Rain, Rain, Go Away
We almost got through Fall Sports without a bad weather day. Almost.
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Soccer Gold Balls and a look ahead to the Football Regional Finals with Michael Hoffer
The Forecaster's Michael Hoffer joins me to recap Gold Ball Saturday for field hockey and soccer, preview the Regional Finals in football and, of course, look even further ahead to basketball season.
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Happy Basketball Day
Falmouth Navigates to a B North Title
Tres Walker throws for 3 TDs on his birthday
Football Regional Friday
These games might not be great
Gold Balls (and Wind)
Make sure you score when the wind is at your back.
Mt. Ararat Goes Large
Sometimes a game that looks good on paper...isn't.
Hawks Take Flight
Hermon pours it on in an epic second half
Penalty Kicks
Three Regional Finals go down to the wire
Cooper Flagg vs. Maine
The college basketball season kicks off with Cooper's debut
Friday Night Quarterfinals
I picked the wrong game
Let's Start the Football Playoffs
Here we go!
Ace Comes Home
The Black Bears get a massive commit
Girls Soccer Quarterfinals
The Soccer and Field Hockey playoffs start for real
When A Tie Isn't a Tie
A tie is a tie unless the MPA is playing by 1985 rules.
Week 7
My son goes to his first-ever football game
Week 6
Oceanside's Zeb Foster puts up a big game, Kennebunk with a blowout, and more!
Week 5...Loading
Tons of big games this weekend
Navigating a Rebuild
How do you re-create a culture in a difficult situation?
Week 3
So that Patriots game...yikes.
At least the under hit.
And it might be Drake Maye time?
Last week's Game of the Day was near my house, so I decided to check it out. The Model had Foxcroft Academy slightly favored over Oceanside, but when Zeb Foster went
A Coven of Witches
Week 2 brings some fantastic matchups, including a rare battle of Witches in Brewer.
Football!
The Friday Night Lights start shining as we kick off football season.
Fall Sports!
We're so back.
Summah Leagues
Get in a gym this summer
KP Panic Time?
Oh no.
Pacers/Celtics Preview with Jon Duke
Jon Duke used to do a Celtics podcast and he's here to preview the ECF.
Stolen Seasons and Leavitt Football
The reaction to COVID and how to build a football program
Building Leavitt's Dominant Football Program (with Michael Hathaway)
The Stolen Seasons of COVID
Thornton Academy AD Gary Stevens talks about his new book.
Celtics/Cavs Preview with Griffin Conlogue
You probably didn't watch a lot of Cleveland games this year. But Cavs fan Griffin Conlogue did.
Weird Baseball
There should be ice cream
We Have to Go Back...to Four Classes
Bob Beatham, Jr. lays out the case for a return to 4 classes.
The Case For Four Classes
We Have to Go Back!
Spring Sports Opening Day?
Rain, rain go away.
Mackenzie and Anna and JP
Maine's impact was seen all over March Madness this week.
Ohio State vs THE University of Maine
Are you ready for Maine to shock the world?
This is March
March Madness is upon us.
And Now We Come to the End
Wrapping up another tourney week
Orono Repeats
Dana White didn't show up.
Oceanside vs. Orono, Part II
It's a rematch of a Gold Ball classic.
Regional Final Friday
Upsets!
Free Basketball
The Expo was dark yesterday (it's a blizzard buffer in the schedule), so I went to the Hockey Rink Formerly Known as the Portland Civic Center for the AA boys semifinals.
The first game was the most anticipated game (flex scheduling?) between Cheverus and Portland.
Portland led most
Three Venues
I hit up the Bangor/Augusta/Portland trifecta
Midcoast Maine Day at the Expo
Everyone gets a blowout
Day 3
Don't call it an upset.
Day 2
Quarterfinal Saturday is a LOT
Day 1
The tournament, my friends, does not disappoint.
The AA Round-Up: February 15, 2024
AA kicks off the quarterfinals
TOURNEY WEEK!!!
It's here!
Boys Prelims
More upsets!
Upset Number 2! And 3! And 4!
The girls prelims brought more upsets
Upset Number 1!
The first game of the playoffs was a thriller.
And Away We Go
We're starting the tourney a little early. But first we have to finish the regular season.
The Final Countdown
Last day of the regular season!
In the Pit
Orono and Old Town trade punches in the Pit
Dueling 1K
Two players race to 1,000 in a must-win game.
