Double No-Hitters

We kind of had a mini-washout this weekend, as a chunk of games got postponed into this, the final week of the season. But not before Oxford Hills pulled off the rare double no-hitter on Friday.

In the girls game, Kyeria Morse threw a mercy rule gem with 9 strikeouts to improve Oxford Hills to 13-2. Then, in the boys game (which was the Game of the Day!), Carter Davis threw a no-no with a much smaller margin for error. The Vikings manufactured a run in the fourth inning and it had to hold up in a 1-0 win over Mt. Ararat.

That'll give Oxford Hills the 1 seed in A North.

High schools Friday: Oxford Hills softball, baseball pitch no-hitters

Kyeria Morse leads the softball team while Carter Davis lifts the baseball team.

Lewiston Sun JournalStaff report

This week on the podcast: Cliff Urquhart built a dynasty in Dyer Brook with a Southern Aroostook girls team he led to 5 state titles and one of the more dominant runs any program in the state has seen over the last decade. But earlier this spring, he stepped off the sidelines to take an administrative job even further north at Fort Fairfield. He joined the podcast to talk about that, his time at Southern Aroostook, an unforgettable closed scrimmage with Caribou, and so much more.

Is that auto-generated thumbnail a little creepy? Yes. Am I too busy to make my own? Also yes.

Late last week, Mike Mandell published an awesome story about the quirks of the various fields around Maine.

MVC fields, Dube said, have some other quirks that force teams to adjust. Spruce’s field has a lip at third base that keeps players at the hot corner on their toes. Mountain Valley’s has a noticeably high mound, which gives ace pitchers an advantage hurling downhill, as well as a funky inward curve in the fence in left-center, resulting from its proximity to the Hosmer Field track. Dirigo has historically had fast grass and a stone mix in the infield.

There's so many of these around the state. Some are subtle and some are really weird.

I'm a big fan of stories like this and would love to get to more gyms this winter to see more of the home court advantages various teams are working with, but you should absolutely read Mandell's story. He clearly put a lot of work into it and it's a fascinating read.

How Maine’s many different high school baseball fields change the game

From short porches to deep gaps to massive foul territory, the specificities of each park can alter how coaches and players approach the sport.

Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer

This story immediately reminded me of Kirk Goldsberry's idea in Sprawlball: what if NBA teams could customize their playing surfaces like baseball teams do? What would be the NBA equivalent of the Green Monster?

The NBA already allows teams to alter uniforms and chose how they paint the court, Goldsberry argues. Why not let them create a home-court advantage in which each team is familiar with the line at home, but constantly adjusting on the road? "I think it would be interesting to consider what the NBA would look like if there was a 36-foot line in Indiana and a 22-foot line in some other place," said Goldsberry.

Such an approach would see teams draw a line that suits their roster while combating opponents' strengths. The Warriors could set the line further back and capitalize on its sharpshooting, for example, while the Miami Heat—who made 1,112 fewer attempts this season—could move the line in, increasing their odds of sinking threes.

Three Ideas for Remaking the Three-Point Shot

Kirk Goldsberry’s presentation at the 2016 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in March offered three ways to change the rising dependence on the shot.

WIREDKevin McFarland

To get an idea, Goldsberry mocked up a couple of courts in his book (which you should read). Keep in mind this Celtics court is from the backcourt of IT and Avery Bradley. They shot 26.1 threes a game, as opposed to the current rate of 42.1. Ah, how times have changed.

You've probably seen this already, but in case you haven't.

On Saturday May 2, 2026, during what should have been just another thrilling basketball game, tragedy struck. Anthony Russo, [Son of Donna & Joe Russo (Portland High School Boys Basketball Coach)], a dedicated young referee known for his passion for the game and commitment to fair play, suffered from a debilitating left sided hemorrhagic stroke. This left Anthony with full right-sided speech & physical paralysis. In an instant, his life was turned upside down.

There's more at the GoFundMe link.

I don't know what those nuns did to Luke Kornet, but it sure worked. In Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, with Spurs clinging to a 6-point lead in the 4th quarter as they simultaneously tried to buy themselves some Wemby bench minutes and keep him from fouling out, Luke Kornet came through with the biggest "Kornet Kontest" of his career.

Kornet (and those other guys) will take on the Knicks in the Finals and the NBA has finally listened to the people and brought back the Finals courts we all want.

But that might just be because Adam Silver spends way too much time on NBA Twitter.

Adam Silver Goes to War

The mild-mannered NBA commissioner has overseen a time of peace and prosperity for his league. Until now.

The AtlanticTim Alberta

Major League Baseball's ABS challenge system has been a wild success, but this isn't a great look.

Let's go back to girls lacrosse, where Falmouth and Scarborough are angling for seeding in Class A.

This could be a good one in a crowded middle of the Class A pack.

The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump.