Maine

Maine native JP Estrella has double-double as Tennessee men’s basketball advances

Published

3 days ago

March 20, 2026

Maine native JP Estrella has double-double as Tennessee men’s basketball advances

Tennessee’s JP Estrella, center, goes up for a shot against Miami of Ohio’s Antwone Woolfolk during the Volunteers’ 78-56 win in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday in Philadelphia. (Matt Slocum/Associated Press)

PHILADELPHIA — Ja’Kobi Gillespie hit six 3-pointers and scored 29 points as sixth-seeded Tennessee ended a fabulous season for Miami (Ohio) with a 78-56 win on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Former South Portland High star JP Estrella had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Vols.

The Vols (23-11) shook off a rough end to the season — losing four of six games — and advanced to play third-seeded Virginia on Sunday in the Midwest Region.

Gillespie hit five 3s in the first half to help the Vols push ahead by 20 and squash any chance the 11th-seeded RedHawks (31-2) could carry over the confidence gained from their First Four win and pull off a signature victory.

The Vols did just about everything right and showed again why — no matter the seed — they are a perennial threat to go deep in March. Led by Gillespie, the Vols made 12 of 19 shots to start the game, including long 3s and 20 quick points in the paint.

Just to add one more gut punch to Miami, Ethan Burg hit a 3 at the first-half buzzer for a 51-32 lead.

Gillespie passed up a chance to score 30 points — only two other Vols have ever reached that mark in the NCAA Tournament — when he drove the lane with 1:13 left but skipped the open look and threw a lob to Felix Okpara for the bucket.

Peter Suder was the lone Miami player in double digits with 27 points.

Gillespie is just one of many standouts enjoying the same March success in a new uniform thanks to the transfer portal.

He started 36 games last season and averaged 14.7 points, shooting 40.7% from 3-point range, to help Maryland reach the Sweet 16.

Had Gillespie peeked at the scoreboard, he could have caught a Villanova update. Last season’s Maryland coach, Kevin Willard, has the Wildcats in the tournament.

What has remained a constant in March is Tennessee winning. The Vols have been a top-six seed in all eight of their NCAA Tournament appearances under coach Rick Barnes. They are 8-3 overall in the last three tourneys.

RedHawks had a clunker in the first round but still belonged

Miami had a March highlight when it beat SMU in the First Four, its first NCAA Tournament victory in 27 years.

Miami went 31-0 during a captivating regular season — the only Division I team to go unbeaten in 2025-26 and the eighth in the past 50 years.

The RedHawks lost their MAC Tournament opener and had to wait and see if their dazzling record was enough to get in the field because of a schedule that ranked 339th in overall strength and featured no Quadrant 1 games.

The swim team was down to one swimmer to root on the RedHawks

Liam Quigley was the lone member of the Miami swim team who drove to Philadelphia to watch the game.

The swimmers created some excitement late in the season when they started rooting on the basketball team in nothing but their Speedos, goggles and swim caps. Their popularity exploded when they bum-rushed the stands behind the basket in the First Four and waved their arms to provide a nearly-nude distraction on SMU’s free-throw attempts.

Quigley, in red-and-white overalls, traveled from the First Four site in Dayton, Ohio, and had a seat near a non-swimmer RedHawks fan who painted his face and chest red.

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Maine

Maine Maple Sunday Weekend draws visitors to 100-plus sugarhouses statewide

Published

22 minutes ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Maine Maple Sunday Weekend draws visitors to 100-plus sugarhouses statewide

The smell of sap and the taste of fresh syrup drew crowds to sugarhouses across Maine as the state celebrated the 43rd annual Maine Maple Sunday Weekend.

More than 100 sugarhouses statewide took part in this year’s event. At Balsam Ridge Christmas Tree Farm in Raymond, visitors got a firsthand look at how Maine sap is turned into maple syrup.

“So far we’ve had a great time, we have enjoyed all the maple treats,” said Doug Noe, a Portland resident.

Balsam Ridge Farm owner Dewey Lloy walked visitors through the process, explaining how sap moves through the evaporator. “Most of the evaporation is going to occur here in the back pan which is the evaporator pan and its going to come to the front pans which are syrup pans and now its becoming maple syrup at this point,” Lloy said.

