prove it — Pitt Stadium’s demolition, Schenley Park’s radical transformation and the construction of what became the focal point of our campus — the Cathedral of Learning. Every day we pass these structures on our way to and from classes, and it’s about time we learn about them.

THE CATHEDRAL OF LEARNING

LANGLEY HALL EXPLOSION

The Cathedral of Learning attracts a lot of attention not only with its outward appearance, but with its history as well. Our towering cathedral that proudly juts into the clouds is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere and the second tallest university building in the world. The tenth chancellor of Pitt — John Gabbert Bowman — chose the location for Cathy in 1920 and called on local schoolchildren to contribute what they could to make the building a reality. Children would mail 10 cents each to the University and get a certificate in return. Pitt hired Charles Klauder to design Cathy’s gothic-style facade and Stone & Webster to contract the building. From 1926-1936, workers built the Cathedral from the ground up, and the building now stands at 42 stories and 535 feet tall.

On Jan. 20, 1977, a natural gas leak caused a devastating explosion in Langley Hall. According to Chemical Engineering News, two women — a student and a secretary — were killed in the explosion, and about 47 others were injured. When the explosion occurred, there were roughly 200 people in that wing of Langley Hall, with 160 of them attending a physiology class in a lecture hall. The blast blew out walls of classrooms and labs and collapsed the roof of the two-story concrete and steel building.

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PAW, pg. 62 Conboy said. According to Nick Goodfellow, the sustainability coordinator for Sodexo, Pitt Dining tries to be as conscious as possible about where its food comes from before it is served to thousands of students daily. Pitt Dining tries to utilize as much local food from small businesses — as well as humane and ecologically sound food — as they can. For example, all apples on campus are purchased from Dawson’s Orchards in Enon

Valley, Pennsylvania, located about an hour away. The milk is hormone-free from Schneider’s Dairy, a local dairy company. All of the coffee served at Market Central and the Perch is Aspretto coffee, which is fair trade and organic. Market serves a majority of its chicken from Gerber Poultry in Kidron, Ohio, which sources its chicken from more than 150 family-owned growers who do not use growth hormones or antibiotics. Conboy said it’s promising Pitt Dining is receptive to feedback from students — Pitt Dining implemented more vegetarianfriendly options shortly after PAW’s requests.

“They complied with our request for a meatless monday for a really long time, so it seems like they really care about the needs of vegan and vegetarian students,” Conboy said. Outside of their work with Pitt Dining, PAW advocates for animal welfare with fundraising initiatives. PAW raised money for the Beagle Freedom Project and its efforts to help dogs once used in experiments to live a normal life through vegan bake sales that take place once or twice a year in Posvar or at night along the streets of South Oakland. According to Ethan Phillips, a rising senior majoring in gender, sexuality and wom-

en’s studies and the vice president of PAW, the vegan bake sales are a quick, easy way to raise money for a good cause. It shows there is more to vegan and vegetarian food than just salads, he said. “We actually made an Oreo-based dessert, which just goes to show how many vegan and vegetarian options are out there, and we donated the money raised that night to the World Wildlife Fund,” Phillips said. In the fall, the club hosted a flyer campaign that lists companies that don’t test on animals and informing the public about companies that do. And last year PAW collected 132 pounds of food to help Chilis on Wheels, which serves warm, healthy and sustainable vegan meals to those in need across the U.S. as part of the month-long Very Vegan Food Drive. The club also screens movies like “Blackfish” to educate students about their cause. “Last year we showed ‘Cowspiracy,’ which is more about the environment, so it’s showing different sides of animal rights since there are many different sides to our cause,” Phillips said. In the upcoming year, Conboy said that the club plans to take on a project with Besto — a Pennsylvania-based startup tech company — to film videos of Pittsburgh-area shelter pets and post them on the company’s app in order to help get them adopted. “[Besto] takes the idea of the viral video and puts that on a smaller scale. You get to see the animal’s personality instead of on a typical adoption site, where you only get to see their picture,” Conboy said. To raise the club’s number of members — they currently only have 15 active members — and to promote more community service within the club, PAW also plans to visit animal sanctuaries this upcoming school year. PAW has been in contact with Hope Haven and Animal Friends, and continues clubbonding events at Pittsburgh restaurants with vegan options, like Spak Brothers in Bloomfield. And since they’ve applied for some more monetary support — they requested for a grant from peta2, the youth outlet of PETA — they can promote animal welfare on a larger scale outside of the University. “We want to be more visible and keep spreading awareness on animal welfare-related issues and support efforts to help animalrelated causes,” Conboy said. Yuting Xiong contributed reporting.

