Soccer Gold Balls and a look ahead to the Football Regional Finals with Michael Hoffer

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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Here's the transcript (generated by AI, I'm not checking this)

Welcome to the Maine Basketball Rankings Podcast. I am your host, basketball data nerd, Lucas McNelly, and the gold balls have been handed out in soccer and in field hockey, and we had a pretty eventful day for those. Uh, I went to the games at, or to one game in Bath, um, for Camden Hills and Scarborough 0 0, went to penalties, came to wins in penalties, but the interesting part about this game is the wind.

Was ridiculous. It was gusting 30, 40 miles an hour. Scarborough had the wind at their back for the first half. They were clearly the better team in the first half. They hit the crossbar, had a couple of really good chances. Uh, Camden and Goley made a couple of really nice saves to keep it zero zero. Then they switched sides and all of a sudden they're like, geez, Camden's playing a lot better.

Um, and then you sort of come to the realization that Oh, it's the wind. The wind's really a factor here. You'd see the, um, the goalie would kick into it and the ball would sort of go up and then sort of hold up in the air and drop down. Um, if you try to play across through the air, uh, it would get pushed by the wind and three or four yards back and conveniently seemed to find its way to a defender each time.

So that was really a factor and it got to the point as it got windier and windier during the game where you start thinking, geez. Can Scarborough even score going in this direction? Um, got a little better for them when they went to overtime and they got to switch back to having the wind at their back.

But Camden had a lot of momentum at that point. Camden was unable to find in the back of the nets. They go to penalties and Camden wins penalties. That's their first gold ball in, uh, boys soccer in 33 years, which If you would had me guessed when their last goal ball was in boys soccer, I would not have guessed 33 years would have guessed something like six years or eight years or something like that.

Um, but maybe, you know, you sometimes if a program is really good in boys or girls, you sort of assume they've had the same success on the other side. and girls of course have long time. Um, a couple o Uh, we had Greenville and was not close. Greenville Greeley beat Babs three n surprised. Paul Dale beat Uh, that was there.

I'm gonna say that's their first ever gold ball. I think I saw that online. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Uh, and Richmond beat Fort Fairfield 3 2. And girls soccer really got the sweep. They beat Herman 3 1. Madison beat Dexter 2 1 in overtime. Bangor rallied to beat Scarborough. This was a game where all three of Bangor's goals were scored with the wind at their back.

Very important distinction. Um, so they beat Scarborough three to one. NYA blew up Fort Kent four nothing. Penobscot Valley beat Buckfield two nothing. And then in field hockey, we had an overtime game Winthrop over Dexter two to one. We had Chevres beat Brewer three to one. We'll get into that a little bit later.

Uh, and Belfast came back to win two to one and they won that one on penalty corners, which If you know anything about, actually I don't know anything about field hockey and I'm not, penalty corners, I'm assuming what that is is the thing, I guess it's not a stroke, because a stroke is like a penalty shot, so I'm guessing penalty corners is the thing where they have the ball on the end line and they pass it to a teammate, I'm not, I'm not entirely sure, so scratch all that, I have no idea what penalty corners are, I'll try to figure it out, I'll ask around and see what that is, but um, A lot of, you know, a lot of great activity.

Um, and so we've got also this week football coming up. There's, I'm doing a little more research on it. I'm going to probably do another podcast this week, but there's a really interesting story coming out of Rhode Island about a football team that sued to be able to be seated differently in the playoffs.

And I'll read you the judges. thing first. Uh, they literally were kids were getting on buses to go to playoff games and his team's like, no, no, no, we have the wrong matchup. We need to go to get on a different, have a different matchup and all this. And people are like, what are you guys doing? So the courts, uh, the court said, the judge said, certainly this court is sympathetic to the notion that it is a hardship to play a lower seated team, which could make the path.

And I think he means a higher seated team here, which could make path. To a championship more challenging, however, stopping all games and forcing high school football players across the state to push their playoffs and the championship to an unknown date is certainly more burdensome than having the games continue with Mount Hope starting as the fifth seed.

The like, I just can't imagine the audacity of thinking, no, no, no, we're going to shut down everything in order to win. They thought they were supposed to be the one seed just because partly because of vibes, partly because they haven't been there before. And sometimes you just, I don't know, you just don't know how things work.

If you haven't been in the playoffs in a long time, I think. Um, we'll get more into this later this week. It's an insane story and I just wanted to do more digging before I give you the full rundown of it, but it's insane. Okay. So football for games this week, we've got, um, the eight man is going to the state, the state championships.

It'll, uh, it's a whole thing. They eight men, large. Doesn't have regions this year. It's just one. So it's Mount Airat and Greeley. Greeley won the C the earlier game this year, 30 to 26. So that looks really interesting. Uh, and eight man, small sterns and OOP, both of those teams have been insanely dominant this year.

So I don't know, I think a lot of people are going to go with OOP here, but I don't know, I don't know, I, a lot of people thought it would be, was going to win last year and they didn't. Uh, in a North Bangor, Portland. Portland won the earlier game. The regular season matched up 35 to 7 in week six. Thornton Academy and Noble Thornton Academy won 33 to 26 in week five, which was one of the really better games this year.

Uh, be north Lawrence and found the Falmouth 48 to 3 on week seven in the South Kennebunk and during Kennebunk won that one. 41. Nothing in week five, which is one of the surprising scores where people went, Whoa, what just happened there? Uh, see North Herman and Madomic Valley. Herman won that earlier game 14 to eight.

I think that was week one. It was week one or week two. I went to that game see South Freiberg and Levitt Freiberg won 34 to 12 in week five. I've been wrong. I love it every single week. So who knows? Um, in D North, Foxcroft and Winslow, Foxcroft 135 to 3 in week three, the South Wells and Winthrop Wells, 130 to 13 in week eight.

Um, not a lot of those were close. So the Greeley Mount Airy game was close. The Thornton Academy Noble game was close. The Herman Madomic game was close. The rest of them weren't. So, prepare yourself that we could have a not great day of regional finals in football this week. What that could mean is that we have, you know, you don't know, maybe we do.

It's not looking great for the regional finals in football is all I'm saying. So, If the weather's bad, you might want to stream these. Uh, I think who you will have at least some of them. Um, so on the show today, we've been trying, we're trying to get this guy on the air on here for a while, but he's very, very busy.

Michael Hoffer is here from Forecaster. He's. Fantastic. He's, you know, one of the best reporters in the state. And so we get into soccer, we get into football, we get into basketball, of course, field hockey, all sorts of great stuff. So a lot of fun. Um, if you're watching the video of this, I'm wearing a main sting double, uh, AAU championship shirt.

