Author Archives: ianbethune

Whale Sign Forward Jordie Johnston

HARTFORD, October 1, 2012: Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the team has signed forward Jordie Johnston to an American Hockey League contract.

CT Whale Johnston, a 6-0, 180-pound native of Rosetown Saskatchewan, turned pro at the end of last season, going scoreless in three games with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. That was after Johnston completed a four-year college career at Ferris State University (CCHA). Johnston, 25, led the Bulldogs in points and goals, with 20 goals and 16 assists for 36 points, along with 52 penalty minutes, in 43 games. He also finished second among CCHA skaters in goals, and sixth in the league in points.

In four seasons with Ferris State, Johnston totaled 136 games-played, scoring 30 goals and adding 27 assists for 57 points and serving 102 minutes in penalties.

JORDIE JOHNSTON’S AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL RECORD

The Whale open their 2012-13 season Friday, October 12 at the XL Center, with a 7:30 PM battle against their in-state rivals the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. At that game, all fans can purchase tickets at the special price of $12 each, and that night will also kick off the Whale’s new Friday night $1 hot dogs and $2 beers promotion.

Tickets for that game, and all Whale regular season home games at the XL Center, are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, through TicketMaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.

Season tickets for the Whale’s 2012-13 AHL season are also available. For information on season seats, and all of the Whale’s many ticketing options, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 548-2000 to talk with an account executive today.

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

No Television For UConn-Temple Game on 10/13

Temple Owls @ UConn Huskies

The Big East Conference announced the game time and television assignment for the UConn Huskies home game against the Temple Owls on Saturday, October 13.

The kickoff at Rentschler Field will be at 1 p.m. and the game will be available only online at ESPN3.com. That’s right folks, if you want to watch the game you have to hope that your cable or internet provider is one of the ones that allows you access to ESPN3.

This marks the second game the Huskies have had to play on ESPN3. The first was the loss to Western Michigan.

I can tell you this much. If I don’t end up going to the game, I’ll be watching the game on my iPhone 4S WatchESPN App. The video online the last time was so choppy and laggy at times that I gave up and watched on my phone where I had no problems at all.

Of course, since there’s plenty of tickets available, you could also head to the game at the Rent.

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

UConn Depth Chart for Rutgers

UConn Huskies @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights

UConn Huskies football coach Paul Pasqualoni has released his depth chart for Saturday’s road tilt against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

I’ll make it easy on y’all. There are no changes from last week’s depth chart against the Buffalo Bulls.

For a full look at the UConn Huskies depth chart for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights game, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

OFFENSE

LT: 72 Jimmy Bennett (RSr., 6-9, 309)
78 Dalton Gifford (RFr., 6-5, 297)

LG 69 Steve Greene (RJr., 6-5, 309)
60 Tyler Samra (Fr., 6-3, 250)

C: 73 Alex Mateas (RSo., 6-3, 293)
50 Tyler Bullock (RJr., 6-4, 302)

RG: 63 Adam Masters (RSr., 6-4, 298)
65 Gus Cruz (RSo., 6-2, 306)

RT: 77 Kevin Friend (RJr., 6-6, 295)
75 Xavier Hemingway (RFr., 6-4, 262)

TE: 89 John Delahunt (RSr., 6-3, 243)
94 Ryan Griffin (RSr., 6-6, 247)

WR: 6 Michael Smith (Sr., 6-0, 201) OR
31 Nick Williams (Sr., 5-10, 184)
84 Tebucky Jones (RSo., 6-0, 185)

FB: 47 R Reuben Frank (RSo., 6-3, 239)
36 Michael Osiecki (RSo., 6-2, 228)

QB: 10 C Chandler Whitmer (RSo., 6-1, 191)
18 Johnny McEntee (RSr., 6-3, 208)

TB: 43 L Lyle McCombs (RSo., 5-8, 166)
25 Martin Hyppolite (RJr., 6-0, 214)

WR: 85 Geremy Davis (RSo., 6-1, 214)
8 Shakim Phillips (RSo., 6-1, 200)