The Comeback Kids
Two big comebacks end in overtime.
1K, Times 4
A busy day for the 1,000 point club
The AA Round-Up: Windham at the Buzzer
Windham survives a scare.
Ball Don't Lie
When the free basketball is unwanted.
Warriors
Lily Oliver leads Fort Kent over Caribou.
The AA Round-Up: January 30th, 2024
Oxford Hills upsets Portland in overtime.
Lincoln Breaks Through
Lincoln Academy snaps an 18-game losing streak against their rivals
Brothers
It was a quiet night for once
The AA Round-Up: Another Weekend in the Books
Everything you need to get caught up on AA
The 1500
Oceanside prevails in front of a sellout crowd.
Rivalry Doubleheader
It's a grudge match in the midcoast, times two.
Rebel Moon
Telstar pulls off an upset
RIP My Mailbox
Hermon upsets Ellsworth!
Broken Records
Did the refs eliminate a team from the playoffs?
Intentional Foul?
It's another round of Ellsworth and the Refs
The AA Round-Up: Last Weekend
Deering pulls off a huge upset.
Patriot Games
GNG had more Heberts than York could handle.
Sportsmanship
More about this non-story. *sigh*
29 Points
The long-awaited re-match
126 Points
Oceanside scored HOW MANY?
Pine Tree Travel
Pine Tree went to great lengths to make sure we had a game today.
Last of the AA Undefeated
Windham falls from the ranks of perfection.
Nachos
Sometimes, you need nachos.
Hundo Watch
Falmouth wins a big one. The Sumner girls almost pull off an epic comeback.
All's Wells
Wells makes short work of York.
4 Games
It was a 4 game night.
The AA Round-Up: January 9th, 2024
Gorham falls to Cheverus
OT in OT
Old Town builds a cushion in B North
Road Running
Mount Abram's defense matches their offense.
Ram Tough
Gorham sweeps Scarborough
Flagg Day
A successful homecoming.
The AA Round-Up: January 4th, 2024
Gorham hits 19 3's. TA struggles. And more.
Ejection
The refs determine the outcome of a game.
The Heart of a Champion
The Old Town girls had revenge on their minds, but Ellsworth's the defending champs for a reason.
The AA Round-Up: January 2nd, 2024
Thomas Curtis is back with a tour around AA
Fly Eagles
The Windham boys rally to beat Cheverus
Call it a Comeback
How soon is too soon for a rivalry?
Ladies Night
A very rare matchup in the County.
Coaching Milestones
Three coaches reach milestone victories.
Holiday Hoops, Part Deux
It's day 2 of the Holiday Hoops schedules.
Holiday Hoops
Hopefully your Christmas was a nice break with family (and a convincing Celtics win), but it's back to basketball!
The big events are the holiday hoops events.
The Holiday Hoops Showcase at the Expo kicked off yesterday with a full schedule of non-countable games, but today's
SoPoooooo.......
The 2-time champs drop to 0-4
The AA Round-Up: December 21st, 2023
Another trip through AA.
Stag Sweep
Cheverus moves to a combined 8-0 on the year.
Assessing...
If you've got power back, there's basketball to be played.
The AA Round-Up: Stags Make a Statement
The Stags are the team to beat in AA.
10-9
A softball score on a warm day in December.
Power Out
Last night was a wash
Monsoon Monday Redux
Another rainy Monday.
Trojan Victory
This website is growing.
The AA Round-Up: December 15th, 2023
Thomas Curtis is here to cover the AA beat.
Top of the Mountain
A fitting name is added to the Spruce Mountain record books.
107 Points!
We have another member of the 100-point club!
110 Points
Carter Galley goes OFF.
Strongest Lynx
Mattanawcook is off to a great start.
Monsoon Monday
It's gonna be a wet one today.
Opening Saturday
And away we go!
Start Your Engines
Let's go!
The Calm Before the Storm
Merry Basketball Eve to all who celebrate.
Football Championships
It's Gold Ball Saturday.
Football Regional Final Saturday
It's a big day around the state.
Devilish
Is Lewiston Soccer the story of the Fall Sports season?
Ram Tough
A 1 seed narrowly avoids an upset.
Class A Playoffs
The Class A playoffs start...now.
From Thorndike to Fort Kent
Upset!
Deering and Portland and Skowhegan, Oh My!
Portland won a shocker and Skowhegan does what they do.
