Maine
How did Jovantae Barnes break out with career day in OU football win vs Maine?
NORMAN — Jovantae Barnes was patient when he received a handoff from Jackson Arnold.
In the middle of the first quarter, OU football trailed Maine by a touchdown and needed a spark offensively. On the first play, Barnes waited for his blockers to get in position before making two Black Bear defenders miss with jukes. He was then free for what he thought was 75 yards to the end zone.
The play was initially called a touchdown but Barnes was ruled short at the 1-yard line.
“I still think it was a touchdown,” said Barnes, who two plays later punched in a 2-yard score. “They might say different. But it felt good to break one and just celebrate with my guys. … I was mad because I was like, ‘Just give me the touchdown.’ But to just go in there again and get it. It felt good.”
Barnes’ performance in the Sooners’ 59-14 win over Maine on Saturday felt extra special after a rollercoaster 2023 season when he dealt with a foot injury, starting just one game and rushing for one touchdown. Barnes put those past frustrations aside this season and has not only cemented himself as OU’s leading running back but also he’s found his voice as one of the Sooners’ unquestioned leaders on offense.
Barnes’ 203 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns were each career highs. He averaged 11.3 yards on his 18 carries.
“It’s been awesome to see,” OU quarterback Jackson Arnold said. “Obviously I wasn’t here his freshman year when he played really well. And I came in last year, I was waiting to see Jovantae because everyone kept talking about how hard he ran and this and that and he just had injuries last year and I wasn’t able to see it. And to finally see it this year come to fruition this year has been really awesome. I’m super proud of him.”
As a freshman in 2022, Barnes played in 11 games and scored five touchdowns. When the season ended, Barnes was atop many people’s lists of potential Sooners transfers but said he never once thought about leaving.
OU running backs coach DeMarco Murray have developed a close relationship. Both are from Las Vegas. It was Murray who phoned Barnes following the Sooners’ loss to Arizona in last season’s Alamo Bowl to make sure he was keeping his head up and that he knew if he stayed his time was coming. They took a moment to celebrate how far Barnes has come with an emotional embrace and a picture together postgame Saturday.
“I’m really proud of him,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “He continued to come back and work hard and was on a mission, if you will, and it’s a great example for the other players, everybody learns from that. All that matters is what you do moving forward and things are going to happen, and you have to overcome some things. And certainly he did that with being frustrated with being injured and not being able to get into a rhythm a year ago.”
After running hard the past few weeks and being one of the few bright spots on the Sooners’ offense, it has felt like a breakout game was coming for Barnes. He felt it too and told wide receiver J.J. Hester pregame that he was going to perform well.
Barnes’ 158 first-half rushing yards was the most by an OU running back since Samaje Perine’s FBS single-game record performance against Kansas in 2014. Barnes’ 74-yard rush was the Sooners’ longest rushing play since Rhamondre Stevenson’s 75-yarder against South Dakota in 2019.
Although it was against an FCS opponent, offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley said Barnes’ performance can elevate the entire offense’s play throughout the rest of the season.
“It always starts with the run,” Finley said. “As you saw today, whenever you can do that, some different things open up for you. I’m extremely proud of Jovantae because he’s finally healthy and able to show what he can do. … You just see the steps. Hopefully you continue to take those little steps, one week at a time, one day at a time, one rep at a time.”
Barnes’ performance also meant more to tight end Kaden Helms, who also dealt with injuries and scored his first career touchdown on Saturday. Barnes and Helms, who signed with OU in the same recruiting class, pushed each other last season and made it a competition every day in the training room to get healthier and improve.
“That’s my guy,” Helms said. “It was great to see the run game going, great to see Vontae doing what everyone including himself knows he can do.”
During a meeting in preseason camp, Venables encouraged Barnes to speak to the entire team about his experiences a season ago. The Sooners used Barnes’ speech as inspiration to fight through mental obstacles.
Barnes showed off his immense talent on that long run in the first quarter. But it’s been his perspective and leadership throughout OU’s disappointing 5-4 start to the season that has impressed those around him.
“Last year doesn’t have to have anything to do with this year,” Venables said. “He just put his head down and created an opportunity for himself, made the most of the opportunity when he’s gotten in and he’s just really excelled and has really taken off.”
OU at Missouri
KICKOFF: 6 of 6:45 p.m. Saturday at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. (ESPN or SEC Network)
Maine
This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage
A waterfront home with open ocean views on the coast of Maine came to market Tuesday asking $4 million.
Built in 1978, the three-bedroom cottage is at the southern point of Cape Elizabeth, less than 10 miles from downtown Portland. The 1.1-acre property on Sunny Bank Road features 200 feet of south-facing water frontage on the wide open Atlantic.
It is bordered by a rocky sea wall that’s about 28 feet high, according to listing agent Sam Michaud Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty
“The views are like a Monet painting,” he said via email. “The water sparkles and the waves are endless.”
MORE: Laid-Back Costa Rica Is Getting a $7 Million Mega-Penthouse
The 3,364-square-foot home was built in classic New England style, with shingle siding, a single sloped roofline and large windows—complemented by white-washed walls, exposed-beam ceilings and wide-plank flooring on the interiors.
The main common area features cathedral ceilings with a step-down between the living and dining room, and a partial wall divides the dining room from the kitchen. There is also a wood-paneled family room off the kitchen, a gym and a covered porch.
The sellers purchased the property in 2010 for $1.562 million, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark. They could not immediately be reached for comment.
“I have received quite a few inquiries since hitting the market two days ago,” Michaud said. “Buyers understand that this is a golden opportunity to own over an acre with 200 feet of bold oceanfront in Cape Elizabeth.”
