Are you wondering if you’ll be able to see the Boston Red Sox take on the New York Yankees on FOX on Saturday afternoon?

Well here’s the breakdown courtesy of Fang’s Bites:

New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox – 91%
ANNOUNCERS: Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Chicago White Sox at Seattle Mariners – 8%
ANNOUNCERS: Dave Sims & Eric Karros
MARKETS INCLUDE:  Chicago, Portland, Seattle

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The nine-game homestand started out with such promise for the Boston Red Sox.

They took the first three games from the Tampa Bay Rays before falling in the finale. And now, after the Texas Rangers came in and swept the local nine, they now sit at 3-3 for the first six game and their AL East rivals the New York Yankees are looming over the weekend.

Someone in the front office might want to go out and spread some rumors about Mike Napoli so that he doesn’t re-sign with the Texas Rangers or anywhere in the American League for that matter. Simply put, he’s been a Red Sox killer over the years.

Coming off of a two home run night in the rout on Tuesday, all Napoli did last night was add a single, double and home run with 4 RBIs. His two run blast off of Josh Beckett turned out to be the difference in the game.

In 35 career games against the Red Sox, Napoli his hitting .302/.383/.716 with 14 home runs and 31 RBIs. 18 of those games have come at the Fens where he is hitting .328/.450/.759 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs.

Despite the fact that Beckett took the loss last night, he did everything in his power to keep the Red Sox in the game. His velocity was up a MPH or two on his fastball and while not as dominating as his last start, it was still a solid effort from the Texan.

He ran into some trouble in the 4th when former Red Sox David Murphy led off with a single and then Napoli crushed one out of Fenway to put the Rangers in front for good at 3-2. After that though, Beckett was dominating.

After the Napoli home run, he retired the next three batters along the way to retiring the final 12 he faced in the game. He seemed to work in more cutters and curves and they kept the Rangers hitters off of balance the rest of the way.

He also worked again with Kelly Shoppach again, hoping to keep the synergy up from the last start. My best guess is that this pair continues to work together as the season progresses.

Once again, Bobby Valentine made some questionable decision in regards to the bullpen. Of course, right now, there’s not really any one person he can trust down there other than maybe Alfredo Aceves.

Franklin Morales was one of the bright spots so far down there as well but last night brought us a totally different story. He gave up a single, intentional walk and a walk of the conventional variety to load up the bases to face a righty in Craig Gentry. Instead of Valentine bringing in Matt Albers to face Gentry, he stood pat with Morales, who got 0-2 on him before plunking him in the foot to bring home a run.

After that happened, Morales gave up a double to the right-handed hitting Napoli and then intentionally walked the left-handed hitting Mitch Moreland. Valentine then finally went to Albers who got Brandon Snyder to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Ryan Sweeney continued his hot hitting coming off the bench this time to drive in a run in the 9th. Unfortunately though, pinch-hitter Jarrod Saltlamacchia lined in to a double play to end the rally and the game.

Valentine is having a really tough homestand. He’s made a few made decisions and they’ve cost his team the game. You have to wonder if he’s having trouble adjusting to managing the game, one that’s changed a lot since he last managed in the big leagues in 2002.

The Red Sox are off today so we’ll be back later on today with the pitching matchups for the series with the Yankees. 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

Rangers rap Sox again [Boston Globe]

Francona changeup: He will be at Fenway [Boston Globe]

Their share of fond memories [Boston Globe]

Red Sox are sorely lacking [Boston Globe]

Ellsbury: no surgery needed [Boston Globe]

A tick up,then down for Josh Beckett [Boston Herald]

Terry Francona changes his mind [Boston Herald]

Valentine stands by, Red Sox lose [Boston Herald]

Offseason choices bring Red Sox no relief [Boston Herald]

Fenway ticket seekers ‘pop’ to it for centennial [Boston Herald]

When it comes to the Red Sox’ bullpen, who do you trust? [Clubhouse Insider]

Rangers hand Red Sox third straight loss, 6-3 [CSN New England]

Sox offense continues unpredictable streak [CSN New England]

Valentine defends slow hook with Morales [CSN New England]

Valentine: Beckett ‘pitched plenty good to win a game’ [CSN New England]