Thanks to Steve Carey. That was in the packet of stuff he sent me earlier this year. So. Just wanted to mention that and thank you again for that. Go now to my conversation with Michael Hopper. Okay. Michael Hopper is here. He's taking a break from writing 10, 000 word previews of the state championship games or regional finals.

Uh, Michael Hopper, you probably all know as the Forecaster Sports Editor, writes for Varsity Maine. He's everywhere. Thanks for joining me. Thank you for having me. Uh, I, I don't know what to do with myself today. There's no game. So I, I had to talk about high school sports with somebody. I know we've been trying to schedule this for weeks and you're like, well, I have a game every single day and I'm like, well, all right, that's been life pretty much through October and the first week of November, but all of a sudden I have all this free space on my calendar.

It's, I don't know what to do with myself. It's craziness. And I want to thank you right off the bat because I've been betting your Patriots picks on DraftKings and it's going, it's doing pretty well. I would not invest much money on those picks, but congratulations. Well, I won yesterday, so that was good.

Um, so I usually, so do they, which was good. It usually ends up being the same bet where I end up betting the Patriots to beat the spread and then the under, so it ends up usually being the Patriots. And I, and that's a pretty safe bet for them. It's, it seems like this year that's, that's hit more often than not.

Yeah. Yeah. How excited are you about Drake May on a one to ten scale? Uh, I would say nine and a half. I, I really, I can't wait to see him when he actually has someone to throw the ball to. I think he's only gonna get better. I mean, he's still making some rookie mistakes and, you know, let's face it. It's, it's like mid October for him.

Cause he didn't start the first three, four games. And, uh, no, I'm very excited. There's a lot of work to do around him, but, you know, I'm also encouraged. They're playing hard every week, you know, really other than that jets Thursday night game and maybe the game out in San Francisco, they've been competitive and, you know, it's just not a great roster.

Uh, but I think there is some upside there and I do believe we've got the guy. So, you know, let's just hope the off season brings some, uh, some nice presence under the tree and we'll go from there. Yeah. And just watching Mac Jones yesterday, it was like, Oh my gosh, I remember that. If you needed reinforcement.

Yes. That was, I'm really enjoying the weird throws when he gets in trouble and he's just trying to avoid the sack and he like throws it left handed. To somebody and you're just like, it's very, very Mahomes Ian and, uh, you know, he's, he can make something out of nothing. Unlike no Patriots quarterback, probably since Steve Grogan.

So, you know, I, I don't want to see him run all that often and get hit on all that often, but it's nice to know that if, you know, if you need someone to scramble for 15 yards on 3rd and 12, you can certainly do it. Yeah, it's uh, it's been very encouraging and I don't know. I think he's been better than I expected him to be.

Yeah, especially this at this early date, uh, you know, I had a feeling he was going to develop into something good But you can already see the flashes of potential greatness and let's just hope that continues All right. So let's go pivot to high school if i'm reading this correctly. Did you have three games on saturday you did?

I did I did the three games in bangor the sea girls and the two boys game be the two b games. Yeah, okay So The ones I saw bylines on you for were the Greeley John Babs boys, the N. Y. A. Fort Kent girls, and the Shevers Field Hockey game. Okay, so I also did the Greeley Herman girls game. The Shevers Field Hockey states I just caught up with after the fact, although I did do the regional final.

So, I was not present for their state game, but I still tried to recapture it as much as possible and, uh, you know, that's too good a story not to, uh, not to touch on one final time. Yeah, and the craziness of it being Brewer there and not Skowhegan. Yeah, right. It's gotta be the greatest record in state.

You know, it's funny how Wednesday night, just literally as the Chevres Biddeford Regional Final was ending, all of a sudden there was a buzz. Uh, Brewers had 3 0 ahead of Skowhegan, and it's just no one knew what to do with themselves. The Chevs players, coaches, I mean, they're just, they're so attuned to, all right, if we get to the state game, we know who we're gonna play.

Mm-Hmm. . And they did the last three years and not this time. So, and I wouldn't say that they necessarily even looked at that as an advantage. Um, it's just, it was just strange, I think. And I, I think they were gonna be fired up for the state game no matter what. And, you know, they scored two goals in the first quarter and, and, uh, and, and went on to the victory.

And there was no way Lucy Johnson was losing her final high school game. It's just, it was that simple. I, and I felt that way for a while. Yeah, and at some point you go, well, we've got Skowhegan and they're probably scouting Skowhegan a little bit. And then naturally we got to throw all that out, I guess.

Right. Right. But that's great. I mean, we don't, you see these dynastic runs and you know, someday it's got to come to an end. And when it does, it's so stunning. It's so sudden. It's kind of not fluky because Brewer beat him during the regular season, but. There have been other years where Scout Hegan lost to Sam Messalonsky in the regular season, and maybe he wasn't even the one seed, but they would always find a way to win in the playoffs in the regional final.

And, you know, it's just natural to assume that was going to happen again. But not only did it not happen again, I mean, Brewer won convincingly. So, you know, kudos to them for a great season. I know it didn't end the way they wanted it to on Saturday, but they really stole some headlines along the way. I was talking to Mike Mandel about this, uh, somewhere at some game, and we were wondering Do we know if there's players on that team who's like mothers?

We're on in the original run over 22 years. It's not impossible to think that there might be some crossover there. No question. You know, I don't know. I, I'm just not familiar with the program and the names, but, I mean, you do the math. It's it's possible. It's it's certainly likely, you know, okay. And I just wanted to point out, maybe you notice this.

But you had, you had the worst games Saturday, you got none of the good games. I know. That's how it goes. So, so you win some, you lose some, I had some great regional finals for, uh, field hockey and soccer. So, you know, those rounds, those, those games were better. And you know, to be, be honest with you, Lucas, I'm up in Bangor.

I'm thinking the earliest I'm leaving is eight o'clock. So I want all these games in regulation, , and I'm not disappointed. I didn't. Overtime, PKs, any of that stuff, you know, they got that stuff down at Bath for the A games and, you know, I've seen plenty of great dramatic games this, this year, this, and this week, so, uh, the fact that I just got out of there on schedule was not a bad thing.

It's a long drive. Yes, it is. Um, yeah, so there were four, if people don't know, there were four overtime games. on Saturday, which sounds like a lot to me for a state game state games. And two of them went to penalty one to penalty corners and one to penalty kicks. Uh, my other question for Bangor is how windy was it up there?

