COLLEGES
Longtime Bates baseball coach Leahey dies at 90
William “Chick” Leahey, the head baseball coach at Bates College for 36 years until he retired in 1990, died last Saturday. He was 90.
Leahey coached the Bobcats to 300 victories beginning in 1955. His team won the 1976 ECAC championship.
He graduated from Lewiston High in 1943. He was a three-sport star for Blue Devils, leading them to state championships in football and baseball. He served in the Marines during World War II and then returned to earn an economics degree from Bates. He also earned a master’s degree in Physical Education from Columbia University.
Leahey returned to Bates in 1955 to become a physical education instructor and head baseball coach. He also served as an assistant football coach and junior varsity basketball coach.
In 1990, the school’s baseball field was named after him. His jersey No. 11 was retired in 2014.
BASKETBALL
D-LEAGUE: The Maine Red Claws didn’t have a D-League game Wednesday night but still clinched the Atlantic Division title for a second straight season when the Westchester Knicks lost their game against Fort Wayne.
Maine (29-19) will be the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and will play No. 3 Canton in a best-of-three opening round of the playoffs. Dates and times of the games are yet to be announced.
HOCKEY
AHL: The NHL’s Florida Panthers signed University of Michigan defenseman Michael Downing to a three-year entry-level contract. Downing will play with the Portland Pirates for the remainder of the season on a tryout contract.
The 20-year-old was a fourth-round selection by the Panthers in the 2013 draft. He had 54 points in 105 career games at Michigan.
• The Panthers also recalled Rocco Grimaldi from the Portland Pirates.
FOOTBALL
NFL: New England signed defensive back E.J. Biggers, a free agent who played seven seasons with Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia.
In 92 career games, he has 279 tackles, four interceptions and two forced fumbles.
• Receiver Brandon LaFell has reached an agreement to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals, according to his agents. LaFell caught 111 passes in two seasons with the Patriots, who released him March 2.
The Bengals also signed 34-year-old outside linebacker Karlos Dansby.
• Chicago agreed to a one-year deal with offensive lineman Manny Ramirez.
• Bills offensive tackle Jordan Mills signed the team’s qualifying offer.
TENNIS
MIAMI OPEN: Victoria Azarenka reached the semifinals at Key Biscayne, Florida, by beating Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2.
Azarenka, who won the tournament in 2009 and 2011, is trying to become the third woman to win Indian Wells and Key Biscayne in the same year, a feat achieved only by Steffi Graf and Kim Clijsters.
HORSE RACING
RETIREMENT: Three-time Kentucky Derby winner and Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel is retiring after a 33-year career.
The popular rider nicknamed “Bo-rail” for his knack of finding a spot along the inside of the track told his agent is the only jockey to win three Derbies in four years. He rode Street Sense to victory in 2007, won a second Derby in 2009 aboard 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird and won the next year with Super Saver.
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