“Wait a minute, I thought we only got a Top 10 during Football season?” Well it’s your lucky day, boys and girls – Justin McIsaac is back with the Top 10 things that bounced around in his head this week…

10. DUDE HOW ABOUT EXETER?

After losing Bryant Holmes to graduation I think most people expected the Blue Hawks to take a step back, but after an opening night loss in Rochester, Cody Morrisette and company have rattled of 5 straight W’s (including handing Bedford their only loss), and as we near the halfway mark they’re a serious D1 contender. Some big tests are on the horizon (Portsmouth is waiting), Exeter is about to find out what they’re made of.

9. WE’RE ON TO PITTSBURGH

The Pats kind of laid an egg Saturday vs Houston…. And they still beat the #1 defense in the NFL by 18. That’s some quality egg laying. This is the 11th trip to the AFC championship game for Brady and Belichick. ELEVEN. Prior to that they had appeared in the AFC title game all of twice (3 times if you want to count the 1963 AFL title game). I tried to explain what watching the Pats was like in the early 90’s to someone, when Rod Rust was leading them to 1-15 seasons and declaring “I’m proud of my men” after getting another 45-3 beating. Somalia turning into a world power was the best metaphor I could come up with.

8. PUNK ROCK CAN SOOTH A TOUGH LOSS. A LITTLE BIT, ANY WAY.

If you haven’t heard how Winnacunnet lost to Bedford on Friday, well, it wasn’t pretty. Up four, the Warriors foul a Bedford kid shooting a 3 with .9 seconds to go. Of course the FT was good, and of course Bedford won in OT. Warrior’s coach Jay McKenna and I share a love of punk rock/ska, and so off we went Sunday to the House of Blues to see Reel Big Fish and a trio of other punk bands. I think Coach McKenna was feeling better by the time RBF wrapped up their set with “Take On Me”. There’s nothing a little mid 90’s ska can’t fix.

7. TUESDAYS ARE FOR THE GIRLS

FULL COVERAGE Tuesday night of a Big D2 Girls contest- Portsmouth and Merrimack Valley. It’s the first Girl’s game to get the full NH Sportspage experience, and can be heard live on MOSN as well (we’ll post the link to the game here on the site). Portsmouth has D1 William & Mary bound Libby Underwood, who recently joined the 1000 point club, and PHS has produced some damn good women’s college basketball players recently – Rosa Drummond tore it up at Smith College, Susie French filled it up at Central Maine and Franklin Pierce, and Alicia Brown is currently killing it for the UNE Nor’Easters. MV is 7-1 and looking to get back to the top of the mountain like they were in 2014 – it should be a great battle!

6. IF ISAIAH THOMAS ISN’T AN ALL STAR STARTER, THEN I DON’T KNOW WHAT AN ALL STAR STARTER IS

4th in the league in PPG doesn’t even begin to tell the story. Friday Dave and I were watching the end of C’s Hawks Atlanta tied it up late in the game, and I casually told Dave “No sweat, IT will just win it on the next possession”. Nostradamus over here. The King in The Fourth should be an All Star Starter, and anyone who disagrees can go pound sand.

5. UH-OH, WEST IS GETTING IT TOGETHER

The Blue Knights stumbled out of the gate, but they’ve rattled off 4 straight including an impressive 12 point win over fellow D2 heavy hitter Hollis Brookline. I think the rest of D2 was hoping that West’s 1-2 start wasn’t an anomaly, but I think we have our answer.

4. SOMERSWORTH KEEPS WINNING…. HMMMMMM…..

I think the ‘Toppers are gonna be a nightmare for whoever has to play them in the Quarter-Finals (Yeah Rob Fauci, I’m already giving you a first round playoff win – it’s my Top 10, and I can jump to conclusions all I want!). The schedule has been kind to them so far, but winning on the road is the toughest thing to do in HS hoops, and Somersworth is 4-1 outside of Jim McLin Gymnasium. Hmmmmmm……..

3. IT’S TIME TO START TALKING ABOUT EPPING AS A TOP 4 TEAM

They took an L on opening night to the defending champs, but they’ve laid a beat down on everyone else since – only PCA and Pittsfield have kept the Blue Devils within 10. I’ve already scheduled their clash with rival Newmarket for MOSN on 2/3, is that maybe a Final Four preview?!?

2. I DON’T FEEL BAD FOR THAT KID IN THE MERCEDES COMMERCIAL WAITING FOR HIS GF IN A SNOW STORM AT THE MOVIES

If you haven't seen this dreck... 

Ok, this commercial has been running for a bit now, and I’m sure people think it’s adorable. NOT MCISAAC. Let’s unpack this thing:

• It’s snowing so bad that my kids school would call off classes for the next 5 days, but our dude makes his old man get off the couch and truck his selfish ass to the movie theater anyway. Right away, I hate this kid. Only cares about himself. Dad probably just wanted to kick back on the couch, have a few awful craft beers with too many hops, and look at his bank account. Nope, sorry, Junior needs to see his princess.
• These poor bastards at the movie theater are probably making $8.50 an hour or so, just hoping that their corporate overlords will tell them it’s ok to risk their lives and go home to their crap apartment and cry about how bad their student loan payments are, until Little Lord TrustFund rolls up in Dad’s Benz.
• “She’ll be there, I know it”. You’re not exactly Brad Pitt, bro. Take a step back.
• Kid looks everywhere for his girl, even though there’s not a car in the parking lot, or any sign of human life, aside from the peons keeping the lights on for your entitled ass. And he looks soooooooooooo sad! C’mon man, act like you’ve been there before. You probably have a 75 inch tv in your room to play COD on if she doesn’t show.
• Girl FINALLY shows up, also in a Benz. OH HOW SWEET, let’s make our parents come back out in this blizzard to get us later! These kids are probably there to see Atlas Shrugged.

So yeah, not a fan.

1. NOBODY’S BEATING PORTSMOUTH. NOT YOU. NOT ANYBODY.

I don’t mean to sound disrespectful to everyone else in D1, but y’all are playing for 2nd this year. You can print this out, and chirp me into oblivion if I’m wrong, but I’m not going to be wrong. I saw them tear up a REALLY good Spaulding team like it was the Globetrotters vs the Washington Generals. They go 10 deep, and all of those kids can play. They have maybe the best coach in NH. And they just don’t let up on D. They might be the most complete team I’ve seen since I started covering HS Hoops in 2009.

(Just don’t let my Red Raiders get another crack at you, PHS. We won’t miss twice…..)

ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Speaking of Red Raiders Belmont is tearing it up, Sam Natti and I had to console each other after Friday’s results, Big one for Timberlane at Milford, Dover starting to make moves