UMaine’s Bogdanovich gains regional honor
ORONO, Maine — University of Maine softball pitcher Alexis Bogdanovich of South Portland has received National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Northeast Region Third Team honors.
Bogdanovich, the America East Pitcher of the Year, led the league in ERA (1.73) and strikeouts (182) while her 15 wins matched a league-high.
UMaine athletes finalists for league award
ORONO — University of Maine swimmer Naja Harvey and field hockey player Holly Stewart have been named finalists for the 2014-15 America East Woman of the Year award.
The honor recognizes the conference’s senior female student-athlete who has best distinguished herself throughout her collegiate career in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, service and leadership.
The winner will be announced on June 2.
UMaine athletes gain academic honors
ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine had three student-athletes named to the 2014-15 Academic All-District At-Large First Teams on Thursday.
Katy Massey of Waterville and Holly Stewart were named on the women’s side, while Devin Shore received honors on the men’s side. They will all three be placed on the national ballot for Academic All-American consideration.
Massey played women’s ice hockey, Stewart was on the field hockey team, and Shore was on the men’s ice hockey team.
Union St. Golf Range opens
BANGOR — The Union Street Golf Range located beside the Airport Mall has opened for the season. The large grass tee area is 200 by 75 feet and allows for 22 golfing stations.
Wizards’ Wall should be good to go in game six
Washington Wizards guard is expected to play in game six against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night after experiencing no swelling in his injured left hand and wrist.
Wall overcame five non-displaced fractures to produce 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals in the Wizards’ 82-81 loss to the Hawks on Wednesday night.
Wall showed no apparent effects of the injury suffered 10 days ago with his performance against the Hawks.
Canada-U.S. bridge to be named after hockey great Howe
A planned bridge connecting Detroit with the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario, will be named after Hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, officials said on Thursday.
The 87-year-old Canadian, known as “Mr. Hockey” for a tough but skillful playing style that shattered records, was born in the small farming town of Floral, Saskatchewan, and spent his prime playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League.
The bridge will be named the Gordie Howe International Bridge, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced during a presentation along the Windsor riverfront.
The publicly-owned bridge is expected to open in 2020 and provide a much-needed alternative for the Windsor-Detroit corridor, which is the busiest commercial land crossing between Canada and the United States.
College football attendance declines
College football experienced a downturn in attendance last year, with average crowds shrinking by more than 1,000 fans per game at the FBS level.
Crowds at what formerly was known at Division I schools averaged 44,603 in 2014, the lowest figure since 2003 and a drop of 2.3 percent over 2013.
The decline was most evident at Michigan, which didn’t finish as the FBS attendance leader for only the second time since 1974, according to ESPN. The Wolverines had the sixth largest drop in the country, averaging 6.683 fewer fans after struggling on the field in 2014.
Big Ten rival Ohio State bucked the trend and rose to the top of FBS attendance with an average of 106,296 fans, an increase of 1,300 from the previous season.
The defending national champion Buckeyes continued their upward trend by drawing a record 99,391 in April to their spring game in Ohio Stadium.