So how has the record-setting snowfall in Aroostook County impacted the baseball and softball teams at the University of Maine-Presque Isle? Not much, according to UMPI sports information director and women’s basketball coach Tracy Guerrette. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
Several years ago, the day before embarking on an opening-day fishing trip to Grand Lake Stream, I inadvertently caused a bit of a furor in that fabled Down East outdoor haven. My mistake: Referring to Kurt Cressey as the “outgoing proprietor of the Pine Tree… Read More
As the result of a cooperative effort between the University of Maine and Husson College baseball programs and the respective field maintenance personnel, there will be college baseball this weekend at the John Winkin Complex on the Husson campus in Bangor. Players and coaches from… Read More
If you take a glimpse at the respective track complexes at Caribou and Presque Isle high schools, the thought that comes to mind is that the facilities are better suited for skiing than for running, jumping or throwing. Despite having Mother Nature’s refuse scattered all… Read More
As Ian Edwards goes through preseason baseball workouts for his final sports season at Bangor High School, he’s already had a remarkable career. Since joining the Rams’ varsity baseball, basketball and football rosters as a sophomore, those teams have compiled a combined 114-19 record –… Read More
Jimmy Howard is learning the value of patience. The former University of Maine goalie, who owns the school’s career records for goals-against average (1.84), save percentage (.931) and shutouts (15), is in his third season with the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Griffins, the Detroit Red Wings’ AHL affiliate. Read More
They have lost undrafted free agents Dustin Penner, Teddy Purcell and Andrew Sweetland after they played just one year at the University of Maine. So University of Maine men’s hockey coach Tim Whitehead and his staff will continue their recent trend to recruit younger players. Read More
BELFAST – Travis Spencer has dominated his competition through three years of high school wrestling in Maine. Now he’s getting it done on a national level – and is an All-American to prove it. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Sean McDonough has a lot more free time – and a lot less hair – these days, but he’s still a voice of the boys of summer. The longtime Boston Red Sox television play-by-play man hasn’t called Sox games for New… Read More
FONTANA, Calif. – Exeter native Adam Craig opened the 2008 National Mountain Bike Series with three runner-up finishes at the Fontana National at Southridge Park. The 26-year-old Craig, who later this spring will bid to make the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, finished second to Geoff… Read More
It may not look like spring outside, but don’t tell that to the hundreds of high school baseball, softball, track and field and tennis teams around the state who kicked off their preseason practices Monday. Baseball and softball clubs were allowed to field full practices… Read More
On Tuesday morning, as is the custom in this neck of the woods, avid anglers will gather up their gear, hop into their trucks and head for a favorite fishing hole. Yes, it snowed in Bangor (again) on Friday. Yes, it’s going to be a… Read More
TOKYO – For the third time in the three regular series season openers in Japan for major league baseball, the two games have been split. The Sox and Oakland are back home. Sox manager Terry Francona said his concerns as Boston prepared to re-enter the… Read More
His addition won’t address the University of Maine men’s basketball team’s need for a true point guard, but Svetoslav Chetinov will fill another gap for the Black Bears. The Bulgaria native and Maine Central Institute Postgrad center, rated the 43rd best prospect in New England… Read More
Trout Unlimited, the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization, awarded a $10,000 Embrace-A-Stream grant to its Maine Council on Friday. The funds will be used to conduct a large-scale assessment of the state’s wild brook trout populations and habitat. Some of the watersheds… Read More
Considering the attention that sportsmen, bird watchers and other outdoors addicts give to the April mating rituals of male woodcock – beginning at dusk, the repeated buzzing calls and towering flights terminated with swooping, chirping descents are entertaining to say the least – it can be said that… Read More
I know I’ve mentioned it before, but now the time’s close and I’ve got to fill you in on some of the finer points for the eighth annual Paddle Smart Safety Symposium on April 12. First off it’s free, as usual. What’s really new is… Read More
Sometimes, luck in bird watching requires nothing more than investigating slight differences in what you see or hear. In my case, it was what I heard that earned me a great view of a beautiful little songbird recently. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
Time for a few random thoughts while trying to comprehend the enormity of those Aroostook County snow banks. . The Red Sox are back from Japan, and while two games don’t make for any real trends, any angst-ridden member of the Nation can muster at… Read More
When the University of Maine and Learfield Communications awarded radio broadcast rights to Clear Channel last year, Black Bear sports weren’t the only losses for Bangor all-sports station WZON. The fallout of Learfield’s decision to end a 14-year relationship with WZON (620 AM) has continued… Read More
