November 21 –> Pilots defeat Ducks 88-81

Whoa. These ballers in Portland can play some. Or maybe the Ducks are just having a down year.

November 26 –> Pilots embarrass the Bruins in the 76 Classic tournament.

Wow. Are the Pilots that good? Or are the Bruins that bad? How can this be? I watched many Pitt games when Ben Howland was coach (yeah, I love the Big East), how could he field such a terrible squad? Or are the Pilots that good?

November 27 –> Pilots win another by beating an overrated Gophers (led by Tubby Smith no less) team in the 76 Classic.

At the time, this was a huge win for the kids at Portland. Beating a ranked squad from the Big-10 meant national status. Now, not so much. Only because Minnesota has turned out to be a middle of the road Big-10 squad.

(while on the BIG-10, I will divulge a secret, always take Wisconsin to go at least 1 round, usually two … I’m here to help … maybe my buddy Kevin will actually learn from my knowledge some day so I don’t have to call him Mr. Origami anymore … because his NCAA pool usually is only good for folding up into flamingos)

(if you are reading this … then by now you know I watch more NCAA hoops than Joe Smith … not the NBA guy … the hypothetical/average guy … which means … take some notes dude.)

November 29 –> Pilots get smoked by the Mountaineers. Makes perfect sense. West Virginia is real good. Pilots can not match up against their defensive ferocity and quickness. Portland’s scrappy PG TJ Campbell just does not have the same effectiveness against a team that can keep him from dissecting the interior, which leads to an offensive-ineffectiveness trickle down. Simply put, the Pilots are slow and weak.

(okay, I’m really nice … Bob Huggins teams are known for defense and offensive rebounding)

After that ego-buster in the 76 Classic Final. The Pilots dropped the next four outta six games. Reality set-back-in for the small school from Bridgetown.

January 9 –> Redemption night fell short when the Pilots lost a thriller to the visiting Zags in a game I would have loved to been at (the game sold out in like 5 mins online). I’m sure the boys of North Portland left everything on the floor that night at the Chiles Center. But the Zags are ranked as high as they are for a reason, they are that good.

(yeah, I put that last statement in bold for a reason, G Matt Bouldin could be the reason the Zags finally make the final four)

Dare I say he’s the next Steve Nash? Nope, I’m not that drunk!

(yes, i have had a couple alcoholic beverages since beginning this post … you should feel privileged … i write better when the BAL is over .08)

February 4 –> The Pilots travel up to Spokane to hopefully steal one from the Zags. No way. Zags have reached a whole new level at this point in the season and wipe the floor with the Pilots. Again, it is evident that if you shut down TJ Campbell, you cut the head off the Pilots. Also, the Zags just have too many weapons to deal with. Portland is pretty good at taking away a team’s strength, but Gonzaga can kill you multiple ways. Zags are in the NCAA elite eight at least, mark my words, if they don’t, well, I must have been smokin somethin. And I don’t smoke.

February 13 –> The Gaels roll into Portland after they just got a thorough drag thru Drubtown by, guess who, the Zags. St. Mary’s was #1 in the WCC before the ego-thrash in Spokane, seems like many a team has gotten the same treatment. So now it’s #2 vs #3 in Portland. Stud Gael C Omar Samhan (18pts) was destroying Portland early, so the Pilots adjusted and made Omar a less-factor (whatever that means, just made it up). I was impressed with the patience and passing with both squads. This game would be decided by guard play. Pilots PG TJ Campbell dropped 24, while Gaels PG Mickey McConnell scored 25 (by the way, Mickey McConell sounds like some old Irish folk song, if not, it should be one). Oh yeah, super-sniper Jared Stohl had 16 of his own. But this dude Luke Sikma came off the bench and just about stole the show by gathering 11 boards and registering 12 points. Nice work Luke, I guess the force was with you (yes, that is cheesy, like Doritos cool-ranch cheesy). In case you’re wondering, yes, he is the son of Jack. Alright, to make a long story short … big man Samhan fouled out in OT giving Portland a big sigh of relief. Gaels coach Randy Bennett went crazy-guy on a couple questionable calls. And home-court advantage eventually got the win against a never-say-die St. Mary’s team. Which evened the season series at 1-1.

February 14 –> The Pilots sit at 16-8. Four wins away from the 20 mark.

20 wins is usually good enough for a NCAA tourney berth. But what if the Pilots don’t look so good in their WCC tournament? Will the traditionally better PAC-10 get a squad in over Portland and lock them out? Don’t think so this year. 2010 is a wake up call to the PAC-10 to not have many down seasons, or they will be left outside pumping the keg for the rest of the party. I can see ASU and Cal rep’n the PAC, but nobody else. Zags are a lock, and the Gaels and Pilots should be in the tourney as well … barring complete collapse.

Maybe I’m seeing the best season ever from the WCC and the absolute worst year for the PAC-10. Doesn’t matter. The WCC made major headway with recruits this year because of the extra exposure. ESPN’s Doug Gotlieb even said … “Honestly, why bother staying up (remember, Doug lives in Connecticut) to watch PAC-10 games”. I’m sure a lot of analysts, east of the Rockies, felt the same way. I did, I don’t even have to stay up. And no! Shockingly, I’m not an analyst!

Alright, this post is effin long, so I gotta wrap up.

I’m not delusional into thinking the Pilots are this Rocky Balboa team that will make this deep run in the NCAA tournament. I’m merely saying these kids play good basketball. They pass, they shoot (and hit) from deep, and they play alright team defense. And from what I can tell, are coached pretty good. I like watching these guys. But once they run up against some squad that can shut down guard play, they are done.

So maaaaayy-be some Duck fans (fellow colleagues of this site), who are desperate for good NCAA hoops play, might show some love for these kids in purple. But only after they each put Mr. Kent on Blast one more time.

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Funny thing is … I began this post as simply just a way to display this video of a kid (that apparently does this at every Pilots home game) performing his best Michael Jackson routine. I taped this at halftime of the Gaels @ Pilots game with the wife’s (Mrs. Meerkat’s camera.)

Know this … I am not Steven Spielberg, there were people walking in front of me —I am no expert working my wife’s camera.

Why did I tape this kid’s performance you say? Because my nephew (TJ) has some serious MJ skills as well. Had to let my bro/sil (aka sis-in-law) know that the kid (TJ) has some comp here in Rip City and needed to practice up if he was to ever visit out here. Oh yeah, when you click the link it might take a minute … it’s 42.7 M to download.

And now to the video —> Pilots halftime MJ kid

(and yes, that is me sayin .. “sit down dude” … if he didn’t … i would have gone ‘Jersey Shore Ronnie’ on him … old man would have been sleepin face down …)

(okay, side note #2 … the wife and I had a pre-valentine moment when we were both fist-pumpin guido style to the song sandstorm (by darude) during a break in the game … yeah … good times … shake your head even more because we weren’t even drunk … punks don’t sell alcohol at NCAA games!)

Yes, this is the Sports Brewery! If you don’t like … then get out.