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Retro Pitt, pg. 70

SCHENLEY PLAZA Although most green spaces in cities get transformed into parking lots and apartments, Schenley plaza did quite the opposite — what was once a University parking lot returned to its grassy roots in 2005. POSVAR HALL Although some Pitt commuters may grumpily mumble under their breath that the space should’ve stayed a parking lot, others may disNamed after the 15th Chancellor of Pitt, Posvar is built on agree — the parklet is now home to a landscaped garden maze comwhat used to be home of the Pittsburgh Pirates — Forbes Field plete with benches, food kiosks and even a carousel. The plaza also — and the home plate is still on the ground floor. Posvar is the hosts outdoor film screenings, game nights and live performances. largest academic-use-only building on Pitt’s campus.

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INDIE THEATERS SET THEMSELVES APART Matt Maielli Contributing Editor Chain theaters and popular franchises are fatiguing after a while — remakes, reboots and sequels, oh my — so why not attend a classic film marathon in a single screen theater to refresh your cinematic palette. Here’s a short list of local, independent theaters that offer both mainstream releases, classic throwbacks and a little something extra.

that focuses on bringing and presenting films from all over the world to Pittsburgh. Two upcoming festivals include the 2017 ReelAbilities Film Festival, which highlights films about individuals with disabilities, and Pittsburgh Shorts, an inaugural event organized in part by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which will be showing short films from around the world. The ReelAbilities festival will take place from Sept. 6-13 and Pittsburgh Shorts from Oct. 25-29.

The Manor Theater on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill. Anna Bongardina

VISUAL

EDITOR

Row House Cinema This single screen theater venue in Lawrenceville selects a theme each week for a marathon of films. This fall, Row House Cinema’s standout weeks include Sept. 1521, dubbed “Essential American Cinema: 1980s,” and a “George Romero Tribute” from Oct. 13-19, featuring “Day of the Dead” and “Night of the Living Dead.” Row House also offers Midnight Editions, including “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” and “Pink Floyd: The Wall” on Sept. 2 and 9, respectively, as well as a midnight showing of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” on Sept. 16. The Hollywood Theater The Hollywood Theater in Dormont may be a bit out of the way for most Pitt students, but it still has a few events worth mentioning. The most notable upcoming event is a morning showing of “The Princess Bride” titled “Breakfast and a Movie” on Aug. 20. Also be sure to check out their “Night Out” events, such as “Ladies Night Out” featuring “Dirty Dancing” on Aug. 19 and “Noir Night Out” featuring “Murder, My Sweet” on Aug. 27. The Manor Theatre The Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill may not be hosting any festivals or events this fall, but it’s still a cozy and dependable theater for a mix of popular and critically acclaimed films from every genre. This fall, the Manor is showing the highly anticipated remake of Stephen King’s “It,” the star-studded horror “Mother!” and “Blade Runner 2049,” the sequel to the cyberpunk noir 35 years after the original’s release in 1982. Film Pittsburgh While not an independent theater, Film Pittsburgh is a local nonprofit organization

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PITT ARTS, pg. 59 ARTS,” Clippinger said. Julie Kenneson, a junior majoring in applied developmental psychology, will serve as co-president of the Student Arts Advisory Board for the upcoming semester and is one of the students who accompany participating students. “The [PITT ARTS staff] run the show,” Kenneson said. “But we [student hosts] get to experience the show.” Kenneson discovered these shows af-