MORE: Iranian Strikes on Dubai Put the City’s Roaring Real Estate Market to the Test
There are currently just seven three-bedroom homes available for sale in Cape Elizabeth and fewer than five waterfront properties, according to Sotheby’s and Zillow data. It is also the most expensive listing in the town, with another waterfront property on a tiny lot just south of Portland coming in a close second, according to Zillow.
Michaud sold the former Cape Elizabeth home of Bette Davis this past summer for $13.4 million, the priciest sale on the cape in at least a decade—and even those views can’t compare. They’re “just magical,” he said.
Maine
NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion
Robert Bryan is a licensed forester from Harpswell and author or co-author of numerous publications on managing forests for wildlife. Paul Larrivee is a licensed forester from New Gloucester who manages both private and public lands, and a former Maine Forest Service forester.
In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a conservation plan and forest management plan as mitigation for impacts from the NECEC transmission corridor that runs from the Quebec border 53 miles to central Maine.
As professional foresters, we were astonished by the lack of scientific credibility in the definition of “mature forest habitat” that was approved by DEP, and the business-as-usual commercial forestry proposed for over 80% of the conservation area.
The DEP’s approval requires NECEC to establish and protect 50,000 acres to be managed for mature-forest wildlife species and wildlife travel corridors along riparian areas and between mature forest habitats. The conservation plan will establish an area adjacent to the new transmission corridor to be protected under a conservation easement held by the state. Under this plan, 50% of the area will be managed as mature forest habitat.
Under the forest management plan, a typical even-aged stand will qualify as “mature forest habitat” once 50 feet tall, which is only about 50 years old. These stands will lack large trees that provide wildlife denning and nesting sites, multiple vegetation layers that mature-forest birds use for nesting and feeding habitats and large decaying trees and downed logs that provide habitat for insects, fungi and small mammals, which in turn benefit larger predators.
Another major concern is that contrary to the earlier DEP order, the final approval allows standard sustainable forestry operations on the 84% of the forest located outside the stream buffers and special habitats. These stands may be harvested as soon as they achieve the “mature forest habitat” definition, as long as 50% of the conserved land is maintained as “mature.”
After the mature forest goal is reached, clearcutting or other heavy harvesting could occur on thousands of acres every 10 years. Because the landowner — Weyerhaeuser — owns several hundred thousand acres in the vicinity, any reductions in harvesting within the conservation area can simply be offset by cutting more heavily nearby. As a result, the net
mature-forest benefit of the conservation area will be close to zero.
Third, because some mature stands will be cut before the 50% mature forest goal is reached, it will take 40 years — longer than necessary — to reach the goal.
In the near future the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) will consider an appeal from environmental organizations of the plan approval. To ensure that ecologically mature forest develops in a manner that meets the intent of the DEP/BEP orders, several things need to change.
First and most important, to ensure that characteristics of mature forest habitat have time to develop it is critical that the definition include clear requirements for the minimum number of large-diameter (hence more mature) trees, adjusted by forest type. At least half the stocking of an area of mature forest habitat should be in trees at least 10 inches in diameter, and at least 20% of stands beyond the riparian buffers should have half the stocking in trees greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter.
Current research as well as guidelines for defining ecologically mature forests, such as those in Maine Audubon’s Forestry for Maine Birds, should be followed.
Second, limits should be placed on the size and distribution of clearcut or “shelterwood” harvest patches so that even-aged harvests are similar in size to those created by typical natural forest disturbance patterns. These changes will help ensure that the mature-forest block and connectivity requirements of the orders are met.
Third, because the forest impacts have already occurred, no cutting should be allowed in the few stands that meet or exceed the DEP-approved definition — which needs to be revised as described above — until the 50% or greater mature-forest goal is reached.
If allowed to stand, the definitions and management described in the forest management plan would set a terrible precedent for conserving mature forests in Maine. The BEP should uphold the appeal and establish standards for truly mature forest habitat.
Maine
Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition
For a lot of people throughout Maine, there’s some built up frustration that they’ve just been keeping inside.
That frustration can come in a lot of different forms. From finances to relationships to the world around you.
So it makes plenty of sense that a rage room opened in Portland, Maine, where people can let some of that frustration out.
It’s called Mayhem and people have been piling in to smash, crush and do dastardly things to inanimate objects that had no idea what was coming.
But Mayhem has realized not everyone is down with swinging a sledgehammer. So they’ve decided to cook up something new.
Mayhem Creating ‘Scream Room’ at Their Space in Portland, Maine
Perhaps the thought of swinging a baseball bat and destroying a glass vase brings you joy. The thought of how sore your body will be after that moment makes you less excited.
Mayhem Portland has heard you loud and clear and is developing a new way to get the rage out. By just screaming.
Mayhem is working on opening their very first scream room. It’s exactly what you think it is, a safe place to spend some time just screaming all of the frustration out.
There isn’t an official opening date set yet but it’s coming soon along with pricing.
Mayhem in Portland, Maine, Will Still Offer Rage Rooms and Paint Splatter
While a scream room is on the way, you can still experience a good time at Mayhem with one of their rage rooms or a paint splatter room.
Both can be experienced in either 20-minute or 30-minute sessions.
All the details including some age and attire requirements can be found here.
TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Things to do in Portland, Maine
Looking for fun things to do in Portland, ME? Here is what the reviewers on TripAdvisor say are the 10 best attractions.
This list was updated in March of 2026
Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka
Top 15 of The Most Powerful People in Maine
Ever wonder who the most powerful players are in Maine? I’ve got a list!
Gallery Credit: Getty Images
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Wisconsin4 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Maryland5 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Florida5 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Oregon6 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling