I agree.  Even if they would have had Sarah listen to the game on the radio, then listen to his post-conference on the radio, and then read the box scores.  An article could have been written in the paper on that alone.  The idea that they have come back this year like they have deserve a column in of itself.  BTW, the Tribune is just as bad.

Last edited by FAM (2/10/2019 12:49 pm)

Which comes first?  Does poor attendance lead to lack of coverage or does lack of coverage lead to poor attendance?

This is an exciting team that has a story to tell and the locals just don't see it.

coffee wrote:

Which comes first?  Does poor attendance lead to lack of coverage or does lack of coverage lead to poor attendance?

This is an exciting team that has a story to tell and the locals just don't see it.

Lack of coverage doesn't help, but it's not the paper's job to promote Duquesne athletics. They are in the very difficult business of trying to make money in a struggling field, and don't want to waste money covering games that don't draw many eyeballs to the paper.  This is the same issue that came up when Ron was here. Winning 18-19 games excites us, because we're big fans. Unfortunately, it doesn't really interest the casual fan. Most sports fans I know, have zero interest in the Dukes, and say they won't have any interest until we "do something". "Doing something" means getting ranked, or making the NCAAs. The over 50 crowd tuned us out 20 years ago, and the younger crowd has never had a reason to pay us any attention. This is what 45 years of irrelevance does for you.
 

I agree with the comments above as to Duquesne's relevance, etc. as the reason, though I have long complained about the lack of coverage in the PG in other places online.  Thankfully there are other sources, including all of you here, Zack, We Wear the Ring, and others I'm missing here unintentionally. 

The Post Gazette is becoming more and more worthless overall, however.  If you look at other news, much of it is wire service stuff or from other papers, almost as if they have lost a number of news reporters suddenly.  They are taking a turn politically too, which I won't discuss here other than to say that they seem to be uncertain of direction at this time.  They are working the online side, though their so called "newsslide" app leaves a lot to be desired (I finally deleted it).  So the problem with them goes even further than sports (but they certainly seem to have the desire to spend a lot of time in Oakland). 

Totally agree with kneeguy, FAM and Mulder about the anemic coverage by the PG.  Practically every other day there is large article often with pictures of a team that has been .404 overall and .128 in conference play over the past three years.  Not exactly a winning program.  Again this morning, there is a huge article with two pictures about a team on a seven game losing streak!  Again, not exactly winning.  (I know, I know they have been "relevant" and good)  As coffee stated, this is an exciting team with a number of stories themselves.  Not crying but how about some equal time?  Not suggesting promotion either.  But "facts" as the stories Pitt is getting is indeed a form of promotion or at least information that can generate interest.  Yes I am an OLD follower back to the days of the last NCAA run in Morgantown  My fondest memory of that trip to Morgantown with kneeguy was our lunch break there when a waitress came up to us with her hand on her hip, chopping chewing gum asking if we were the cast of the Mod Squad!  ah...Memories

duq81 wrote:

The papers just don't feel there is enough interest in Duquesne to make serious coverage worthwhile. It is what it is. When Palumbo is filled on a regular basis, and callers to the talk shows want to talk Dukes, it'll change, not before. Crying about it isn't going to help.

Although it's obvious that Duquesne basketball hasn't been a hot ticket in Pittsburgh in quite a few years,, I believe there is much more at work than you present in your explanation.    The PG is heavily tied to PROMOTION of Pitt athletics rather than simply reporting.  Could this be due to the advertising money being spent by Pitt which supports the continued operation at the PG?   So Pitt and the PG have a cooperative relationship that is mutually beneficial.  They have two beat reporters assigned to Pitt at all times, one on football 12 months a year, and one on basketball.  Add in the columnists contributing their own Pitt columns and you are likely to see 2-4 Pitt articles/columns in the PG sports on any given day.  You will also notice that the tenor of the reporting or opinion columns is almost universally positive.  Regardless of how bad their teams actually perform on the field the headline and the articles are positive.  Seven straight losses, and Meyer's articles always find a positive thread; or there is always and excuse for an embarrassing defeat in football or basketball.  This kind of positive reporting is fine as long as it is applied across the board; which it of course is not.  Even when the Dukes are covered, we don't see this attention to the positive.  In fact they always seem to make a point of the negative!  I also find the PG's handling of RMU basketball quite interesting.  They draw flies for their games,  play in a joke of a league, are not discussed on local sports talk shows,  and are basically a .500 team right now; yet they get pretty generous coverage.  How does that fit in with your explanation of poor Duquesne coverage.  I do, however, notice that RMU as a university does spend advertising money with the PG.  Hmmm!
I'm not silly enough to believe that Duquesne athletics will ever get equal coverage.  Clearly, Pitt plays in a P-5 league, is a much larger State supported university, that carries the name of the City.  No matter how much they lose, and they lose a lot, they will always be the # 1 college sports program in the City.  If you understand "Pitt Paranoia", a very common disease among Pitt followers, there may be a more subtle angle to the disrespect that Duquesne basketball receives in the local papers.  At least in basketball, with a good coach and proper financial support, and a decent basketball conference, Duquesne basketball , (Men and Women) are the only two programs in Pittsburgh that have any chance of challenging Pitt on the court.  So there is incentive among Pitt lovers, to minimize the accomplishments of Duquesne and make them appear insignificant.  They are OK with giving RMU more coverage than Duquesne, because they will never challenge Pitt in any sport, and in fact, they don't even schedule them any longer. 
 