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ter her older brother encouraged her to attend events her freshman year. Events from this past year included performances by the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera and Broadway adaptations such as “Mamma Mia!” and “The Book of Mormon.” Upcoming shows for the 20172018 season include “Rent,” “Waitress” and “Wicked.” The student board — unlike PITT ARTS — is completely student-run and is entering its second full year on campus. The student board focuses on promoting arts events throughout campus and handling fundraisers and promotions for future activities. Kenneson’s colleague Ogechukwu Opaigbeogu, a senior neuroscience major, is also entering her second year as a student host. She has had the opportunity to attend multiple musical events as a host, including “Drumline Live!” which debuted downtown at the Benedum Center. “It was basically a celebration of the drumline stepping scene at historically black colleges,” Opaigbeogu said. “They wanted audience participation — it was very high energy and a very cool event.” Both students have learned to handle problems large and small, along with major scheduling challenges such as last year’s Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra strike. The orchestra is one of PITT ARTS’s longest partnerships, offering tickets to their holiday show and performances of major composers such as John Williams. The list of events offered by the PITT ARTS program is diverse and includes a balance between contemporary and classics — like this October’s “Dracula” and February’s “Swan Lake” performed by the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and shows from the Pittsburgh Opera. “The Opera is doing things like ‘Tosca,’ which is classic,” said Clippinger, “But also they’re doing a contemporary opera, ‘Moby Dick,’ based on the novel. We think that’s going to be really exciting.” After being on an event hiatus over the summer, PITT ARTS will begin offering events for the fall semester, allowing students to sign up online for Arts Encounters trips, purchase Cheap Seats tickets and visit museums. “What I like about [PITT ARTS] is that it changes every year,” Clippinger said. “It’s another slate.”

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Cheap Eats, pg.64 Sushi Fuku Lexi Kennell, Culture Editor

the kitchen begins busting out orders of chicken tenders coated in your favorite sauces for only $3.50. The deals continue on Tuesday with halfoff burgers, Wednesday with half-off quesadillas and karaoke and Thursday with half-off wings and drink specials. During my three years at Pitt, I’ve seen this building on the corner of Oakland and Forbes take on a variety of identities, with Joe Mama’s closing in the fall of 2014 and Olio Trattoria closing only a few months after its opening. But Stack’d, with its cool, laid-back vibe and a menu that is sure to please everyone, seems to be here to stay.

Although its name is sure to elicit some chuckles from freshmen passersby, Sushi Fuku doesn’t play around. “Fuku” actually means “luck,” so the restaurant name actually translates to “Lucky Sushi.” But it’s still fun to say. Sushi Fuku has tons of options for vegetarians and vegans, including tofu and an array of vegetables. There are two locations of this fast-food-style sushi restaurant in Oakland — one on Oakland Avenue and one on S. Craig Street, and both are open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Patrons can choose either a chirashi bowl, a sushi burrito or a sushi roll and customize each — almost like at Chipotle or Subway. With its locality and meals ranging from $6-8, Sushi Fuku is definitely one of my go-to fast-food picks in between classes.

Stack’d Rachel Lombardo, for The Pitt News

Stack’d may be just like BRGR and Burgatory in that it lets you choose exactly what you want on your burger ingredient by ingredient, but Stack’d separates itself with its half-off menu Monday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to midnight. Every Monday, my coworkers and I head over to Stack’d at 8 p.m. for Buzz Worthy Pub Trivia, where we go head-to-head against other teams in five rounds of trivia with a wide variety of categories. When the late night special begins at 9 p.m.,

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SPORTS page 79

81 column: cons of the pros

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icymi: summer sports in review column: one more year

84 punter from down under

85 Q&A : kamalani akeo

online Q&A: new coach in town


ICYMI: A summer of sports APRIL + MAY

From the Penguins’ Stanley Cup victory to major athletics staff shakeups at Pitt — and everything in between — here is what you missed or may have forgotten about from the summer in sports.

April 28th-29th Apr. 28-29 - Five Panthers are selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, including James Conner, who the Steelers picked in round three.

April 28th Football head coach Pat Narduzzi dismisses senior defensive tackle Jeremiah Taleni for disciplinary reasons

May 2nd

May 6th-7th

May 18th-20th

Softball drops series against Georgia Tech to finish season one game above .500 at 24-23.

Baseball drops two of three against Wake Forest to finish the season at 23-30, missing the ACC Tournament for the fourth straight year.

Gymnastics head coach Debbie Yohman retires after 31 years with the Panthers.