Battle of the Bridge
A rivalry game as therapy.
Spooky
Blowouts galore.
The Crazies Win
Brunswick pulls off an upset.
Back At It
It's over.
Not Great
Well...they haven't found him yet (or at least they hadn't as of 2am) and it seems like either he killed himself in the woods or he planned this and had a second car or a jet-ski ready to go and if so, yikes.
It'
Lewiston
The unthinkable.
Girls Soccer Quarterfinals
We've already got an upset.
Rules, Rules, Rules
There's a pretty big rule change on the horizon.
Tyler's Revenge
Don't call it a comeback.
Week 8
Week 8, here we go.
We Decline
The MPA is doing MPA things again.
Kicking the Hornet Nest
Sometimes, the best plan is to not anger a hornet. And certainly not 11 of them.
Saturday the 14th
How bad can one person be at picking football games? You'd be surprised.
Friday the 13th
Spooooooky
Week 6, Part 2
OOB is a machine.
Week 6
You want rankings? You've got rankings.
Week 5
Can some of your favorite media types beat the Model at its own game?
Euro-Football
How do you solve a problem like a zero?
Vikings and Hornets
It's a cross-class battle of titans.
Return of the Model
We back!
(Spring Sports) Opening Day!
Take me out to the ballgame...
Ep. 7: Should We Be Worried About the Celtics? with Jon Duke
Ep. 6: Coaching North of Bangor with Dillon Kingsbury
Dillon Kingsbury first broke on the scene as the barely-older-than-his-players coach of the Easton Bears.
LIVE Podcast Tonight
Join me live tonight with a special guest
Replay and Classification and Podcasts, Oh My!
It sounds like replay is coming, Classification is going backwards, and more.
Ep. 4: Sean Stackhouse on Esports, UMaine basketball, and the Index that Bears His Name
Sean Stackhouse (a.k.a. Stax) is a busy man.
The Madness
My bracket is busted, as is classification. And we're doing the podcast LIVE.
Ep. 3: Awards Thoughts and a Look at Next Season with Adam Robinson of the Bangor Daily News
Adam Robinson of the Bangor Daily News joins me to talk about the awards for Mr. and Miss Basketball and the Gatorade Player of the Year.
Awards Season
Awards have been handed out and there's a new episode of the podcast
This is the End
We saved some of the best games for last.
Ball Don't Lie
Southern Aroostook sweeps--again!, Oxford Hills catches fire, and SoPo wins a rock fight.
The Witching Hour
Brewer wins their first Gold Ball, Lawrence shocks Brunswick, and a preview of tonight's Gold Ball games with special guest Ethan Snow!
Games?
We have Gold Ball Games today! And maybe tomorrow!
2023 Girls All-State Team
No surprise at the top
I've Got the MPA's New Classification Proposals and They Definitely Break Teams Into 4 or 5 Classes
Want to know where they have your team going now?
Seven At One Blow!
The story of the day that slayed 7 giants.
Fight Club
More drama than you could hope for in AA. Plus upsets!
Regional Final Friday
It's a super-sized Friday and there's oh so many great games.
Snow Day (Rest Day)
The Brewer Buzzsaw shows up in Augusta, Dunk Technicals are back, Chance Mercier is a bucket, and more.
Tidal Wave
Oceanside gets the sweep and Chloe Daigle makes her point count.
Island Life
The Vinalhaven girls pull off a MASSIVE comeback.
Saturday Quarterfinal Chaos
Quarterfinal Saturday was a LOT.
Midcoast Madness
The end of Medomak's bench comes up big, Oceanside rallies, and Lincoln Academy announces their arrival.
Tourney Time!
It's finally here!!!
Chalk Talk
The boys prelims go largely chalk and the Mr/Miss Basketball semifinalists are announced.
Scarborough in OT!
Have we already seen the upset of the tournament?
Girls Play-In Day (aka Valentine's Day)
It's time to get the tournament started.
Calendar Overtime
Wiscasset wins!
It's the Final Countdown!
Old Town clinches a bye, UMaine's floor is broken, and more!
Takatsu Takes the Reigns
Taylor Takatsu comes up big for Gardiner, another multiple OT game in A South, and Marshal Adams gets hot from 3.
Viking Quest
Oxford Hills wins a big one on the road and the HOF has some new members
Final Week
There's a week left and the landscape is full of opportunities for scoreboard watching.
