So if you read the paper today you got to read about Carrie Holmstrom, a Massachussetts teenager who lost both of her legs below the knees and suffered burns across 70 percent of her body after a car accident two yeas ago ... and got to play soccer Sunday in the U.S. Youth Soccer Region I championships.

Definitely inspirational stuff. Whenever you think things might be rough for you, think about Carrie Holmstrom and what she's been able to do after nearly losing her life.

Check out her Web site at www.carrieholmstrom.com

It's good to see some dialogue regarding Dr. Daniel Wann's presentation on involvement in youth sports on Pressherald.com.

In his presentation Wednesday at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Dr. Daniel Wann recommended a few books regarding the topic of youth sports:

Raising Winners, by Shari Young Kuchenbecker, Ph. D.

Why Johnny Hates Sports, by Fred Engh

Lessons of the Locker Room: The Myth of School Sports, by Andrew W. Miracle and Roger Rees

Sports Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators, by Dr. Daniel Wann

Brunswick's David Slovenski was one of 27 athletes honored this afternoon at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram's All-Sports Awards Ceremony in Portland.

Slovenski, the boys indoor track MVP, arrived in Maine this morning, a day after winning the national championship in the pole vault (16 feet 4.5 inches). Slovenski traveled from Greensboro, N.C. to Baltimore on Saturday, then flew from Baltimore to Manchester, N.H., this morning and arrived just in time for the banquet. Slovenski beat Carlin Dubay, the wrestling MVP, whose family drove from Caribou.

Waynflete won its seventh girls lacrosse championship on Saturday with a 12-8 win over North Yarmouth Academy, and in her 16 years of coaching, Flyers Coach Cathie Connors' teams haven't just been defined by championships. Connors also believes goodwill is a hallmark of her teams.

"This team, they love being together," Connors said. "That’s huge because the dynamics are so great. They’re into lacrosse, they love to play."

David Slovenski of Brunswick High has been named the 2007-2008 Gatorade boys track and field athlete of the year in Maine.

Slovenski set the New England record of 16 feet, 9 inches in the pole vault and won the Class A championship with a height of 16 feet. Slovenski has the sixth-best boys pole vault mark in the nation.

He will compete at Princeton next season.

Greely’s Becky O’Brien has been named the 2007-2008 Gatorade Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year for Maine.

O’Brien is a finalist for the national award, which will be announced later this month. O’Brien won Class B championships this spring in the shot put, javelin and discus and won the New England championships in the shot put and discus. O’Brien holds the nation’s top mark this spring of 51 feet, 6 1/2 inches in the shot put. She will compete this weekend at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. and at the USATF Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Columbus, Ohio.

O’Brien will compete at the University of North Carolina next season.

Four finalists have been named for the Dr. John Winkin Award, given annually to the state's top senior baseball player – better known as Mr. Baseball.

Wells' Demitrios Gazogiannis
Dirigo's Jon Smith
Bangor's Ian Edwards
Gardiner's Kyle Stilphen

The award will be presented June 27 at Husson College in Bangor, prior to the Larry Mahaney Baseball Classic. The all-star game, previously named the Maine Senior High School Baseball Classic, pits the state's top seniors from the Eastern and Western regions.

***

For Greely's Becky O'Brien, the butterflies don't come at the meet, they come before the meet.

"It's always in the car ride," said O'Brien, who set New England records in the girls shot put and discus Saturday at Thornton Academy. "As far as getting to the meet, I go there and I know I have a job to do. But when I got to the Saco exit, I could feel it in my stomach."

***

Noble's Anthony Stanton won the New England championship in the boys high jump less than two years after he first came out for the Knights' track program.

"It takes a lot of practice, a lot of learning and a lot of teaching," Stanton said. "The key to it is how you prepare for a meet."

***

Kevin Gagne, a defenseman from Rothesay Netherwood School in New Brunswick, gave the University of Maine hockey program a verbal commitment last fall to join the team in 2010, as chronicled in December.

However, Gagne has another option to consider for his hockey future – the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, considered a proving ground for NHL prospects. The St. John's Sea Dogs drafted Gagne 32nd with their first pick in the QMJHL draft but Gagne says he is keeping his options open as far as his hockey future goes.

The playoffs begin in boys and girls lacrosse today and just in time for the first draw, the mercury is rising ... and continues to rise ... and is expected to hit the high 80s (with nearly 85 percent humidity) in Southern Maine before the end of the school day.

Just a few things to keep in mind when dealing with the hot and humid weather, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Stay hydrated. Water, water, water. Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink. And stay away from sugary drinks or sodas, because those can cause the loss of body fluids. Sports drinks such as Gatorade or Powerade are best for after the game, because those replenish salts and minerals lost in sweat.

Stay in the shade when you're not active.

Wear sunscreen.

If you feel faint, dizzy, weak or nauseous, let someone know ASAP. Those could be signs of the start of heat exhaustion or worse, heat stroke.

Stay cool, kids.

For those of you who were too lazy to do the math and figure out the final Heal points for the spring ...

The Maine Principals' Association released the final Heals for baseball, and softball.

The MPA has also released playoff brackets for baseball and softball.

Long time no blog, shame on me!

Kyle Skipworth of Patriot High School in Riverside, Calif., has been named the Gatorade National Player of the Year in baseball - he's the latest announced winner of the award.

***

Today's the scheduled "last countable date" for regular-season baseball, softball and lacrosse games, but several have been rescheduled, with permission from the Maine Principals' Association. Check out the PPH's news updates for a list of postponements.

***