Saturday, December 12, 2009

12/12/09 - Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. - The team arrived early and is currently shooting around at Chiles Center.

There was concern that inclement weather was moving in, but besides a couple of raindrops during the ride over and temperatures in the low 30s, it's really not bad out right now.

This is probably the quickest trip the team has had, aside from nearby bus trips to places like Fort Collins and Laramie.

Yesterday's flight landed about 5 p.m., and if everything goes as planned today, the team will be back in the air around 4:50 p.m., meaning just under 24 hours in Oregon.

Next time the team is on a small plane, like the one last night, we are hoping to snap a couple of pictures for a future blog. Seeing a guy like 6-9 Andrew Hooper shoehorned into a plane like that is interesting. I'm not sure he would have enough leg room if you removed the seat in front of him. Same goes for Justin Coughlin and, truth be told, maybe even 5-10 Alex Pickert.

It's like the aerial version of a clown car, when the flight attendant opens the door and the team spills back out.

It was a low-key evening last night with a team dinner in the hotel, and pregame this morning consisted of scrambled eggs, potatoes and assorted bagels and cereals.

The University of Portland is in the West Coast Conference, and the Pilots are expected to compete with Gonzaga for the conference crown. The team is hoping to make the NCAA Tournament for just the third time and the first since 1996.

The Pilots started the season off strong with wins over Oregon, UCLA and Minnesota, but they are entering today's game on a three-day skid.

All 4,852 seats in the Chiles Center seem to be right on top of the court, and the arena appears to be more purple than Coors Field.

Finally, Portland has one player from Colorado. Freshman guard Cody Mivshek was born in Littleton and grew up in Fort Collins. I'm told his given name is Kodiak. Not sure why he would shorten a name like Kodiak Mivshek.

Happy Birthday: First, we would like to apologize for not calling out birthdays for assistant coach Jon Jordan (Nov. 25 with a win over Wyoming) and freshman Blake Foeman (Dec. 8 with a win over Cal State Northridge).

We would like to send out birthday greetings for former DU center Adam Tanner, who played at Denver in 2006-08.

Tanner is somewhere near his hometown of Melbourne, Australia, celebrating his 25th birthday.

Missed Milestone: While we try to keep up with the milestones of the team, sometimes they slip by us without fanfare. The Voice, Mitch Hyder, called his 300th Denver men's basketball game against Lamar on Dec. 2.

So, here's to The Voice and hopes that his cracking voice holds up through Game No. 303.

A Time to Give: There is still time to team up with the Pioneers to help a few worthy charities during the holiday season.

9Cares Colorado Shares Nights are booked for the Dec. 17 men's game against Florida International, and the Dec. 19 men's and women's doubleheader. All fans who bring non-perishable food items to donate will receive a $2 discount on each game ticket for each donated item, good for up to four tickets per transaction and available only at the Ritchie Center Ticket Office. All collected food will go to the New Life Fellowship Food Pantry.

All DU home events through Dec. 17 will have Toys for Tots collection boxes available. During these difficult economic times, there is an even greater need than usual for toys. Any and all donations of new, unwrapped toys are appreciated.

Yearly travel totals:  

Total Flights - 3

Total Mileage Flown - 1,958

Total Bus Miles - 377

Total Number of Hotels - 3

Total Number of Different Airports - 3

Total Number of Airline Delays - 0

Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0

Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 0

Total Number of Records Held by Pioneers at Portland's Chiles Center - 1 by former DU player Adam McCanna, who had eight blocked shots against the Pilots in 1997


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