On Saturday afternoon the University of Maine football team held their 17th annual Jeff Cole Memorial spring game. In the game, the Black Bear offense scrimmages the defense as a way to end the spring camp. The game serves as a way to get players and coaches in a competitive game-like scenario while being able to not have the pressure of a game and having more of an instructional sense. 

This game is as useful for returning key players and starters as it is a first preparation before training camp in the summer. It is also a great experience for younger players looking to rise through the depth chart by showing what skills they possess and get more reps. A spring game is also a very useful experience for incoming freshman recruits. They have been practicing with the team for the month-long session but have never experienced anything of this magnitude yet.

Photo by Liv Schanck

This was also the first time the new captains were announced to the public with fourth-year quarterback Derek Robertson, grad student tight end Shawn Bowman, grad student offensive tackle Kevin Jones and third-year linebacker Vince Thomas being given the honor.

As for the game itself, both sides of the ball had some very bright moments as well as some points for improvement. Both offense and defense were pretty even all day as both units made some big plays, but neither conclusively beat the other side. One of the premier stars of the day was fourth-year running back Tavion Banks. 

The tough back seemed to be the Black Bears’ best offensive player as he had three touchdowns and many bruising runs and showed very good agility and ability to read a hole. He and fifth-year running back John Gay will look to be the top two ball carriers when fall comes. Gay had a solid day as well. 

Photo by Liv Schanck

The best defensive player of the day was definitely second-year defensive tackle Shymell Davis. He recorded four tackles (all for a loss) and a would-be sack if the quarterbacks were allowed to get hit. Davis was a menace in the interior of the D-line and he started the game with a ritual that I found quite heartwarming. 

His mother, Melanie Capers, met him at the fence separating the field from the stands and they embraced each other. She gave him a kiss on the top of the helmet before he ran back onto the sidelines to join the team. This tradition goes back years to when Davis was a child and this was the first time it has happened at a collegiate level. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Mrs. Capers and she explained the whole story to me and I thought it was just a great moment.

Photo by Liv Schanck

Another player who stood out during yesterday’s game was the tight end, Bowman, who made some impressive catches in tight coverage and blocked well additionally. The connection Robertson and Bowman developed was the bread and butter of the passing attack. Robertson had a decent day but did have some overthrows, and also had some really nice throws in small windows on intermediate range. 

As the day progressed, the starters would periodically come out of the game and reserve players were able to make an appearance in the game. The team showed they are very deep in all position groups, especially the quarterback room. All four guys came out and made some really nice plays. 

UMaine had a tough 2022 season, finishing with a 2-9 record, but if the spring game is any indication, it looks like the team is on the right track for the 2023 season and beyond.

You cannot tell the story of the National Basketball Association without Gregg Popovich. The future hall of famer has won five championships, three Coach of the Year awards and is considered one of the best coaches the sport has ever seen. On April 17, 2019, he and his San Antonio Spurs won a playoff game against the Denver Nuggets, the 1,413th win of his career, and passed Lenny Wilkens to become the league’s all-time winningest coach. 

Popovich was born in East Chicago, Indiana on Jan. 28, 1949. After graduating high school, he went on to play college basketball at the Air Force Academy. Following a three-year military service, he went on to become an assistant coach at his alma mater. He was in this role for six years before he became the coach of Pomona Pitzer, a Division III school in California. 

He was the head man there from 1979-1986 before joining the University of Kansas where he was able to learn under future hall-of-fame coach Larry Brown. He returned to Pomona Pitzer for one more season before Brown landed a job in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs and made Popovich his right-hand man and top assistant. Brown and his staff lasted four years before being fired and Popovich went on to Golden State to join the staff of fellow legendary coach Don Nelson. After two seasons with the Warriors, he went on to be named General Manager of the Spurs. Two and a half years later he took over head coaching responsibilities as well as the GM role. 

