Well, this probably shouldn't come as a surprise.

The Boston Red Sox are in the thick of things in the American League playoff race as of the end of August, they sat two games behind the Blue Jays for the division lead and two games ahead of the Orioles and Tigers for the first wild card spot. They are very much in contention.

Previewing the latest NFL season

The 2016 National Football League season is upon us. In fact, many of you reading this may have already seen at least some of the first weekend of games the initial match-up takes place on Sept. 8 between last year's Super Bowl 50 foes, the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers.

The #Hunters hashtag was adopted not long after Joe Harasymiak was named as the head coach of University of Maine Black Bear football, becoming the youngest Division I coach in the country at age 29. It was clear from day one that the former defensive coordinator was going to bring the aggressive, confident approach that has been a hallmark of the 'Black Hole' defense to the entire team.

Taking the field at Wayne's Wiffle for a Wish

BANGOR There's something wonderful about having a great time for a great cause, and that's just what I did this past weekend.

When you have a passion for something, whether it's a sport or other interest, it can help inform what you do on trips or even in your own backyard. I've had a few of these experiences this summer, and they are both things I won't soon forget.

Rich Kimball and Bob Lucy enter 20th season calling UMaine football

ORONO On September 1, the University of Maine Black Bear football team will travel to Connecticut to take on the UConn Huskies.

By the time you read this, the Major League Baseball season will be three-quarters complete. There will be a scant 40ish games left as teams go into the home stretch, battling it out for postseason spots or playing out the string and dreaming of next year's glories.

The recent cool, damp weekend was a friendly reminder that the dog days of summer will soon be making way for fall and everything that goes with that in Maine. Some tend to view the autumn as a harbinger of what follows; I prefer to take a deep breath of that chilly morning air and celebrate what I think of as the best our state has to offer.

It's too easy to take potshots at this year's incarnation of the Olympics Games. The Zika, the air and water pollution, the body parts washing up on shore - the punchlines are there to be had for even the worst late-night staff writer. And I have long held the opinion that the Olympics are the longest running and most boring reality television series in the history.

Outfielder becomes 30th to reach MLB milestone

With a triple off the wall at Coors Field in Denver, Ichiro Suzuki became the latest and perhaps the most unlikely member of Major League Baseball's exclusive 3,000 hit club; unlikely not because of his talents he has always shown himself more than capable of racking up base hits but because of his circumstances.