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Give Blodgett the job

The University of Maine has lost another coach. Ann McInerney decided to call it quits after only two years.

In the past, the women’s basketball coaches have used Maine as a steppingstone and have moved on to bigger schools. Trish Roberts, Joanne Palombo-McCallie, Sharon Versyp come to mind. Now is the time for the UMaine athletic director to do the right thing. Brent Williamson, athletic director spokesman said Maine will begin a national search for McInerney’s successor. There is no need to use funds for a national search, we have a coach in our own backyard.

I suggest Maine give the coaching job to Cindy Blodgett if she is indeed interested, and I am sure she would be.

Hiring Cindy Blodgett would be the best thing that ever happened to women’s basketball at Maine.

Cindy has six or seven years’ experience coaching at this point, and I’m sure she could recruit the best players within the state as well as recruiting out of state.

Forget the national search and give the job to one of Maine’s own.

I and many other followers of Maine women’s basketball think Cindy Blodgett deserves this chance to put Maine on the map once again.

Hire her and watch the program grow.

Richard F. Foss

Orrington

Memories rekindled

What wonderful articles Joe McLaughlin and Ron Brown wrote in the BDN April 3.

Joe’s article brought back many fond memories growing up and playing basketball in Fort Fairfield. My first boyhood “hero” was Jim DiFrederico from Stearns High School in Millinocket. Jim was a great athlete and even a better person that all of us could very well imitate.

I was fortunate to have a wonderful grammar school coach in “Locky” Gardner, a gentleman, who taught me all the fundamentals of basketball that served me extremely well playing at Fort Fairfield High School and the University of Maine.

I also benefited from having an older brother and his friends who were four years older than I was at the time. We spend countless hours playing basketball in pickup games “where great lessons were learned without the TV set and the formality of league play,” as Joe so amply stated.

Jim DiFrederico and “Locky” Gardner would be a welcome addition to Ron Brown’s list of Coach Wooden, Winkin, Reed, MacGregor, and Kelley for setting great examples for the young people of today.

Keith Mahaney

Bangor

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