Martin Bédard

Larry Taylor

Julius Williams

Jordan Younger

With NFL cutdown day happening last Friday night, seven former members of the UConn Huskies football team found themselves out of a job. But with teams filling up their practice squads starting on Saturday afternoon, three of the seven found themselves on practice squads.

They are: 

• Marcus Easley, Buffalo Bills
• Kashif Moore, Indianapolis Colts
• Jordan Todman, Minnesota Vikings

Note: Darius Butler, who was released by the Carolina Panthers, cleared waivers and was placed on injured reserve by the team. He has since negotiated an injury settlement with the team and has been released from injured reserve.

Easley was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 4th round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He missed the entire 2011 season with a heart ailment.

Kashif Moore went undrafted in 2012 and signed a free agent deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was cut by the Bengals last week but was picked up by the Colts.

Todman was a 6th round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers in 2011 and made the team but was waived in mid-October. Three days later he joined the Chargers practice squad. He was signed off the practice squad of the Chargers by the Vikings before the final NFL regular season game but was inactive.

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

UConn Huskies football coach Paul Pasqualoni has released his depth chart for Saturday’s home game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. And while most of the changes are at the backup positions, there is one new starter on the offensive side of things.

Redshirt sophomore Geremy Davis has taken over as the starter at wide receiver over BC transfer Shakim Phillips.

The rest of the changes on offense and defense are the backups as I said above.

Redshirt Freshman Dalton Gifford is now backing up Jimmy Bennett at left tackle. Tyler Samra (Fr., 6-3, 250) is now backing up Steve Greene at left guard with Tyler Bullock now backing up Alex Mateas at center.

DE Ted Jennings will miss the game with a knee injury suffered in the UMass game and has been replaced on the two deep by true freshman Elijah Norris. Andrew Adams is now backing up Byron Jones at safety while true freshman Jordan Floyd is now backing up Ty-Meer Brown at the other safety position.

For a full look at the UConn Huskies depth chart for the North Carolina State Wolfpack 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 R Ryan Wirth (RSr., 6-3, 271)
97 B.J. McBryde (RSo., 6-5, 301)

DT: 90 Julian Campenni (RF r., 5-11, 281)
56 Angelo Pruitt (RSo., 6-3, 296)

DE: 91 Jesse Joseph (Sr., 6-3, 259)
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 A 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.

Week one of the college football season down and one of the linebackers from the UConn Huskies defensive unit has been honored as Big East Defensive Player of the Week.

Here’s the release:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – University of Connecticut redshirt sophomore linebacker Yawin Smallwood (Worcester, Mass.) was named the BIG EAST Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Smallwood keyed a Connecticut defense that turned in its first shutout since the 2007 season with a 37-0 win against Massachusetts. He had a team-high seven tackles to go with a sack, 3.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup as the Huskies didn’t allow the Minutemen to cross midfield. Connecticut allowed just 59 yards of offense — the fewest of any Bowl Subdivision team in Week 1 — and limited Massachusetts to just three first downs and an average of 1.3 yards per play.

Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib was the Offensive Player of the Week while the Special Teams Player of the Week was Temple kicker/punter Brandon McManus.

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

photo credit: stephen dunn – hartford courant

At this point, there’s not much we can say about the 2012 Boston Red Sox. Right now they stink worse than when your dog farts and then looks around like nothing happened only for you to tell “that’s gross”.

Part of the problem for the Red Sox has been the starting pitching as of late. They’ve been putting the team in holes that they haven’t been able to climb out of.

That was the case yesterday afternoon in Oakland as Daisuke Matsuzaka was roughed early as the Oakland A’s went on to a 6-2 win.

Matsuzaka was tagged for six runs on seven hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings. At that point, it was a little too late for the Red Sox against Brett Anderson.

The bullpen was solid after Dice-K’s suckage.

Andrew Miller, Craig Breslow, Junichi Tazawa and Mark Melancon combined to throw 4 1/3 shutout innings. They allowed one hit (Melancon), walked one (Miller) and struck out six (Miller had 2, Breslow had 2 and Tazawa had 2).

The lone bright on offense was Dustin Pedroia who had three of Boston’s six hits on the night. Cody Ross and Mauro Gomez knocked in the only runs of the game.

It’s obvious the trade has taken a toll on this team. They look so lost that even an updated GPS might not get them back on the right track.

To me, their needs to be a change in leadership. And by that, I mean Bobby Valentine.

He looks like he’s been defeated and while we all may not like him, it’s tough to see. The Red Sox would be better served letting someone else manage this debacle and let Valentine go on his merry way. If he’s not in the cards for the 2013 season, it’s the right thing to do.

They should give Tim Bogar a chance to show what he can do. He’ll probably be on the short list of teams in the offseason so why not give him a chance here in Boston.

At this point, it can’t hurt.

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.