Oh, and that was the worst part, especially the, the earlier games. absolutely howling. I mea degrees. So I think it wo day. But the wind was how a factor strategically. A that had the wind of thei more success scoring goal didn't. But you know, it had a great fall. It's rea Uh, when we've had so many great warm days, even last Tuesday, Wednesday was unseasonably warm.

So, you know, I've, I've had worse. If we can get through two more weeks without rain on Friday or Saturday, I'll be thrilled. Yeah, I was at the Camden Scarborough boys game. And the wind was absolutely a factor. And it was, it was the point in the second half where you're like, I don't know if Scarborough can score going in this direction, the way they were playing.

Cause they were playing a lot of long balls and a lot of ball in the air and Camden was keeping it closer to the ground. And you just see the ball kept getting knocked down, kept getting thrown off path. And. It looked really difficult. Yeah. You know, the NY Fort Kent game, all of NYU's four goals came in the first half, all with the wind and you know, the second half they were content.

If Fort Kent had a lot of shots, couldn't finish. But no question going toward that one end of the field that that's where the goals were. I think in, pretty much in all the games, maybe with one or two exceptions, I feel like almost all the goals came in that direction. Did you notice that, goals aside, that like.

The teams played better with the wind on their back. Cause it really looked like the game. I saw Camden dominated the half. They had the wind and Scarborough was better than the half. They had the wind and you just sit there. You're wondering if you're Scarborough, like we had chances to score in that first half and right.

And, and you'll lament the fact that you didn't get the one and sometimes that's all you need. But yeah, I think the teams that had the wind at their back, which has played with more confidence. And you know, the, the other team was. Defensive anyway. And then you're just really hoping that you're not going to get a crazy bounce or crazy wind gusts.

I mean, it's, it's hard enough to contend with the other team. That's a championship caliber team, but all of a sudden you're dealing with these weird elements too. So it was most certainly a big factor. I think the better teams won regardless. I don't think that it, you know, maybe you can make a case for Scarborough down where you were, but certainly where I was, you know, both Greeley teams were favored.

NYA girls, I think were pretty prohibitive favorites and that's how it all played out. Yeah, there was the talk. I went to the regional finals in B up at Hamden and the thing people were saying was this is kind of the state championship game in a way for us because nobody's beating Greeley, right? And that's just historically.

I mean, you look over the last 30 years. On the boys side in Class B. Uh, it's only happened once where this north is beaten, the south, which is just crazy. And granted, there've been a ton of great Falmouth and Yarmouth and Greeley teams over the years, but you know, you gotta figure there's gonna be a crazy bounce in there somewhere or else, but it's talker.

Yeah, it's soccer. And th girl side in recent years by the south. But there h of the north winning. So, is a lot more even over t B. Uh, it's a pronounced the south. Why do you thi it's just you have more y you know, let's let's tal Not to diminish what, what, what exists in the rest of the state. There's a lot of really good players, but you don't have 10, 12 guys playing out, you know, outta season or playing together in premier from the age of eight on, or whatever the case may be.

And, and I also think the regular season schedules, the Western main conference, yes. SM may a. Those are the best conferences in the state and you know, I'm not being, it's not, I'm not being biased. It's just, that's just how it is. These teams, you know, iron sharpens iron and these teams bring out the best in each other all season long.

You know, once Greeley survives Cape in a regional final or once Greeley survives Yarmouth in a regional final, they know the state game is not going to be near as competitive. They don't want to have a letdown. Uh, but certainly, you know, you get through those teams, that's your biggest test more often than not.

It's just interesting to me that in soccer, it's such a pronounced difference, but in basketball, it's not. Yeah. And, you know, it's the same communities and it's the same resources and all that. Well, you know, the county so good at basketball that are, you have 5 people on the floor as opposed to 11 people on the field.

I think maybe that that that. up a little bit. Basketball is such an ingrained part of those communities, more so than down here in the Portland area where, yeah, we have a lot of great basketball players, but a lot of those guys are playing other things. Um, it's not, it's not, it doesn't, maybe it doesn't mean as much, uh, in Cape Elizabeth as it does in Presque Isle, you know, or Caribou, like we saw in that state game a few years ago down here, where the whole side of the Civic Center was, you know, it was an incredible environment.

And that's not to say that basketball is not huge in Cape Elizabeth, but it doesn't. Mean as much to the whole town? Uh, is it Right in a place like Caribou, Presca, all those places. Yeah. I don't know that you're getting that many people. If the games in Holton to go from ca, Cape Elizabeth to, um, no chance.

Well, I mean, they didn't bring as many people from Cape Elizabeth to Portland. Right. Terrible. What does that tell you right, Portland that day? Yeah. A lot of times you don't see big crowds even, you know, big Portland during ch. South Portland, you know, they get they get good crowds, but it's not it's not the whole community.

And that's just the nature of the fact the state. It's a very different state from South to North. Yeah. Um, okay. So 1 question I have for you. What. If you had to pick a team that you saw this year, a soccer or field hockey team, since they're done and we'll do football in a minute here. What's a team that you saw that didn't win a gold ball.

That was impressed, impressed you that maybe flew a little under the radar or, you know, something like that. Yeah, I mean, there were some of the teams that almost won, you know, class a boys soccer all season had, you know, we were talking all year, any of six, eight, 10 teams can come out and, you know, as fate would have it, the top four teams all won their quarterfinals and, and it wound up being the three and the four seed in the regional final, you know, the Portland boys lived a charmed life all season, their first three games, they won in overtime, uh, you know, kind of ironic that they, they get knocked out in the post season and over time, but, You know, they, they had a great run at the Yarmouth field hockey team.

They've been in Freeport shadow all season. They lost to Freeport in a double overtime Epic and last year's regional final. They lost to Freeport in the first game this year. Then both teams ran the table the rest of the way, you know, Freeport had been to States two years in a row, won it last year. I think most people thought they'd figure out a way to get through there again.

But, you know, Yarmouth just did a great job playing as a team, playing without a star, and they even had a one nothing lead in the third quarter of the other day against Belfast. They just couldn't hold it. But, you know, a tremendous run there, but, you know, no shortage of great teams and in a lot of these sports.

And, you know, that's my blessing and my curse. Curse is I, I've always got a lot of teams in contention. Of course, that means that the season goes right up to the very end and there's a lot of teams that, that are, are battling for championships right up to the very last day. So I don't get an early break on the seasons, but that's okay.

It makes it more fun. Plus you don't get like half the tournament off. Right. Not . That's never happened. And I'm guessing it never will. Yeah. Like in basketball you might get like a couple sessions off Yes. Here and there. Right. But it seems less like that in the, uh. In the fall Sports. Yeah. Especially a sport like soccer where really, you know, you look at Cape Elizabeth and Falmouth and Greeley and Yarmouth and Scarborough, I mean these, these are powerhouse soccer towns going back a half century.