DEFENSE

DE: 48 Trevardo Williams (Sr., 6-2, 233)
51 Tim Willman (RJr., 6-4, 270)

DT: 53 Ryan Wirth (RSr., 6-3, 271)
97 B.J. McBryde (RSo., 6-5, 301)

DT: 59 S Shamar Stephen (RJr., 6-5, 317)
90 Julian Campenni (RFr., 5-11, 281)

DE: 56 Angelo Pruitt (RSo., 6-3, 296)
45 Elijah Norris (Fr., 6-4, 230)

OLB: 3 Sio Moore (RSr., 6-2, 229)
32 Jefferson Ashiru (RFr., 6-1, 227)

ILB: 33 Yawin Smallwood (Rso., 6-3, 235)
46 Marquise Vann (RFr., 6-0, 224)

ILB: 28 Jory Johnson (RSr., 6-1, 227)
52 Ryan Donohue (Sr., 6-0, 242)

CB: 5 Blidi Wreh-Wilson (RSr., 6-2, 190)
29 Taylor Mack (Jr., 5-9, 170)

S: 16 Byron Jones (RSo., 6-1, 192)
22 Andrew Adams (RFr., 6-0, 186)

S: 15 Ty-Meer Brown (RSo., 6-0, 193)
39 Jordan Floyd (Fr., 6-1, 205)

CB: 7 Dwayne Gratz (RSr., 6-0, 198)
12 David Stevenson (RFr., 5-8, 173)

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: 13 C Chad Christen (RJr., 6-1, 202)
17 Bobby Puyol (Fr., 6-0, 170)

P: 86 C Cole Wagner (RJr., 6-2, 211)
13 Chad Christen (RJr., 6-1, 202)

HL: 86 C Cole Wagner (RJr., 6-2, 211)
17 Blaise Driscoll (Sr., 6-1, 189)

KR: 31 Nick Williams (Sr., 5-10, 184)
29 Taylor Mack (Jr., 5-9, 170)

PR: 31 Nick Williams (Sr., 5-10, 184)
29 Taylor Mack (Jr., 5-9, 170)

LS: 67 Adam Mueller (Jr., 6-1, 225)
66 Dominick Manco (RFr., 6-0, 239)

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

Monday Red Sox Travesty – 10/1

Clay Buchholz (L), CC Sabathia (R)

After being swept in Baltimore, the Boston Red Sox head to the Big Apple for their final three games of their miserable 2012 season. Tonight, they’ll take on the New York Yankees in the first game of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Yankees television market, you can catch the game on YES. If you don’t live in either market you are in luck as well as the MLB Network will coverage of the game (outside of Red Sox and Yankees televison markets). If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Clay Buchholz looks to finish up the season strong in his 29th and final start of 2012. In his previous 28 starts, Buchholz is 11-7 with a 4.22 ERA. He took the loss in his only start of 2012 against the Yanks after allowing six runs (five earned) in six innings of work back on April 20th. Buchholz has made eight career starts against the Yankees and is 2-4 with a 5.84 ERA. Four of those starts have come in the Bronx where he is 2-1 with a 5.25 ERA.

CC Sabathia looks to keep the Yankees AL East title hopes alive in his 28th start of the season. In his previous 29 starts, Sabathia is 14-6 with a 3.42 ERA. He picked up a no decision in his only start of the season against the visiting nine in which he allowed six runs in six innings of work back on July 28th. Sabathia has made 21 career starts against the Red Sox and is 7-9 with a 4.35 ERA.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the overnight and day if you’re on the home page.

