Newly named Husson College baseball coach John Winkin is hosting a hot stove banquet to honor Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Mike Bordick of Winterport at the Husson College Campus Center on Sunday, Feb. 1, from 1-3 p.m.

George Wildey will be the emcee and Bangor Lumberjacks manager Kash Beauchamp will be one of the featured guests.

“Mike has had a great career and this is a nice way to pay tribute to him,” said Winkin, who coached the Hampden Academy graduate when he was at the University of Maine.

Bordick, who has indicated his desire to retire, hit .260 with 91 homers and 626 RBIs over a 14-year, 1,735-game career.

He had a career .982 fielding percentage and, two years ago when he was with Baltimore, set single-season major league records among shortstops for fielding percentage (.998), fewest errors (1), errorless games (110) and consecutive chances without an error (543).

He hit .274 with five homers and 54 RBIs while playing third, second and short for Toronto this past season.

Winkin also said the banquet will “kick off” the relationship between Husson and the Lumberjacks, who will both use the renovated Winkin Baseball Complex.

The facility is being improved as it will have 3,000 seats and lights next summer.

Winkin said he hopes to make the hot stove banquet an annual event similar to the ones he held when he was the head coach at Maine.

Proceeds from the banquet will help fund Husson College’s baseball spring trip.

There will be an auction.

Footer transferring to Husson

Former Calais High School star Joe Footer is coming to Bangor.

The former NEWS All-Maine third-team member has decided to transfer from the University of Maine-Machias to Husson College.

The 6-foot-6 forward-center will sit out the remainder of this season and become eligible to play in September. He will have three years of eligibility at Husson.

“I had an issue with my back and some muscular problems, but I started going to a chiropractor in Bangor and it cleared up,” said Footer. “That was initially it, but then I started thinking about Husson. They have a good tradition there and it was my second choice coming out of high school, plus I could play two sports [baseball being the other]. Those things combined made me decide to make the switch.”

Footer, who led the Blue Devils to the 2001-02 Eastern Maine Class C title, averaged 19 points and nine rebounds per game his senior year at Calais and around eight and eight, respectively at UMM.

“We invested a lot of recruiting time in him when he was coming out of high school, but it just didn’t work out. So when he had an interest in leaving, we were one of the schools he contacted,” said Husson basketball coach Warren Caruso. “He addresses a need for us as far as a post season next season and he’s someone we felt had a good body type along with good hands and good touch around the basket.”

Footer has not played for the UMM Clippers this season. Former coach Matt Lash resigned in the offseason and was replaced by Randy Lee.

UMFK offers coaching ‘minor’

Numerous students at the University of Maine-Fort Kent had in the past expressed an interest in coaching upon graduation.

So, in an effort to expand job and personal enrichment opportunities and better serve its students, UMFK has developed a coaching minor as part of its curriculum.

The 18-hour offering was developed by the athletic department. It will include theories of coaching, skill acquisition and management techniques.

Specific classes include principals of coaching, kinesiology, basic athletic injuries and exercise physiology. Among the elective classes are nutrition, women and sport, and physical conditioning.

“I don’t believe there is enough training for coaches as far as psychological issues, sports injuries and real theories behind coaching are concerned,” said Sara-Kay Pittenger, UMFK’s certified athletic trainer and one of the driving forces behind the implementation of the new curriculum.

“There is a demand in the state of Maine and elsewhere for coaches,” Pittenger added. “We felt, as the athletic department, we could fill this void by offering, with faculty support, a coaching minor.”

The curriculum has been approved by several UMFK groups, including the academic council, and was given the go-ahead by the vice president for academic affairs.

The coaching minor, which will be available to students enrolled in any B.S. or B.A. program, will be offered during next semester.

Almy swims at Wooster

Sam Almy of Charleston is competing this winter for the College of Wooster (Ohio) swimming and diving team.

Almy, a graduate of Foxcroft Academy, recently logged third-place finishes in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events at the Wooster Invitational.

Almy swam the 100 in 55.18 seconds and covered 200 yards in 2:01.21.