Le Journal

Journée faste pour Victor Wembanyama, lundi. Le matin, l’intérieur tricolore a en effet appris sa sélection pour le All-Star Game. Et un an après être devenu le plus jeune joueur de l’histoire des Spurs à avoir disputé le match des étoiles, l’ancien Parisien est également désormais le premier joueur français à être retenu dans le cinq titulaire. Conséquence de sa cinquième place du vote à l’Ouest. Et dans l’après-midi, « Wemby » a livré face à Utah une prestation digne d’un All-star. Porté par une belle réussite à longue distance comme en atteste son 7 sur 12 derrière la ligne des trois points, il a en effet rendu 33 points à 10 sur 16 aux tirs, 10 rebonds, 2 contres et 2 interceptions en seulement 26 minutes. De quoi permettre à San Antonio de passer une soirée somme toute tranquille. Malgré une alerte dans le deuxième quart, les Spurs, qui menaient déjà de dix points dans le premier quart (34-24) et ont compté jusqu’à 23 points d’avance dans la dernière ligne droite (112-89), l’ont en effet emporté 123-110, confortant ainsi leur deuxième place à l’ouest derrière le Thunder. Les Spurs doivent enchaîner à Houston Si Victor Wembanyama a été le plus en vue côté texan, pas moins de six joueurs ont terminé avec plus de dix points, Stephon Castle inscrivant notamment 18 points à 5 sur 9 aux tirs et De’Aaron Fox suivant avec 14 unités. Les Spurs ont également terminé la rencontre avec 56% de réussite aux tirs (44 sur 79), dont 42% à trois points. San Antonio ne va pas avoir le temps de savourer puisque les Spurs ont rendez-vous la nuit prochaine à Houston, pour affronter les Rockets, l’un des autres candidats aux places d’honneur dans la Conférence ouest.

By her own admission, Camden Hills Regional High School of Rockport girls basketball guard Thea Laukka isn’t shooting the ball as well as she would like this season. But she is certainly doing a bunch of other things well in leading the Windjammers to an 11-2 record in Class A North. And even though the junior hasn’t been satisfied with her shooting, she is still one of the top three scorers among players at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference’s Class A North schools as she is averaging over 14 points per game. She leads the KVAC North schools in steals with over five per game and she is among the top five in assists with over three per game. “She is one of the best guards in the state and not just in Class A,” said Hampden Academy coach Nick Winchester after Laukka registered 11 points, five rebounds and four steals to help lead the Windjammers to a 44-30 win over his Broncos on Monday. “She does a lot of different things,” Winchester said. “And you have to exert so much attention to take her away. That creates opportunities for other people.” Windjammers senior guard Leah Jones said Laukka means a lot to her team. ”She is not only able to score for herself, she makes a lot of opportunities for other players,” Jones said. And she doesn’t let a missed shot bother her, Jones added. “She is very next-play oriented. If she misses a shot, she will get back on defense and try again,” Jones said. “She doesn’t let that stuff get in her head.” The 5-8 Laukka is an exceptional athlete who is also an outstanding soccer and softball player. She has long arms and quick feet — which she exhibits on the defensive side of the ball to generate steals and deflections, and on the offensive side to get open and also get to the glass for shots and rebounds. “I know if I can’t score, I have to help the team in some other way through steals, rebounds or just energy plays like diving on the floor for a ball,” Laukka said. A perfect example of that occurred in the fourth quarter of their game with Hampden Academy. Laukka missed a shot and the long rebound came out to a Bronco player, who began racing down the court. Laukka sprinted as fast as she could and poked the ball away from the Hampden player and then retrieved it for her fourth steal of the game. “Those are our energy plays,” Laukka said. Camden Hills coach Samantha Bragg called Laukka a “great playmaker” and noted how her teammates benefit by getting open shots due to the attention opposing teams dedicate to her. Camden Hill’s Thea Laukka scores the opening basket in the Girls Class A North Final game against Hampden Academy at the Augusta Civic Center, Feb. 21, 2025. Credit: Josh O’Donnell Laukka was a Bangor Daily News All-State Schoolgirl team honorable mention last season and said she has been working on her “inside moves and my footwork” this season. She has been happy with her season to date but hopes to continue to get better. “My shooting has been off. I’ve been working on it and I’m hoping to get it back and be good for the tourney,” said Laukka. The Windjammers reached the Class A North championship game a year ago by stunning previously unbeaten and top seed Lawrence High of Fairfield, 64-56, in the semifinals. They lost to Hampden Academy in the title game 59-52 in double overtime. They have avenged that loss by dealing the Broncos their only two losses this season. Last year’s win over Lawrence has played a role in this season’s success. “That gave us a real good boost of confidence,” Jones said. “Outside of ourselves, nobody thought we were going to win and when we pulled it off, it was really nice for us.” Jones added that the team hadn’t played well in the Augusta Civic Center, where the Class A North tournament was held, up to that point. “We usually don’t do our best there,” agreed Laukka. “But we really stepped it up.” Bragg said they don’t talk about the Lawrence win much “but, internally, we know we can play with anyone regardless of our record or their record or…

