Wikipedia

  If you're familiar with Wikipedia -- the free online encyclopedia -- then you that the Web site is an immensely valuable yet often unreliable resource.
  The main problem with Wikipedia is that its content can be edited by literally anybody. Although there are careful steps taken by those that care most about the encyclopedia to ensure its accuracy, incorrect and unorganized information still exists in bunches on Wikipedia.
  However, because of this open-edit system, one of Wikipedia's greatest positives is that many subjects that would not exist in more-established encyclopedias DO on Wikipedia.
  For examples, there are some great Wikipedia entries out there for things related to Duquesne University Athletics.
  Dukes Chat has taken it upon itself to edit and update some of these very entries.

  Enjoy:

- Duquesne University
- Duquesne Dukes
- Duquesne Dukes Men's Basketball
- Duquesne University Atlantic Ten Conference Champions
- Ron Everhart
- A.J. Palumbo Center
- Suzie McConnell-Serio
- Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field

(Image: Wikipedia Logo, Copyright Wikimedia Foundation)

*OPINION PIECE* Losers No More

  Lost in all of the excitement of a team flirting with even greater things this year is the fact that Duquesne Men's Basketball has clinched a winning season.
  Sure, big deal, right? Well... yeah.
  Think of how excited Pittsburgh sports fans would be if the Pirates ever found a way to win more games than they lost in a single season. Duquesne's recent streak of futility (no winning season before this current one since the 1993-94 campaign) was very, very close to the Pirates' (no winning season since 1992).
  Granted, it's easier to turn a college basketball program around than it is a professional baseball team, but it's still a nice feather in the cap of the Dukes to beat the Pirates in a race to end the losing. Call it Dukes 1, Pirates 0.
  Fingers are certainly crossed for the Buccos to end the losing too, but it feels nice as a Duquesne fan right now to no longer be a red-faced part of worse-than-mediocre sports.

(Image: Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory, Copyright Elfwood)

Dapper Duquesne

  Duquesne University is well-represented on this year's Dapper Dan Dinner & Sports Auction ballot, designed once again to honor the Pittsburgh-area's greatest sports people.
  Duquesne head men's basketball coach Ron Everhart is up for the highly-respected Sportsman of the Year award, and the Pittsburgh Passion are up for the equally-impressive Sportswoman of the Year honor. The Passion's connections to Duquesne have been documented in a previous post (Championship Passion Filled With Duquesne Connections).
  This year, the Dapper Dan will commemorate Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary by also honoring great teams and athletes in Pittsburgh sports history. In that regard, Duquesne head women's basketball coach Suzie McConnell-Serio is up for the honor of greatest all-time Pittsburgh athlete.
  To vote, visit the ballot.

(Image: 2008 Dapper Dan Dinner & Sports Auction Logo, Copyright Dapper Dan Charities)

Update On Dukes Ice Hockey

  The defending College Hockey Mid-America champion Duquesne University Dukes have recently completed their regular season.
  Time for an update on the Ice Dukes.
  The following has been copied as is from the College Hockey Mid-America Web site.

CHMA Standings
W L OL Pts GR
West Virginia** 13 0 0 39 1
W&J*** 10 4 1 28.5 0
Duquesne* 9 6 0 26 0
Pitt* 8 4 1 25.5 1
Slippery Rock***** 8 7 1 23.5 0
IUP ****** 5 9 0 15 0
John Carroll# 4 10 1 11.5 0
Youngstown St.# 1 12 2 5 0

* Clinched playoff spot
** Clinched regular season championship
*** Clinched #2 seed
***** Clinched #5 seed
****** Clinched #6 seed
# Eliminated from playoffs

Note: One final league game remains and it has huge implications. If West Virginia defeats Pitt, then it will go undefeated in league play. The game will also determine whether Pitt or Duquesne will take the #3 seed for the playoffs.
If Pitt at least takes West Virginia to overtime, then it will capture the #3 seed. However, if Pitt loses in regulation to West Virginia, then Duquesne will take the #3 seed.

Note: All league teams play each other for a total of 6 points. Most series between teams consist of 2 games worth 3 points for each win. However, some league teams have chosen to play each other 3 times with each win being worth 2 points. Ties and overtime losses are worth half of the points that would be awarded for a win. The league members have reached and agreement that starting in 2008-2009 it will be mandatory to play each team in 2 league games and any other contest will be considered as a non-league game. Please refer to the league schedule and results for a complete understanding.

(Image: Duquesne University Men's Ice Hockey Logo, Copyright Duquesne University)

*OPINION PIECE* Don't Jump... Yet

  Okay, so what happened? In the past week, Duquesne Men's Basketball has gone from a possible NCAA Tournament bubble team to a National Invitational Tournament bubble team.
  No, that's not to say that the 2007-08 season has nothing left to play for. In fact, far from it. But the Dukes do need some wins.
  That starts tomorrow night at home against Saint Joseph's University. St. Joe's is currently tied for first place in the Atlantic Ten Conference. If the Dukes can find a way to beat the Hawks, it would offset the disappointing loss to St. Bonaventure University on Feb. 2 and put Duquesne back in a position to make another move up the Atlantic 10 standings.
  More importantly though, it would give the Dukes a big push in the Ratings Percentage Index. A trip to the NCAA Tournament -- outside of winning the Atlantic 10 tournament -- is pretty much out of the picture now for Duquesne coming off back-to-back losses (St. Bonaventure and the University of Massachusetts on Jan. 30) and early-season losses against high-RPI teams.
  But, an NIT bid is a realistic possibility. And for a team that has had 13 consecutive losing seasons, that is quite a lot to play for and would be quite a lot to be proud of.
  Even if the Dukes lose to St. Joe's tomorrow, don't jump. They can still make up for that one too. But a win would sure be nice, and the Dukes can do it.

(Image: Self-Explanatory, Copyright Hearst Communications Inc.)

*OPINION PIECE* No. 1 Greatest Coach in Duquesne Athletics History

Charles "Chick" Davies, Men's Basketball - You gotta love the nicknames. Anyway, this was an easy one, and readers of this blog saw it coming.
  By all accounts, Charles Davies won more athletics games as a Duquesne University head coach (314 in men's basketball) than anyone else in school history. And he did it against only 106 losses. That's an amazing .748 winning percentage.
  Duquesne, like this or not, is a basketball school. Davies started that.
  He is truly responsible for the great moments that followed his time with the Dukes. The man set the table for the likes of fellow men's basketball head coaches on the Bluff -- "Dudey" Moore, "Red" Manning and John Cinicola -- to feast and clean-up.
  "Chick" Davies is Duquesne Basketball. He coached the Dukes men from the 1924-25 season to the 1942-43 season and again from 1946-47 to 1947-48. (The program was suspended from 1943-44 to 1945-46 because of World War II.) He reached the prestigious National Invitation Tournament in 1940, 1941 and 1947 and took Duquesne to its only NCAA Final Four (in 1940). They were the NIT runner-up that same year. In fact, it was in 1940 that Duquesne became one of the first two teams (along with the University of Colorado at Boulder men) to appear in both the NIT and NCAA Tournaments.
  In 1941 and 1947, the Dukes actually turned down offers to play in the NCAAs, opting to play in the NIT alone.
  Case closed.
  The A.J. Palumbo Center probably doesn't exist without Davies.

(Image: A.J. Palumbo Center, Copyright Duquesne University)