Baseball America names Sea Dogs minor league team of year
The Portland Sea Dogs have been named Baseball America’s 2014 Minor League Team of the Year.
The Sea Dogs produced their best record in franchise history in 2014, 88-54, capturing the Eastern Division title by five gamesbefore falling in the first round of the playoffs. The Sea Dogs roster included some of the top prospects such as Mookie Betts, Henry Owens, and Blake Swihart.
Betts reached base safely in his first 36 games of the season and a total of 66 straight games dating back to 2013. Betts hit .355 in 54 games with the Sea Dogs and by the end of June he had been called up to the Red Sox.
Owens set a franchise record with 14 wins and was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year after notching a 14-4 record with a 2.60 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 20 starts.
Brian Johnson captured the league’s ERA title with a 1.75 ERA, the lowest mark in the league since 1985.
Portland had six players named Eastern League All-Stars; Sean Coyle, Derrik Gibson, Owens, Noe Ramirez, Robby Scott, and Swihart.
First-year Sea Dogs manager Billy McMillon earned EL Manager of the Year honors.
The Sea Dogs attracted 359,427 fans to Hadlock Field in 2014 and recorded 14 sell-outs.
Bangor bowler records 300 game
HERMON — Brent Brown of Bangor rolled a 300 game at the Sports Arena 10-pin lanes Tuesday night.
Brown recorded a 206 in his first game, 300 in the second and 213 in the final for a 719 series in the GE League. He has been participating in the league for 29 years.
Howe didn’t have another stroke
NHL legend Gordie Howe did not have another stroke on Monday as earlier reported but instead was suffering from dehydration, his family said in a statement released Wednesday by the Detroit Red Wings.
The 86-year-old Howe appeared to have suffered a severe stroke as caregivers and physical therapists attended to him for 30 minutes. But after he was hospitalized in Lubbock, Texas, where he is staying with daughter Cathy Purnell, it was determined after undergoing tests that he did not have a second major stroke.
“He is having difficulty eating solid foods at this time, has slurred speech and has been unable to walk for more than three weeks now,” Howe’s family said in the statement. “All of these factors are contributing to his overall decline in health. His mental awareness has improved enough in the past 24 hours to where we expect him to be out of the hospital and in his own bed at home before the night is over.”
Howe had a series of mini-strokes starting in the summer and a more severe stroke on Oct. 26, but he had since regained some movement on his right side before the latest setback. Howe also suffers from dementia.
NHL great Beliveau dies at 83
Center Jean Beliveau, an all-time NHL great who totaled 1,219 points in 1,125 games, all with the Montreal Canadiens, died Tuesday at age 83.
Beliveau joined the Canadiens for his first NHL game on Dec. 16, 1950, at the age of 19. His 20-season career was highlighted by 10 Stanley Cup Championships.
Months after announcing his retirement, Beliveau’s No. 4 was retired by the Canadiens and in 1972, the Hockey Hall of Fame waived its three-year waiting period to immediately induct him.
Kings’ Cousins still battling viral infection
Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins underwent additional evaluation in a hospital Tuesday night as he continues to recover from a viral infection.
The team announced that team physicians, led by Dr. Jason Brayley of Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento, admitted DeMarcus to the hospital for treatment and rest. The Kings said his condition is improving daily and a full recovery is anticipated. He was released from the hospital on Wednesday.
Cousins will not be in uniform this weekend, with his return expected by next week. He missed his third consecutive game on Tuesday night. He leads the Kings in scoring (23.5 points per game), rebounding (12.6), blocks (23) and steals (17).