If you've had the opportunity to travel around this grand old country of ours, it's possible at some point or another you've encountered something that made you say "I wish we had that in Maine."

For some people, that's a yearning for Trader Joe's, for others maybe it's a wish for a larger music venue to attract national acts, or maybe it's just a perverse hunger for Cracker Barrell or Sonic to make an in-roads here.
(I can vouch for both ... yummers!)

But honestly, I have to say I'm surprised Portland did not get to plant the Zipcar flag first.

No disrespect to Lewiston and Bates, or the University of Maine - they saw a good opportunity and snatched it up - but this is the biggest city, right?

Granted, Zipcar thrives in dense urban areas, typically cities with parking issues and semi reliable mass transit ... but doesn't Portland partially meet those criteria?

Don't take this as advertising, I like my car - even through payments can be a bear - it's reliable, a necessity for work and great for car trips: Boston, NYC, Montreal, etc.

But let's think about this. There are things we know about Portland - a lot of people walk and bike, and do so either because of their financial situation, or as conscious decision to try and live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

So why hasn't anyone thought of contacting Zipcar? I'm anxious to hear some thoughts on this.

ALSO today:

Over in iHerald we take a look at a few local gamers who have made the leap, from pastime to prime time, with video games.

If 10 years ago you had said to guys like Nick DePalmer and Jared Coulston that you could make a living playing games you love competitively, they would most likely have said "That'd be cool, but how?"

This is eSports, and it's come come a lot further along then you may think. Gamers of all skill levels are trying to compete in regional, national and international matches for big novelty checks with a lot of zeros (try as much as $1 million in some cases).

These gamers play any number of solo and team games, including the latest Dead or Alive, Halo 2, Starcraft, World of Warcraft, and the latest Counter Strike, among others.

There are a handful of leagues and tournaments, including the Cyberathlete Professional League, The Championship Gaming Series, Major League Gaming, and the World Cyber Games.

Though LAN and gaming tournaments have been around for a while, but now they're organized, have sponsors and are drawing media attention. Leagues such as the Championship Gaming Series and the World Cyber Cames are being broadcast on DirectTV and cable channels like Spike.

Trevor Schmidt, vice president and senior editor with eSports magainze GotFrag.com, said the only place for the sport to go is up, especially considering the audience.

Companies are already desperate to connect to the 18 - 34 age bracket, particularly the male segment of that group.
Schmidt said more and more these companies are finding they're not connecting with young men through TV, magazines or traditional media, but they can reach them online and through eSports.

"One of the things that is a big misconception out there is that we need TV," he said. "If ESPN came in that would be a massive boost, but the many think the key is streaming video," he said. "We're talking about kids who are not going to watch TV, but will watch on their computer and be interactive."

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