For the second straight season, the UConn Huskies football team needed to beat the Cincinnati Bearcats to become bowl-eligible. And for the second straight season, Huskies fans were once again left disappointed.

Brandon Kay threw two touchdown passes, both of them to Travis Kelce, and then took advantage of turnovers to beat the Huskies 34-17 in front of 33,112 chilly fans at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT on Saturday.

UConn finishes 5-7 (2-5 Big East). It's the same record as last year under Paul Pasqualoni. Cincinnati finishes at 9-3 (5-2) and wins a share of the Big East title.

The Bearcats finished in a four-way tie for the title with the Louisville Cardinals, Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Syracuse Orange. Yes Syracuse finished 5-2 as well. Louisville will get the automatic bid from the Big East.

The Huskies weren't actually out of this game until the 4th quarter mistakes.

After Chandler Whitmer left the game with what appeared to be his second straight game with a concussion, Johnny McEntee came in and continued the march down the field. The drive culminated with a one yard run from Lyle McCombs that cut Cincy's lead to 21-17.

But after a Bearcats field goal, McEntee was picked off and that set up a George Winn four-yard touchdown run. McEntee would once again be picked off later in the quarter. But at that point, the game was essentially over as Johnny Mac didn't have the magic he had last week.

What can we say?

Well it was a disappointing season for the Huskies. They lost a few games they probably shouldn't have. The running game was virtually non-existent for at least 3/4 of the season. That was due in part to an offensive line that struggled all season long. Whitmer made too many mistakes. Bad play calling or shall I say conservative play calling.

Personally some thing needs to change offensively.

Whether it be firing offensive coordinator George DeLeone and/or head coach Paul Pasqualoni, I don't know. They have a big QB recruit coming in for next season but unless he's coming in for January, I highly doubt he'll be the answer.

They do have Casey Cochran on the bench and it wouldn't surprise me to see him emerge as the starting quarterback after spring practice. Had he not injured himself in a non-football incident, he could have been the quarterback.

But it's not a woulda, coulda, shoulda situation. They did the best they could offensively with what they had. And yes, it wasn't all that good.

Props to the defense.

Despite the seven losses, they were outstanding. If it weren't them, it's quite likely the Huskies could have had more losses.

They'll lose some key parts of the defense to graduation but as long as Don Brown remains as defensive coordinator, the defense will be almost as good, if not better than they were this year.

But now instead of getting 15 extra practices, the Huskies will now have to wait until spring football to start organized football activities.

Scoring:

1st quarter

CIN – 11:33 – Travis Kelce 25 Yd Pass From Brendon Kay (Tony Miliano Kick)

2nd quarter

CIN – 11:20 – Brendon Kay 39 Yd Pass From Travis Kelce (Tony Miliano Kick)

CON – 06:43 – Bobby Puyol 40 Yd Field Goal

CON – 05:23 – Ryan Griffin 74 Yd Pass From Chandler Whitmer (Bobby Puyol Kick)

3rd quarter

CIN – 11:24 – Travis Kelce 21 Yd Pass From Brendon Kay (Tony Miliano Kick)

CON – 00:17 – Lyle McCombs 1 Yd Run (Bobby Puyol Kick)

4th quarter

CIN – 12:04 – Tony Miliano 38 Yd Field Goal

CIN – 10:52 – George Winn 4 Yd Run (Tony Miliano Kick)

CIN – 06:03 – Tony Miliano 42 Yd Field Goal

To continue reading, the Cincinnati Bearcats @ UConn Huskies recap, click on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

Offensive Player of the Game:

Cincinnati's Travis Kelce had five catches for 69 yards and two touchdown catches. He also threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to his quarterback Brandon Kay.

Defensive Player of the Game:

Cincinnati's Dan Giordano had six tackles and two sacks. His two sacks went for a total loss of 21 yards.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

After a Cincinnati field goal, Johnny McEntee was picked off in the 4th quarter. The turnover led to a Bearcats touchdown that put the game out of reach for the Huskies.

Offensive Notes:

Chandler Whitmer was 16-of-31 for 264 yards and one touchdown pass. He was sacked four times and threw one interception. Johnny McEntee was 7-of-16 for 73 yards and was intercepted twice. Lyle McCombs had 21 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown. Shakim Phillips had seven catches for 93 yards while Geremy Davis had five catches for 46 yards. Ryan Griffin had three catches for 85 yards and one touchdown. Michael Smith had three catches for 54 yard while Nick Williams had two catches for 38 yards.