They're always gonna be one of the last teams standing, if not the last team standing. And that's just, you know, it kind of comes with the territory field. Hockey's hit, or. You know, there have been some years I didn't have anyone in a state game, but you know, of, of recent vintage with Chevros becoming a powerhouse, with Freeport becoming a powerhouse, uh, you know, there's that too.

I just wish those state games were on different weekends, but no one's consulting with me. Right. I think the Chevros girls haven't looked at this recently and I should have. Um, I think they actually have the biggest lead in the power rankings of like any of Of the sports. Yeah. Not surprising. I think it was last year too.

Yeah. I mean you think they've been there, they went 71 and one over four years. Their one loss was by a goal to scout Hagan in the state game two years ago. It was a game. I think most people thought Chevs was gonna win 'cause they had won the year before four to one. Uh, they wind up losing that game and that's it.

They never lost a single game in the South, regular season, post season. You know, they, they're on a 36 game win streak right now. And this was a program that before Lucy Johnson got there, that was always competitive, had even been to one state game before in 2010, uh, but they're nowhere near the juggernaut they are now.

And you're just, you know, this kind of thing perpetuates itself at private schools where everyone's going to want to go and play field hockey at Chevros or basketball at Jefferson. You know, it's, if you're sick of Chevros field hockey, you know, I, I have bad news for you. I don't think they're going anywhere.

They might come back to the pack slightly. I think maybe Biddeford will be the favorite going into next season, but I wouldn't write off the stags. Well, yeah, there's a big part of that. If you have any amount of school choice at all, you know, for a public school or for a private school, more so you know, where are you gonna go if you know, are you gonna go to around here?

Are you gonna go to sst? Because you're going to go to Wiscasset, you're going to lose a lot of games, or you could go to Gardner, and you know, you're in competitive games all the time, and it's not, that's not a super hard decision for a lot of people. No, and I mean, in a perfect world, every community would have the same resources, the same resources.

Same chances. And you know, and the private thing, it comes and goes. I mean, there's a lot of teams at CHS that aren't winning. And you know, for the longest time, girls basketball wasn't winning state titles. Field hockey wasn't winning state titles. You know, for decades. Macaulay was totally irrelevant. No one even knew what Macaulay was until they became a juggernaut.

So these things come and go. Chevron's football was the best team going in a little over a decade ago. You know, now they were two and seven this year, even though they were more competitive than their record would suggest. So, you know, that whole public versus private thing is a whole other discussion for another time.

And I know people have very strong feelings about it, but it's not as lopsided as you would be led to believe. No, because you can see situations where. It's a private school, but they don't have, they don't have the youth program and the youth program is the most sustainable thing in any sport. We all know that.

Absolutely. Um, you know, and sometimes they can rest on the idea that they're the private school and that they'll get people going there and then they just, it just doesn't happen. They get beat by the public school team down the road. Yeah, no question. Like I said, it's cyclical and there's lots of times that you think the private school is going to win and they don't.

And, you know, I think if you have a strong communal program, especially in some of the bigger towns, you're able to, you know, definitely compete because you never know who's coming and going from these private schools. And yes, they have the opportunity to bring in unique talents at time, but people leave too.

People leave and go back to their public schools. So, you know, it's a two way street and, uh, you know, there's certainly benefits. On the private school side, but you know, for people that think that, that don't want the private schools involved at all, I think they bring a lot, uh, to the MPA and and to, to these tournaments.

And I, I think it'd be really unfortunate if we didn't have, uh, you know, these powerhouse teams, Chevs Thornton Academy, they're not always gonna win. I know it feels like, it feels like they will, but it's not, it's not always gonna be that way. Hell, Thornton Academy lost a LT last year. That's Yes, they did.

They, they. Portland in the regular season this year. We'll see if uh, we'll see if Portland can do it again on the state game if they match up here in a little over a week. Ah, so let's pivot to uh, football because you gave me a transition there. That was very nice of you. Um, are you worried, I'm looking at these matchups for this weekend.

Are you worried that these games are going to suck because A lot of these teams have played already, and not a lot of the games were close. Right, I, yeah, and I, I mean, that's, that's definitely, especially class A, class B, you look at some of these scores, you know, Yeah, Falmouth beat Lawrence 48 3. Yeah, 41 0, Kennebunk over Deering, I think Portland beat Bangor 35 7, it could have been more.

Uh, you know, t at the TA Noble game. I think that that's probably the crown jewel here on the, yeah, on the schedule. 'cause their regular season game was terrific and TA needed a late kickoff return for a touchdown just to win that game. And, you know, Noble's so fun to watch with Jamir Rose and just seeing that program be viable again for the first time in almost 30 years.

They're gonna have a tough time. They're fun to watch. Yeah, they're gonna have a tough time winning at Hill Stadium on Saturday. I mean, let's be real, but I think, you know, that's a game going into where you're saying, you know, that's a team that really has a shot. I think Deering is going to play Kennebunk a lot closer than the regular season game was.

Um, you know, I don't know if they can hang around and win it, but I don't think you're going to look at a 41 point margin. Again, the fact that Falmouth and Lawrence are playing in the neutral field up in Epic Coney, you know, maybe that levels thing a little bit. Fal almost never won a regional title. So there's still that pressure.

And so you still have those factors kind of consider, uh, going in. I, I, yeah, certainly. I hope some of these games are good. You know, can Levit complete compete with f Fryberg Academy? It's, it's funny to even say that when you think of how great Levitt's been in recent years. Uh, you know, can Winthrop compete with wells?

Just seems like they're invincible. I don't know. I mean, I think the eight mans. Game. The, the Greeley Mount era game, I think is the potential to be a thriller. They played a 30 to 26 game here a couple weeks ago. I don't know if anyone can stop Old Orchard, but they're just fun to watch, period. So there's gonna be some compelling wagon.

There's gonna be some compelling football action this weekend. You know, maybe there's not gonna be a ton of down to the wire games, but maybe we'll have a surprise. You never know. Yeah. So Levitt, I don't know what to do with them this year. I'm gonna see Hathaway, I'm sure, at a basketball game, and I'm gonna yell at him this year because I think I have gotten them wrong every single week.

I'm sure he's happy if you're picking against them then. Cause they've got to love the fact that they're not the favorite. They're playing with house money. You know, it's Freiberg's title to lose and Levitt can just go in and be Levitt. He can be as creative as possible. And, uh, you know, I, I say never, never write them off till that horn horn sounds and the clock hits zero.

