Bangor all-sports radio station WZON (620 AM) came away with recognition in three of the five awards categories at the annual Maine Association of Broadcasters dinner in Portland last weekend.

The Sports Zone was first in the sports feature category and also took a second and third in the sports play-by-play class.

Jeff Solari, WZON afternoon show host and play-by-play voice of University of Maine women’s basketball, took first for a feature on UMaine hockey goalie Ben Bishop. He also finished third with UMaine women’s hoop broadcast partner Clem Labree for a basketball broadcast. WZON’s second-place finish came for a UMaine football broadcast by Rich Kimball and Bob Lucy.

First place in play-by-play went to Rockland station WMCM (103.3 FM) duo Don Shields (play-by-play) and Jim Toomey (color). The broadcast was for an Eastern Maine Class B semifinal high school boys basketball tournament game.

Maine Public Broadcasting Network’s Keith McKeen was second in the sports feature category for a radio piece he did on Aroostook County native Gene Hunter, an 83-year-old high school basketball coach and New England Sports Hall of Fame member who came out of retirement to coach a middle school boys basketball team in Scarborough.

OLN changing to VERSUS

For the second time in 17 months, the Outdoor Life Network will change its name.

What’s in a name? Well, network officials hope visibility and recognition for starters as OLN officially becomes VERSUS on Monday.

What the Comcast Corp.-owned network is calling “the culmination of a two-year network evolution” will be accompanied by a $10 million multimedia promotional campaign. This evolution is basically an expansion of the network’s programming to include competitive sports such as hockey (NHL), boxing, football (NCAA and Arena Football League), tennis (Davis Cup), and yacht racing (America’s Cup).

When it first went on the air in June of 1995, the network’s programming was exclusively hunting- and fishing-related. That still constitutes 40 percent of its programming, according to network press releases, but OLN has continually tried to add to its offerings and has made a major push to include more mainstream competitive programming the last two years. That effort culminated last year when OLN took cable TV rights to the NHL away from ESPN with a three-year, $200 million contract.

The first week of programming under VERSUS’ new identity features everything from billiards to car racing, rodeo, hunting, fishing, boxing, college football, and even sharks.

Of particular interest to Maine viewers is the return of “L.L. Bean’s Guide to the Outdoors,” an original series featuring hunting and fishing adventures nationally and abroad. A new episode will air Sept. 29 at 10:30 p.m.

The week’s live highlights include two NCAA football games (Brigham Young University at unbeaten Texas Christian University, Thursday at 6 p.m. and Boise State at Utah, Saturday at 3 p.m.) and a Thursday night lightweight boxing match between Carlos Hernandez and Kevin Kelley.

Given the addition of these types of non-outdoorsy programming, it’s understandable why another name change came about. Network publicists said VERSUS was chosen because it universally evokes competition. Network chief executive officer Gavin Harvey said in a press release that the new name repeatedly tested well with various focus groups and “kept bubbling its way back to the top.

Although the network is planning quite a promotional week-long blitz to get its new name out there, senior vice-president of marketing and promotion Bill Bergofin acknowledged that the overall marketing effort has been configured as a year-long effort.

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net