Bangor golfer named Scholastic Junior All-American
Drew Powell of Bangor has been named a Scholastic Junior All-American by the American Junior Golf Association. He is among 12 young men recognized for their ability to excel on the golf course and in the classroom.
Powell, who attends The Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, owns an adjusted grade point average of 4.68 and scored 2110 on the SAT. His best golf finish in 2015 was seventh at the Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Sugarloaf Golf Club in Carrabassett Valley.
Honorees must have placed in the top five of an AJGA Open or Invitational and are selected based on: Standardized test scores, GPA, school leadership/community service and writing skills as showcased in an essay, in that order.
UMaine field hockey hosting No. 6 Albany Friday
Albany, the first America East team to reach the NCAA Tournament’s semifinals a year ago, will bring its No. 6 national ranking to Orono to take on the University of Maine’s Black Bears in an America East showdown on Friday at 3.
Albany is 9-1 overall with its only loss coming at the hands of No. 3 North Carolina. The Great Danes are 2-0 in the conference. Albany went 20-3 a year ago and lost to eventual NCAA champ UConn 1-0 in the semifinals despite outshooting UConn 10-5.
Maine is 10-2 and 1-0, respectively, and has won seven of its last eight.
Albany has won the last five meetings.
The Great Danes are led by reigning Division 1 Player of the Year Paula Heuser (12 goals, 5 assists) and Anna Bottino (5 & 5) while the Black Bears’ top scorers are Danielle Aviani (7 & 4) and Sydney Veljacic (8 & 2).
Patriots ink RB Lewis to extension
New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis signed a two-year contract extension through the 2017 season, according to published reports.
The deal is worth nearly $5 million and prevents Lewis from becoming an unrestricted free agent following the season.
“They gave me a chance and that’s all I can ask for,” Lewis told reporters. “They gave me a chance, so it’s for me to repay them as well. They showed a commitment to me and I just have to honor it and keep on going out there and making them right.”
Lewis was a reserve for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011-12 before joining the Cleveland Browns. He missed the 2013 season due to a broken leg and didn’t play last season.
New England signed Lewis and he won a job during training camp. Lewis has rushed for 146 yards and caught 15 passes so far this season.
Cubs boost wild-card TV ratings
The Chicago Cubs’ 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night was the most watched wild-card game since its advent in 2012 and garnered the largest audience for a major league game on cable television since 2011.
According to Turner Sports, the National League matchup, broadcast on TBS, reached a peak of 9.7 million viewers with an average audience of 8.3 million.
The last game to draw as many viewers was the finale of the NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011. The Cubs’ first playoff win since 2003 also attracted the largest viewership in Chicago since the White Sox won the 2005 World Series.
The ratings in Pittsburgh also were 16 percent higher than the Pirates’ NL wild-card game last year against the San Francisco Giants.
Last season’s AL wild-card game on TBS was watched by 5.2 million viewers.