This story was originally published in January 2023. After Stephen Dunn. This time of year, I love cold still nights when temperatures plummet to single digits. I love sitting by the woodstove and pulling old tip-ups from pack baskets. I love tying on fresh leaders, hooks right out of the package. I love the wooden clanks the traps make. I love a perfectly rigged trap with a button threaded so I can place bait exactly where I want. I love precision amidst our harshest season. I love the efficiency of a good trap, how it trips again and again, how its beams display years in dents. I love how each one folds down into something smaller. I love the first walk out, ice too thin for snowmobiles or four-wheelers. I love the shackless lake. I love the quiet, the lack of auger sounds. I love the view through black ice, how if you look long enough the frozen air bubbles resemble stars in space. I love how I can walk on water, or through the night sky. I love how easily my heavy sled drags over glare ice. I love the bite of crampons with every step. I love the newness of it, love knowing this all will melt in a couple of months. I love knowing there will be no Jet Skis. I love thinking of the fish’s view — giant lid over their heads. I love imagining them watching the bottoms of my boots. I love that first chisel into black ice. I love ice spray and the hollow thud right before I break through. I love how the lake seeps out, as if from a wound, how water pours and refreezes in uneven pools. I love the visual confirmation of safety: 3 inches of clear, black ice. I love standing atop cracks knowing I’m safe. I love the way water bobs in the chiseled holes the closer I walk. I love that others love it, too. I love walking single file, 50 feet apart from my friend, Jersey, whose real name is Steve; love that we both carry throw-bags, love that he doesn’t mind when I remind him what state he’s from. I love knowing we’re prepared and hope we never need those preparations. I love knowing Jersey’s summer job involves throwing rope to ejected rafters. I love that he shows up early every time we fish. I love that Jersey skims holes and sets traps with steady diligence. I love how he takes FaceTime calls from his young son, shows him the trap he’s resetting. I love his optimism. More than the tripped trap, I love the moment before, the flag held down by the tiny O-ring. I love the simple physics, the harnessed potential. I love the shape of the set trap, too, like half a heart. I love the moment of recognition: Flag! I love the way, once called, that word punctuates everything else: meals, conversations, it doesn’t matter. I love the possibilities the word contains. I love yelling it but I love hearing it yelled just as much. I love the way the flag hovers, a cloth beacon of hope. I love running, the way Jersey and I run, to the first tripped traps of the new year. I love being out of breath in winter clothes. I love how heavy my boots feel those last few yards. I love the moment before I see the spool. I love the way my mind turns, in that moment. I love the spool-blur only big fish produce. I love the direct connection — no rod, no reel. I love the headshakes, the long, finger-burning runs. I love lifting fish from the darkness, as if the lake has given birth. I love releasing fish, and I love keeping a few white perch for dinner — pan-seared, with a squeeze of lemon juice. I love the simplicity of jig poles. I love that salmon hunt just beneath the ice. I love that pike piss off the purists.I love that in the first photo of me fishing I’m sitting on the floor of an ice shack with my hand stuck in a Cheez-It box. I love that I only see certain people on the ice, year after year, though I know they live nearby all year round.I love how voices carry over ice. I love skillet-seared venison on a Coleman stove. I love bald eagles waiting for discarded baits. I love fishless days because we were out there trying. I love getting into bed, after. I love…

Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com Although I do not live in Bangor, I am writing to express my strong disappointment with the Bangor legislators who not only supported but sponsored LD 1806, “An Act to Create a Residential Rental Unit Registry,” including Reps. Ambureen Rana and Amy J. Roeder. LD 1806 goes far beyond the creation of a simple registry. It introduces the potential for fines and penalties for noncompliance and expands government authority into private property decisions that have historically been handled at the local level. These provisions erode property owner rights while offering no meaningful or realistic solution to Maine’s housing shortage. For years, I believe Bangor’s representation has drifted away from common-sense, practical leadership and toward an ideology with what I see as a well-documented record of failure. This bill exemplifies that shift. It increases bureaucracy, paperwork, and enforcement mechanisms, yet produces not a single new housing unit. Bureaucracy doesn’t build homes — people do. If lawmakers are serious about improving housing availability, they should focus on policies that encourage construction, rehabilitation, and responsible ownership, rather than measures that penalize participation and discourage investment. Bangor was once known for pragmatic problem solving grounded in reality. I think it is time for its leadership to return to those roots and pursue solutions that strengthen — not undermine — housing stability for Bangor and the surrounding communities. David Giles Corinth