Defensive Notes:

Jory Johnson, Yawin Smallwood and Byron Jones led the Huskies with nine tackles each. Johnson had a forced fumble and fumble recovery as well as a pass breakup. Shamar Stephen had seven tackles while Tim Willman and Ryan Wirth each had six tackles. Sio Moore had the team's only sack to go with just three tackles.

Special Teams Notes:

Freshman Bobby Puyol made his debut and was perfect on his only field goal attempt (40 yards). He also made both of his extra points. One of his four kickoffs went out-of-bounds. Cole Wagner averaged 37.7 yards on six punts. None of them were downed inside the 20. Nick Williams had five kickoff returns for 95 yards while Taylor Mack had one kickoff return for 25 yards.

Injuries:

Chad Christen missed the game with a thigh injury.

Chandler Whitmer suffered an apparent concussion in the 3rd quarter and didn't return to the game.

Officials:

Referee: John McDaid; Umpire: Greg Brenner; Linesman: Lyndell Shelton; Line judge: Lance Thompson; Back judge: James Downey; Field judge: Glenn Crowther; Side judge: George Liotus

Game Notes:

Cincinnati Bearcats @ UConn Huskies 12.1.12 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni and Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones as well as players from both teams.

Here are the postgame notes from the UConn Football Sports Information Department:

• With the loss Connecticut fell to 2-7 all-time against Cincinnati.
• Connecticut redshirt senior linebacker Jory Johnson recovered his first fumble of the season in the first quarter. It was his third career fumble recovery.
• UConn redshirt junior defensive tackle Tim Willman recorded two tackles for loss in the first quarter. Willman had five career tackles for loss entering the game.
• Connecticut redshirt junior defensive tackle Shamar Stephen made his first individual tackle for loss of the season in the second quarter. Stephens has 6.5 tackles for loss in his career.
• Husky senior wide receiver Michael Smith’s 52-yard reception in the second quarter was his longest catch of the season.
• UConn freshman kicker Bobby Puyol’s 40-yard field goal in the second quarter was the first of his career.
• Connecticut redshirt sophomore quarterback Chandler Whitmer’s 74-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ryan Griffin in the second quarter was the longest career score for both Whitmer and Griffin.
• Griffin caught six touchdowns, tying for second all-time for single season touchdown receptions by a tight end.
• UConn redshirt senior linebacker Sio Moore recorded his eighth sack the season late in the first half. It was the 16^th of his career.
• Connecticut sophomore running back Lyle McCombs ran for his sixth touchdown of the season late in the third quarter. The score was Connecticut’s first touchdown scored in the second half in BIG EAST play this season.
• With his score in the third quarter, McCombs eclipsed 2,000 career-rushing yards.
• McCombs now ranks eighth all-time in career rushing yards with 2,011; passing Tony Jordan (1,983) and Andre Dixon (1,958)
• Connecticut redshirt sophomore Shakim Phillips matched his career high today with seven receptions.

Big East Games and Results:

Thursday, November 29

Louisville 20
Rutgers 17

Saturday, December 1

Pittsburgh 27
South Florida 3

Things to Work On:

Fire George DeLeone and/or Paul Pasqualoni

Up Next:

UConn is off until spring practice starts.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Photo credit: richard messina – hartford courant (no. 7 in gallery), 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. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

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

It's game day for the UConn Huskies football team as they host the Cincinnati Bearcats in the final regular season game of 2012 at Rentschler Field. If the Huskies win, they become bowl-eligible. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

If you missed our Cincinnati vs UConn preview be sure to check it out.

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

UConn Football links

Setting up Saturday's Big East slate [matt fortuna – espn.com]

SNY’s Sean Mulcahy previews UConn-Cincinnati [sean mulcahy – sny.com]

UConn seniors want one more home win [ct post]

UConn Needs Focus, Win Vs. Cincinnati To Become Eligible For Bowl [hartford courant]

UConn Will Have Several Recruits Watching On Saturday At The Rent [hartford courant]

UConn, And Its Supporters, Must Make The Program Bigger [hartford courant]

Huskies need one more upset to become bowl eligible [new haven register]

Know Your Opponent: Connecticut Huskies [bearcats blog]

Bearcats, Jones focused on game [cincinnati enquirer]

UConn Women's Basketball links

Terps ready for UConn challenge in Jimmy V [carl adamec – sny.com]

Kelly Faris: Shooting For The Stars [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Jimmy V Classic Carries Special Meaning For Frese [rich elliott – ct post]

Mosqueda-Lewis Fully Cleared To Play [rich elliott  – ct post]