May 12 th Athletic Director Heather Lyke hires Christian Spears as deputy director of athletics.

JUNE

June 12th Arkansas’ Samantha Snider named gymnastics head coach.

June 7th-12th June 13th

June 11th

Eastern Michigan’s Chris Hoppe hired as executive associate athletic director for sport administration and student-athlete support

For the second consecutive year, the Pittsburgh Penguins secured the Stanley Cup. They won in seven games, beating the Nashville Predators.

Seven Panthers compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, with senior Desmond Palmer finishing top 10 in two events.

June 15th June 16th

Katie Hazelton hired to replace Julian Krug as diving head coach.

Kelly Brennan hired as executive director for strategic initiatives and engagement

July 28th

JULY pittnews.com

Narduzzi dismisses senior defensive end Rori Blair and suspends redshirt junior offensive lineman Alex Bookser, senior linebacker Quintin Wirginis and junior safety Jordan Whitehead.

July 25th Cincinnati’s Brendan Fouracre hired as executive associate athletic director for capital planning and projects.

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column

PITTSBURGH PUSHES PANTHERS FROM SPOTLIGHT Dominic Campbell

in recent years and improved overall, the Steelers have remained the clear number Walking around Pittsburgh, it’s hard one team and likely will be for years to to go too long without seeing someone come. The attendance of both at Heinz Field wearing Steelers, Penguins or Pirates gear. The teams are some of the most decorated and storied franchises in American sports — especially in recent years, with the city taking home five championships since 2005 — and the people of the area follow them with passion. While the city has great support for its professional teams, Pitt, its main college team, has struggled to find a place — shared by Pitt and the Steelers — is the clearest indication of this difference. among them. The most obvious example of this is The stadium seats 68,400 people, and the the football team. After more than 30 Steelers almost filled it entirely, averagyears of mediocrity, the program has lost ing 64,312 fans per game in 2016. Meanconsiderable interest while the Steelers while, Pitt was far worse, only managing have maintained their spot as one of the an average of 46,076. Keep in mind, the Panthers’ average NFL’s best teams. was boosted by the highly-anticipated reAnd while Pitt has had more success newal of the Pitt-Penn State rivalry. The

Staff Writer

game not only set a Pitt record, but became the highest attended sporting event in Pittsburgh history with 69,983 people packing the stands. Take that away, and the average attendance falls to just under

Just like Pitt games are well-known for the bright, empty yellow seats, many Miami games are marked by teal ones. 43,000. Additionally, the issue is compounded by surrounding universities with a stronger football tradition — namely Penn St., West Virginia and Ohio State. Each of these schools rival the Panthers on the recruiting trail, and the more intense atmosphere at their games is definitely a selling point to prospective athletes. What all these schools have in com-

mon though, is that they are the only major sports team around. There’s no NFL team in Columbus, Ohio, and while many state college and Morgantown residents are fans of the Steelers, Pittsburgh is far enough away to make college football the main attraction. Pitt isn’t the only university with this problem. In fact, the Panthers are one of seven major programs to share a stadium with a professional football team. Of the rest, only one is in a Power Five conference — ACC foe, the Miami Hurricanes. From 1937-2008, Miami played in the famous Orange Bowl and rose to greatness in the 1980s and again in the early 2000s. But the city, in a controversial decision, decided to tear down the stadium and replace it with a new ballpark for the Miami Marlins. With no stadium of their own, the See College Sports on page 89

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Pitt News File Photos

John Hamilton EDITOR IN CHIEF

column

Stallings needs time to execute plan Ryan Zimba Sports Editor

“No wonder the Bucs lost last night ... what a jackass.” “Tonight was probably the only setting in which [he] was not the most hated individual in the place.” “Maybe he will throw his back out and be done for the season.” This was the reaction when Pitt men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings threw out a first pitch at PNC Park’s Pitt Night on Aug. 2. The event had nothing to do with basketball, yet many still took the opportunity to bash the appearance. This is by no means an isolated incident. In fact, the Pitt fan base was unreasonable with Stallings before he was even officially announced as head coach, setting Twitter ablaze as soon as rumors started appearing. In the fall, I wrote Stallings needed to be given a chance, arguing he must be at least competent due to being a Power Five coach for 18 consecutive years. But he wasn’t given any breaks, with many calling for him to be fired amid the program’s worst season in 20 years. Attendance at games plummeted, with