The Spurs won the draft lottery in 1997 when they were able to select Wake Forest star Tim Duncan who was first overall. Duncan teamed up with David Robinson and both were selected to an All-NBA team in their first season together. The next year it all came together as the Spurs made and won their first NBA Finals in the 1999 season over the New York Knicks. With Robinson aging, the Spurs needed to get a younger roster and Popovich eventually gave up his GM role to R.C. Buford. 

The duo found two diamonds in the rough and turned them into the core for the next decade with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Ginobili was taken with the 57th pick in the 1999 draft and Parker was selected with the 28th in 2001. By 2003, Robinson had gotten older and took more of a reserve role as the young stars had started to take over, and the Spurs won their second championship with a win over the New Jersey Nets. 

Popovich won his first Coach of the Year Award as well. By 2005 Parker and Ginobili had joined Duncan as all-star caliber players and they went on to win their third ring over the Detroit Pistons. Two years later the Spurs proved that they were still at the height of their powers by sweeping a young LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers team to get their fourth Larry O’Brien trophy within a decade. 

Popovich was faced again with an aging roster and found a draft steal in Kawhi Leonard 11th overall in 2011. A year later, Popovich was named the Coach of the Year for the second time. A year after that, the Spurs made it back to the Finals and met up again with LeBron James, this time as a member of the Miami Heat. The two teams had an epic matchup and the Spurs lost in a heartbreaking seventh game. The Spurs got their revenge the next season with a five-game victory to win the 2014 NBA Finals, with Popovich getting his third Coach of the Year and his fifth ring.

After that the team went on to age, and the core all retired and left over the next few seasons. The Spurs are going to miss the playoffs for the fourth year in a row this season and are in a rebuild. Popovich already has many team awards and it is now fitting that he gets an individual one which he did on this day in sports history in 2019 when he became the winningest coach ever. At the time of writing this article, it was just announced that Popovich and Parker are members of the 2023 NBA Hall of Fame Class, joining Duncan, Robinson and Ginobili.

The snow is starting to melt, the sun is setting later and the University of Maine softball team is playing home games; it is springtime in Orono. The Black Bears have been playing games since mid-February, but they have been across the country because it is essentially impossible to play outside in New England in the winter. They have played in tournaments in South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma and California where they compiled a record of 7-18. Last week they opened up the America East conference with two losses to Binghamton before finally returning home to host the Albany Great Danes. They split the doubleheader on Friday with an 8-7 extra-innings win in the first game and lost 8-0 in the second game. 

In the first game we saw a pitching matchup of Caitlyn Fallon for Maine going up against Wendi Hammond for Albany. Fallon started off on fire out of the gate by striking out the side in the first inning. In the bottom half, the Black Bears got multiple runners on but failed to capitalize. This was a theme for both squads in the first three innings with Maine stranding five runners on base compared to four for Albany. The fourth inning is when the scoring started for both teams with Sara Anderson knocking in Sierra Fretz with a base hit. In the bottom of the fourth, Kelby Drews hit a long-shot home run to left to tie it up. The Black Bears added on two more with a single from Katie Jo Moery and a sac fly from Anna Margettis to make it 3-1. In the top of the fifth Albany tied it back up after Morgan Petty was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded by new relief pitcher Alysen Rieth. Maddi Petrella then drove in another on a sacrifice bunt to make the score 3-3. Rieth replaced Fallon who went 4 1/3 innings, giving up 3 earned runs and 6 hits. 

Albany took the lead in the next inning as Jordan Nastos singled to drive in a run to make it 4-3 Great Danes. Maine forced extra innings off of a Mariah Pearson knock to left to drive in the tying run with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Albany added a pair in the top of the eighth off a two-run single from Nastos. The Black Bears looked to rally once again and they pulled through. Two errors in the Albany infield helped allow two runners to get on base and eventually score. The first came when the Albany shortstop missed a throw to get Moery on base and Grace McGouldrick was able to get to second. The next batter was Margetis who was able to get on with a two–base error by the third baseman and McGouldrick was able to score to cut the deficit to one. After a Jasmine Gray sacrifice groundout, Moery was able to cross home to tie it up. The next batter was Kelby Drews, who hit a screamer of a single to walk it off for the Black Bears. All three final runs were unearned to Wendi Hammond who went all 7 2/3 innings as she got the loss with Rieth picking up the win for Maine. McGouldrick had a stellar performance on the day by going 4-5 at the plate. 