Uh, but I would much rather be in Freiberg Academy's position at this point. You know, being at home. Almost upsetting a lot of it last year when they were that, that unbeatable juggernaut. And you know, it feels like it feels like their time is now. Uh, what do you make of that North game? The C North game?

Does Madomic have a chance? Yeah, they do. Um, so I saw them play earlier this year. That's the other game other than, uh, Thornton Academy and Noble that was competitive during the season. So I got there, that was early in the, there's, so there's a couple of factors And I haven't seen Herman since, but, and they've been fantastic since, uh, it was 14, nothing when I got there, it finished 14, eight and Madonna was driving with a chance to win late.

Um, what I know about them is they replaced their entire offensive line and they're leading rushers as a freshman. And so they are considerably better than they were in week one or week two, whichever one it was that they played Herman. So, I mean, I think. I'm a little biased here, but I think they can win this game.

Um, but I also think Herman just laid the smack down on Oceanside right in the, in the semifinals. So I think that could be a really, really good game. Yeah, yeah, I guess that's 1 of the lot. It might be. And I think just. Law of averages, you're bound to have a couple that, that come down to the wire that are memorable and, and probably several that aren't so much.

But you know, these, these powerhouse teams are powerhouse teams. You have to appreciate them for what they are and you just hope everyone gets out healthy and you know, you have the best possible matchups for gold ball Saturday. 'cause there are potentially some great matchups in that game if you wanna look ahead an extra week.

Yeah, the gold ball games could be amazing if you know, because if everything holds according to seating or plan I mean, these are some really interesting games and to your health point, you know I just go to these games and I see the basketball coaches standing there watching their breath breath, like just don't g don't get hurt.

Well, tha the seasons overlap. So y have a football player ge shape for a while, even i But you know, these are g problems to have. There a aren't that many schools with it. But you look at they're gonna play on Tha of what happens to them i rounds of playoffs. So, y almost almost to the star basically a week and a h of countable basketball g of a mad dash here.

I fee time off in between. I me come up for air a little weeks. I just feel like t nothing. Yeah. I mean, th where scowhegan would sta Because they had all those football players. And their team was just, half their team was on the football team. Right. And then you'd go, geez, what's wrong with Scout Hebrew this year?

They had a deep run in football. Okay. That's forgotten by February. But, you know, at least, you know, it's an interesting storyline early in the season. Why actually I've never understood. Why do they play this game on Thanksgiving? I've never gotten a reason for that. It goes back. It's always been done. It goes back to the early 20th century.

I mean, this is something that's nationwide. I mean, you have, you have Thanksgiving games all over the place. In some states there that, you know, they're countable games. Some states there, uh, you know, leading into, into postseason, not at the end of the season like we do here. I think it's just a traditional thing.

I think there was one year that there wasn't a game, 'cause there was so much snow, uh, like in 1920 or something that people couldn't get to the stadium. 1959 before the current playoff system, it was actually the state championship game. Uh, because Oh wow. Both during, both during, in Portland entered undefeated.

The folks at Deering still talk about that game because they won. It's one of the highlights in their program history. It's certainly the most famous of the Thanksgiving Day games. And honestly, the last 10 years or so, that game has lost a lot of luster. But this year, with both teams being so strong, I think you're going to see more interest.

And, um, you know, I haven't been to one of these in years and I think I might have to check it out because it's going to be fun. You know, one or both might be coming off a trip to the state final five days earlier. So, Uh, instead of just being this curiosity that not a whole lot of fans go to anymore. I think I think you're going to see more interest this year.

How did it become the state championship game? That seems because there was no, I mean, I think it was considered the de facto championship game. The fact that both teams were clearly the best teams and the fact that, uh, you know, they were playing each other this one time. Why not make it into, you know, It, it's not like back in the old days with the AP and the UPI where Right.

You know, which, which polls we're gonna have a split winner. But, you know, it was pretty clearly understood that whoever won that game was gonna be considered the team, the championship team. And it was during that year, I think it was a classic back and forth game too. And I, I did some studying up on it years ago, but it's, it's something that I know if you, if you go to Jing High School, they still, uh, they still talk about that and have some, uh, artifacts about that game there.

Was it a thing where they didn't. Play. They weren't in the same bracket. It's possible they didn't play in the regular season. I, I just don't remember. You'd think they would. Um, yeah, but yeah, but I, I, I'm don't wondering if they, like, I don't recall the, each one, their class, and then they were just like, oh, well, let's do it.

Well, I mean, I, they had to have been in the, I think there was just one class back then. I mean, there weren't that many teams. I think there was the large school class, maybe a few smaller teams. But you know, again, you're talking 60, 65 years ago at this point. And, and, uh, that, that, that must have been something to see.

That's just craziness. Yeah, huh. Have you heard anything? Have you checking out this situation in Rhode Island at all? Have you seen this? I have not. Where a team sued because their seeding is wrong. And they tried to stop the whole playoffs. Wow, that's uh, That's opening up a potential can of worms here.

The judge is like, guys, you're still in the playoffs. Yeah, that's remarkable. Well, I guess we, I guess we live in a litigious society and that's taken it to the nth degree. Yeah, it's crazy. I was reading up on it last night and for the newsletter and it's just an insane situation where they didn't fill out a form and then they decided that this game counted for this amount and like, Wow.

State went, no, it doesn't. What are you talking about? We thought the heal points were wacky. Okay. Right. Yeah, way weirder than the heal points. And it's like an out of state game that became a countable game. Right. It was like a co op school and all this insane stuff. And I'm just trying to imagine that happening here.

And I'm imagining the Facebook drama around it. It would be, it would be quite a story, quite a drama. I just, you know, I guess, I guess we'll just be thankful. We don't have to deal with anything like that yet. I think it's a key thing. That's true. Um, so who do you think, who do you think ends up on the top of these at the end, the end when it's all said and done?

Who do you think our state champions are? I think Portland TA, if it comes to that, is basically a coin flip. You know, Portland was, I thought TA was clearly the team to beat until Portland went down there and, you know, physically they just matched up for them, man for man. They made the big play late in the game to get the winning touchdown.

You know, TA lost to Portland last year in the regular season, beat them in the state game. Portland's well aware of that. You know, Portland's been the bridesmaid. They've, they've been to five state games since 2015. They haven't won any of them, including the last two years, including last year's loss of ta.

They haven't won a gold ball since 2002. Uh, you know, this, this is a group that has a lot of key contributors who are seniors. Uh, they would love to get it done, but how do you bet against ta, uh, you know, in on. Gold ball Saturday. It's just right. They, they're so tough. The game would be at Fitz, which is quote unquote Portland's home field.