Where Things Stand
Here's what we know so far.
The Witching Hour
Brewer had a busy day and the season got a little bit longer.
Brrrr
The Vikings crush Gorham, NYA suffers a blow, and more recognition for Cooper.
Zero Overtimes
There were no overtimes, but that doesn't mean we can't have a great finish.
Overtime(s)
Greely and Fryeburg played how many overtimes?
Mustangs Can't Be Tamed
Southern Aroostook gets revenge, Monmouth says no, and Grady Ritchie goes OFF.
Start Your Scoreboard Watching
The Caribou girls win a big one up north, Class B is predictably a mess, and some scoring milestones.
A Red Riot Dagger
SoPo wins at the buzzer and Cony has a miracle rally.
Clippers and Capers and Bears, Oh My!
Yarmouth is on the move in the B South standings, while Cape Elizabeth is on the move for other reasons.
Cheverus Rising
Cheverus knocks off TA, Gardiner wins at the buzzer, and what not to do when you're hungry at the game.
Rockstars
Dirigo survives a scare and a way to add some pep to your student section.
The County
Pretty much everything gets snowed out, we catch up on some news from the County, and there's more snow coming.
Sail Away
Oceanside makes a statement, a coach gets tossed, and Oxford Hills is about to run the gauntlet.
NYA+
NYA makes a big statement, Lake Region wins at the buzzer, some thoughts on classification, and a rivalry game in the midcoast.
Snow Day? No Way.
Izzy Allen joins the 1K club, Penobscot Valley hands Dexter their first loss, and Brewer survives.
MPA Gonna MPA
Westbrook gets a big win and the quest for classification sanity takes a loss.
All's Wells
Wells snaps OOB's win streak, lots of movement in C South, Dirigo rallies, TA makes a statement, and some great sportsmanship out of VT.
Wildcat Sweep
York sweeps, the MPA can't follow their own rules, and a cross-class battle on the Beach.
Gruber, Again
Lizzy Gruber does it again, Cooper continues his ascent, and a 1K scorer in OOB.
Viking Quest
The Game of the Day goes to Overtime, Jason Reynolds makes history for Winslow, and a quadruple-double in Freeport.
Friday the 13th
The MPA wants to murder AA, Thornton Academy guts the race for 1, and Brewer claims another victim.
The MPA Kills AA
The MPA is doing what now?
Hawks and Rams
Hodgdon and Dirigo stay unbeaten, NYA wins a thriller, and Gorham tries to get an all-important 2 seed.
AA South Clarity? Not So Much.
AA South gets more jumbled, Lizzy Gruber hits a milestone, GNG has a day, and Fort Kent looks to avenge a loss.
Scoreboard Watching Season
Calais and Oxford Hills make statements, the cure for your scoreboard frustrations, and a battle for seeding in AA South.
27 Games
Gorham wins a thriller, a Cheverus rally falls short, GNG has a walking bucket, and there's a battle for the bye in C North.
99 Games
If you're having basketball problems, I feel bad for you, son.
Blue Devilish
Lewiston makes a statement, Dexter falls, and is it possible to have a great stall?
Howl
I saw the best minds of my generation shocked by a basketball score.
They Called Game
You get a game winner and you get a game winner and you get a game winner
The Battle of AA North
A classic in the County and a heavyweight battle at the Expo
Happy New Year
New year, new update, new Heal Points?
Parent of the Year
Stay classy, parents
Ellsworth, King of the North?
Do we already know the 1 seed in Boys B North?
Trojan Victory
A thriller in Saco, the girls Tourney Odds are live, and a battle for B North supremacy.
Panther Prowl
The Panthers stay hot and the Patriots do something that hasn't happened in a generation.
Hello from the Land of No Internet
There's holiday classics in Augusta and Portland, but for the game of the day, you'll want to plan to stop for pie.
Christmas Time Is Here
There's one more present under the tree.
Brewer!
Witch, Please
Cooper Flagg shares an honor with MJ, Calais hangs 97, and a heavyweight battle in A North.
Extra Frames
You like overtime? How about two overtimes?
Injury Adjustments
Why we're a long way from being able to account for injuries.
Back at it
Finish digging out of that snowbank. We've got games to play.
Snow Day
Well, we got a couple of games in.
Fly Eagles
Parker Bate called game.
Gruber and Greely, Oh My!