The second game was not so kind to UMaine as they lost 8-0. The Great Danes scored 3 in the first inning off of Alexandria Gruitch. She lasted 3 1/3 innings on the mound and gave up 5 runs with 3 of them earned. Ava Zettlemoyer came in on relief and lasted 2 innings while allowing three runs, all off of home runs to Nostos and Petrella. Caitlyn Fallon was able to go the final two-thirds without giving up a run. The offense for Maine was not there for this one. The only baserunners came off of two walks. A split in an opening weekend is never a bad thing, and the Black Bears were able to pick up their first conference win of the season. They move to 8-21 overall and 1-3 in America East play and will travel to Bryant University next week to take on the Bulldogs.

The 2022-23 University of Maine men’s basketball team has just finished their campaign with a first-round exit to UMass Lowell. With a score of 85-54, they’re out of the America East conference tournament. Although it is an unfortunate way to end the season, heads should be high among the Black Bear faithful about this season and the direction of the program. Maine had their most regular season and conference wins in a season since the 2010-11 season with a record of 13-17 (7-9 in conference). The team also brought the spirit of the community back towards the men’s basketball program. The attendance numbers are the highest they have been in a number of years and the greater Orono area is thrilled with the progress of their Black Bears on the hardwood. 

Many were unsure how the team would fare this season as they brought in former alum Chris Markwood to be their head coach, a title he had never held before. He played for the Black Bears from 2003 to 2005 after spending his first couple of seasons as a player at the University of Notre Dame. Immediately after graduating he started as an assistant coach at his alma mater from 2006 to 2011. He then moved to be an assistant at the University of Vermont from 2011 to 2014, Northeastern University from 2014 to 2021 and spent the 2021-22 season at Boston College before coming back to UMaine and replacing Richard Barron as the head coach.

The season kicked off with a slate of non-conference games. The season opener was a loss to the University of Nebraska, but Maine was able to keep it close by only losing by 13. A school in the Big Ten should blow out an American East school, so keeping the game within reach until the final minutes was a very promising sign. After a dismantling of Division III UMaine Fort Kent, Maine shocked everybody when they came away with a 69-65 score against Boston College. This came as the first win against a Power Five conference school since 2010. This spurred a win streak over Columbia University and Central Connecticut State University. Following this were three consecutive close losses decided by a total of 13 points to Brown, Fordham and Marist. After that the Black Bears blew out UMaine Augusta and eked out a win versus Merrimack College.

During the Christmas break the team traveled to Ohio for a tournament. Unfortunately, they were outclassed by the University of Akron and Ohio State. After returning home they finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a one-point loss to Harvard. UMaine was already on a three-game skid and went on to lose their first five America East games to UMass Lowell, New Jersey Institute of Technology, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Vermont. With their backs against the wall, the Black Bears went on to win four of five games while defeating Binghamton University, UMass Lowell, University of Albany and UMBC with a loss to Bryant University sandwiched in the middle. This was a turning point for the team as they figured out that they could hang with just about everyone in the conference, but they also found their identity as a team that plays outstanding perimeter defense, a good high-tempo pace and a good shooting and finishing offense, despite being a bit undersized. 