Lloy said the farm plans to produce more than 300 gallons of syrup this year and expects more than a thousand visitors this weekend.

“It’s always nice to see the young and old and everybody that is just excited to get out and sample soon syrups and get stocked up on some syrup,” Lloy said.

Visitors sampled maple treats while listening to live music and exploring the Christmas tree farm.

Maine Maple Sunday weekend

“They always have great music and food and there’s always nice people to come see,” said Sam Menzel, an Oxford resident.

According to the Maine Maple Producers Association, Maine produces more than 575,000 gallons of maple syrup each year from more than 2 million maple tree taps across the state. As the state’s official sweetener, maple syrup remains a tradition that brings people back year after year.

“Its grown so much in the last years and its amazing to see how well their doing and i love to come support,” Menzel said.

Maine Maple Sunday festivities will continue across the state tomorrow.

For more information click here

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Maine

Maine Food & Dining News: Waldoboro, Bowdoinham, Bangor, Lincolnville, Damariscotta, Veazie, Deer Isle, Camden, Shapleigh, Sanford, Upton, Freeport, Scarborough – Portland Food Map

Published

12 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Maine Food & Dining News: Waldoboro, Bowdoinham, Bangor, Lincolnville, Damariscotta, Veazie, Deer Isle, Camden, Shapleigh, Sanford, Upton, Freeport, Scarborough – Portland Food Map

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

Day Boat Cafe (website, facebook, instagram) in Waldoboro (above left) had their grand opening on Wednesday. Located at 17 Friendship Road in the town center, Day Boat is the creation of Anna Hymanson and Kelsey Woodworth. Their menu includes options like a pork with broccolini sandwich, panzanella salad and clam chowder. They also have prepared foods to go. The space features a 13-seat lunch counter, two window booths, and a large community table in an open kitchen concept. Outdoor seating will also be available as the weather warms. Day Boat will be open Wednesday through Friday, 10 am – 6 pm, and Saturday/Sunday 10 am – 4 pm.
Chef Nate Fenn is joining with Logan and Ashleigh Feeney in their relaunch of the Bowdoinham Country Store (above right). The Feeney bought the store last year and have been renovating the building. They’re hoping to launch BCS in May addressing the needs of the community with a neighborhood market and serving as a gathering space with a menu of snacks, pizza, sandwiches and prepared food to go. Later in the summer they hope to expand the seating area and launch a restaurant that will be open for dinner Thursday through Saturday. Fenn is currently the chef at Table Bar in Gardiner. He began his career at Flatlanders Pub in Greenville and has worked at Spring Creek BBQ in Monson and elsewhere in the state. The store is located at 54 River Road near the town center.
The Waldoboro Inn (instagram) has announced their summer plans and kicked of a novel crowdfunding campaign to help in the build out of their kitchen and expansion of their bar program. Starting on May 30th, Finocchi (instagram) will be operating Trattoria Finocchi at the inn on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays throughout the summer. The Finocchi project “focuses on the story & magic of food as they queer Italian and Italian-American traditions.” They plan to grow some produce at the Inn as well as source ingredients from Landsmith Farm & Commons. You can buy tickets for the crowdfunding campaign/raffle on the TWI website. Ticket prices are aligned with prize packages, and in a unique twist even losing ticket win some type of prize. For example the winner at the $50 level gets a dinner for two, and the remaining ticket holders get a free drink at the inn’s wine bar.
The Bangor Daily News has published an article about Rasa, an Indian restaurant being launched in Bangor by Sai Guntaka from Taj and his uncle Obul Reddy. The restaurant is scheduled to open March 29th.
Cellardoor Winery took home an award from the International Wine Competition for their 2024 Late Harvest Frontenac Blanc.
Salt + Pepper Social in Newcastle is holding 3-course plant-based dinner on May 2nd.
A new pizza food truck called Colonel’s Canteen (facebook) is under development. They plan to operate at the Korean Dad space in Veazie and at events in the Bangor/Brewer area.
The Pilgrim’s Inn on Deer Isle has rebranded as The Ark. The restaurant at the inn was on the New York Times “50 best places in America right now” restaurant list in 2025.
The Crooked Spoon is holding a pop-up dinner at The Norumbega in Camden on March 28th.
Meet York County has published a field report from Bob’s Ugly Bagels in Shapleigh., and Biddo Foodies has published a field report from Fern Leaf Bakery in Saco.
The Sanford Springvale News has published a profile of Bob Rizk, the chef and owner of The Rialto in Sanford.
The Bethel Citizen reports that the Upton Village Store is under new ownership. “They will sell groceries, prepared food and Maine souvenirs year-round. The store will also offer live bait, small camping supplies and check stations for wild game and furs.”
The Press Herald reports that Maine Beer Company in Freeport is planning an 11,000 sq ft expansion that will enable them to double their production capacity to 100,000 barrels a year.
As reported last Sunday, Vince Maniaci and Jill Dutton have announced they’ll be closing their Scarborough market and cheese shop, The Cheese Iron