I don't really understand this sentiment. Is the program's upward trend not enough? Why does there need to be the validation from anyone else? You've watched the game, saw them win - is that not enough? Do you need the paper to tell you your enjoyment was worthwhile? 

I think Sarah does a good job, if you disagree - that is cool, I am not sure "she's not positive enough" is legit criticism for what her role is, but I could be overly glib here. I am actually surprised that Duquesne even has a beat reporter, based on attendance and interest at all really. This board is probably the most active Duquesne board, and we have less posts in a month than the Pitt board does in a busy day. I don't really think there is anything sinister with the Dukes coverage. I am going to reject that Pitt sees Duquesne as any sort of threat out of hand. Why go to conspiracy when economics explains the difference in coverage more than enough. 

I get bugged by people who think that the A-10 is some minor league.  My kids still talk about seeing Lamar Odom play at Palumbo in the only year he played college ball.  Heck, had Davidson joined the A-10 a little earlier, we'd have seen Steph Curry there, too.

duq81 wrote:

Officer Dribble wrote:

I get bugged by people who think that the A-10 is some minor league.  My kids still talk about seeing Lamar Odom play at Palumbo in the only year he played college ball.  Heck, had Davidson joined the A-10 a little earlier, we'd have seen Steph Curry there, too.

There are about 5 levels in Division 1. We're on the second level, sort of a power league light, or a super mid major if you prefer. There are good teams and players, but nothing close to Duke, Carolina, and Louisville, who come in here with NBA guys every year. The MAC is a true mid major league, right in the middle, as is the CAA. Then you have the MAAC, and AE, which is mid major light. Last would be the NEC, MEAC etc., which are low majors. Keep in mind that Rik Smits played in the NEC, and Kyle O'Quinn played in the MEAC.
 

I agree with your assessments of the various leagues.  My point is that the A-10 is still good basketball.  Didn't know that about O'Quinn!
 

mjp1542 wrote:

We've gotten more-than fair coverage by the local papers and sites this year. It's been much better than in the past. There are multiple reporters covering practices, for goodness sake. Please don't expect banner coverage. We don't draw eyes like Pitt does. Stop pretending like Duquesne has this large following that is thirsty for more and more. It doesn't. There's the folks who come on here, and another few hundred on Twitter, etc., who are avid, die-hard fans. We don't command the coverage. Certainly not yet.

Newspapers are dying. They can't afford to cover us the way they did in the past. Hell, when I was covering the team, the PG and Trib reporters covered almost every game, home and road. They spent thousands to send guys like Marino Parascenzo and Ray Fittipaldo to every road game (I know the stories about another reporter paying his own way to cover road games, but that's neither here nor there). Hell, Marino went to Alaska with them! That money isn't there anymore. Corners have to be cut. We're an early cut. When we're competing for titles year after year, we'll get more coverage. It'll happen when it's warranted. A nice season with a lot of good underlying stories is awesome, but it's not changing things overnight.

I'll take your slings and arrows, and I know many of you don't want to believe that we should be treated like this when we're winning a little bit. But sports media isn't what it used to be. Be happy we have Zac and Alan at Pgh Sports Now, and the respectable coverage that the papers are able to give. Enjoy the fact that we can stream every game for a really tiny cost. And then we can come back here and Complain and moan and revel and celebrate, depending on the day.

I love all you guys and your passion. Let's Go, Dukes!
 

The blogs like Pittsburgh Sports Now, and other sites do a great job of covering the Dukes; but I have no idea where you are seeing Increased Duquesne coverage in the PG.  I guess I don’t get that issue of the PG!!

Crosseye wrote:

Hey Ritt - I hate to break it to you, but RMU is not in first place in the NEC. Close. It's a tight race. St. Francis, Pa. is the current leader. They play each other saturday in Loretto. Neither team would give Duquesne a run this year. So, no, the Dukes are not third in the city. You're about as negative as it gets. This team could win the league this year and you'd be crying, well it's only one time in the past 45 years.

I don't know who taught you math, but you got short-changed. 8-4 is first place when the next best record is 8-4. Tied for first? OK. But still in first.

As for your belief we would beat RMU this year, it's just that: your belief. We don't  play them anymore because the administration was tired of losing too them all the time.

P.S. If we win the conference, no one will be more pleased than me.

rittersdiner wrote:

Crosseye wrote:

Hey Ritt - I hate to break it to you, but RMU is not in first place in the NEC. Close. It's a tight race. St. Francis, Pa. is the current leader. They play each other saturday in Loretto. Neither team would give Duquesne a run this year. So, no, the Dukes are not third in the city. You're about as negative as it gets. This team could win the league this year and you'd be crying, well it's only one time in the past 45 years.

I don't know who taught you math, but you got short-changed. 8-4 is first place when the next best record is 8-4. Tied for first? OK. But still in first.

As for your belief we would beat RMU this year, it's just that: your belief. We don't  play them anymore because the administration was tired of losing too them all the time.

P.S. If we win the conference, no one will be more pleased than me.

I guess by your way of thinking, Bobby Mo is number 1 in town, since Pitt isn't in first place either.