The rest of the way, the team lost two consecutive games to Vermont and NJIT. Following that, they beat Albany, lost to rival UNH and beat Binghamton. The last game of the season was the happiest and most famous part of the season. On their senior night, Maine played Bryant and won on a buzzer-beater tip-in. The play went on to make ESPN’s SportsCenter and has gotten Maine basketball the most attention that it has had in a long time. This locked them into the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament which placed them against UMass Lowell where they went on to lose by 31 points. Maine is only losing three seniors to graduation: Gedi Juozapaitis, Ata Turgut, and Fofo Adetogun. It is a very young team with a promising future, and with a good recruiting class there is no reason why Maine should not be able to take the next step and climb the ranks of the America East conference. One of the bright spots is guard Kellen Tynes who led the nation in steals with a staggering 3.27 per game. He was named conference Defensive Player of the Year, as well as third-team All–Conference. Juozapaitis joined him on the All-Conference team and these stand as the individual awards that UMaine players received.

The Boston Bruins are going all in for a Stanley Cup in the way that they are approaching the rest of the 2022 to 2023 season. General manager Don Sweeney had fans calling for his firing only seven months ago after a lackluster season, lack of clarity for the direction of the franchise and the unpopular decision to fire head coach Bruce Cassidy. Since then he has put together a team that is on pace to potentially have the best regular season ever. The 1976 to 1977 Montreal Canadiens had 132 points and the current Bruins are on pace for 135 with 22 games to go. Even with all the early success, Sweeney still looked to add at the trade deadline in acquiring defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway from Washington, as well as Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit.

In acquiring Orlov and Hathaway, Boston gave up forward Craig Smith, a 2023 first-round pick, 2024 third and 2025 second. Smith has relatively underperformed in his two-and-a-half years in black and gold, only having 10 points in 42 games this season. Replacing him is the hard-hitting defenseman Orlov who has two goals and three assists in his first three games for the Bruins. Hathaway does not contribute much to the score but adds size, defense, and grit to a team that needs it as well as bottom-six forward depth come playoffs. He is also a native of Kennebunkport, Maine. Both players are on expiring contracts so it remains to be seen if they will stay after the season ends. 

The other player they acquired, also on an expiring contract is Bertuzzi. They sent a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 fourth to Detroit to acquire him. Bertuzzi has battled injuries this year, only posting 14 points in 29 games this year. Last season he had a 30-goal and 30-assist stat line, so the talent is there. These acquisitions come at the perfect time because the Bruins just put Nick Foligno on injured reserve and Taylor Hall on long-term injured reserve. If they keep both of them out for the remainder of the regular season, it saves the club $6 million against the salary cap, which will allow them to get under the $82 million mark and have them back for the playoffs a la 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Boston made another announcement right before the deadline, as they re-signed all-star right wing David Pastrnak to an eight–year contract worth $90 million. Pastrnak was set to be a free agent at the end of the season and has spent his entire playing career for the Bruins and will remain here for the rest of his prime. This seems to be an appropriate contract for someone who is currently No. 2 in NHL goals and has been a constant 30-50 goal scorer for the last seven years. 

The message that the Bruins front office is sending to its fans and around the league is that they are going for it all this year as well as looking to still be good long term. Many players are being added at the expense of draft capital, but this is a good thing for the Bruins because they have not had the best reputation at drafting and developing talent recently. If you can’t draft anyway, then why not use it to try to improve in the short term with as much depth and talent as possible?

Another reason why they are looking to go all in this year besides the pressure of having an amazing regular season is the age of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. Both are free agents at the end of the year and at 37 and 36 years old respectively, who knows if they will have an opportunity this good ever again. The rest of the roster is stacked with experienced talent such as Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Jake DeBrusk and Hall. To go along with Vezina trophy front runner Linus Ullmark in net, who leads the NHL in every goaltending statistic, even scored a goal in a victory over Vancouver last week — a truly epic feat. The pieces are all there for Boston to get its second championship in the last 12 years; now we can only wait and see how the cards play out.

The most famous call in the sport of hockey was delivered on this day 43 years ago by Al Michaels. The final seconds were ticking on the clock in the semi-final game of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games as the underdog United States team upset the juggernaut Soviet Union dynasty 4-3 in Lake Placid, New York. The game has been dubbed “The Miracle on Ice.” 