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the season average dropping to 8,327 by the year’s end. It was down more than eight percent from 2016 and the lowest since the 2001-02 season, when the team played in the Fitzgerald Field House. So, with this being said, it’s clear Stallings is one of the most controversial figures in Pitt sports history. Right now, he carries very little support outside of the athletic department. But even so, he still deserves the opportunity to recruit and build his program. One season, or even two, is not enough time for a coach to get his players into the program and turn them into a competitive group. It’s going to take time, a fact especially true in this case, with 10 new players entering the program this fall. This season, the inexperience of the group will almost surely lead to a worse record, and many will again call for Stallings to be fired. But getting rid of him just two years into his tenure would be a mistake, because no coach would do well with this many new faces. In an interview this May, Stallings See Stallings on page 88

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Q&A AKEO TALKS TOURNAMENT, TRAVEL FROM HAWAII by David Leftwich, Staff Writer When junior setter Kamalani Akeo arrived at Pitt in the fall of 2015, she didn’t quite know what to expect — either on or off the court. After all, she was traveling over 4,500 miles from her hometown of Kapolei, Hawaii, where she played on one of the best high school teams in the state. In her junior season, Akeo helped her team win the state volleyball championship before coming in second one year later. Now a Panther, she has become one of the team’s best athletes, thriving in her sophomore year. In addition to helping the team make its first NCAA Tournament since 2004, Akeo won the ACC Setter of the Year award,tying for first in the conference with 1,300 assists. Heading into this season, expectations have risen as the team hopes to advance further in the tournament. The Pitt News caught up with Akeo to discuss her adjustment to college life and the hopes she has for the coming season, both individually and team-wise.

ed and that’s what Fish [Coach Fisher] really instills in the culture of the team. I could tell that the first time I came to campus, just hanging out with the girls and spending time with the coaches. So just that team culture and the family aspect that the team embodies is a huge reason why I came all of this way. They are definitely my family away from home and I probably couldn’t make it without everyone on the team, all of the girls and the coaches. And then definitely the volleyball part of it. We are an up-and-coming, really good program and I could see that Fish was really building, especially in the past three years … I could really tell that this was a place where I could play high-level volleyball.

TPN: Was there a difficult transition from life in Hawaii to life in Pittsburgh and playing Division I volleyball? Akeo: Yeah, there definitely was. I don’t want to say it was all like rainbows and sunshine. I mean I love it here, The Pitt News: After growing up in Hawaii, what drew but definitely the transition was hard. I think just going you to come all the way to Pittsburgh to play for Coach from any high school sport to a D-1 sport, people will tell you what to expect, but I don’t think anything really pre[Dan] Fisher? Kamalani Akeo: Well our team is really family-orient- pares you for the intensity and the grind you really have

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to go through when you get here, so it was something I had to get used to. Practices and workouts were definitely a lot harder. Being from Hawaii, the weather was a huge change. Obviously, [in Hawaii] it’s 80 degrees most of the time with a low of 65 degrees on really bad days. So the winter made it a little harder because it was really cold outside and I wasn’t used to it. But, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually pretty good and I came pretty prepared which was nice. My sister actually went to college in New York and I got all of the hand-me-downs. So I was definitely warm, which was good. TPN: During your freshman year, who would you say had the biggest impact on you and what did you learn from them? Akeo: I think out of freshman year, there were two people that really impacted me. Fish, definitely, and then my teammate Amanda Orchard. Fish in the way I learned so much off the court that year and on the court. After freshman year, he took my game to a whole other level and just had this belief in me and kept pushing me. See Akeo on page 93