Although I don't really feel like that's a factor in that game. So I really feel like, you know, if, if we do get that matchup, I think it's gonna be great game. I think it's gonna be a touchdown difference either way. Um, you know, class B has the potential. You know, if Falmouth makes it, it's great for me having them in my coverage area.

The fact they've never been, this is a defensive dynamo. This team is unbelievable. How, uh, the story they were two and six last year. They had a forfeit a game during the regular season. They had to have a coaching change after, you know, some of the players and families pushed back. But you know, Spencer Emerson has come in and everything has touched, has turned to gold.

I'm sure he's hoping that one more thing is going to turn to gold. Mhm. But that's still a couple weeks away, but you know, you get potentially a Falmouth Kennebunk matchup. Kennebunk can score a ton of points. Falmouth doesn't give up a lot of points. Uh, you know, that, that's got the potential to be a classic game too.

Um, so, you know, if that's how it shakes out, sign me up. I'll be there all day. Yeah, I think that could be a really good matchup. Really interesting game. And that's sort of one of the ones where you're like, if you told me that's a three touchdown game in either direction, I'd be like, okay. And if you told me it was tied with two minutes left, I'd be like, yeah, okay.

That makes sense too. Yeah, I mean, I guess it's who imposes, if it's a higher scoring game, it probably favors Kennebunk. You know, Falmouth gets to play their defensive, uh, you know, style and, and limits what Kennebunk can do. You know, Falmouth can score score points too. So, I mean, they could win either way, but, uh mm-hmm, , you know, it's, it's always nice to get fresh blood, you know, first time in a long time, first time ever.

Those are always my kind of favorite stories to write. And, you know, we're, we're one win away from getting that possibility with Falmouth. And you think F Fryberg is definitely the team to beat and see. I do, I wouldn't say they're unbeatable, but yeah, I think they're clearly the team to beat. And, you know, you look at at Leavitt and Cape, and, you know, the last few years, they've been pretty dominant in that state game.

So, um, you know, presuming they can take care of business and it's very possible that regional final will be their biggest test. Just like it was Leavitt's biggest test last year. And then, so if we get to D, we would have. In theory, Foxcroft, Foxcroft and Wells, right? And I think, you know, if you go back to August, that's probably what I would have predicted.

Not that I'm good at predicting, but I think those teams were the clear favorites and, you know, Winthrop's had a great season, but, you know, well, it's just, they're so good and this is a program that year after year, they replace guys. They stay at that top level. You know, they've had to pass some big tests here during the regular season, and including a win over Freiburg Academy.

Uh, they're, you know, they're, until someone knocks them off, they're always going to be the team I say is the team to beat. Yeah, and then, um, well, we'll find out this week for, right? Yeah, yeah, I mean, I really like, Yeah, go ahead. Sorry. I was going to say, I mean, I really like old orchard. If you can hold them under 50, it's a victory.

Uh, you know, last year they, they ran into trouble in the state final though. So you never know. And then I think that really Mount air at game, like I said, they played just a couple of weeks ago, 30 to 26 up and tops them, uh, really want it. That's one of the reasons they were able to get a buy and they only had to have the semifinal game where Mount air rats had to play a couple of games and they really look like they're peaking.

So, uh, you know, that really team, they can move the ball up and down the field on the ground, in the air. And then of course you got the, the singular sensation, the great player, Dash Farrell for, uh, Mount Ararat. I mean, it's, it's everything you want in a, in a state final, you know, great individual talent, great teams, uh, really certainly on a mission after coming so close last year where they came out of nowhere and then lost in the state final.

So, uh, that, that one really, I think has the potential to be an instant classic. Where are they playing that? That is at Kennebunk high school, 11 o'clock Saturday. And then the old orchard beach game follows. That is a long drive, not for me. Thankfully, that's an easy Saturday. Yeah, maybe I'll just read the 5, 000 word story.

Yes. If you want to hold, I should have that up by Saturday evening. Yeah, that's such a big factor. It's like, oh, that's far. Yeah, well, for me, it's like, is it near the highway or the turnpike? If so, That, you know, it's a lot easier to, I mean, even the drive to Bangor's piece of cake that way, as opposed to going somewhere backwater, like Massachusetts, Sanford, that, you know, is really not that far, but you can't get there quickly.

You got even going to Gorham from here is difficult. So the drive to Bangor and to Hamden from here is terrible. It's like all back roads and like there's no cell reception for the 20 minutes and there's weird turns and if you don't know the road, you better be paying attention. You gotta be paying attention and there's at least two spots where if you don't know that the road turns here, it's gonna split and you're on some dirt road five minutes later.

It's just no fun. I hear you. Um, all right. So let's pivot to basketball. I think, um, what are some of in your coverage area? What are some of the schools you think are going to? Like be a surprise, you know, that if we're up, if, if someone's up in Bangor, they'd be like, geez, I had no idea they were going to be this good this year.

Yeah. You know, I haven't even really even started thinking about basketball yet. You know what I'm hearing, uh, you know, down here on the boy's side, during supposed to be very good. South Portland couldn't be very good. You know, Portland, I expect we'll always be there. I think Chevros will be very good too.

You know, as far as, and Falmouth. I think in class A is goi to be certainly get to th like his chances. Yes. An he'll probably blow right way this is going. But, u good. I think on the girl for me is how good will S they lost Maddie Fitzpat Maine. Ruth Bowles had th had last year. They did b the Lamson girl from T.

A. to play point guard. So that gives them a boost. But, you know, are they gonna be championship caliber? I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I've got a ton of new coaches down here in this area on the rural side. So, uh, yeah, I think five or six of the schools in this area have new coaches. Um, so, you know, including south Portland, who could be very good.

Uh, Brianne Maloney, you know, a former Red riots player is now coaching and, you know, they came close last year. Can they, can they make that, that jump? Um, it's, it's gonna be a fun season and, you know, once I can get through all this football stuff, I'll really start thinking about it in earnest, but, you know, ask me again in a month.

I, I, I think I could. All right. Speak a lot more intelligently at that point. Have you gotten a sense. The team that I kind of have circled down there, and I don't know if they're in your coverage area or not, but, um, the team I have circled down there is the Biddeford girls. Yeah, as a team that looks interesting.

Right. And I think they were on the cusp of doing something last year. They're not in my coverage area, but I am familiar with them. I think I saw them once or twice last season. And yeah, I think they have the potential to, I don't know who the clear favorite, you know, Brunswick probably has taken a step back.

