A face in the crowd at the opening game of the Western Class A boys' basketball tournament at the Portland Expo on Friday night is former Colby College coach Dick Whitmore. Whitmore is taking in the action, and no doubt, following good friend Bob Brown's Cheverus team.

Whitmore retired from the White Mules with over 600 career wins.

IT WAS CLOSE to a full house Friday night for the opening game of the Western Class A boys' basketball quarterfinals.

Further proof that the Portland Expo is an ideal venue for the boys' and girls' quarterfinals. The Expo's capacity is slightly over 3,000. Had the quarterfinals been played at the Cumberland County Civic Center like they used to be, the building would have been half full.

The scene shifts Wednesday night to the Civic Center for the Western Class A girls' semis, and the boys' semifinals are Friday night. With a larger crowd for the next two rounds, the Civic Center fits the bill.

Now if schools had bands like they used to, the Expo would be rocking.

Eastern Maine teams know how to create an atmopshere. Their bands are part of the tourney atmosphere at the Bangor Auditorium and the Augusta Civic Center.

About this Blog

VarsityMaine The Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram put a priority on high school sports coverage, and this blog is a place for all our reporters to put news and notes from around the state.

From football to field hockey, from cross country to volleyball, our goal is to keep you informed of the happenings in all high school sports.

Click below for sport-specific posts.

Baseball

Boys' basketball

Girls' basketball

Cheerleading

Cross Country

Field Hockey

Football

Golf

Boys' Hockey

Girls' Hockey

Lacrosse

Skiing

Soccer

Softball

Swimming

Tennis

Track

Indoor Track

Volleyball

About the Author

Maine High School Sports Bloggers

Paul Betit is an Augusta native and graduate of the University of Maine. He has covered Maine high school sports for more than 30 years and is entering his seventh season as a beat writer covering the Portland Pirates. In his spare time, Betit writes mystery-suspense novels. Occasionally, he tries to sink his second career hole-in-one.

Glenn Jordan came to Maine in 1994 to cover the nascent Portland Sea Dogs. After eight baseball seasons and three children – the last two within 18 minutes of each other – he became a part-time writer. Among the sports he covers are now are tennis, skiing, swimming and running. He has a degree in philosophy from Dartmouth, a decent forehand and a penchant for checkers.

Mike Lowe is a Massachusetts native who feels he's lived long enough in Maine (since 1982) to have roots here. He graduated from Boston University and has worked in New Hampshire and Maine, covering everything from the Little League World Series to the Summer Olympics. When he has free time – Ha! – he likes to read, collect comic books and watch the grass grow from his hammock.

Previous entries