Here are today’s lineups:

69-90		92-67
1. Pedro Ciriaco	2B	1. Derek Jeter	SS
2. Daniel Nava	LF	2. Ichiro Suzuki	LF
3. Cody Ross	RF	3. Alex Rodriguez	DH
4. Mauro Gomez	1B	4. Robinson Cano	2B
5. Ryan Lavarnway	DH	5. Mark Teixeira	1B
6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C	6. Nick Swisher	RF
7. Danny Valencia	3B	7. Curtis Granderson	CF
8. Che-Hsuan Lin	CF	8. Russell Martin	C
9. Jose Iglesias	SS	9. Eric Chavez	3B
Clay Buchholz	SP	CC Sabathia	SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:

Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees batter/pitcher matchups

NOTES:

REFRESH OR CHECK BACK OFTEN AS MORE LINKS WILL BE ADDED BEFORE GAMETIME IF/WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND WILL BE BOLDED

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

Pedroia out with finger injury [rob bradford – weei.com]

Dustin Pedroia playing coy about injury, likely to his left ring finger [clubhouse insider]

Notes: No Pedroia, no Ellsbury in lineup [csn new england]

Boston Red Sox’s Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury not starting against New York Yankees [espn boston]

No Red Sox among popular jerseys [extra bases]

Pedroia, Ellsbury out of the lineup [extra bases]

Jacoby Ellsbury, B.J. Upton and the Red Sox’ protected draft pick [full count]

Dustin Pedroia Has Hottest Bat in Boston as Sox Head Into Final Series With Yankees [nesn.com]

Eddie Bane’s Hiring Shows Red Sox Are Tweaking New-School Approach to Talent Evaluation [nesn.com]

Nick Cafardo Checks in With Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett as Dodgers Make Last Playoff Push [nesn.com]

Dustin Pedroia Seemingly Sidelined With Finger Injury, But Bobby Valentine Playing Coy [nesn.com]

Bobby Valentine Respects Yankees’ Ability to Make a Run, Says They’re ‘Built To Play’ Through September [nesn.com]

Ryan Lavarnway Improved ‘An Awful Lot’ Defensively, Looks to Regain Stride at Plate [nesn.com]

Sea Dogs’ Liz Riley Nominated for National Award [oursports central]

A Series Matter: Red Sox-Yankees and Conclusions [projo sox blog]

Is it possible for the sad-sack Sox . . . [projo sox blog]

What did teams like this year’s Orioles do the next year? [projo sox blog]

Pedroia out with finger injury [projo sox blog]

Valentine taciturn before first game at Yankee Stadium [projo sox blog]

Andrew Miller finishing off his best season in majors [projo sox blog]

Red Sox can hurt Yanks’ playoff drive [redsox.com]

Cashman: Sox struggles ‘won’t last long’ [alex speier – weei.com]

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

photo credits: getty images, getty images

Red Sox News & Notes – 10/1

Orioles Magic

Well depending on how you want to look at things, the Boston Red Sox did their job this weekend by laying down like a good little puppy and playing dead. By that I mean, the Baltimore Orioles swept them.

Despite a plane scare on their way to Tampa for a crucial matchup with the Rays, the Orioles are back in the playoffs for the first time since 1997 with the Angels losing. They are guaranteed at least one of the AL Wild Card spots.

And now they need the Red Sox to stop being that good little puppy and come back to life against the New York Yankees these next three games while taking care of their own business in Tampa.

Look, I never really wanted to root against the Red Sox this weekend but doesn’t our hatred of the Yankees winning the division overule that. I wanted the Red Sox players do good, I really did.

Now I want them to make a statement in the Bronx. Because seriously, how great would it be if the Red Sox can keep their most hated rivals from the winning division. That would just make this miserable season we’ve endured a 100 times better.

Zach Stewart had a chance on Sunday to redeem himself after his poor Red Sox debut when he gave up nine runs in three innings. He actually didn’t last as long as his first start as he went just 2.2 innings. And he only gave up five runs.

Remember folks, Stewart is the only player left we have from the Kevin Youkilis trade. I guess the good thing is Youk hasn’t exactly torn the cover off the ball with the White Sox. But unless Stewart figures things out in the offseason, this trade will be a bust for the Red Sox.

Yes the trade had to be done at the time. I get that. In hindsight, it’s possible they could have waited until the trade deadline.