The Woodlawn Croquet Team of Perry Mattson of Surry and Randall McAndrew of Stuart, Fla., finished second in its flight at the United States Croquet Association National Club Team Championship held recently at West Palm Beach, Fla. The Ellsworth-based team had to work through the… Read More
Today’s scheduled baseball game between the University of Maine and Wagner College has been postponed because of rain in the forecast. The Black Bears and Seahawks will now play seven-inning doubleheaders Saturday at 11 a.m. and Sunday at noon at Staten Island, N.Y. Read More
Over the past several weeks, an old debate has been renewed in the St. Croix River watershed. The perceived problem: Alewives, a small fish that would, if allowed to do so, swim upstream and spawn in lakes and ponds. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
Now that it’s finally starting to feel like spring – depending on where you are – let’s take a gander at a few local road racing events that are appearing on the horizon, as the calendar page will soon flip to April. The third annual… Read More
It isn’t often you’ll see a team from Maine Maritime Academy in Castine matched up against the likes of the University of Southern California – and emerge victorious. That’s exactly what happened last weekend in San Pedro, Calif., where the Mariners’ sailing team won the… Read More
It was an unusually cruel winter in northern Maine – so much so that it may affect the boys and girls of summer. Record snowfall in Aroostook County – 186.3 inches at the Caribou office of the National Weather Service as of Monday – and… Read More
Biddeford’s Emily Rousseau, whose productive freshman season was cut short by a knee injury sustained on Feb. 13, has decided to leave the University of Maine women’s basketball program along with sophomore center Sandra Vaitkute and freshman guard Magdala Johnson. “They are all really good… Read More
So what did we learn from the Red Sox’s thrilling 6-5 10-inning win over Oakland Tuesday morning? First, baseball at 6 a.m. is bizarre. But, remember, in Oakland the game started at 3 a.m. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
Scott Pomroy of Bangor bowled his second career 300 game while participating in the Tuesday men’s league at the Family Fun Lanes in Bangor. The 40-year old Pomroy rolled games of 183, 213 and 300, good for a 696 series. Read More
Kiaran McCormack, a senior on the University of Maine men’s soccer team, has been selected to play in the New England Intercollegiate Soccer League All-Star game. The game will be played on May 3 at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
The wooden basketball court and artificial lights in the Mattanawcook Academy gymnasium served as a substitute for the green grass and sunshine Monday afternoon as the Lynx joined high school baseball and softball pitchers and catchers around the state in starting the spring season. Schools… Read More
Two Maine Native American tribes are among the three New England recipients of cash grants that were announced Friday by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, and those grants should pay dividends for all Mainers. The grants were part of $6.2 million in Native American… Read More
TOKYO – Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona has been a busy man the past few days. “So much has been made of this series that what we, as a coaching staff, are trying to do is keep things on an even keel,” Francona said… Read More
News out of Los Angeles that former UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden has returned home from a rehab center after recovering from a fall brought back a lot of memories for this coach. The sprightly gentleman is 97 years young. Back when I began… Read More
The University of Maine women’s ice hockey team will play a benefit broomball game against 3rd Watch, a group of emergency personnel, tonight at 7:30 at the Alfond Arena. The game will benefit Camden Brown, the son of University of Maine public safety dispatcher Andy Brown and his… Read More
It has been a common sight over the years – two small children romping behind the bench or being passed back and forth among friends and family during Rockland girls basketball games. Karen Bickmore’s young son and daughter have been around nearly as long as… Read More
Spring is officially upon us … finally … and it’s time to start thinking about putting away the shovels and grabbing some season-appropriate gear. For one group of outdoors enthusiasts, that means grabbing a paddle and a life jacket and heading onto some flowing water. Read More
HERMON – Robert Johnson of Bangor bowled a 300 game Friday while competing in the Romeo’s Bells and Beaus League at the Sports Arena. Johnson rolled strings of 300, 267 and 234 for an 801 series. Read More
They massage out the aches, they clean the uniforms and they are the first ones at work and the last ones to leave. They are the trainers and equipment folks of Major League Baseball, and all sports for that matter. Their status in the game… Read More
Although snow and ice provide several alternative sporting activities, winter curtails a good number of favorite outdoor pastimes for Pine Tree sportsmen. Indoor hobbies for rod-and-gun enthusiasts, such as fly tying, rod building, shell reloading, canoe restoration and gun refinishing all help ward off cabin fever, but certain… Read More
