It is that magical time of year.

It is tournament time and the Bangor Auditorium becomes Oz for schoolgirl and schoolboy basketball teams, their fans, their families, and friends.

Everyone is seeking that gold basketball which is emblematic of a state championship. Eastern Maine teams must survive the EM tourney at the Auditorium to earn the right to play for that gold ball.

The Bangor Auditorium has been the backdrop for many memories. Some good, some not so good.

But, memories nonetheless.

Madawaska High School boys basketball coach Matt Rossignol, Husson College women’s coach Mary “Kissy” Walker, Waterville boys skipper Ken Lindlof, and Central Aroostook High of Mars Hill girls coach Julie Bradstreet were asked to recall their most vivid Eastern Maine tournament memory.

“It would probably have to be when we beat Schenck in 1985 to make it to the Eastern Maine [Class B] final. It put Van Buren in the Eastern Maine final for the first time,” said Rossignol. “Schenck [of East Millinocket] had a good ballclub and I remember our coach [Bob Hebert] worried that Schenck would slow the ball down on us. They knew I scored a lot and we had a high-scoring team.

“But that was the last thing Schenck wanted to do. I was lucky enough to keep hitting that night. I finished with 51 points. It was one of those cliches you’ve heard Michael Jordan use about the basket looking so big. But it did that night.”

Rossignol said, “My coach and my team had confidence in me and my teammates did a good job screening for me and getting me the ball in position where I could score.”

Walker, who played at Cony High School in Augusta, recalled a double-overtime loss to Presque Isle in the Class A semifinals in 1981.

“It was an exciting game. Presque Isle had Debbie Lennon that year. I wasn’t really a scorer, but I think I had 24 in that game,” said Walker, who was a point guard. “It was a Thursday night game and Bangor and Old Town were waiting to play after we did. The game went back and forth. Afterward, I thought about what we could have done to win.”

“I was so exhausted after the game,” added Walker. “We didn’t get home until 3 a.m. and we had to go to school the next day. We wanted to skip, but we all made the effort and went to school.”

Bradstreet recalled losing to Schenck in the Eastern Maine Class C final in 1988. It was Bradstreet’s senior year.

“I remember sitting there watching them cut the nets down after the game. People talked about it being me against Stephanie Carter. That was the big thing. Stephanie scored eight million points in that game. I played OK, but I didn’t play better than she did. The Auditorium was packed. Both sides were full. It was crazy.”

Bradstreet added, “It was a great experience looking back at it now.”

Lindlof played for Orono and he said a Class B semifinal win over Dexter in 1971 has special value to him.

“It is a constant source of one-upmanship for me. Our principal at Waterville High, Eric Haley, played for Dexter that year. I can hold that over his head forever,” quipped Lindlof, who is in his 19th season at Waterville. “Eric was a good player. My job was to play defense and throw the ball inside to Steve Gavett and Tom Burns. They were 6-foot-7 and 6-6.”

“In the next game, we got wiped out by Schenck. They had [Mike] Paoletti and [Mark] Rosebush. I think we scored one point in the third quarter,” recalled Lindlof.

Bordick eager to play for Hargrove

Winterport’s Mike Bordick, the starting shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles, will report to spring training on Saturday and is looking forward to playing for new manager Mike Hargrove, who was fired by Cleveland. He replaces Ray Miller, who was released by the Orioles after a disappointing 78-84 season in 1999.

“I’m very excited about it,” said Bordick. “We’ve got a good combination here. Just about everybody on the team feels like we underachieved. Mike will have everybody’s respect because of his track record as a player and a manager. He has led teams to five straight postseason appearances and we’re hoping to make it six this year.”

Bordick was one of the few bright spots for the Birds last season as he registered personal single-season highs in hits (175), runs batted in (77), doubles (35), triples (7), runs scored (93), stolen bases (14), games played (160), and at-bats (631). He hit .277.

“Physically, I feel great. I followed the same program I went through last year,” said Bordick, who has placed an emphasis on his running the last couple of years and it has paid dividends.

“Hopefully, I can open up some more eyes and get more freedom on the basepaths,” said Bordick. “I don’t know if he’ll have me hit second or ninth. It doesn’t matter. I like getting more at-bats by being at the top of the order. But I don’t mind ninth. I just want to help the team.”

Kelley enjoyed Russian stint

Former Colby College hard-nosed winger Mark Kelley is the European scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins and spent two years in Russia as a scout and assistant general manager for the Red Army hockey team. The Penguins and Red Army had reached a working agreement a few years ago.

“Russia was fun. I had a blast,” said Kelley. “The Red Army team had been struggling, but we got them into the playoffs in the second year. Then they felt they didn’t need us any more.”

He said the Russian people are friendly and the situation isn’t as grim as it has been depicted on American televison.

Kelley, son of former Colby coach Jack Kelley and brother of TV writer-producer extraordinaire David Kelley (The Practice, Doogie Howser, Ally McBeal), has lived all over Europe, including Sweden and the Czech Republic.

He said the neutral zone trap has unfortunately made inroads in Europe, causing disharmony in Sweden, and the hockey boom in North America with minor league teams being added everywhere has created a lot of jobs for Europeans, including ones in their mid-20s.