ORONO – Cindy Blodgett has set nearly three dozen records during her four seasons on the University of Maine basketball team. Surely, others will follow.

Throughout her career, the humble guard from Clinton has discounted the importance of such statistical accomplishments.

Having seen the impact of breaking records from a personal perspective at UMaine and Lawrence High School, Blodgett was surprised to hear about Tuesday night’s scenario involving Connecticut All-America Nykesha Sales.

The senior leader for the No. 2 Huskies ruptured her right Achilles tendon Saturday, ending her season. At the time, the talented swing plapoints shy of setting UConn’s career scoring record.

In the meantime, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma found a way for Sales to get the record. At the opening tap of Tuesday’s game at Big East rival Villanova, Sales positioned herself under the basket.

The Wildcats stood on the opposite end of the court and allowed UConn to pass the ball underneath to Sales, who scored and broke the record. Villanova was then allowed to score an uncontested basket at the other end.

Blodgett was uneasy about the move.

“I’d be curious to see what Nykesha really, really said about it,” Blodgett said Wednesday. “If that was me, I wouldn’t have wanted to [get the record that way]. You either get it, or you don’t. I think there’s always going to be one of those asterisks beside it.”

Sales was quoted as saying she was happy to get the record. Blodgett believes the situation was set up, with good intentions, by Auriemma.

“[Sales] probably didn’t have any control over it,” Blodgett surmised. “It’s a very respectful thing that [Auriemma] wanted to do for her, which I don’t think a lot of coaches would really think about.”

Blodgett has a simple theory about statistical records in basketball, or any sport.

“Records are going to be broken,” she said. “Someone’s going to come break that [Sales’ record], but I think it was a nice gesture.”

Sales finished her career with 2,178 points, surpassing former UConn star Kerry Bascom. Villanova coach Harry Perretta said everybody signed off on the idea, from Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese to Bascom, who played for Connecticut from 1987-1991.

Kerry Bascom-Poliquin is now an assistant coach for the Boston University women’s team.

Freshman Anders Lundback has been the latest forward to be moved back to defense by University of Maine hockey coach Shawn Walsh and the experiment appears to be working out.

Former Bear Shawn Mansoff and current players A.J. Begg and Jason Price have been moved from forward to defense during the course of the season. Price has just been switched back to forward.

Lundback, who had never previously played defense in his career, has played 2 1/2 games on defense and will be back on the blue line for this weekend’s final home series against the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

“He gives us a little more pop in our offense,” explained Walsh. “This could make us a little more explosive in the playoffs without sacrificing our defensive integrity. He has real good natural defensive instincts and great skills. He can rush the puck or he can get it right out of the [defensive] zone with his skills.”

Maine junior right wing and tri-captain Steve Kariya said, “Anders is like [Dave] Cullen back there with maybe a little more speed. Every time he jumps into the offense, it’s great. As a forward, I love having a defenseman leading the rush or jumping in right behind you. He’s just got to learn a bit more defensively, how to stay in position and play it safe back there. But he definitely adds something to our lineup back there.”

Lundback said he would rather play forward “but if he [Walsh] wants me to play there, I’ll do it. It’s hasn’t been that big of an adjustment. He wants me to be an offensive defenseman and join the rush. I’m not a defensive defenseman, that’s for sure.”

Lundback said the toughest adjustment has been learning coverage assignments in the defensive zone.

“It’s really hard to know which guy I’m going to cover but, hopefully, I’ll learn,” said Lundback, who has been paired with senior tri-captain Brian White. “Brian’s a great defensive defenseman. He talks to me all the time, telling me the small things I have to do.”

White says Lundback has “fit right in. He has played well. He doesn’t get beat. I enjoy playing with him.”

Lundback is Maine’s leading scorer among freshmen with five goals and 12 assists in 25 games.

Len MacPhee, the athletic director at the University of Maine-Farmington, has announced the Beavers will sponsor men’s and women’s varsity cross country programs beginning next fall.

Graciela Lea Bryant, a former track and cross country standout at the University of Tennessee and Middle Tennessee State, has been hired to coach the teams. She is an assistant professor of Health and Rehabilitation at UMF.

The addition of two teams brings the number of varsity sports offered at UMF to 11, including six for women.

Bryant will hold an organizational meeting for the teams on April 29 and has scheduled a high school runners camp on campus in August. For information, call 778-7096 or 778-3508.

Duboius Achievements

Nykesha Sales, out for the season with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon, broke the Connecticut women’s basketball career scoring record with help from her team and Villanova. But she’s not the first person to achieve a record or milestone under questionable circumstances.

Some other notable instances in which players reached marks unconventionally:

-Sept. 19, 1968: Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain grooved pitches to Mickey Mantle, who hit one for his 535th home run, moving him into third place on the career list ahead of Jimmie Foxx.

McLain signaled to his catcher, Bill Freehan, that he would throw a fastball. Mantle was so surprised – he thought it was a ruse – that he took one for a strike and fouled off the second. He crushed the third pitch into the upper deck at Tiger Stadium for his next-to-last homer. Mantle later said his final home run, off Jim Lonborg of Boston, was really the one that confirmed his place above Foxx.

-April 24, 1994: San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson scored 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on the final day of the NBA regular season to win the scoring title. Robinson’s effort gave him an average of 29.787 to edge Shaquille O’Neal’s 29.346.

But O’Neal and Orlando Magic coach Brian Hill weren’t convinced Robinson earned his final points the hard way. Clippers forward Dominique Wilkins also questioned his team’s effort.

“I think it’s ridiculous. We helped him get 71 points. If they want to play him the whole game that’s fine, but the way we played him, it’s like we helped him,” Wilkins said.

Spurs coach John Lucas and his players acknowledged that aside from trying to beat the Clippers, their goal was to help Robinson win the scoring title.

-March 20, 1996: Saying the opportunity for his first triple-double was too good to pass up, Orlando’s Anthony Bowie grabbed a rebound and called a timeout with 2.7 seconds left to set up a bizarre finish to a game that was already out of reach for the Detroit Pistons.

The move incensed Detroit coach Doug Collins, who waved the Pistons to the side of the court. With no players to guard him, Bowie had no problem passing the ball for the assist he needed. Collins led his players to the locker room with just under a second remaining. Bowie, who finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, insisted he didn’t mean to disrespect the Pistons. Orlando coach Brian Hill was visibly upset.

-Sept. 27, 1997: Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners replaced Omar Olivares at the start of the fifth inning with the Mariners in front 7-2 in order to win his 20th game of the season and become the first Seattle pitcher to reach the milestone. He responded with two shutout innings, striking out three. Manager Lou Piniella acknowledged that he just wanted to reward Johnson, who was usually a starter.

-Oct. 3, 1997: Gordie Howe skated the first shift with the Detroit Vipers in their International Hockey League opener, and became the only professional in his sport to compete in six decades.

The 69-year-old Hall of Famer never actually touched the puck with his stick during his 47 seconds of action, although a shot by teammate Brad Shaw hit him on the leg and deflected toward Kansas City Blades goalie Jon Casey, who made the save. When his historic shift was over, Howe spent the rest of the first period and all of the second seated in the middle of the Vipers’ bench.