Um, you know, I don't think, I don't think so, you know, who steps into that void this season, that's going to be interesting, you know, free portals and competitive, you know, they have a new coach, uh, You know, Greeley isn't the powerhouse that they once were. So yeah, someone's going to have to step up their Mount Air.

I was really close last season. I think graduation took its toll on them too. So that seems like to me, at least without knowing a whole lot, like that's going to be a wide open region. Well that and Biddeford's in the south because they got relegated. Oh, you're right. Okay. They'll still be there for another year, which is another region that has a big void.

Yes. All of a sudden. Yes, it does. I was going to say a brain sized void. Yes. Yeah, cool. No question. Yeah, I mean, that, that's changed dramatically overnight. So, um, Yes, that's a region I have no idea who did win that. Yep, no, that's a great point. It could be Biddeford if they put it all together. Yeah, I just remember I saw them, so I saw them in the prelims, because they played Lincoln Academy in the prelims, and that's five minutes away.

And then that quarterfinal game against Oceanside when, um, What's her first? Krump, I think is her last name. Um, when she just started shooting NBA threes, and they're all going in, and you're like, what? That's your offense, man. That's just, let her do that the whole game. Absolutely. If she's hitting, it's going to be tough to match up.

Yeah. Um, All right. So how are we doing on time? We're doing all right. Okay. How, do you think we're going to get shot clocks? I have to ask everybody this. I asked this so much that a football official was giving me grief about it. What do you think the timeline is on shot clocks? Between here and the end of time?

I don't know. I just don't, I, I still don't see The movement with the powers that be that would make it happen. I know why people want it. I'm sure the vast majority of fans and coaches want it, but I, I still don't think it's, it's right around the corner. It's not that imminent. You probably know more than I do, but that's, that's my impression is, you know, I'm not hearing big things about it happening soon.

I'm hearing rumblings. Um, there's, so some states do a thing where the bigger schools get it first. And so like we would have maybe say double a and a would do it. Okay. And then. And then very quickly, it gets like added to all of them because then C and D and B go, wait, well, we want the shot clock too.

Sure, of course. I would, I would think if anything, maybe the class D schools would get it first, you know, They would need it. They would need it more, I would think. I don't know. Or maybe loosen the rules a little bit where it's like, you don't have to have the official one that's got the, you know, the really expensive one, maybe get a cheaper one.

I have a strategy that will get, solve it instantly and no one will ever do it because it's too, it's too good of an idea. You just say, we turn, we're going to turn the shot clocks on for the tournament. And. If you want to have Shot Clocks during the regular season, great. And if not, then you can adjust during the tournament to having the Shot Clock.

And I think a lot of schools will find money for a Shot Clock real fast. No, I agree with you, because all of a sudden you're at a disadvantage if you don't have it, no question. All these schools that are like, oh, we can't afford it, they'll be like, oh, look at that, we found one. Right. I just happen to have one stored away in a, in a back closet somewhere.

Now, you know, the fact that they're doing instant replay and selects instances now is big time progress. So, you know, maybe I'm wrong. I just, I, I'll believe it when I see it. You know, I've been doing this for almost 25 years and it's always been a topic of conversation. And, uh, you know, until, until, and I certainly see the aesthetically pleasing reasons for having it.

But again, you know, I, it's just, you know, Until I see it, I, I'll, I'll believe it then. Yeah. Okay. So let me ask you this. So you, this is a question I ask a lot of people that, so they are going to, let's say we put you in charge of the MPA for a day. Okay. I may have asked you this last time you were on, but we'll do it anyway.

Um, they give you dictator power. You can do whatever you want. What's the thing you do? What's the rule you change for any sport? What I do is strictly for selfish reasons for me Is I split I split up some of these championships like field hockey and soccer have them be a week apart instead of the same Saturday Baseball, softball, lacrosse.

They don't all need to be that. Say lacrosse should be the week before have baseball, softball, finish things up. I would love to see basketball go back to where the big tournament was separate. Um, I feel like now it, especially the quarterfinal round when it's getting played on campus. It doesn't feel like a tournament environment whatsoever.

Um, so I mean, things like that, that again, largely are due to the fact that I'd like to be able to see as many things as I can, uh, those, those would certainly be at the top of my list. Can I pitch you an idea for the state games for basketball where each class gets their own day? I'd love it. I feel like wasn't it years ago where like class D would be on a Thursday and then like B would be on a Friday and it used to be spread out a little bit more.

No, I believe me. I, well, I would like to, you know, again, I say, let's do, you know, A, B, C and D. One weekend and then finish up the double A's, have them finish up the season. The following week Friday, Saturday noon. Yeah. I think the more exposure. You get to a state game. All eyes should be on you. You wouldn't need much to pitch me on that because it's so cool.

Like the B game has its own day and it's all by itself and everybody watches the B game and no one watches the D game because it's just the same time. Yeah. It's just a strange phenomenon. Yeah. I think that would be great. And I think, you know, I think that would be awesome for the D schools, the C schools, and, you know, we kind of owe it to them in a sense.

Absolutely. And let's televise them, please. And then, you know, because sometimes that doesn't always happen either. But yeah, I mean, the tournament, it's a unique thing in Maine high school sports. It's the crown jewel. You know, I always say that those couple of weeks, there's nothing like it. It's intensely busy and all that.

But you know, if you're a Maine high school sports fan, that, that gets more attention than anyone else. And yeah, I really feel like that all those teams, all those games really should be in the limelight as much as possible without having to share it. Yeah, I 100 percent because you're not going to watch the D game if double A game, of course you're not, of course you're not, unless you're invested in one of those teams now, right?

Unless it's your team or your kids are on that team or whatever it is. What are the agreements? Awesome. What's the best improvement you've seen in your time doing this? Like, what's like one thing that in the years you've been doing this? Has made the biggest difference. Oh my goodness. I, that's, uh, that's something I'm not even sure I could answer.

I mean, I think, you know, as, as time goes on, certainly I think the quality of play in a lot of sports is better. I think you can argue in some cases, and maybe not so much, but I feel like there's more opportunities. more exposure, certainly more opportunities and out of season for a lot of kids, not for everyone because not everyone can afford it.

But, you know, I think you see that, you know, the ability to play year round certainly elevates the quality of play during the high school seasons. And in a lot of, you know, certainly sports like soccer, you definitely see more of that now. And, and it's, you know, it's great to see. In basketball, some of these best players from Maine are going on and really, really stealing some headlines now, uh, on a national level.

I mean, that's, that speaks well for a sport that, you know, I don't think nationwide, too many people think of Maine as being a basketball powerhouse. Yeah. We were talking about that at the, during the Camden Scarborough game on the sideline there, but how much. The level of play has improved in soccer and trying to figure out what the factor was there.