Auriemma Faces Lineup Decision Heading Into Game Vs. Maryland [rich elliott – ct post]

Maryland can only hope eight is enough [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn Men's Basketball links

Best Business Practice For UConn, Darren Rovell says, Is Scheduling Up [dom amore – hartford courant]

UConn Draws Inspiration from Ohio State Football; Boatright: "Why Can't That Be Us?" [david borges – new haven register]

Realignment’s effect on Recruiting [kevin duffy – ct post]

UConn Moves On From Ugly Win [hartford courant]

Like Ohio State and Penn State football, Huskies playing only for pride, but still winning [new haven register]

Three points from Thursday's win over New Hampshire [new haven register]

Evans eyes his return for UConn men [the day]

Other UConn related links

M. Ice Hockey. Huskies Outshoot Canisius But Fall, 3-0 [uconnhuskies.com]

UConn, And Its Supporters, Must Make The Program Bigger [hartford courant]

Geno Auriemma was in Deb Corum's corner from the start [new haven register]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Ten days after learning that the Boston Red Sox had agreed to a two-year deal with Jonny Gomes, the team has finally made it official. The holdup was clearing up space on the 40-man roster which happened on Friday night.

Here's the full release from the Red Sox:

The Boston Red Sox today signed veteran outfielder Jonny Gomes to a two-year contract through the 2014 season.  Gomes had a career-high .377 on-base percentage for Oakland in 2012, including a .404 mark after the All-Star break that ranked fifth in the American League.  He hit .262 (73-for-279) with 18 home runs and 47 RBI in 99 games for the AL West champions. 

Gomes, 32, led the Majors by batting .480 (12-for-25) with two outs and runners in scoring position, the best mark in the American League in 17 years.  He hit .311 (19-for-61) with runners in scoring position and .306 with runners on base (38-for-124).

On the road, he led the league with a .409 on-base percentage, a .578 slugging percentage and a .987 OPS (minimum 150 plate appearances).

Gomes homered once every 15.5 at-bats, the second-best ratio of his career (14 AB/HR in 2009) and the 10^th best in the AL (min. 300 PA).  Eight of his 18 home runs gave his team the lead.

Only David Ortiz, Jose Bautista, Adam Dunn, and Mike Napoli had both a higher walk rate and home run rate in 2012 than Gomes (min. 300 PA), who drew 44 walks in his 99 games (7.57 PA/BB).

He started 46 games at designated hitter, 25 in left field, and three in right field.  Lifetime, he has played more games in left field (327) than any other position (DH, 323; right field, 145).

The right-handed hitter batted .299 (49-for-164) against left-handed pitching in 2012 with 11 home runs, tied for the ninth-most in the AL.  All 10 of his doubles also came against lefties; those 21 extra-base hits off southpaws tied for eighth in the circuit.

Gomes’ .413 on-base percentage vs. lefties ranked fifth in the AL, his .974 OPS was seventh, and his .561 slugging percentage was 10^th.

The Petaluma, CA native was the first player in Oakland A’s history to hit a home run for each of his first three hits in a season.  Petaluma is approximately 40 miles north of Oakland.

The 2012 season with the A’s was his lone season near his home after six years with Tampa Bay (2003-08), 2 ½ with Cincinnati (2009-11), and one half with Washington (2011).  He was Tampa Bay’s 18^th-round pick in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft.

In 10 big league seasons, Gomes has hit .244 (646-for-2,646) in 880 games with 123 doubles, 14 triples, 136 home runs, 411 RBI, 389 runs, 308 walks and 48 stolen bases.  He has hit at least 20 home runs in a season three times.

Against lefties, he has hit .284 lifetime (265-for-934) with 50 home runs and a .512 slugging percentage.  In the last eight years, his .900 OPS is 15^th best in the Majors (min. 1,000 PA vs. LHP).

Gomes has participated in postseason play with the Reds in 2010 and the A’s in 2012.

Before Gomes, the last Major Leaguer to have hit as high as .480 with two outs and runners in scoring position was Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who hit .486 in 1995, also with the A’s. 

Exceptionally active in the community, Gomes received the 2012 Dave Stewart Community Service Award, given annually to an A’s player for charitable contributions throughout Northern California and across the nation.  When his hometown team from Petaluma reached the Little League World Series this year, he raised funds for families’ transportation and lodging.  He and the A’s then provided the team with a special batting practice experience and pre-game ceremonies. 

In Petaluma, Gomes is also involved with an annual charity baseball clinic, Camp for a Cure, to raise funds for research and treatment of cancer, lupus, and diabetes.