But the past is the past. It’s time to move forward.

Let’s just hope the moving forward is helping the Orioles out over the next three games. I really want to see Yankees fans sweating it out in a one-game playoff on Friday.

We’ll be back later with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

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

Orioles sweep Sox, wait to clinch playoffs berth [boston herald]

Red Sox manager job: Experience not needed [boston herald]

Red Sox hit 90-loss mark [boston herald]

David Ortiz misses good old days [boston herald]

Daniel Bard’s year real page-turner [boston herald]

Red Sox fall to Orioles for 90th loss, 6-3 [csn new england]

Scouts’ take of top Sox prospects [espn boston]

Rapid Reaction: Orioles, 6, Red Sox 3 [espn boston]

Boston Red Sox must consider options beyond John Farrell [espn boston]

Jerry Remy Serves as Translator for Wally the Green Monster, Can’t Figure Out Favorite Color (Video) [nesn.com]

Zach Stewart’s Rough Outing Results in Red Sox Reaching 90-Loss Plateau [nesn.com]

With Iglesias and Lavarnway struggling, Pedroia recalls first exposure to big-league pitching [projo sox blog]

Twenty-five homers later, Salty still evolving [redsox.com]

Red Sox rookies dress up as cheerleaders [redsox.com]

Sox clinch protected top-10 draft pick [alex speier – weei.com]

A remarkable 45-year Red Sox run comes to an end [alex speier – weei.com]

Making sense of Jacoby Ellsbury’s enigmatic career [alex speier – weei.com]

MINOR LEAGUE LINKS:

Greenville Drive 2012 review: Cecchini rare infield bright spot [goupstate.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy news, be sure to head over to the Baltimore Sun and MASN websites. Also be sure to check out our Bloguin brother the Oriole Post for all of your Orioles needs.

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

photo credit: MASN Orioles Facebook page

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 10/1

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

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

Big East bowl projections: Week 6 [andrea adelson – espn.com]

Big East power rankings [andrea adelson – espn.com]

Sunday wrapup [john silver – sny.com]

UConn football notebook: Hyppolite makes statement [ct post]

No Easy Trip For Huskies As Conference Play Begins [hartford courant]

UConn: Five Things We Learned [hartford courant]

Injury couldn’t keep Ty-Meer Brown out of lineup against Buffalo [new haven register]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn recruiting targets win gold [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Alumni Profile: Rudy Gay [uconn huskies basketball]

Other UConn related links

W. Soccer. Women’s Soccer Falls to Notre Dame, 4-0, at Morrone [uconnhuskies.com]

Baseball. Baseball Announces 2012 Team Awards [uconnhuskies.com]

Field Hockey. No. 5 Field Hockey Makes it 11-Straight With 3-2 Win at No. 12 BU [uconnhuskies.com]

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

2012 Blogpoll Top 25 – Week 5 Ballot

As many of you know, I am one of the voters in the BlogPoll Top 25. Each week, bloggers across the country representing the various FBS schools get together and put together their own top 25’s.

Here at SOX & Dawgs, we are representing the UConn Huskies.

You can check out the ballot I submitted earlier today by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the homepage.

SOX & Dawgs Ballot – Week 5

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	—
2	Oregon Ducks	—
3	LSU Tigers	—
4	Georgia Bulldogs	—
5	Florida St. Seminoles	—
6	West Virginia Mountaineers	—
7	South Carolina Gamecocks	—
8	Texas Longhorns	1
9	Kansas St. Wildcats	1
10	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	5
11	USC Trojans	—
12	Oklahoma Sooners	—
13	Florida Gators	—
14	TCU Horned Frogs	—
15	Clemson Tigers	2
16	Louisville Cardinals	—
17	Nebraska Cornhuskers	2
18	Stanford Cardinal	-10
19	Mississippi St. Bulldogs	1
20	Oregon St. Beavers	1
21	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	3
22	Northwestern Wildcats	—
23	Washington Huskies	—
24	Cincinnati Bearcats	—
25	Michigan Wolverines	—
Dropouts: Michigan St. Spartans, Oklahoma St. Cowboys, Wisconsin Badgers

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

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

2012 NCAA Football Rankings – Week 6 (Sept. 30)

AP & USA Today Coaches Polls

The NCAA football rankings are out for the week and the Alabama Crimson Tide remain as the No. 1 team in the land in both polls.