This is considered one of, if not the biggest upset in sports history. This is because the Soviets had won the previous four Olympics and were by far considered the best team in the world. They were allowed to use all of their best professionals. In comparison, NHL players were not allowed to participate, so only amateurs were allowed. This forced the Americans to play a bunch of college kids going against trained professionals, many of whom had played together for a decade or more. 

Off the ice the U.S. and the USSR were engaged in the Cold War and had extreme tension. Times were not the best in the U.S. with the economy in the tank, so the American people were looking for a pleasant surprise to rally around. The Olympics hockey team had not won gold since 1960 and had only medaled one time over that span. Expectations were low but spirits were high. 

In pool play, the U.S. had a very impressive showing with a record of 4-0-1. After a 2-2 draw with Sweden in the first game, the Americans went on an absolute tear. They beat Czechoslovakia 7-3, Norway 5-1, Romania 7-2 and West Germany 4-2. As dominant as they were on their half of the bracket, the USSR was much more dominant on theirs. They went 5-0 in pool play and had a seemingly impossible goal differential of plus-40 in those five games. They defeated Japan 16-0, the Netherlands 17-4, Poland 8-1, Finland 4-2 and Canada 6-4. 

This set the stage for the David vs. Goliath matchup. The Soviets were led by superstar goalie Vladislav Tretiak whom many considered to be the best in the world. “If you score on him, keep the puck because it doesn’t happen often,” U.S. coach Herb Brooks said about him.

Tretiak was joined by the legendary superstar line of Valeri Kharlamov, Vladimir Petrov and Boris Mikhailov. In comparison, the Americans had former Boston University goalie Jim Craig, one of the best in the nation. The team’s leading scorer was Mark Johnson who played at the University of Wisconsin, and the captain was Mike Eruzione who also played at BU.

In the semi-final game, the Soviets got on the board first with a goal nine minutes in from Vladamir Krutov. Five minutes later, Buzz Schneider tied it right back up. This was the theme throughout the entire game: the Soviets would go ahead and the Americans would answer immediately. It was 2-2 after the second period with goals from Sergei Makarov for the USSR and Mark Johnson for the. U.S. In a shocking move, Tretiak was pulled after the first period. This game gave the Americans a burst and vote of confidence for the rest of the game. 

Aleksander Maltsev scored early in the second period to make it 3-2. The next 30 minutes could be described as a dog fight with neither team giving an inch. This was until Johnson tied the game with 11 minutes to go. 81 seconds later Eruzione slapped the puck in the back of the net and gave one of the best celebrations of all time as he paraded and high-stepped in the air, overcome with joy. The Soviets would not go down quietly, but Jim Craig stood on his head and made 36 saves in the effort. Two days later the Americans beat Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal and our country rejoiced around a winner who had defied all odds and could make our great nation proud. 

After this Olympic run, 13 of the 20 players went to play in the NHL. Five played in over 500 games and three played in over 1,000. Coach Herb Brooks went to the NHL with several teams. Those men will forever share a magical moment that they will never forget and where they truly shocked the world and reminded people what it was like to represent the red, white and blue.

We are already halfway through this 2022 NFL campaign. This season has been full of surprises and abnormal storylines. One of those has been the surprisingly hot start of the New York Jets. This week, however, the New England Patriots dismantled them 22-17. Bill Belichick did what he does best: beat the Jets and embarrass young quarterbacks. This was the first time since 2001 that New York entered a matchup with New England with a better record. As New York lost to the Pats for the 13th consecutive time, their second-year QB Zach Wilson struggled heavily. He threw three interceptions and completed less than 50% of his passes. Despite his 355 yards and two touchdown passes, he had a quarterback rating of 24 out of a possible 100. 