And I was kind of wondering, is part of it that in the 80s, you couldn't watch soccer. No. Like anywhere. Right. Like, like Pele. Now it's everywhere. That's right. Absolutely. And before, like the 94 World Cup, there was no, there was a long stretch where there was no professional league and certainly nothing on television.

So yeah, I mean, now you want to get up on a weekend morning, you can go find a game anywhere from overseas. And we'll get the fact we're going to have the World Cup here again in a couple of years. Yeah. I mean, I think soccer is burgeoning and it's only going to get bigger and bigger. Yeah. And then, um, yeah.

To your basketball point. So I was talking to, I was at a summer game this, this past summer and someone comes up, I won't say what it was and they go, this Cooper flag thing. There's a limit to this, right? There's a ceiling somewhere. I was like, he hasn't hit it yet. No, no. And I'm just every, every day, you know, you're watching him at Duke.

You're like, okay, well, let's keep going. No, I mean, it's, it's, it's wonderful for. Kids from Maine to be able to look up to someone like him and say, you know, I mean, everyone says they want to go play here or there or the NBA or whatever, but 99, 99, 000 times out of a, you know, a hundred thousand, it's just, it's total pipe dream, but you know, he's making it tangible and, uh, you know, I think it's just, it's wonderful for basketball fans, certainly around here.

And, uh, you know, he's done incredibly well for himself and he's just, he's really just getting started if you think about it. I know that's what's crazy about it. It's not even like two games into his college career. Three games, maybe. Yeah. Um, how much of an impact you think ace is going to have in Orono?

Anytime the University of Maine can get a big name and or bring or keep someone home, so to speak. It's just better for the family. That seeing that program be viable, I think would be wonderful. Yeah. Uh, it would be great if they could compete for an America East title and just, you know, be, be one of the last team standings and, you know, the, the women's team has done so well over the years, uh, going way, way back to Coach Palumbo and, you know, coach Lon has done a great job.

year after year. It would see the men's program do a lot of really good tale they could just keep home is just going to create t for the casual fan. Speak No, I have not. It's a who's who of main high school basketball players. Yeah. Uh, Brady Saunders just had 39 points. That's good. I think last night for them.

And it's, they got like two of the Ebert kids. Okay. And Colorado from South Portland. Oh, wow. Yeah, that's, and there's, there's like five or six names where you go, oh. Oh, I like that kid. He's good. Well, that's great. Like, get back to my point, there's a lot of talent in this state, so you know, the more people you can keep home, the better, you know.

So many people have dreams of going away and playing somewhere else. And honestly, more often than not, they wind up coming home anyway. So, you know, keep them home to begin with. And all these local schools are just going to benefit that much more. Yeah. I think one of the things I always talk about is you're always going to have like the Cooper, well, you're not always going to have the Cooper flag, but you get a Cooper flag.

They're always going to go to Montverde because they should, but it's, can we make it so the Landon Clarks stay? Okay. Right. You know, and the kids like that. And, you know, you look at Mr. Basketball this year, the top six kids in that class are gone. Six, seven, something like that. And so, you know, Mr.

Basketball is going to be a guy who wouldn't have been a finalist. Right. And I think it's probably Jameer Rose is the front runner. Probably the favorite at this point, I would say so. Yeah, and it's just crazy that it's that much of a talent has left the state to go prep. And I think, you know, somehow we got to figure out how much of that can we keep.

Yeah. And let's, I mean, let's hope it's, you know. The majority, because, like I say, that there's no shortage of really good kids that would really contribute strongly. I mean, these local schools would really benefit from having them, not just as players, but as bringing some interest into a program that might not have it just the fact that there's local kids playing there.

Yeah, I mean, the interest at the comments that 1 year was just off the course, and you probably won't see anything like that again, but it's a great example of how much interest does exist when there's reason for it to. Yeah, that's. You know, anytime you see a school that's been down for a while. Oh, we saw with Noble, when last year, when Noble got that tournament run.

Great story. They had, like, they had people coming out of the woodwork to go to that game. Right, and look at Grainer Gloucester winning for the first time in 50 years. That's a community that, that, that does support its teams really well. So it's cool to see all that, see that validated at a level where you can win a championship.

Yeah, and you know, we'll see who it is this year. I'm sure there'll be somebody who comes out of the woodwork. Can't wait to talk about it more once that's like center stage, but this fall stuff We still got a couple more weeks to get through. All right I will let you go because you still have 5, 000 words to write and in your preview.

Um, Thanks so much for joining me. Uh, where can people find all of your novellas? Oh, let's see. The easiest way is to, uh, go to PressHerald. com slash for the Forecaster. net or dash net out of wherever it is these days. But, uh, that's, uh, it lives, it lives on the Varsity Maine family of of websites. And, uh, you know, I tend to send a lot of stuff out on my Facebook page as well.

But, you know, the easiest thing is just go to Varsity Maine and stuff gets updated on a daily basis. And I get it up as quickly as I can, even if I have to stay up till the wee hours of the morning. Awesome. And it's, you know, it's always you're the gold standard of of main high school sports journalism.

I think or at least 1 of the gold standards. I don't want that's kind of you. Thank you. There's a lot of good people out there. There are, and you've always been very supportive of me, so I appreciate that. No, my pleasure. You do great work. It's nice to have all these different. Voices and opinions and just different ways to look at things.

I think that's wonderful. And if you're a fan, I think it's great to be able to have a lot of different places to go and, and be able to read about your favorite teams and players and get different perspectives. I think that's just great for everybody. All right. Thank you so much for joining me. And thanks for having me somewhere very soon.

I'm sure. All right. All right. That's the show. Thanks again to Michael Hoffer for joining me. You can read him at the Forecaster at Varsity, Maine. Follow him on Twitter. Um, all the places. Uh, I've actually started a blue sky account because Twitter's not doing right. Um, so if you're on blue sky, you can find main basketball rankings at M.

E. B. ball rankings dot. BSKY dot social. That's how blue sky works. So I start transitioning over to there a little more, my personal account. I think I've dumped Twitter. I think I'm done with it for my personal account, but there's a lot of the basketball stuff is still on Twitter and a lot of teams post their scores there.

So I kind of have to be over there and able to get scores in order to get scores. Um, so anyway, that's it for the show. This has been a production of main basketball rankings dot com, your source for the most comprehensive coverage of Maine high school basketball from Ashland to York and everywhere in between.

This podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts and a bunch of places you don't. If you enjoy it, please leave a nice review because it really does help out with algorithms. Tell your friends, tell your enemies. Thanks for listening.