I do not profess to know more about sports than the average fan. Nor can I lay claim to any extraordinary writing skills. It is only by chance that I even write for The Chronicle; the book is still out on whether that chance is one of good or bad fortune.
But if nothing else, I can at least say my years at Duke as an amateur journalist have given me the opportunity to see, up close and personal, more of Blue Devil athletics and Blue Devil athletes than I would have viewed from a seat in the stands or in front of the television.
Here, then, are my 10 most memorable moments from the past four years of Duke sports.
-March 1992: Members of our parents' generation recall where they were when Kennedy was shot. We will remember where we were when Christian Laettner hit The Shot. I was in the Southgate commons room. If you see a guy named Loren Hart, ask him where he was.
-May 1992: Ross Moscatelli scores a goal in the first-ever NCAA tournament game in Duke lacrosse history. My father, who has made the two-hour drive from our Delaware home to College Park, Md., happens to be in the bathroom at the time. To this day, Ross has not let him forget his conspicuous absence.
Since then, Ross has scored 77 goals in just under three seasons of play. And as far as he knows, I've seen every one of them.
-February 1993: The Duke lacrosse team opens its season with a lopsided win over Stony Brook in the first of countless lacrosse games I was to report on as The Chronicle's unofficial lax beat writer. So begins my acquaintance with Blue Devil head coach Mike Pressler, a man of many words that make little sense.
Among the Presslerisms I have been fortunate to hear or overhear: "I've got my canaries out there working for me," "It's good to have a few wiley veterans out there on safari" and my personal favorite, "I'm feeding my daughter four bowls of Corn Flakes a day. She's gonna be the biggest kid in kindergarten."
-October 1993: Duke women's soccer head coach Bill Hempen is red-carded for protesting a call during a match with Florida International. FIU head coach Everton Edwards is also tossed. Both coaches exit Duke Soccer Stadium to watch the game in quiet seclusion.
Quiet, that is, until Edwards again becomes mildly displeased, hops the fence surrounding the field, pushes aside two of his players without breaking stride and is restrained from attacking the referee only by a headlock from his assistant coach. The ref refuses to go on with the game until Edwards is escorted from the field by Duke Public Safety officers.
Now that's drama. Or as Arun Thukanni would say, "Yo, draaaammmmaaaa."
-November 1993: Sheldon Francis suits up in a Duke football uniform for the final time. Sheldon asked for a shout-out in this column no less than three times over the past two years. Sheldon outweighs me by at least 60 pounds. Therefore, Sheldon gets a shout-out.
-January 1994: Pete Gaudet first offers his class on coaching theory. If you're interested in coaching, take this class. If you're not, take this class. If you like basketball, take this class. If you don't, take this class. In sum, take this class.
-October 1994: The Duke women's soccer team hands the North Carolina Tar Heels their first defeat in 102 games and their first-ever loss on their home turf. The Blue Devils go on to lose their next game to Brown, and lose twice to UNC before the season is over, but for one night at least, Hempen can indeed say he is "the best."
-October 1994: An unknown Chronicle reporter named Abe Wehmiller hits the hardwood of Cameron Indoor Stadium for men's hoops' walk-on tryouts, and comes away with his first blocked shot in six years of competitive play, a thunderous swat that draws oohs and aahs from the crowd in attendance and is later replayed on Cable 13's "Sports Junkies" talk show.
Mysteriously, Wehmiller is not chosen for the team's lone non-scholarship roster spot. The Blue Devils go on to struggle through their first losing season since 1982-83. Coincidence or no? You make the call.
-March 1995: Duke women's hoopsters Zeki Blanding and Tyish Hall provide the Cameron Crazies with a rousing rendition of the national anthem before the Duke-Maryland men's baskeball game. No Whitney Houston lip-sync, this performance turns out to be the real deal. Mary J. Blige couldn't have matched these two on the mike Five bucks says she couldn't match them in the paint, either.
-April 1995: The Chronicle sports staff gathers in Cameron for the first annual Chronicle Classic hoops tournament. Twenty Grant Hill wannabes put down their notebooks and tape recorders and laced up their sneakers for two hours of ball most would rather forget. Fred Cheney shows up to play, though no one is quite sure why.
And so I leave you with these memories of Duke sports. You may have seen them differently. You may not have seen them at all. You may not care.
These are just my thoughts. These are just my humble opinions.
This is just my view, coming straight from the cheap seats.
Abe Wehmiller is a Trinity senior and assistant sports editor of the Chronicle. He hereby boldy predicts that the Philadelphia 76ers will be NBA champs in the year 2012. See him for all your Sixers merchandise needs.
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