The Keelhaulers are coming!

The Keelhaulers are scheduled to dock themselves Wednesday evening at Walt McPherson Court. Yes, Cal Maritime, a member of the California Pacific Conference, will be here to play San Jose State in a 7:00 p.m. contest.

Just what is a keelhauler and what the heck is the origin of that particular nickname? From the CM athletics site: "Keelhauling was a form of corporal punishment that was formerly practiced as a punishment in the Dutch and English navies. It was used as a way to punish members of the crew who were guilty of serious breaches of the ship's code of conduct. Keelhauling involved tying the hands of a crewmember to a rope and hauling him under the keel of the ship. The practice of keelhauling was formally abolished in 1853."

This nickname ranks right up there with UCSC's infamous Banana Slug.

Cal Maritime is actually a member of the California State University system and offers bachelor’s degrees in international business and logistics, facilities engineering technology, global studies and maritime affairs, marine engineering technology, marine transportation, and mechanical engineering.

As for the basketball team, CM is headed by Bryan Rooney who has longtime Bay Area basketball connections, having coached previously at San Francisco State and Dominican University.

Here's Rooney's roster:

Cesar Gerardo -- Forward 6-1 Senior
Daniel Gresham -- Guard 6-0 Junior
Lee Murray -- Guard 5-8 Freshman
Eddie Williams -- Guard 6-4 Sophomore
Zac Kinman -- Guard 6-2 Freshman
Robert Awil -- Guard 6-0 Sophomore
David Prendable -- Forward 6-7 Sophomore
Andrew Johnson -- Guard 6-1 Senior
Dwight Wood -- Guard 6-4 Freshman
Andrew Medeiros -- Guard 6-1 Junior
Jamesa Ferguson -- Guard 5-11 Senior
John Stiles -- Forward 6-7 Junior
Leo Sarrade -- Forward 6-4 Junior
Alex Raj -- Center 6-7 Junior

Raj is the current leading scorer at 10 ppg., with Stiles at 7.3 ppg. and Medeiros contributing 7 ppg.

Cal Maritime was picked to finish sixth in the league play this season.

Maybe the Spartan Band can work up a spirited version of "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest" and we in the stands call shout out "Arrrrrrr" in our best pirate fashion and dare the Cal Maritimers to even attempt a keelhauling of the Spartans.