Lizzy Gruber carries Gardiner and the Greely boys win a thriller.
Mustang Missteps
Not a great day for Massabesic
Stax En Fuego
The Stax Index remains undefeated.
Off to a Hot Start
It was an Opening Weekend of huge performances.
Opening Day, Part Duex
The York boys now hold the Class B title belt and two bitter rivals face off in the Game of the Day.
And We're Off!
Off to the races and we're already waiting for someone to get around to reporting a score.
Create a Perfect Region
How well do you know your region?
The Unmasking
The curtain has been pulled back. Why?
So You Think You Know Maine (Basketball)?
Opening night of the season is fast approaching, so we're going to have a little bit of a contest. Think you're right wicked smart? Do you know basketball better than anyone? Do you love a good 33 game parlay?
Well I've got the contest
Promotion/Relegation
Is it time to promote programs based on something other than enrollment?
Gold (Foot)ball Preview
It's time to hand out some gold balls in football. Who's got the edge?
Classification for 2023-24?
We've got a first draft of the new classification plan and it's...certainly a plan.
Football? Football?
What happens when we train the Model on football?
NFL Heal Points
Sometimes I get an idea in my head and I go down a rabbit hole in Excel. Honestly, that's how I learned Excel in the first place.
This took roughly an hour and will be easy enough to update.
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During the NBA's Bubble
Boys Preseason Poll
The season is fast approaching. Who do you think is going to be good this year?
Feel free to skip regions you don't know.
New Site, Who Dis?
Guess who's back?
February 19, 2021
A historic crossover game in the County and a rivalry game in the Midcoast.
Basketball in Every State: Pennsylvania
We live quiet lives up here in Maine, partially sequestered from the rest of the country. It’s nice, but sometimes, as the old joke goes, it takes a while for things to get to us, which can lead to things being done the way they are because “that’s
Goliath vs. David
Football reclassification is in the news again, as the MPA considers how to shuffle the deck chairs on a ship where overall numbers are slowing sinking and an increasing number of schools are jumping into the 8-man lifeboats.
The Curious Case of Zach Keene
Zach Keene was fired and the parents insisted he stay. What happened next might surprise you.
Reclassification
The MPA is voting on classification tomorrow at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. Let's just get it out of the way first and say that the MPA's football proposal is a joke. Anyway, the basketball numbers have been rumored for awhile and within 5 minutes of
Cross-Class War
Ever since Maine basketball went to a 5-class system, it's been popular to assume that the schools in AA are far and away the best of the best, clearly the be all and end all of high school basketball in the state. You see this in Facebook comments
Basketball in Every State: Indiana
We leave pretty insular lives here in Maine. Sure, we go to Boston for the occasional Celtics/Red Sox/Patriots/Bruins game, but for the most part that's pretty much it. People in Portland famously won't leave their city unless they have to and folks in
The State (Game)
Impact-Site-Verification: 0306f552-b617-4d58-86b5-a1863c91e11f
I don't know if you've heard, but the Caribou boys have a long drive to play in the Gold Ball Game. They'll have to drive 301 miles each way to Portland, which just happens to be further than their opponent will travel
Central Aroostook and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The good folks of Mars Hill had every reason to be hopeful for the C North tournament, as both their boys and girls teams entered the tournament as the #1 seed. That generally means you're in for at least one solid tourney run and several trips to Bangor.
A North's Musical Chairs
It's the final day of the regular season. Normally, this is pretty chaotic, but this year is pretty settled. Except, of course, for the A North Boys, which has 4 teams fighting for 3 spots. (The A North girls are very settled). So let's run through
This is a No Dunking Zone
In case you didn’t see this.
If you followed the tournament then you probably know why this technical foul call is controversial...but here we go again. pic.twitter.com/EGEQmracbS
— Travis Lee (@TLee_WMTW) February 24, 2018
This is a joke. It’s an embarrassment to the state.
The Stax Index
Ever wonder if a game is going to be worth the drive?
Does Size Matter?
Let's talk about school size, shall we?
Ask anyone and they'll tell you that the bigger a school is, the better they are at basketball. There's some sound logic in this. The more kids you've got, the more basketball players you'
How This Works. A Primer. (Reminder)
The other day, another fan base found the site, which led to a spike in traffic, which led to more people sharing, which led to more people assuming there’s a level of opinion and/or bias at play in the rankings.
There isn’t.
This happens all the time,