Retro Chowdah Notebook
Cooper Flagg & the Dukies advance, the Maine Black Bears win Hockey East and Jeff Solari is BACK!!
It’s Maine Maple Sunday as I prepared to write this edition of the Notebook. (Or Maine Maple Weekend? Because like Wrestlemania, there were just too many wrestling matches to get through in one day, so why not make a weekend out of maple!?!) And as I compiled my notes to gripe about why the Patriots needed to sign the left tackle we didn’t really want, I realized that nobody wanted to read 1800 words about the ramifications of Cam Robinson signing with the Texans. (Not only that, I didn’t really want to write 1800 words about it, but I know that my sense of duty would have driven me to do it anyway.)
While our beloved Patriots are never far from my thoughts, this weekend there is so much happening in the sports world and Maine is at the center of it all. I couldn’t help but think on Sunday morning, as I sipped my maple walnut flavored Carrabassett Coffee (not a sponsor) this weekend is one just made for a Jeff Solari Sports Chowdah. Maine Hockey is back on top of the world after winning Hockey East. A kid from down the road is leading Duke to the Sweet 16 and the Red Sox open the season on Thursday. So I called the original Chowdah Chef Jeff out of retirement for one more job. With that, I give you, the Retro Chowdah Notebook!
We’re gonna party like it 1993
By Jeff Solari
It's been more than a year since I stopped creating lots of completely awesome weekly content for the Sports Chowdah. But at Sterling’s invitation, today I find myself flashing back to those Sundays when I would bang away on my laptop, imparting my wit and wisdom on local sports fans via The Sports Chowdah.
To be honest, my current time warp spans well beyond just last year. It actually slides all the way back to the early 90’s, however the current “Must See TV” is not airing on NBC.
While the University of Maine hockey program certainly has had lots of success post 90’s, the greatest glory days were just about 30 years ago, with the pinnacle coming in 1993.
Right now there's a certain vibe around the program’s reinvigoration that is beginning to replicate the Shawn Walsh-era.
This past weekend, for the second time this winter, citizens of the state of Maine invaded Boston. Chickadee license plates sure were plentiful in Beantown as the Black Bear faithful stormed the ticket office at TD Garden in support of Ben Barr and the boys.
The Go Blue crew left town plenty happy as UMaine won their first Hockey East championship in 21 years! The fan base has been starving for wins for years and now they appear nearly as grateful and committed as they were back when Seinfeld and Friends were the lead in for ER on Thursday nights.
Heck, there were police and fire escorts for the Cyr bus in Bangor and Orono Saturday when the conference champs returned to campus. The fans and the team are back like the ’99 National Championship happened post covid!
The other time Pine Tree Staters, myself included, took over Boston this winter was when Duke visited Boston college. Now to be clear, I’ve hated Duke since the 90’s. Back then the Blue Devils made regular appearances in the Final Four and even hung a championship banner at the expense of my UNLV Runnin’ Rebels.
But the time space continuum is a funny thing, and now my daughter Ainsley and I have spent a fair amount of time watching Duke games, obviously because of Cooper Flagg. My soul is tormented and conflicted as since my 90’s March Madness motto was “ABD” (Anyone but Duke). But it’s on the shelf, for hopefully a couple more weekends anyway.
For most of my life, if you'd asked me what the greatest Maine sports story of all time was, I probably would've said the 92-93 UMaine hockey team that went 42-1-2 and claimed the state's first national championship.
Press skip on the 90’s CD player to now and I actually think the answer may be Cooper Flagg. He is certainly something the state has never seen and probably will never see again.
Throw in the fact that Def Leppard it's coming to the Bangor waterfront this summer and I'm loving the 90s resurgence. (Yes I know they were bigger in the 80’s but they had a handful of Top 40 hits in the early 90’s too!)
So lets get rocked as we watch UMaine and Duke roll through their respective tournaments like its 1993.
Duke Advances to the Sweet 16, lead by All-American, Cooper Flagg
By Sterling Pingree
Imagine telling someone 20 years ago about Cooper Flagg. How would that conversation have gone?
2025 Sterling: “Did you hear that kid from Nokomis went to Duke?”
2005 Me: “On a field trip or something?”
2025 Sterling: “No, he’s an enrolled student, plays basketball and everything.”
2005 Me: “Oh, is he the Hubbard kid that comes in at the end of blowouts?”
2025 Sterling: “No, actually he’s a starter. Cooper Flagg.”
2005 Me: “Wow, good for him. He must have put in his time the last 3 years and finally as a senior they’re letting him play..”
2025 Sterling: “No, he’s the best freshmen since Neon Boudeaux suited up for the Western University Dolphins. Really he should be a senior in high school, but he was so good that he reclassified and finished high school in 3 years to enter college a year early. Now he leads the Duke Blue Devils in every meaningful stat category.”
2005 Me: “So it must be a down year for Duke if a kid from Newport is starting, they’re probably what, a 4 seed in the tournament?”
2025 Sterling: “Guess again, Duke has lost 3 games this season (only one since November) and is the #1 overall seed in the big dance. They won the ACC regular season title and a week ago they won the ACC tournament with Flagg only playing the first half of the first game.”
2005 Me: “So what is he, a undersized point guard, John Stockton-type point guard?”
2025 Sterling: “Naw, he’s a 6’7” forward who can shoot, pass, defend and throws down highlight dunks almost nightly. You’re from 2005, so let me put it in terms you would understand, he’s as if Adam Morrison was built like Dwyane Wade, defends like an 80’s Piston, passes like Tim Duncan and rebounds like Ben Wallace. And he turned 18 in December, so he might not be finished growing and has the frame that could hang some serious muscle on. He might look like Orlando Dwight Howard in 3 years.”
2005 Me: “So you’re telling me that the best player in college basketball and the most exciting, on the best team in the country, is a kid from a town where the fanciest restaurant is the Irving Mainway?” (Not a sponsor.)
2025 Sterling: “You’re finally understanding me. And there is nothing wrong with an Irving Mainway.”
2005 Me: “Wow, that amazing. It’ll be fun to watch him play for Duke the next 3-years before he goes off to run a successful hedge fund or whatever Duke graduates do.”
2025 Sterling: “I don’t think he’ll be here for 3 more years, or even one more year. He’s been projected for over a year to be the #1 pick in June’s NBA Draft. If he lives up to 80% of the hype and he has at every level thus far, he could be a billion dollar athlete by the time he’s 30-years old.”
(It is at this point, 2005 Sterling’s head would explode like Toby Flenderson’s in Threat Level Midnight. And that’s without telling 2005 me that JJ Redick is now coaching the Lakers. 2005 Me wouldn’t have taken that well, it’s best to spare me.)
The great Bill Green always said, “Don’t go braggin’, just because you’re from Maine.” But the excitement from this past weekend, 2 Maine hockey wins and a conference championship, while Cooper Flagg throws down dunk after dunk for a Duke team that even the most ardent of Duke-haters have to admit is wildly fun to watch.
And maybe the most exciting prospect is that we aren’t done yet. The Red Sox open their season on Thursday. On Thursday night, Duke will play in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament and UMaine will play in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday. If Duke wins, they’ll play Saturday for a shot at the Final Four. If Maine wins, they’ll play Sunday for a slapshot at the Frozen Four. So for all of the hysteria around the Black Bears and the Blue Devils in this great state, we might not have seen anything yet.
The hope is that Maine will be Black & Blue for a couple of more weeks.