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

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Maine

Washington County student wins Maine State Spelling Bee

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Washington County student wins Maine State Spelling Bee

Tristan Singh spells the word stratosphere correctly to win the Maine State Spelling Bee at Bowdoin College in Brunswick on Saturday. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)

BRUNSWICK — A eighth grade student from Washington County returned for a second crack at the Maine State Spelling Bee Saturday and booked a ticket to the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. He’s also headed somewhere else special — his school’s spring dance.

“It feels really awesome, especially since I made the biggest bet on winning,” winner Tristan Singh said following the bee. “There’s a spring dance coming up at my school next week, and I said I would only (go) if I won.”

Singh, a student at Rose M. Gaffney Elementary School in Machias, beat out 13 other spellers from all over the state at Bowdoin College and took the final prize with the word “stratosphere.” Each student had won bees at the school and county level to win a spot at the state competition.

The bee, which was presented by the Maine Trust for Local News, went on for 18 rounds. It came down to Singh and the student representing Androscoggin County, Turner Elementary School sixth grader Grace Morris.

Spectators were biting their nails as Morris and Singh went back and forth spelling words for six rounds.

Benjamin Ho, a seventh grader at Gorham Middle School, contemplates the spelling of a word during the Maine State Spelling Bee at Bowdoin College in Brunswick on Saturday. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)

At round 14, Singh misspelled “cognizant,” giving Morris the chance to win. Then, Morris misspelled “millennial” — sending the final two into more rounds until a misspelling of “philosophize” ultimately took Morris out of contention.

The heated competition was all in good fun as spellers high-fived each other on stage and celebrated each others’ wins.

“We ended up chatting a lot, (and) cheering each other on,” said sixth grader Harmony Hoyt, the speller from Aroostook County.

And families in the audience were waiting with congratulatory hugs no matter their students’ place in the standings.

Judges Lily Jordan, left and Glenn Jordan listen as Mason Booker, a fifth grader at SeDoMoCha Middle School in Dover-Foxcroft, spells a word during the Maine State Spelling Bee at Bowdoin College in Brunswick on Saturday. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)

“(We’re) so proud of him. He’s worked really hard; he’s done a lot of hours of studying,” said Elizabeth Singh, Tristan’s mom.

Three members of a spelling bee family and the president of Thomas College made up the judging team for the state bee. For each word, students could ask the judges for its definition, origin, part of speech and to use it in a sentence.

Lily Jordan, of San Francisco, returned to her home state to judge this year’s bee after winning it twice as a middle schooler. Her dad, Glenn Jordan, a retired Press Herald sports writer, and her mom, Nancy Jordan, the lead content developer at National Geographic Learning, were also at the judges’ table. Meanwhile, their dog, Webster — like the dictionary — took a nap under the table.

“It almost feels like being a kid again, and feeling the nervousness of the moment, but it’s a lot of fun,” Lily Jordan said.

Jeannine Uzzi, the president of Thomas College, served as the word pronouncer Saturday, a role she’s been coming back to for more than 15 years.

Olivia Bart, a seventh grader at Hermon Middle School, spells a word during the Maine State Spelling Bee at Bowdoin College in Brunswick Saturday. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)

“It’s a great way to reinforce academics in the state,” Uzzi said.

A bee afficionado, Singh plans on competing in the Maine State Civics Bee at Colby College in June — that is, after he appears at the nation’s largest spelling competition.

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