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KIRK

CHRISTODOULOU: The punter from Down Under

Steve Rotstein

Senior Staff Writer Kirk Christodoulou didn’t grow up around the same game as everybody else on the Pitt football team — to him, it’s called “footy.” He doesn’t say he’s going to go practice some punting — he’s going to “have a kick.” He wears cleats just like his teammates — but to him, they’re his “boots.” And he didn’t idolize players on the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Cleveland Browns. In the Christodoulou household, it was all about the Carlton Blues. Christodoulou is a native of Melbourne, Australia, and a veteran of Australian-rules football — a sport with roots in early forms of Rugby and Gaelic football, with some elements of American football and soccer as well. In Australian-rules football, also known as “Aussie Rules” or “footy,” two teams of 18 players compete on a large oval-shaped field with an oval-shaped ball and little-tono padding or equipment. They try to score points by either kicking the ball into the goal square between the two goal posts — worth six points — or by getting the ball past the two behind posts by any means for one point. “Footy” is a fast-paced game without stoppages, and everyone on the field has to be adept at running with the ball and kicking it at full speed while avoiding tackles from all angles. Aside from the tackling and catching aspects, there’s not much a typical NFL fan would recognize. Now at Pitt, the 20-year-old Christodoulou is attempting to become the next in a long line of punters to successfully transition from the Australian-rules game to American football.

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Discovering a gift Christodoulou was exposed to Aussie Rules football at an early age via his father’s immense fandom for his local team, the Carlton Blues — one of the eight founding member clubs of the Australian Football League. “It’s a game that I grew up with ... that culture of loving footy, and looking forward to that every weekend was sort of ingrained to me at a young age,” Christodoulou said. Although Christodoulou’s father loved the game and his Blues, he never played it competitively beyond his childhood. But it didn’t take long for Christodoulou to realize he had a knack for it. Playing a game at his local club, he sent a booming kick all the way beyond the other team’s back line. Someone immediately suggested he look into punting, and told him to give Nathan Chapman a call. Chapman, a former professional punter in the AFL, heads the renowned Prokick Australia program along with John Smith, a former NFL and CFL kicker. The program has developed dozens of Australian punters who have transformed into college football and NFL standouts over the last several years. All three finalists for last year’s Ray Guy Award — given to the best punter in college football — were veterans of the Prokick Australia program. And Christodoulou now shares a practice facility on the South Side with the area’s most famous Prokick Australia product, someone he’s already very familiar with — Steelers punter Jordan Berry. “It’s great to have a friend,” Christodoulou said. “I’ve known him for a few years now, so, funny enough, moving halfway around the world, you end up having an-

Kick Christodoulou stands with kicker Alex Kessman (97) and punter Ryan Winslow (18) at a practice in August. Anna Bongardino VISUAL EDITOR other Australian next door, so that’s pretty cool.” Christodoulou began training at Prokick Australia when he was 17 and continued through the rest of high school. He then took a gap year to focus specifically on training while Chapman and Smith sorted through the offers coming in from schools in the States, trying to find the right fit for him. Last summer, a scholarship opened up for the Panthers, who were in need of a punter for the future. So Pitt running backs coach and special teams coordinator Andre Powell got in touch with Chapman and Smith. “I’m friends with those guys. We communicate fairly often,” Powell said. “So when I called him and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a scholarship available.’ He said, ‘I’ve got you a guy.’ [Christodoulou] was the first guy he showed me ... and he was confident that that was the best guy he had for a prostyle punt team, and we went with it.”

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Knowing the wonders they’ve worked for the other punters to make the journey stateside, Christodoulou put the future of both his education and football career in Chapman and Smith’s hands. “They’ll pick schools that would suit me, and they know my character and ability and what the coach wants,” Christodoulou said. “Some schools prefer the more Australian-style rugby punting, other schools more like traditional, like Coach Powell does.” Despite his extensive background in the Aussie Rules game, Christodoulou said he prefers the traditional style of punting — but if Powell ever needs him to break out a rugby-style punt, he’s more than ready. 10,000 miles from home Christodoulou gave his verbal commitment to Pitt in July 2016, then made the 10,040-mile journey from Melbourne to See Punter on page 91

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The Pitt news crossword 8/21/17

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Stallings, pg. 82 continually mentioned his long-term vision for the program and the plan he had for the near future, stressing it would take time for his changes to have an impact. “The Twitter world wants everything to be okay right now,” Stallings said. “Well, sometimes businesses don’t work that way ... sometimes things have to be broken down in order to be built back up properly, and that’s what we’re doing.