In addition, he has supported TroopsDirect, the Wounded Warrior Project, Boys & Girls Clubs, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Alternative Family Services, and the David Benzer Torture Cancer Foundation.

With the signing, the Red Sox 40-man roster is now at 38.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

photo credit: getty images

New Boston Red Sox skipper John Farrell has completed his MLB coaching staff for the 2013 season.

Here's the release from the Red Sox:

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today named Victor Rodriguez as the club’s Major League assistant hitting coach.  Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington and Manager John Farrell made the announcement.

The 2013 season will mark Rodriguez’s 19^th in the Red Sox organization and will be his first year on the Major League staff. 

The 51-year-old Rodriguez has spent the last six seasons from 2007-12 as Boston’s minor league hitting coordinator, a position he also held in 2002.  For three seasons from 2004-06, he was the club’s Latin field coordinator after serving as a minor league hitting instructor in 2003.

Rodriguez previously served six seasons as a hitting coach in the Red Sox system at High-A Sarasota (1996-98), Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Red Sox (1999, 2001) and Single-A Augusta (2000).  He began his coaching career in the Boston organization in 1995 after playing in 31 games with Triple-A Pawtucket.

Born in New York City, Rodriguez was signed by Baltimore in 1977 at the age of 15 out of Naguabo High School in Puerto Rico.  He played for parts of 19 professional seasons in the Orioles (1977-84), Padres (1985), Cardinals (1986-87), Twins (1988-91), Phillies (1992-93), Marlins (1994) and Red Sox (1995) organizations, including 17 Major League games over stints with Baltimore (1984) and Minnesota (1989) over which he hit .429 (12-for-28).  In 1,759 minor league games, Rodriguez hit at a .295 clip (1,905-for-6,468) with 102 home runs and 774 RBI.  He received the Clyde Kluttz Orioles Organization Player of the Year Award in 1981.

Rodriguez’s son Victor, Jr. is currently a scout for the Red Sox, and his son Miguel is a catcher in the Boston system after being drafted by the club in 2012.

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The Boston Red Sox had until midnight on Friday to decide who tender contracts to that were under the team's control. As you might have expected, the Red Sox had some tough decisions to make.

GM Ben Cherington decided to not tender contracts to three players. Those three players are Scott Atchison, Rich Hill and Ryan Sweeney.

To me, Hill is the most surprising.

He's been one of the better relievers the Red Sox have had. He was 1-0 with a 1.83 ERA in 25 appearances in 2012, one year removed from Tommy John surgery. In his three seasons with the Red Sox, he made 40 appearances and was 2-0 with a 1.14 ERA. He gave up just four runs in 31.4 innings.

I do wonder if the Red Sox will sign to Hill to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. I hope they do.

To read the release from the Red Sox, please click on the continue reading button below if you're on the home page.

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today announced that the club will not tender 2013 contracts to right-handed pitcher Scott Atchison, left-handed pitcher Rich Hill and outfielder Ryan Sweeney.  As a result, Atchison, Hill and Sweeney will become free agents.  Boston tendered 2013 contracts to the other 30 unsigned players on its Major League roster.  The announcements were made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington.  

The 36-year-old Atchison appeared in 42 games for the Red Sox in 2012, all in relief, going 2-1 with five holds, a 1.58 ERA (9 ER/51.1 IP) and 36 strikeouts.  He missed 55 games on the disabled list due to a right elbow strain from mid-July through mid-September.  Atchison has pitched for Boston in each of the last three seasons and is 7-7 with one save, a 3.48 ERA (81 ER/209.2 IP) and 164 strikeouts in 155 career Major League outings (1 start) between the Mariners (2004-05), Giants (2007) and Red Sox (2010-12).  He was originally selected by the Mariners in the 49^th round of the 1998 First-Year Player Draft.

Hill, 32, appeared in relief in 25 games for the Red Sox last season after returning from Tommy John surgery in April.  He went 1-0 with six holds, a 1.83 ERA (4 ER/19.2 IP) and 21 strikeouts.  The left-hander has appeared in 40 games for the Red Sox, all out of the bullpen, since joining the organization as a minor league free agent during the 2010 season.  Originally signed by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, he owns a 23-20 record with a 4.59 ERA (218 ER/427.0 IP) and 391 strikeouts in 118 career Major League games (70 starts) with the Cubs (2005-08), Orioles (2009) and Red Sox (2010-12).