For New England, QB Mac Jones was able to recover from a rough start with one interception and another called back in the first half. He finished with one touchdown and 194 passing yards as well as picking up multiple–clutch first downs on the ground. Another player that did a lot of this was Rhamondre Stevenson. He has been quietly putting together a Pro Bowl-caliber season, ranking in the top 10 for rushing and receiving yards for running backs. This week he ran for 71 yards and caught seven balls for 72 yards, leading the team in both categories. Jakobi Meyers scored the team’s only touchdown with a 5-yard pass from Jones. Veteran safety Devin McCourty had two picks with JaWhaun Bentley having the other. With the win, the Pats moved to 4-4 and Bill Belichick moved into second place in the all-time wins list, trailing Don Shula by 22 victories. 

Another shock of the season has been the Minnesota Vikings starting off 6-1 after they defeated the Arizona Cardinals 34-26. Their only loss came to the still-undefeated Eagles in week two on Monday Night Football, a prime time slot that has not been kind to Kirk Cousins. He is 2-10 on Monday night games and 10-18 in prime times. Luckily the majority of Minnesota’s games are early. Also luckily for Captain Kirk, he has a loaded offense featuring “Griddy” inventor and All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson, former All-Pro receiver Adam Thielen, Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook and is just finalizing a trade for Pro Bowl tight end TJ Hockenson this week. 

As for this game, the offense was firing on all cylinders, with Cousins throwing for 232 yards and two scores. Dalvin Cook led the day rushing by picking up 111 of the team’s 173 ground yards. The Vikings defense gave up over 400 yards of offense but were able to cause three turnovers. For the Cardinals, in his second game back from a performance-enhancing drug suspension, Deandre Hopkins absolutely balled out with 12 catches, 159 yards and a touchdown. Kyler Murray put up solid numbers except for the turnovers. Perhaps Kyler got distracted this week with the new Call of Duty release, which he has done in the past instead of watching film. 

For once, the Chicago Bears offense did not cost them the game. They lost to the Dallas Cowboys 49-29. The Bears went over 200 yards rushing for the third game in a row. Unfortunately, the defense did not hold up their end of the bargain and play up to their normal standards. They allowed 200 rushing yards, 250 passing and seven total touchdowns. Three of them belonged to Tony Pollard, who has really become the feature back in the offense, taking the top spot from Ezekiel Elliot. Pollard had 147 total yards on just 15 touches. Dak Prescott was very efficient for the Cowboys by missing only six passes, throwing two touchdowns and rushing. Dallas moves to 6-2 before their bye. 

The Indianapolis Colts lost the first game after the brief Matt Ryan era to the Washington Commanders 17-16. The former MVP has been benched for rookie Sam Ehlinger after a disappointing start to the season. He has likely played his last game as a Colt, as the team has Ehlinger and cheaper veteran Nick Foles. As for the game, Ehlinger did fine in his limited role, as it was his first start. He had no touchdowns but lost a fumble. Taylor Heineke won his second straight game for Washington and was also their leading rusher this game. Heineke threw his only touchdown pass to Antonio Gibson, and he ran one in as well.

This is an embarrassing week to be a fan of the New England Patriots. Not only did they lose to the lowly Chicago Bears, get blown out 33-14 and have their defense get gashed by what some argue is the worst offense in the NFL, but they also did it by having both of their young quarterbacks get exposed in the process. Mac Jones made his first start in a month after he suffered a high ankle sprain against Baltimore in week three. This put Bailey Zappe back on the bench to start the game with a chance he could go in relief, because his helmet was on while he was on the sideline, which is a very unusual scene for a backup quarterback. Jones’ first two drives were three and outs, and an interception on the following drive. After being down 10-0 quickly, Bill Belichick pulled Mac from the game in favor of Zappe. 

In his first two possessions, the rookie starred under the lights going 3/3 with 77 yards and two touchdowns, a truly electrifying moment for all watching. The 15 minutes of fame didn’t last long as the Patriots did not score for the rest of the game and Zappe threw two picks. On the other side of the ball New England’s run defense was absolutely putrid, allowing a staggering 243 yards on the ground to an offense that was ranked last in the NFL in points. Chicago’s QB Justin Fields ran it for 82 yards and a touchdown. David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert each had 62 to add to the total. While Fields only threw for 179 yards, that is his third-highest total of the season. Belichick will try again next week to get his win number 325 against the Jets this week. 