They are followed by Oregon Ducks, Florida State Seminoles, LSU Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs in the AP Poll. In the USA Today Coaches Poll, they are followed by Oregon, LSU, Florida State and Georgia.

Two teams from the Big East are ranked in the top 25 of both polls. They are the Louisville Cardinals (19/16) and Rutgers Scarlet Knights (22/21). The Cincinnati Bearcats are ranked No. 23 in the Coaches Poll and are the first team among the others receiving votes in the AP Poll.

For a full look at the 2012 NCAA Football Rankings – Week 6 (Sept. 30), please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

AP Top 25					USA Today Coaches’ Poll
RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	PVS	RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	PVS
1	Alabama (60)	5-0	1500	1	1	Alabama (57)	5-0	1472	1
2	Oregon	5-0	1430	2	2	Oregon	5-0	1403	2
3	Florida State	5-0	1349	4	3	LSU (1)	5-0	1327	3
4	LSU	5-0	1310	3	4	Florida State (1)	5-0	1301	4
5	Georgia	5-0	1252	5	5	Georgia	5-0	1227	5
6	South Carolina	5-0	1152	6	6	South Carolina	5-0	1161	6
7	Kansas State	4-0	1123	7	7	West Virginia	4-0	1137	7
8	West Virginia	4-0	1066	9	8	Kansas State	4-0	1050	8
9	Notre Dame	4-0	1043	10	9	Texas	4-0	981	10
10	Florida	4-0	937	11	10	Notre Dame	4-0	915	11
11	Texas	4-0	932	12	11	Florida	4-0	883	12
12	Ohio State	5-0	793	14	12	USC	3-1	784	13
13	USC	3-1	703	13	13	TCU	4-0	749	14
14	Oregon State	3-0	647	18	14	Oklahoma	2-1	684	15
15	Clemson	4-1	608	17	15	Clemson	4-1	626	16
15	TCU	4-0	608	15	16	Louisville	5-0	524	17
17	Oklahoma	2-1	581	16	17	Oregon State	3-0	453	21
18	Stanford	3-1	509	8	18	Stanford	3-1	452	9
19	Louisville	5-0	404	19	19	Mississippi State	4-0	422	19
20	Mississippi State	4-0	306	21	20	Nebraska	4-1	415	20
21	Nebraska	4-1	240	22	21	Rutgers	4-0	206	25
22	Rutgers	4-0	160	23	22	Northwestern	5-0	202	NR
23	Washington	3-1	159	NR	23	Cincinnati	3-0	175	NR
24	Northwestern	5-0	143	NR	24	Texas Tech	4-0	108	NR
25	UCLA	4-1	122	NR	25	Boise State	3-1	83	NR
Dropped from rankings:					Dropped from rankings:
Michigan State 20, Boise State 24, Baylor 25					Michigan State 18, Oklahoma State 22, Wisconsin 23, Baylor 24, Virginia Tech 25
Others receiving votes:					Others receiving votes:
Cincinnati 72, Boise State 53, Texas A&M 51, Michigan State 43, Texas Tech 39, Michigan 38, Louisiana Tech 37, Baylor 31, Ohio 30, Arizona State 15, Arizona 4, Miami (FL) 4, Iowa State 3, Tennessee 3					Washington 65, Texas A&M 61, UCLA 58, Louisiana Tech 56, Michigan State 45, Baylor 41, Arizona State 40, Miami (FL) 17, Michigan 11, Ohio 11, Louisiana-Monroe 8, Wisconsin 6, Purdue 6, San Jose State 4, Oklahoma State 3, Toledo 1, Tulsa 1, Virginia Tech 1