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife has announced a partnership with the Maine office of Tourism to promote statewide fishing opportunities on its tourist Web site, www.visitmaine.com. Fishing is one of three specialty topics on the site, joining Maine cuisine and the state’s… Read More
Welcome to spring, or should I say “unlocking” as Kurt Vonnegut would have us call the months of March and April. Perhaps you saw Thursday’s editorial “They Call It Spring” in which the late author’s six-season “Vonnegut Variation”was outlined. Under the novelist’s plan we’d have… Read More
Although the University of Maine men finished ninth in Hockey East and failed to qualify for the conference tournament, the league’s coaches honored junior goalie Ben Bishop by selecting him to the All-Hockey East second team. “That’s really cool,” said Bishop from Peoria, Ill., where… Read More
Ryan Martin has heard the whispers. He’s too small for Division I basketball. In a world of 6-foot-4 guards, there’s no place for a 5-9 kid. The same sentiments have echoed through the back hallways of gyms in Maine, that he’s a great high school… Read More
Maine’s reigning Fitzpatrick Trophy winner is coming to Husson College. Jack Hersom, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound quarterback who helped Lawrence High of Fairfield win the 2006 Class A football state championship and back-to-back Eastern Maine titles in 2006 and 2007, has decided to join coach Gabby… Read More
The Husson College baseball team had its ups and downs on its recently-concluded spring trip to Florida, but interim head coach Jason Harvey felt his team progressed and played its best baseball at the end of the trip. “That’s definitely a plus,” said Harvey, who… Read More
Two years ago – the last time the U.S. Alpine Championships were staged at Sugarloaf/USA – fans were treated to great weather, inspired skiing and an impromptu fashion show … kind of. U.S. Olympian Julia Mancuso stole the show during those championships, not only because… Read More
Carl Parker is stepping down after two seasons as head coach of the Lee Academy postgraduate basketball team. Parker, who resides in Bangor, cited travel as a primary reason for his decision. The Lee Academy campus is more than 60 miles from his home. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
The high school indoor track and field season officially came to an end last weekend, as Maine’s finest high school athletes competed in national competitions in Maryland and New York City. Five Maine high school athletes earned All-American status by placing in the top six… Read More
The college hockey season came to an untimely conclusion in Orono. So it’s time to dole out some awards. 1. The “It Defies the Law of Gravity Award” goes to University of Massachusetts coach Don “Toot” Cahoon. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
The Bates College men’s basketball team has developed a fruitful connection with Bangor High School in recent years. Zak Ray, a star guard for the Rams who was named the state’s 2003 Mr. Basketball, went on to become one of the top players in the… Read More
The BDN is seeking online votes from readers for its All-Maine schoolgirl and schoolboy basketball teams for the first time since it started publishing the teams in 1956. Ballots have been mailed to coaches, media and other basketball officials, and the BDN is now asking its readers to… Read More
Coach Steve Trimper isn’t thrilled with the 5-11 record his University of Maine baseball team brought back to Orono after its annual spring swing to Nevada, Florida and Maryland. But the Black Bears’ boss is quite pleased, overall, about the way his ballclub played. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
The first time Bobbi Stoyell coached at a swimming and diving state championship meet, she wasn’t quite prepared for what happened when the team won. Traditionally, coaches take a dip in the pool along with the team. Stoyell did, too, although it made for an… Read More
After a 70-year run, the Eastern Maine Sportsman’s Show has become a pretty well defined event. There are changes from year to year, but there’s enough continuity so that visitors feel right at home as they make their way down the aisles. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
When we were kids growing up, our expectations for the upcoming Farm League and Little League baseball seasons were always enhanced by the anticipation of receiving our equipment – most notably our uniforms. When my young baseball career began in the Winterport Farm League, we… Read More
Biddeford High School goalie Tony Dube has received the Travis Roy Award as the top senior in Class A hockey. Dube compiled a goals-against average of 1.00 and a saves percentage of .957 in helping 24-0 Biddeford capture the state title. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
OSLO, Norway – Magdalena Neuner, who participated in the 2006 junior world championships in Presque Isle, finished ninth in the season-ending mass start race Sunday and became the youngest woman to win an overall World Cup biathlon title. The 21-year-old German finished 13 points ahead… Read More
It has been quite a winter, thus far … snow, snow and (today) even more snow. But at least we humans have the option of hunkering down indoors if we choose. This morning, let’s think for a minute about critters. Specifically, those white-tailed critters that… Read More
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Gil “Gib” Chapman and Rich Bryce are a long way from their home state, but they wouldn’t trade their current situation for anything. Chapman, a Houlton native and University of Maine alumnus, and Bryce, a Bangor man who played sports at… Read More