After being swept for the second straight series, this time by the Oakland A’s, the Boston Red Sox finish their nine-game west coast road trip. They’ll look to get back on track this afternoon in the first game of a three-set with the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Mariners television market, you can catch the game on ROOT Sports.  If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Clay Buchholz looks to put an end to the slide in his 24th start of 2012. In his previous 23 starts, Buchholz is 11-4 with a 4.50 ERA. He hasn’t faced the Mariners since 2010 when he picked up the win after allowing one run in seven innings of work. His two career starts against the Mariners have come at Safeco Field where he is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA (4 ER/12.1 IP).

Jason Vargas makes his 29th start of 2012 for the suddenly improved Mariners. In his 28 previous starts, Vargas is 13-9 with a 3.90 ERA. He’s made two starts against the visiting nine this season and is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA (6 ER/14 IP). Vargas has made five career starts against the Red Sox and is 1-2 with a 3.51 ERA.

Here are today’s lineups:

62-73		65-70
1. Pedro Ciriaco	3B	1. Dustin Ackley	2B
2. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF	2. Franklin Gutierrez	CF
3. Dustin Pedroia	2B	3. Kyle Seager	3B
4. Cody Ross	RF	4. John Jaso	DH
5. Mauro Gomez	1B	5. Justin Smoak	1B
6. Ryan Lavarnway	C	6. Eric Thames	RF
7. Mike Aviles	DH	7. Miguel Olivo	C
8. Ryan Kalish	LF	8. Carlos Peguero	LF
9. Jose Iglesias	SS	9. Brendan Ryan	SS
Clay Buchholz	SP	Jason Vargas	SP

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

NOTES: Chris Carpenter has been recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. 

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

Red Sox swept away again [boston globe]

Pedroia not second-rate [boston globe]

Boat of skipper is taking on water [boston globe]

Red Sox take another beating [boston herald]

Dice-K lets himself, Sox bullpen down [boston herald]

Trying times for Pedey [boston herald]

Sox bottoming out [boston herald]

Ownership displeased [boston herald]

Cherington, Henry had already planned trips [rob bradford – weei.com]

Henry here to take stock himself, says owners remain ‘resolute’ Bobby to finish season [clubhouse insider]

Bobby V discusses breakfast meeting with John Henry [clubhouse insider]

Valentine, Cherington taking different views on defining Red Sox’ success, failure [clubhouse insider]

Sox swept once again after 6-2 loss to Athletics [csn new england]

Pitching fails Sox once again on recent road trip [csn new england]

Valentine’s day at end? Henry, Cherington fly to Seattle [csn new england]

Henry: Trip to Seattle a ‘fact-finding’ visit [csn new england]

Rapid Reaction: A’s 6, Red Sox 2 [espn boston]

Red Sox drag themselves out of Oakland [espn boston]

Best, worst of August [espn boston]

Cherington in Seattle: ‘Nothing going on’ [espn boston]

Henry: Not in Seattle to fire Bobby V [espn boston]

Sox call up reliever Carpenter from Triple-A [espn boston]

Repko’s leaping catch a must-see [espn boston]

Brentz follows Middlebrook’s lead [espn boston]

Red Sox Starting Staff Needs to End Trend of Early Flameouts, Ease Pressure on Bullpen [nesn.com]

Bobby Valentine Responds to Job Security Speculation, Sarcastically Apologizes to Those Calling for His Firing [nesn.com]

Red Sox Call Up Chris Carpenter, Who Was Compensation for Theo Epstein [nesn.com]

Dustin Pedroia Continues to Find Hitting Stroke as Red Sox Turn Attention to Mariners [nesn.com]

A Series Matter: Red Sox-Mariners and Ugh [projo sox blog]

Brentz growing in his approach [projo sox blog]

Valentine, Henry meet over breakfast [projo sox blog]

Cherington: ‘We’re in that painful part of the process’ [projo sox blog]

Buchholz looks to right Red Sox’s ship in Seattle [redsox.com]

Ellsbury nursing sore wrist, held out of lineup [redsox.com]

Acquired in blockbuster trade, De Jesus called up [redsox.com]

Atchison ready for Minors rehab assignment [redsox.com]

Henry: ‘Resolute’ Bobby V remains thru ’12 [alex speier – weei.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 Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle websites.

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

photo credits: ap photo, 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. 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 2 [andrea adelson – espn.com]

Big East weekend rewind: Week 1 [andrea adelson – espn.com]

DC answered a few questions in his mailbag [desmond conner – hartford courant]

Speed kills [john silver – sny.com]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Terrence Samuel Commits to UConn [dom amore – hartford courant]

Meet R.J. Evans [uconn huskies basketball]

UConn men net N.Y. point guard Samuel [ct post]

New York City Guard Terrence Samuel Commits To UConn [hartford courant]

NYC point guard Terrence Samuel commits to Huskies [new haven register]

South Shore’s Samuel chooses ‘dream school’ UConn [ny post]

Other UConn related links

W. Soccer. UConn Ties #16 Santa Clara, 1-1, In Notre Dame Adidas Invitational [uconnhuskies.com]

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