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OU football offense offers glimmer of hope, even if it was against Maine

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OU football offense offers glimmer of hope, even if it was against Maine


NORMAN — Walking out of the stadium after his team’s 59-14 win over Maine on Saturday afternoon, OU coach Brent Venables crossed paths with one of his staff.

“Storm’s coming,” Venables said with a big grin.

Venables, of course, was talking about the clouds and expected rain that were rolling through the state, causing the game against the Black Bears to be moved up two-and-a-half hours.

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But he could just as well have been referencing what his team will face over the final three games of the regular season.

Missouri.

Alabama.

LSU.

The Sooners need at least one victory in that trio — all ranked — to extend their bowl streak to 26 seasons.

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It won’t be easy or even expected, but Saturday’s blowout win has the potential to pay dividends for OU’s offense that goes far beyond the gaudy numbers posted against a middling FCS opponent.

“I think it’s a sign of progress for us — the way we prepare, the way we went into the game mentally,” Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold said. “I think it speaks volumes about the coaches and how they prepared us for the week and the game play they put together.”

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Jovantae Barnes, who had been one of the few bright spots for the OU offense in recent weeks, exploded.

He had a career-high 203 yards and three touchdowns and added a 19-yard reception.

The Sooners came into the day with one of the worst rushing offenses in FBS but rushed for 381 yards — their most since the 2020 Cotton Bowl win over Florida.

Arnold played efficiently, going 14 of 21 for 224 yards and two touchdowns while running for 45 yards and a score.

But he was also explosive, hitting J.J. Hester for a 90-yard touchdown pass — the longest in Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium history and the longest catch by a Sooner in any game since 1995.

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The offensive line started its eighth different combination in nine games but opened up consistent holes for not only Barnes but Taylor Tatum, Sam Franklin and Xavier Robinson as well. And it kept Arnold clean.

The Sooners allowed no sacks after South Carolina and Ole Miss had nine each in wins over OU. Ole Miss was originally credited with 10 sacks but one was changed after review as Arnold was attempting to run.

OU had 402 yards of offense in the first half — more than they’d had in any complete game this season. They finished with 665 yards, their most since posting 672 yards against Texas Tech in 2022. 

Again, it was against Maine but the Sooners said there was tangible progress that could pay off down the stretch.

“Today was a testament to what we can do on offense,” tight end Kaden Helms said. “I’m honestly really proud of the guys. We haven’t flinched. Things haven’t gone our way the whole season but every single day we come to practice ready — ready to work ready to do our job and ready to just fight for each other.”

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The Sooners had 14 big plays — rushing plays of 10 or more yards or passing plays of 15 or more yards.

They hadn’t had more than 10 such plays in any game this season.

Two of those plays Saturday went for touchdowns. Seven more gave the Sooners the ball inside the red zone.

“You put pressure on the other team when you have an explosive touchdown,” Venables said. “Next thing you know, they have to play everything differently.”

Then there’s the offensive line, which was missing starters Michael Tarquin, Jacob Sexton and Jake Taylor.

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The Sooners started redshirt freshmen Heath Ozaeta and Logan Howland there. True freshmen Eddy Pierre-Louis, Isaiah Autry-Dent and Daniel Akinkunmi saw significant action as well. 

Venables said the difference was palpable even considering the opponent.

“Just targeting people, finishing blocks, playing through the whistle, playing physical, playing sure of themselves, not catching but attacking,” Venables said. “… It doesn’t have anything to do with them. It’s us. And doing the things that you’re coached to do and doing that at a high level and doing it with the physicality and an effort standpoint that you … look back and you’re like, ‘OK, that’s what it looks like,’ so you can build off that.”

And then there’s the confidence aspect with a largely young group.

“With what’s going on this season, it hasn’t always been the best, but today was great, a good confidence builder,” center Troy Everett said. “We were able to run the ball efficiently, get a lot of young guys in there.”

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Two sets of Tigers and the Crimson Tide will pose much more of a threat than the Black Bears, but Saturday at least provided some hope that the Sooners still might be able to salvage something out of what has felt in recent weeks like a lost season.

“It’s good to get back on the winning train,” Arnold said, “and hopefully these last couple of games, this last stretch we just stay on that winning train.”

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This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage

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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.”

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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. 

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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. 

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“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. 



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NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition

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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.

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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.

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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

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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





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