As the baseball season draws closer at every level from the major leagues to Little League, there are few in Maine who have to worry about youth gangs taking over baseball fields and preventing kids from playing. Unfortunately, such concerns do exist nationally. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m tired of winter. In just the last two weeks I’ve had two ice fishing trips and a snowshoe excursion cancelled due to severe winter storms. Here in the Crown of Maine we are broaching records with every inch… Read More
It doesn’t matter what your choice of outdoor diversion is, there’s going to come a moment or two when you’re going to want to take a load off, a rest you might say. The older I get the more often that moment comes around. But… Read More
As I glanced out my window the other morning, I was reminded of those photos you see in birding supply magazines: feeders of every shape and size, hosting no less than three different bird species at once. An American goldfinch, a house finch, a black-capped chickadee and a… Read More
Even the most competitive of rivals can become the truest of teammates in an all-star setting. That will be on full display Saturday during the Maine McDonald’s Senior All-Star Games at Husson College, but it will be tough to match the example set earlier this… Read More
FORT MYERS, Fla. – After watching him distinguish himself for a short stretch last season as well as in spring training, the Boston Red Sox are banking on Kevin Cash. Cash, a 30-year-old catcher from Tampa, Fla., was informed Thursday that he will be Boston’s… Read More
ORONO – The University of Maine women’s hockey team will play a benefit broomball game against 3rd Watch, a group of emergency room personnel, at 7:30 p.m. March 24 at Alfond Arena. All proceeds will benefit Camden Brown, a youngster who has had major health… Read More
FORT MYERS, Fla. – If there was some kind of award handed out at the end of spring training for determination and patience, picking the winner might be Terry Francona’s easiest managerial move all year. Bryan Corey is the poster boy for refusing to give… Read More
After weeks of plugging in data culled from tagging station logbooks, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife has released its annual deer-kill tally for the 2007 season. Well, almost. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = [];… Read More
The University of Maine at Fort Kent has named Dustin Nadeau its women’s volleyball coach. Nadeau, a St. Francis native and UMFK graduate, takes over for Kate Fecinta, who stepped down after directing the Bengals during the program’s first two seasons. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
For all the great girls basketball players and teams that have come out of Cony High School, only now do the Rams of Augusta have a Gatorade Maine Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Cony senior forward Rachael Mack has earned the honor, Gatorade and… Read More
While many of Maine’s high school track and field athletes are taking a quick breather between the end of the indoor season and the start of spring track preseason practices on March 31, a select few are gearing up for the Nike Indoor Nationals and National Scholastic Indoor… Read More
FORT MYERS, Fla. – For Red Sox manager Terry Francona, it has been one of the most often-repeated questions of the offseason. “Yeah, I get it a lot. People say ‘Do you know how hard it is to repeat?'” Francona said with a bemused look… Read More
Nick Henry wasn’t a star at Bangor’s Husson College. But he didn’t care. He just wanted to be a productive member of the basketball team and he has certainly been that, both on and off the court. The Penobscot native and former three-sports standout at… Read More
Operation Community Support is thanking the men and women serving their country in the war against terrorism with free admission to the Maine Senior All-Star basketball games Saturday in Bangor and to the Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show in Orono over the weekend. McDonald’s is donating… Read More
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Frustration, pain and disappointment were all over Josh Beckett’s face as he hosted a small group of reporters in front of his locker Monday morning. Boston’s ace pitcher had just finished almost two hours of massage and manipulation in the City… Read More
Five Maine high school cheerleading teams are getting ready for Saturday’s New England Spirit Championships, which will be held at Woburn (Mass.) High School. John Bapst of Bangor and Central Aroostook of Mars Hill will be among those squads attending New Englands. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
Generations of Mainers have flocked to a variety of facilities to get their annual spring dose of hunting, fishing and wildlife information. This year, as has become custom lately, the Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show will again be held at the University of Maine in Orono. Read More
With the upcoming McDonald’s Senior All-Star games on the horizon this Saturday, we are nearing the end of high school basketball season. When I coached high school basketball, this was always the time I dreaded most. My wife always said that I was a “tweener,”… Read More
The University of Maine men’s hockey program, trying to add some offense for next season, has received verbal commitments from two forwards in the Eastern Junior Hockey League. Brian Flynn, who plays for the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs, and Kyle Solomon, who played for the… Read More
