WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 5, 2014) — UConn’s duo of 2014 NCAA national champion basketball coaches, men’s coach Kevin Ollie and women’s coach Geno Auriemma, will join a renowned group of USA Basketball coaches on a visit to the Pentagon on Wednesday, May 7, for a strategy seminar with military officials and conduct a panel discussion on leadership for more than 400 service members.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, in collaboration with USA Basketball, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and their NBA Cares Hoops for Troops program, will host coaches from the USA Basketball Men’s and Women’s National teams and NCAA collegiate teams.  The group of seven coaches, which features six with extensive USA Basketball coaching experiences, will also participate in a leadership panel discussion in the Pentagon Auditorium.

The panel discussion will be televised on The Pentagon Channel and webcast at www.pentagonchannel.mil/livestream.aspx starting at 1:30 p.m.

“These preeminent coaches lead their own world-class teams in USA Basketball and the NCAA,” said Dempsey.  “We’ll discuss the importance of dynamic leadership to building winning teams and also expose these coaches to what our world-class military team brings to the nation.”

In addition to Auriemma, who is also the head coach for the USA Basketball Women’s National Team, and Ollie, the coaches on the panel will include: Jim Boeheim, assistant coach for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team and head coach of Syracuse University men’s basketball, Jamie Dixon, head coach of University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball, Tom Izzo, head coach of Michigan State University men’s basketball, Tubby Smith, head coach of Texas Tech University men’s basketball, and Jay Wright, head coach of Villanova University men’s basketball.  Jay Bilas, ESPN college basketball analyst, will moderate the panel discussion.

“I’d like to thank General Dempsey and his staff for this incredible opportunity. We’re delighted to contribute back to the military community in any way we can,” said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO/Executive Director. “USA Basketball is also extremely proud and very appreciative that these seven great coaches will again give back to their country. It’s an honor to have them continue to represent USA Basketball, the NCAA, as well as their respective universities in such a positive and valuable manner. I’m sure this will be a great learning experience for everyone.”The open panel discussion will focus on challenges facing championship-level teams and the U.S. military.  Among the topics will be how to motivate and inspire people towards pursuit of a common goal, how to mentor young adults for a lifetime of positive contributions, how to recruit and retain the best talent, and how to better integrate a diverse group of people.

The strategy seminar with Gen. Dempsey and the coaches provides a venue for the USA Basketball coaches and military leadership to talk about shared values, common themes, and applicable lessons learned over long and successful professional careers.

These two events are part of an expanding relationship between the USA Basketball, NBA, and the Department of Defense (DoD) focused on “Commitment to Service.”

Through “Commitment to Service,” U.S. service members and athletes will serve side-by-side to address challenges and contribute to their local communities.   The program will focus on four pillars – Transition, Community, Leadership and Health – and feature a full schedule of events across the country including USO Tours with legends of the game, exhibition games, clinics, open practices, speaking engagements, meet-and-greets, game tickets and more.

“These are two great institutions – American’s premier sports teams and our military – that are the best in the world at what they do,” Dempsey said. “I’m excited about collaborating with the NBA and USA Basketball to serve the communities in which we live and work, and to improve our game.”

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis.

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UConn Football links

Former UConn DB heading overseas [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Sources: Georgetown’s Natalie Butler Visits UConn [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Boykin Commits To UConn [rich elliott – ct post]

Boykin Finally Made Her Decision Official Sunday [rich elliott – ct post]

Report: Top rebounding freshman visits UConn [jim fuller – new haven register]

6-Foot-5 Georgetown Transfer Looking At UConn [hartford courant]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Source: Don’t expect new contract for Ollie this week [kevin duffy – ct post]

Other UConn related links

Softball. UConn Softball Falls to UCF, 12-5, In Regular Season Finale [uconn huskies]

Baseball. UConn Surges To Series Win At Memphis With 13-2 Victory [uconn huskies]

W. Lacrosse. A Look Back At UConn’s Big East Tournament Appearance [uconn huskies]

W. Track. Mania Earns Most Outstanding Performer As Huskies Place Third In American Championship [uconn huskies]

M. Track. O’Donnell and Masington Win Gold as UConn Takes Third in Conference Championship [uconn huskies]

The XL Center’s Future Is Everyone’s Business [hartford courant]

After winning yesterday afternoon, the Boston Red Sox go for the sweep of the Oakland Athletics this afternoon in the finale of a three-game set at Fenway Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. The game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the A’s television market, you can catch the game on Comcast SportsNet California. . And if you can’t catch the game on television, you can always listen on the 2014 Red Sox Radio Network.

John Lackey gets the ball in the finale of the series in his seventh start of 2014. In his previous six starts, Lackey is 4-2 with a 3.83 ERA. He picked up the win in his only start of 2013 against them after allowing two runs in seven innings of work. He’s made 34 career starts against the A’s and is 19-6 with a 2.90 ERA. Two of those starts have come at the Fens where he is 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA (7 ER/11.2 IP).

Sonny Gray takes the mound for the A’s this afternoon in his seventh start of the season. In his previous six starts, Gray is 4-1 with a 1.76 ERA. Today marks his first career start at the Fens and against the Red Sox.

18-12		15-16
1. Coco Crisp	CF	1. Dustin Pedroia	2B
2. Jed Lowrie	SS	2. Shane Victorino	RF
3. Josh Donaldson	3B	3. David Ortiz	DH
4. Brandon Moss	1B	4. Mike Carp	1B
5. Yoenis Cespedes	LF	5. A.J. Pierzynski	C
6. John Jaso	DH	6. Xander Bogaerts	SS
7. Derek Norris	C	7. Grady Sizemore	LF
8. Josh Reddick	RF	8. Will Middlebrooks	3B
9. Eric Sogard	2B	9. Jackie Bradley, Jr.	CF
Sonny Gray	SP	John Lackey	SP

NOTES:

Here is how the hitters have fared against the starting pitchers during the regular season over their careers.

More links will be added if/when they become available so please check back often.

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A.J. diary: Meeting with Farrell, daily rituals [a.j. pierzynski – espn boston]

Mujica still feeling discomfort [clubhouse insider]

Mujica (oblique) avoids DL stint [csn new england]

Notes: Napoli out Sunday in hopes to help finger [csn new england]

Carp moves up to cleanup spot against Gray [espn boston]

Mujica avoids disabled list; Napoli rests finger [espn boston]

Sox Notes: Day Off for Napoli; Mujica Day-to-Day [extra bases]

A Day Later, Lester’s Performance Still Impressive [extra bases]

Red Sox pre-game notes: No DL yet for Edward Mujica, Mike Napoli managing his finger injury [full count]

Edward Mujica Injury Update: Boston Red Sox Not Placing Reliever On DL [nesn]

Edward Mujica avoiding disabled list [providence journal]

Red Sox to stay on rotation through two off-days [providence journal]

Lackey out to give Red Sox sweep of A’s [red sox]

photo credits: getty images, getty images

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

Ratings UConn Football’s Best NFL Picks: From Beatty To Torkelson [hartford courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn makes good second impression on Boley [carl adamec – sny uconn]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. UConn Drops Game Two At Memphis, 6-1 [uconn huskies]

Softball. UConn Falls To UCF In Saturday Doubleheader [uconn huskies]

W. Track. Durgin Paces Huskies on Day One of Conference Championship [uconn huskies]

W. Track. Huskies Conclude Day Two in Tampa [uconn huskies]

M. Track. UConn Completes Day One At Conference Championship [uconn huskies]

M. Track. Men’s Track & Field Enters Final Day of American Championship in Fourth Place [uconn huskies]