M-A-I-N-E... Gooooooooooooooooooo Blue!

OK, so now you know. I didn't get outside much this past beautiful weekend.

But I did find time to plunk my butt down in front of the tube to watch the University of Maine Black Bear men's hockey team...

Friday night, after giving up an early and easy goal, the Bears played tight and fast and pummeled the St. Cloud State Huskies 4-1.

On Saturday night our boys took care of business again with a convincing 3-1 victory over the UMass Minutemen to win the NCAA East Regional and advance to the Frozen Four in two weeks in St. Louis.

Congrats to our Black Bears for their grit. You got a second chance with a berth in the NCAAs. You played like you wanted it. With the usual calm and class. Coach Whitehead should be proud.

This UMO alum ('84 and '86G) sure is!

Now go on to St. Louis and do it again. You've got the fire in you. Bring us home another national championship!

GO BLUE!!!

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming, er, blogging...

Ridiculous license plate controversies aside, and in a completely unrelated but semi-outdoors vein, I'd just like to say this (big, big smile implied):

Yeah SEADOGS!!!

Wish you could've done it when we were there and primed to celebrate on Friday night, but I'll take it. We all will. Congrats, my boys, congrats!

Sea Dogs are #1!

It's true.

The black bears are gone. Migrated to the midwest I'm told.

The reason?

Habitat destruction? Food shortage? Overpopulation? Global warming?

Nope.

The Frozen Four!

Yes, that's right fans.

The Maine Black Bears are in Milwaukee today to play in college hockey's national championship semi-finals.

Their prey, er, opponent?

The Wisconsin Badgers.

Question: What do Black Bears eat?

Answer: Badger meat!

Do what you must today. Get your work done. Get in a nice walk or run or bike ride outside later on. Eat a good dinner. Then sit your butt down with your chips and dip and cold ones and tune in for some Maine hockey tonight at 8PM on ESPN2.

A 3rd national championship for our boys in the blue and white?

Maybe. Hopefully.

It's happened on the ice of the Bradley Center in Milwaukee once before, in 1993. That magical come-from-behind victory over Lake Superior State 5-4. (And again in Los Angeles in 1999 against UNH. A 3-2 heart-stopper).

M-A-I-N-E... Goooooooo Blue!

Fill the steins to dear old Maine, shout til the rafters ring...

Last weekend I struggled up the steep and icy trails of Mt. Kearsarge. But we made it to the top and it was good fun.

This weekend there was again some ice in the picture, albeit a different kind of ice. My boys, the University of Maine Black Bears, two-time NCAA National Hockey Champions, were also out there striving for the top. And they skated and checked and scored their way to another berth in the Frozen Four.

Oh, do they make this Maine alum proud. So much so that I'm sitting here humming the Maine Stein Song on this particularly beautiful blue and sunny Monday morning.

To the Frozen Four we go again, next Thursday, April 6th at 8PM at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee (site of Maine's first championship in April 1993). Maine against the Wisconsin Badgers.

I had a great weekend outdoors skiing at Cannon and Wildcat and comfortably holing up at the fine AMC Highland Center. Hope yours was a fun one outdoors, too.

But more on all that later.

For now all I can say is:

M-A-I-N-E... Goooooooooooooooooooooo Blue!

Since it appears that the weekend is likely to be a wash for skiing, I was just wondering...

A little golf anyone?

Other ideas?

...then maybe I can get away with it too.

Huh?

Awhile back I pointed out that the Outdoor Life Network was featuring professional hockey games on its TV network. Of course I now see that they are also featuring speedboat racing, dune buggy racing and motocross. But I digress...

Yes, I moaned and groaned about it then, but since they've broken the ice here, I figure it gives me a little leeway to stray off the straight and narrow outdoors path somewhat too.

Huh? Get to it boy!

OK, OK.

You see, last night it was cold and windy outside. Dark too. Not fit for man (person?) nor beast.

But inside, a different story. Especially if you were inside the Cumberland County Civic Center in the stands amongst a sellout crowd of rabid fans watching the two-time national hockey champion University of Maine Black Bears skate, slug and shoot their way to a win over Brown University.

For Maine fans, though, the game was a sleeper for the first 2 1/2 periods. Brown had our number and outplayed the Maine kids big time. 1-0 after two. It looked grim. A nail biter at best.

Almost as grim as the Coors Light, the only draft beer available between periods. (Note to CCCC: Can you say A-L-E?).

Anyway, midway through the 3rd Maine caught fire, peppering the Brown goalie with shots, tightening and toughening up the defense, making passes and ultimately putting two sweet pucks past the Brown goaltender.

Final: 2-1 Maine.

Whew! Almost made the Coors Light worth it.

M-A-I-N-E... Gooooooooooo Blue!

[band plays here, adoring fans and alums sing] Fill the steins to dear old Maine, shout til the rafters ring... ! Woo-hoo!

And now back to your regularly scheduled outdoors blogger programming...

There was a little clip in the Sports section of today's Portland Press Herald: "What's on TV tonight?"

Interestingly, the blurb said that the Bruins vs. Flyers would be the featured program tonight on the Outdoor Life Network.

Huh?

That's hockey. Indoors.

Check it out for yourself.

It's really true.

What gives OLN?

Is NASCAR next?

16th tee, Springbrook Golf Course, Leeds, 6:45PM last evening. The sun is down.

I tee off.

Whack!

Sounded good. But I'll be damned if I know where it went.

Pete steps up. Same thing.

Hmmm.

Perhaps it's time to call it a night. Don and Ron agree. Our games have been getting a little shaky the last few holes anyway. We head to the clubhouse for a beer.

Note to self: Best try to tee off before 2PM these days if you plant to get a full 18 holes in.

Or maybe skip the golf all together (the way my game has been, that's not a bad idea), break out the road bike, helmet and headlamp and start taking part in some night rides with the Casco Bay Bike Club.

Hardy CBBCers will be night riding every Wednesday evening, starting at 6PM from Payson Park in Portland, until snow and ice make riding unsafe.

Now many of you hardcores will tell me that golf is only marginally an outdoor sport.

OK, I can live with that.

But what about golf AND beer, together? Figured that would get your attention. Makes it a little easier to swallow, doesn't it? (Geez, I crack me up!).

Beer and golf will be on the docket for a vote at next week's Cumberland town council meeting.

It'll be 'yeah' or 'nay' on beer carts on the golf course hawking beer to thirsty golfers like me.

I say it's harmless. Hey, my game is bad enough. A couple of pops could only improve it I think. So I hope they and other towns vote for it.

Now there's a surprise opinion for you...