Hospital stay can't keep
How much does Michelle Tilko love basketball?
Enough to play for her high school team.
Enough to make annual trips to Hershey to watch the PIAA Championships.
Enough to take vacation days from work each Thursday and Friday in mid-March to watch the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Enough to fill out her bracket for the Butler Eagle's annual NCAA Tournament contest from a hospital bed.
The Butler Township resident, in and out of Butler Memorial Hospital recently while battling an illness, completed and turned in her bracket Tuesday. Eagle mascot Scoop visited her hospital room to pick up Tilko's entry personally.
“We've played this (contest) every year since it started,” said Dennis Tilko, Michelle's husband of more than 30 years. “She wasn't about to miss it now. She beats me at it every year. Last year, I finished ahead of her for the first time in 20 years.”
A former Highlands High School player, Michelle has never stopped following basketball.
“I've always loved basketball,” she said. “This is my favorite time of the year.
“I watch every (tournament) game, all day. Now that they're on so many different channels, it's hard to miss any of them.”
Her bracket accompanies her viewing. And when she gets a game wrong?
“You don't want to be around her,” Tilko's husband said, smiling. “I pick Pitt to do well every year. I pick with my heart. She plays to win.”
Michelle Tilko has finished as high as sixth in the Eagle contest.
“She hasn't won it, but she's always in that first column (of the final standings),” Tilko said.
Before taking ill, Michelle joined her husband for numerous basketball road trips. They went to the high school state finals in Hershey 10 straight years and took in the NCAA regional games in Pittsburgh a few years back.
“We saw three high school playoff games at three different sites in the same day once,” Tilko said. “Michelle wouldn't leave any of the games early. She always stays until the end.”
She wasn't about to miss out on filling out this year's bracket.
“Every day, she reminded me to go get brackets,” Tilko said.
There's no exact science to her selections.
“I just read the sports section and go from there,” she said. “I'm right 90 percent of the time. I just haven't been able to win.”