Sweeney, 27, was limited to 63 games due to three stints to the disabled list last season, his first year with the Red Sox.  The left-handed batter hit .260 (53-for-204) with 19 doubles, two triples, 16 RBI, 22 runs scored and 12 walks.  He made 50 starts, including 35 in right field and 15 in center field.  A second-round selection by the White Sox in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, Sweeney is a career .280 hitter (481-for-1,719) with 102 doubles, 12 triples, 14 home runs and 185 RBI over 535 Major League games with the White Sox (2006-07), Athletics (2008-11) and Red Sox (2012).

With these moves, Boston’s 40-man roster is now at 37.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

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. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

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

Paw Prints – Cincinnati Bearcats (8-3, 4-2) @ UConn Huskies (5-6, 2-4) Preview [sox & dawgs]

Did you know? Big East Week 14 [matt fortuna – espn.com]

Seniors Look To Go Out On Winning Note [uconnhuskies.com]

The Blitz: Huskies vs. Bearcats [uconnhuskies.com]

UConn football notebook: Whitmer cleared to practice, play [ct post]

UConn's Ryan Wirth Learned Plenty From Near-Tragic Accident As Teen [hartford courant]

UConn's Seniors To Be Honored [hartford courant]

Whitmer Cleared To Play Saturday [hartford courant]

Quarterback Chandler Whitmer cleared for practice [new haven register]

UConn Women's Basketball links

Recruit Caldwell chooses UCLA [carl adamec – sny.com]

Maryland Coach Brenda Frese On Her Team And UConn [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Allow Me To Reiterate Something About UConn Recruiting [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Doty Knows Her Role With UConn [hartford courant]

Three points from Wednesday's win over Colgate [new haven register]

UConn Men's Basketball links

Wrapping Things Up From XL [dom amore — hartford courant]

No Apologies: Kevin Ollie, UConn Grab a Win Over UNH [david borges – new haven register]

Jim Calhoun Confident in UConn's Future [david borges – new haven register]

Notes/Quotes from New Hampshire: “I’m not going to apologize for a win.” [kevin duffy – ct post]

Post-game breakdown, video: New Hampshire [gavin keefe – the day]

Unsatisfying win [john silver – sny.com]

It's time for UConn to give Kevin Ollie a real contract [the uconn blog]

Half Built [uconn huskies basketball]

UConn hangs on, defeats New Hampshire [ct post]

UConn just lucky this stinker came against New Hampshire [ct post]

UConn Struggles To Get Past New Hampshire, 61-53 [hartford courant]

Shots Aren't There, But Calhoun Makes Up For It [hartford courant]

Huskies win ugly against New Hampshire [new haven register]

UConn finds a way to win [the day]

UConn men hang on to beat New Hampshire [the hour]

Other UConn related links

W. Soccer. Schulmann Named Finalist for Soccer News Net College Boot Award [uconnhuskies.com]

W. Soccer. Three Huskies Chosen to Compete in the NEWISA Senior Bowl [uconnhuskies.com]

Big East Must Regroup From Latest Blow [hartford courant]

What now for Cincinnati and UConn? [andy katz – espn.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

It looks like it's going to be one of those seasons where the UConn Huskies men's basketball team plays down to the level of their opponent.

UConn came into Thursday night's game with a record of 5-1 while the New Hampshire Wildcats were 2-3 and had lost their last three games. Obviously given the records you'd expect UConn dominate.

But that wasn't the case as the Wildcats stayed close throughout the game before UConn would eventually go on to a 61-53 win in front of 8,705 at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.

UConn improves to 6-1 while the Wildcats fall to 2-4.

Ryan Boatright led the way for the Huskies with 19 points and four assists. Freshman Omar Calhoun kicked in 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals. DeAndre Daniels led the Huskies with 10 rebounds to go along with his seven points.

Ferg Myrick paced the Wildcats with 20 points and had seven rebounds. Chris Pelcher had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. He also had three blocked shots.

As I said above this looks like how the season is going to go for the Huskies.

Without a big man stepping up right now, the Huskies have no inside game. Shockingly, this was the first time they outrebounded their opponent (43-40). That's not something you expect to see from a team that is 6-1.

And if there is no inside game, the guards are going to need to pick up their games. With Shabazz Napier having an off night shooting, Boatright and Calhoun picked up the slack.

But until an inside game develops, expect to watch a lot of jump shots from our Huskies squad.

New Hampshire Wildcats @ UConn Huskies 11.29.12 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Kevin Ollie as well as some of the players.

Here are UConn's postgame notes.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

photo credit: mark mirko – hartford courant (no. 12 in gallery)