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We’re putting the fundamental blocks in place to build success and sustain it.” So, in order to give Stallings a fair chance, he deserves to be here until at least the 2018-19 season. This would give him time to recruit and begin to develop his own players into a more wellrounded and competitive team. In the 2017 recruiting class, Stallings said he was looking for players who would “buy into dependability, selflessness and being physically and mentally tough as it pertains to playing and building a winning culture.”

It remains to be seen whether or not the new recruits can live up to those expectations, but solid effort only means so much. If the team can’t find a way to be competitive in the ACC, the players’ effort won’t mean anything. And with this year’s recruiting class, winning doesn’t seem very likely. Only a couple of the incoming players have Division I basketball experience, and none of them have played in the Power Five. Many national publications agree with this expectation — CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated have the Panthers

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ranked last in their current ACC power rankings — but most supporters likely won’t be pleased with anything short of an NCAA Tournament, or, in other words, a miracle. What those people forget is that the Pitt basketball program hasn’t been great in a long time, so it’s not entirely Stallings’ fault. Since 2010, the program has won just three NCAA Tournament games — only one against a Power Five team — and hasn’t made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2009. Ever since the team lost to the Butler Bulldogs in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, it’s seen a constant decline which will most likely culminate this season. The administration might not want to stick it out, but they have to do it to be able to fairly judge Stallings. If he’s allowed to stick around for a third year, the team’s picture should look brighter. Transfer guard Malik Ellison — forced to sit out this year due to NCAA transfer rules — will be available and the rest of the class will have a year of experience in Stallings’ system. And as important as the class of 2017 was, the coach’s 2018 group is far more meaningful. The class is off to a strong start, getting an early commitment from four-star forward Bryce Golden in June, but there’s still a long way to go. The rest of the class will have a huge impact on the future of the program and whether or not Stallings achieves success in his time here. If noticeable improvement hasn’t been made by the end of his third year, then the administration could, and should, consider firing him. By that point, he will have had enough time with his own players for others to see whether or not he’s the right fit here. What does “noticeable improvement” mean? Well, assuming the NCAA Tournament will still be well out of reach, a reasonable expectation would be to finish back above .500. It would by no means be considered a great season, but it would be successful enough to provide hope for the future. At that point, the Panthers would still be relatively young and could turn their attention to making a return to the tournament. This only happens if Stallings is the See Stallings on page 93

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College Sports, pg. 81 Hurricanes moved to Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins. Now, they too struggle to attain the greatness they once had as more people opt to follow the professional teams. And just like Pitt games are well-known for the bright, empty yellow seats, many Miami games are marked by teal ones. But while it may sound like the Panthers are only hurt by the nearby professionals, the school does benefit from the relationship as well. Most notably, the football team shares a practice facility with the Steelers and practices alongside the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. This has proven to be a great recruiting tool for the Panthers, as many high school players are interested by the opportunity to get inperson advice from the pros. Another advantage for the program comes from playing in a city without an NBA team. The Panthers are the biggest basketball team in the city, and with no professional competition, the team is usually a big talking point in the city — for better or worse. During the 2000s, when the Panthers made 10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, the buzz around the program and the support from fans, alumni and students made the Petersen Events Center one of the toughest places to play in all of college basketball. And although the group has been less successful in the ACC, they still get decent support and have arguably kept their spot as Pitt’s most-followed team. The bottom line for the University is that, while being in a sports-loving city has its positives, the negatives seem to outweigh them by a fairly large margin. The Panthers can never have the sports atmosphere schools like West Virginia or Penn State have because those areas don’t have professional teams drawing the attention away. Since Pitt has three professional teams to compete with, it can be hard to ask people to go out to college games. For the basketball or football program to elevate itself, it would take years of consistent winning with conference championships sprinkled in. It’s happened before with basketball, and it could happen again, but it’s not

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likely to be soon. Head coach Pat Narduzzi and the football program still seem several years away from turning the corner while basketball is on the decline under Kevin Stallings. For now, the Panthers will continue to sit behind the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates in terms of the attention they get from fans and the media. And it will remain that way until one of the programs steps up. The question is, which one will that be, and how long do Panthers fans have to wait?

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