Last weekend, there was a piece by a Portland sports writer suggesting U-Maine's football coach, Jack Cosgrove, is asking, or should be asking, college officials how much they want to win. This as the college president and Cosgrove decide whether his contract should be extended.

The piece went on to say Cosgrove is renowned among Divison I-AA football schools for "doing more with less." Huh? I'm sorry, but didn't Harold Alfond finance and build a darn nice stadium up there a few years back? You know, the one with a lot of seats, luxury boxes and artificial turf that we were all told the harsh autumns of Orono, Maine, desperately required? Didn't word follow quickly that the football training and weightlifting facilities now compared well to Division I-AA opponents?

So Maine is being challenged about how much it wants to win? Maybe someone should challenge the U-Maine coaching staff about how much it can win.

Look, I have nothing against Cosgrove. I met the man one time, briefly, and he was professional and upbeat. I've heard only good things. But after 15 years, his record is 80-89. He has recruited a few talented quarterbacks Maine's way and when he had them, Maine came within striking distance of a national championship. But in the years they didn't play here, his teams have been — I'll say it — weak. Like this year. And last year.

Some say Cosgrove "does more with less." I think that's an insult. Maine's football stadium is not less. Maine football is no more an outpost than Maine hockey, Maine women's basketball, Maine men's basketball and Maine baseball. John Winkin, Shawn Walsh, Tim Whitehead, Joanne Palombo, John Giannini, Sharon Versyp and — here's a prediction —Cindy Blodgett didn't complain much about "doing more with less." They're winners. Their teams will win, have won.

If President Kennedy at Maine wants to extend Cosgrove's contract, fine. Cosgrove has a reputation as a nice guy, a stand-up guy, a family guy in the Orono community. It may be a good move.

But no more veiled shots about football in the hinterland of Orono, Maine. That's the same kind of "woe is us" mentality that holds Maine back in other ways. Let's recruit some kids and kick field goals every time we should, which is more often than Maine did this year.