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Craig Hansen was getting tired of it. … Literally. The first and only player in Boston Red Sox history to reach the majors the same year he was drafted just couldn’t get enough sleep. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
LEE – A potluck supper is scheduled for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in Lee Academy’s gymnasium to honor the Lee Academy girls basketball team, which won the Class C state championship last week. The dinner will be followed by the Lee winter sports awards at… Read More
For those of you who will be visiting Fenway this year, welcome to the neighborhood. Red Sox Nation, that virtual continent that Yankee boss Hank Steinbrenner refuses to recognize, has now been broken down into “hoods.” googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
Come May 1, there will be a buzz of excitement along the shores of the Penobscot River that hasn’t existed in nearly a decade. After a unanimous decision by the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission on Thursday, a spring season is a reality. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
FORT MYERS, Fla. – In college, he played against Dustin Pedroia. Now that he’s playing in the pros, Jed Lowrie wants to play right alongside him. Boston Red Sox players and fans may be experiencing a bit of deja-vu this spring as the third-year pro… Read More
When another weekend snowstorm forced the cancellation of an ice fishing outing to Squa Pan Lake, our group of four hard-water anglers was disappointed. By midweek two more ice-drillers had signed on for the upcoming Saturday outing, but once more Mother Nature joined hands with Ol’ Man Winter… Read More
Officially and quite candidly, I’m sick of shoveling, snowblowing, scraping, raking, scooping, brushing, sweeping or otherwise moving snow. I heard someone say the other day there’d been 19 days when all of the above had to be done, sometimes more than once. I really don’t… Read More
This winter may have brought many irruptive bird species to our yards and feeders, but one reader noticed the lack of a more common visitor. “Like you and your readers my sunflower seed and thistle feeders this year have attracted an abundance of pine grosbeaks,… Read More
The Maine State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation received an L.A. Dixon Memorial Chapter Award during the NWTF’s annual convention and sport show in Atlanta in February. The Maine chapter was recognized as the 80-best chapter in the category for groups with fewer… Read More
It’s funny how life’s circumstances make for some major-league ironies. The first few days of this week were spent making three round trips totaling 560 miles to watch state championship basketball games in Classes D, A and C – trips that wouldn’t have been necessary… Read More
BANGOR – The Great Caribou Bog Ski Race and Tour scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled due to poor weather conditions. Read More
BANGOR – Cheering champions were crowned at the 12th annual Wal-Mart State Junior High School/Elementary Cheerleading Championships on Saturday at the Bangor Auditorium. The Gardiner Tigers won the Shining Stars First Division and the Waldoboro Panthers took the second division. The Lamoine Lions claimed the… Read More
It’s another late winter day in Maine, and yet another day spent indoors, as wind-driven sleet and rain pelt the windows. What better time to think about warmer weather, and enjoyable days on, in or near the water. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
The Winslow and Gardiner High School hockey teams met for the Eastern Maine Class B championship at the University of Maine’s Alfond Arena Tuesday night, a night after they won their semifinal games at Winslow’s Sukee Arena. Winslow beat Houlton-Hodgdon 4-2 in their semifinal and… Read More
Every team needs them, those unsung warriors whose accomplishments don’t necessarily draw the bright lights but are essential to success. The Central Aroostook boys basketball team has plenty of those players, including twin brothers Blake and Logan McCarthy, a pair of 6-foot-1 senior forwards whose… Read More
The University of Maine’s Alfond Arena will have a new scoreboard that will include a large video screen for replays. Maine athletic director Blake James said the scoreboard will cost in the vicinity of $700,000 and the money will come from the athletic department budget. Read More
At a somber Monday morning press conference, Roland “Dan” Martin stood up and said many of the same things he says several times each year. Drive your snowmobile safely. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
News out of Fort Myers, Fla., that the Boston Red Sox have signed Bartolo Colon – a rather portly Bartolo Colon – to a minor league contract certainly got the baseball juices flowing in my house. After all, it has been a long winter, and… Read More
Lawrence “Red” St. Louis played in his first Eastern Maine tournament game at the Bangor Auditorium in 1963, when he was a junior at Orono High School. Michelle Paul is a senior on the Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln girls basketball team, which advanced to the… Read More
Joe Torre sits in the Dodger dugout for his second spring game with his new club, trying to figure out who some of his players’ names. His move from the Yankees to the Dodgers as manager is one of the major transactions of the off-season. Read More