MEDIA

Newspaper earns honors for Sunday sports section

The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram received national top 10 honors for its Sunday sports sections in the 2015 Associated Press Sports Editors contest, it was announced Tuesday.

The newspaper was the only one in New England to rank in the top 10 among papers sized 30,000 to 75,000.

It marks the fifth time in the last six years the newspaper’s Sunday sports sections have been judged among the top 10 in the nation in its category.

Three writers from the paper have also been honored by APSE. Glenn Jordan earned Top 10 recognition in the explanatory category, Mike Lowe in the breaking news category and Steve Craig in the beat writing category.

BASKETBALL

RED CLAWS: Marcus Thornton, a second-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics last June, joined the Maine Red Claws.

Thornton, a guard, played with the Celtics’ NBA Summer League team, but then opted to play professionally in Australia. He averaged 12.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 26 games with the Sydney Kings.

To make room on the roster, the Red Claws waived forward Ella Ellis, who has returned to the U.S. Army.

COLLEGE

WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Korinne Bohunsky and Jocelyn Davee each had four goals as the University of New England handled Thomas 13-3 at Biddeford.

Tori Stocks added two goals, and Natasha Nary, Carly Sheehan and Kyra Taylor also scored for the Nor’easters (2-0).

Samantha Greenlaw had two goals for Thomas (0-1).

DOG SLEDDING

IDITAROD: A lack of snow in Alaska’s largest city is forcing organizers of the famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to ship tons of it by train for the event’s ceremonial start.

The mild winter in Anchorage also could mean a shorter version of the 11-mile route for the fan-friendly event Saturday, when temperatures are expected to be above freezing.

OLYMPICS

BOXING: For the first time in more than 30 years, male boxers won’t be wearing protective headgear at the Olympics.

The International Boxing Association, known as AIBA, adopted the change for amateur fighters three years ago, and the decision was widely considered a formality for this year’s games.

PROBE: The International Olympic Committee has seen “no evidence” so far to support allegations of possible bribery in the bidding for the 2016 and 2020 Games, an IOC spokesman said.

SOCCER

REAL MADRID: Coach Zinedine Zidane tried to downplay an off-the-field issue sparked by Cristiano Ronaldo, who said after a weekend loss that the team would be doing better if everyone else was at his level.

Zidane said Ronaldo addressed the squad this week to explain his comments and show he was not minimizing his teammates’ talents.

He assured the team was behind the Portuguese striker.

MEDIA: Ian Darke agreed to stay with ESPN as its lead soccer broadcaster through 2020 despite the network’s loss of World Cup rights to Fox. Hired by ESPN in 2010, Darke will remain as part of the network’s primary commentary team for U.S. men’s and women’s national team matches and for this year’s European Championship, which runs from June 10 to July 10.

– From staff and news services