As bad as this week was for Patriots fans it was even worse for the Buccaneers and the Packers. Tampa Bay was a 13.5-point favorite going into their matchup against Carolina but came out on the losing end 21-3. Former XFL player PJ Walker started and performed better than Tom Brady. Walker threw two touchdown passes and running back Chuba Hubbard ran in the other score. The Panthers were able to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, rushing for 173 and only allowing 46 on defense to the Bucs. Brady and his offense did put up a good day in passing statistically with 290 yards, but they had only one trip to the red zone and zero touchdowns. They had good starts to drive but eventually got stagnant. Tampa was forced to punt six times and had three turnovers on downs. They fell to 3-4 as Carolina picked up their second win of the season. 

The Packers have now lost three in a row as the lowly Washington Commanders outlasted Green Bay 23-21. Aaron Rodgers was very pedestrian for only leading two scoring drives with their other touchdown being a pick-six and throwing for under 200 yards. Similar to the Tampa game, the Packers could not effectively run the ball and rarely tried to, being outgained 166-38. Fifth-year QB Taylor Heineke was not remarkable, but he outperformed Rodgers and matched his two touchdowns. In 2016, Rodgers told the media to relax after their poor start to the season. In 2022, it may be time for panic in Lambeau. 

The highest-scoring game of the week was the Thursday night opener with the Cardinals topping the Saints 42-34. The game was decided in the closing minutes of the first half. Cardinals running-back Keontay Ingram ran in for a two-yard touchdown with two minutes and 38 seconds left in the second quarter. New Orleans quarterback Andy Dalton threw not one but two pick-sixes on consecutive series, which turned a 14-6 New Orleans lead into a 14-point deficit within three minutes. The Cardinals cruised their way to victory, with the Saints scoring late to cut the deficit, but the final score was not indicative of the actual result. Arizona QB Kyler Murray had a modest day with passing for 204 yards and a score and picking up 30 more yards by running as his Cardinals picked up a much-needed win to keep pace in the NFC West.

We are now five weeks into this marathon of an NFL season. As the league passed through the one-quarter mark, there were plenty of storylines to keep up with. The week started with a game that fans found hard to stay interested in. The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Denver Broncos with a hideous score of 12-9. The two teams brought in new quarterbacks in the offseason, both with Super Bowl experience (Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson respectively). They both have been massive disappointments to their clubs who hoped they were just a quarterback away from being legitimate contenders. In Thursday’s game, they combined for four interceptions. 

Late in the fourth quarter, Denver threw away a golden opportunity to win the game. With just over two minutes left, the Colts called their final timeout with the Broncos preparing for a third and goal at the 14 yardline. When Wilson tried to force it to Tyrie Cleveland, the former Defensive Player of the Year cornerback Stephon Gilmore snatched it out of the air for a pick. The Colts and Ryan went on a proficient two-minute drill where they tied the game and sent it to overtime. In overtime, kicker Chase McLaughlin hit another kick, this time from 48 yards away. Broncos fans were expecting Russ to cook this season, but so far it looks like the only thing he can cook is a bowl of cereal. 

All of the New England region has caught a case of Zappe fever. Injuries have thrown third-string rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe into the QB1 role. In his first NFL start, the Western Kentucky alum shined in a 29-0 beatdown of the Detroit Lions. Zappe only had four incompletions, going 17/21 for a modest 188 yards and a touchdown. He also threw an interception, but the blame solely fell on the hands of his intended target Nelson Agholor. 

Second–year running back Rhamondre Stevenson had 168 yards on the ground, to go along with 2 catches and 14 yards. Jakobi Meyers also had a sensational day with 7 catches, 114 yards and the lone offensive touchdown. One point to improve on for Zappe is red zone efficiency, going 0-3. The Patriots defense was superb in the shutout effort. Matthew Judon had two sacks, with one of them being a fumble that Kyle Dugger took back 59 yards for a score. Rookie corner Jack Jones had an interception as well and looks to be a budding star on the team. 