Britton learns the hard way [ESPN Boston]

Rapid reaction: Rangers 6, Red Sox 3 [ESPN Boston]

Sox running hot-and-cold on homestand [ESPN Boston]

Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine’s not helping his cause [ESPN Boston]

Video: Cafardo analyzes Sox-Rangers [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Mike Napoli, Rangers hand Red Sox another loss [Full Count]

Mike Napoli continues to be the toughest of outs for the Red Sox [Full Count]

Bobby Valentine is having to adjust to a whole new (Twitter-driven) world [Full Count]

Kevin Youkilis Unloads First Homer, Points To Jeff Bagwell’s Example Of Snapping Slumps [NESN.com]

Jon Lester May Replace Daniel Bard In Rotation for Weekend Series Against Yankees [NESN.com]

Bullpen Woes Plague the Red Sox Once Again And Highlight Concern Heading Into Yankees’ Series [NESN.com]

Bobby Valentine Continues to Shake Off Managerial Rust With Questionable Bullpen Decisions [NESN.com]

Tris Speaker and David Ortiz, Czar Nicholas II and Vladimir Putin Among Famous Faces From Then and Now as Fenway Park Turns 100 [NESN.com]

Fenway Park Has Seen Changes, But Bears Plenty of Resemblance to Its 1912 Self (Photos) [NESN.com]

Upbeat Ellsbury focused on rehab of shoulder [RedSox.com]

The renovations that did not reshape Fenway Park: Wild ideas left on the cutting-room floor [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Looking forward to the Red Sox reunion [Touching All The Bases]

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.

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

photo credit: 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 some of the other sports. 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

Practice 13 News And Notes [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Breaking down the O-line part 2 [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

NFL Draft: UConn’s Kendall Reyes To Go Late First Round, Early Second Round [Hartford Courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Busy Schedule Continues For Auriemma, Recruiting Trip Looming [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Auriemma Statement on Summitt Stepping Down [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Dom answered a few questions in his mailbag [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Chris McCullough: UConn My ‘Dream School’ [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Calhoun Ride to benefit RuthAnn Lobo [Neill Ostrout – Journal Inquirer]

AD Manuel: UConn will ‘get through’ postseason ban [CT Post]

Other UConn related links

W. Volleyball. Kenney Named as New Volleyball Assistant [UConnHuskies.com]

Softball. UConn & DePaul Split Doubleheader In Storrs [UConnHuskies.com]

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

After being spanked last night, the Boston Red Sox look to avenge the loss in the second game of a two-game set against the Texas Rangers at Historic Fenway Park tonight.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and the game will be broadcast in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Rangers television market, you can catch the game on Fox Sports Southwest. And if you don’t live in either market, you can watch the game on ESPN2. The game is also available on WatchESPN online. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Josh Beckett makes his third start of 2012 after one bad and one great start. In his two starts, Beckett is 1-1 with a 3.85 ERA. He made just one start against the Rangers in 2011 picking up the win on August 24th where he allowed one run in six innings of work. Beckett has made eight career starts against the Rangers and is 3-2 with a 5.03 ERA.

The Harry Caray impersonator Derek Holland makes his third start of the season for the Rangers. In his previous two starts, Holland is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA. He picked up the win in his only start of 2011 against the Red Sox when he threw seven shutout innings on September 2nd.  Holland has made three career starts against the local nine and is 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA. Two of those starts have come at the Fens where he is 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA (4 ER/11.2 IP).

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:

9-2		4-7
1. Ian Kinsler	2B	1. Mike Aviles	SS
2. Elvis Andrus	SS	2. Dustin Pedroia	2B
3. Josh Hamilton	CF	3. Adrian Gonzalez	1B
4. Adrian Beltre	3B	4. Cody Ross	RF
5. Nelson Cruz	RF	5. David Ortiz	DH
6. David Murphy	LF	6. Kevin Youkilis	3B
7. Mike Napoli	C	7. Kelly Shoppach	C
8. Mitch Moreland	DH	8. Darnell McDonald	RF
9. Brandon Snyder	CF	9. Jason Repko	CF
Derek Holland	SP	Josh Beckett	SP

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

NOTE: Mark Melancon has been demoted to Triple-A Pawtucket. Junichi Tazawa has been called up to replace him on the 25-man roster.

