UMaine football presents team honors
The Black Bears handed out their annual team awards during Friday’s season-ending banquet at the Wells Conference Center. Defensive end Trevor Bates of Westbrook received the Harold Westerman Award as the team’s Most Valuable Player.
Wideout Micah Wright earned the Jack Butterfield Outstanding Offensive Player Award and defensive tackle Pat Ricard was given the Walter Abbott Outstanding Defensive Player Award. The Sam Sezak Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award went to Bruce Johnson and Darius Greene claimed the Roger Ellis Outstanding Defensive Lineman Award.
Other honorees included: Sean Decloux, Woody Carville Student-Athletes Achievement Award; Sherrod Baltimore, Ron Rogerson Spirit/Dedication Award; James DeMartini, Thurlow Cooper Offensive Rookie of the Year; Sterling Sheffield, Thurlow Cooper Defensive Rookie of the Year; John McCabe, George Wood Outstanding Special Teams Player Award; Jack Walsh, Jim Butterfield Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year; Charles Mitchell, Jim Butterfield Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year; and Mike Kozlakowski, “Maine Maine” Strength and Conditioning Award.
Johnson, Bates and McCabe received Captains Recognition after being selected as game captains most often during the 2015 season.
Blackhawks to sign Swedish goalie
Lars Johansson, the Swedish Hockey League’s goalie of the year this season, is close to signing a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, according to Swedish media outlets Expressen and Goteborgs-Posten.
Johansson, 28, played for Frolunda this season and had a .927 save percentage with a 1.74 goals-against average in the regular season. He had a 7-6 record with seven shutouts. He then had a .947 save percentage and 1.43 goals-against average in the playoffs.
How Chicago would use Johansson is unclear. Current No. 1 Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford has a long-term contract that runs through 2020 with a $6 million annual salary-cap hit.
Lions acquire LB Bostic from Patriots
The Detroit Lions acquired linebacker Jon Bostic in a trade with the New England Patriots in exchange for an undisclosed, conditional draft pick, the teams announced Monday.
ESPN reported the pick is a 2017 conditional seventh-round selection.
Bostic played in 11 games, including one start, for the Patriots last season. Before that, he played two seasons with the Chicago Bears.
He was a second-round selection by the Bears in the 2013 NFL Draft .
The Patriots also signed defensive tackle Anthony Johnson, who played in seven games with the Miami Dolphins last season, but did not start any of them. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent in 2014.
Krzyzewski has hernia surgery
Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski had surgery on Monday morning to repair a hernia. On April 3, Krzyzewski underwent total knee replacement surgery on his left knee.
“I’d like to thank everyone at Duke University Hospital who made this procedure as smooth as possible,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “With this surgery behind me, I’ll be in great physical condition heading into the Olympics and I’m excited for the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Average recovery time from hernia surgery is four weeks. Krzyzewski should be better to coach the U.S. Men’s National team in the Summer Olympics in August in Rio de Janeiro.
The 69-year-old Krzyzewski is 75-1 as coach of the U.S. team, which includes an active 63-game winning streak. His teams have won two Olympic gold medals.
Krzyzewski has won a Division I men’s record 1,043 games in 41 seasons at Duke, including five NCAA titles.