The shock around the league this week and this season has been the New York Giants. They upset the Green Bay Packers 27-22 in London. At one point they were down by 14 points but multiple heavy time-consuming drives were able to keep Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense off the field and decrease the deficit. With just over 10 minutes of possession in the second half, the only points Green Bay scored was an intentional safety that the Giants took at the end of the game. Saquon Barkley had 106 total yards on just 16 touches for the Giants. He was consistently picking up clutch first downs in the fourth quarter despite briefly leaving due to a shoulder injury. Rodgers had a subpar performance for his normally exceptional standards, posting 222 yards and two touchdowns. 

The best game of the week was the last one when the Kansas City Chiefs came back to win against the division-rival Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders started out hot, jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter and were up 20-10 at halftime. Then the Chiefs did what they do best: get Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce on the same page. The future hall-of-fame tight end was limited to only 25 yards, but he caught seven passes and four of them for touchdowns. Vegas scored with just under five minutes to make it 30-29 and decided to go for two instead of the extra point and came up inches short. After a Chiefs punt, the Raiders got the ball back and faced a fourth-and-1 near midfield when Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow ran into each other and the ball fell incomplete. Adams and running back Josh Jacobs had monster performances for the silver in black, combining for 317 yards in the loss. The biggest story came after the game when Adams shoved a cameraman and is now facing misdemeanor assault charges.

The University of Maine’s women’s hockey team picked up their third win this past Friday night when they defeated the Long Island University Sharks 4-3. The Black Bears took full control of the game by jumping out to a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period and added another five minutes into the second. Long Island cut the deficit in half by scoring back-to-back in the middle frame. The Sharks added a final goal with three and a half minutes left to make it a 4-3 game. UMaine was able to hold on and stay strong to close out the game. 

For their first goal, UMaine was on a power play off an interference penalty by Long Island’s first-year forward Anya Weilandt. Fourth-year forward Ida Kuoppala took a pass from fifth-year defenseman Emma Lange on a two-on-one and slammed it in behind second-year goalie Tindra Holm with 11:01 left in the first. Third-year defenseman Elise Morphy had the secondary assist on the score.

A few minutes later, fifth-year forward Grace Heiting added her sixth goal of the season with first-year forward Ava Stevenson getting the primary assist and third-year defenseman Olivia King getting the second. Just 30 seconds later, UMaine’s captain fourth-year forward Morgan Trimper found first-year defenseman Cora Webber for a breakaway and she put it five-hole for her first career collegiate goal to make it a three-score game. 

Five minutes into the second, Heiting scored her second of the game with Lange getting her second assist on the goal. With this goal, UMaine seemed to get comfortable with their lead and take their collective feet off the gas, letting LIU score two goals. Third-year forward Sarah Rourke and fourth-year forward Megan Bouvier both scored, each putting one behind Black Bear third-year goaltender Jorden Mattison only 63 seconds apart to make it 4-2. 

UMaine called a time-out and regrouped. Once they got their heads back in the game, both teams remained in a stalemate for over 20 minutes before LIU’s second-year defenseman Bri Eid cut the lead to one with 3:24 to go. The Sharks could not capitalize when they pulled their goalie for an extra skater in the final 47 seconds. 

Despite being on the losing side, the star of the game was LIU’s second-year goaltender Tindra Holm. She had a very busy day getting peppered with 47 shots and making 43 saves. The Sweden native and national team member was the reason that LIU was able to hang in the game as long as they did. After a tough first period, she settled in very nicely. In comparison, Mattison had a steady day, making 21 saves and allowing three goals. 

Morgan Trimper was great on faceoffs, winning 10 of her 13 attempts. Overall, UMaine won 32 of the 59 in the game, good for 54% of them. King had a game-leading four blocked shots for the Black Bears. 

UMaine will host the defending Hockey East Conference champion Northeastern Huskies next weekend in Orono at the Alfond.