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 option Mark Melancon to Triple-A, recall Junichi Tazawa [Clubhouse Insider]

Ellsbury: ‘Got to stay positive’ through shoulder rehab [Clubhouse Insider]

Pregame notes: Sixth sense for Youk, Tito’s return, Bobby V on TV [Clubhouse Insider]

Buccigross: Tito’s coming to the celebration Friday [CSN New England]

Red Sox send Melancon to Pawtucket [CSN New England]

Ellsbury: No timetable for return [CSN New England]

Can Beckett douse the red-hot Rangers? [ESPN Boston]

Notes: Inside Youkilis’ slump [ESPN Boston]

How Ortiz turned it around vs. lefties [ESPN Boston]

Red Sox send Melancon to Pawtucket [ESPN Boston]

Red Sox turn to Beckett to bounce back [ESPN Boston]

Terry Francona changed course, will attend Boston Red Sox Fenway ceremony [ESPN Boston]

Ellsbury in clubhouse; no timetable [ESPN Boston]

Ask Nick: It’s early, but plenty of questions [Extra Bases]

As Youkilis struggles, Middlebrooks impresses [Extra Bases]

Melancon optioned to Pawtucket [Extra Bases]

Ellsbury comments on his injury [Extra Bases]

Bobby V’s must-see TV [Extra Bases]

Francona will attend Fenway Park anniversary celebration on Friday [Extra Bases]

Red Sox considering Lester for Sunday [Extra Bases]

Youkilis dropped down in order [Extra Bases]

Why Bobby Valentine really doesn’t matter [Full Count]

When will it be time for pitching prospect Matt Barnes to get promoted? [Full Count]

Fenway at 100: Park’s quirky design due in part to rushed delivery, happenstance [Full Count]

Buster Olney on M&M: Bobby Valentine has ‘got to worry about the players’ more than media [Full Count]

Should the Red Sox Officially Name a Team Captain This Season? [NESN.com]

Red Sox Option Mark Melancon to Pawtucket, Recall Right-Hander Junichi Tazawa [NESN.com]

Jacoby Ellsbury ‘Definitely’ Returning This Season, Admits He Can’t Watch Replay Of His Injury [NESN.com]

Neftali Feliz Believes In Daniel Bard’s Transition to Starter, As He Undergoes Similar Switch [NESN.com]

Struggling Melancon sent to Pawtucket [Projo Sox Blog]

First-round pick Barnes shredding Single-A [Projo Sox Blog]

Valentine could juggle rotation for weekend series [Projo Sox Blog]

Maddux on reliever conversions: “You can’t waver” [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox conscious of “clock ticking” with Matsuzaka [Projo Sox Blog]

Crawford hits home run, still not close to throwing in outfield [Projo Sox Blog]

Ellsbury: “We don’t have a timetable right now” [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox seeking split with Rangers behind Beckett [RedSox.com]

Red Sox option Melancon, promote Tazawa [RedSox.com]

Francona will attend Fenway ceremony Friday [RedSox.com]

Anderson seeks versatility and opportunity with new position [SoxProspects.com]

Crawford homers in Fort Myers game [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Valentine: Youkilis ‘a bloop away’ [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

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

Photo credits: AP Photo, Getty Images

The UConn Huskies and Washington Huskies men’s basketball teams are set to do battle on the hardwood for the next two seasons as the schools have announced a home-and-home series.

Here’s the release from UConn:

STORRS, Conn. – The University of Connecticut and University of Washington have finalized plans for an intersectional home-and-home men’s basketball series to begin in the 2012-13 season.

The Connecticut Huskies, out of the BIG EAST Conference, will play host to the Washington Huskies of the Pac-12 on Dec. 29, 2012, at either Gampel Pavilion or the XL Center.

The teams will meet in a return match during the 2013-14 season in Seattle.

Television plans for the two games will be announced at a later date.

UConn and Washington have met three times previously, with UConn holding a 3-0 edge, but the games have all been held at neutral sites.

UConn defeated Washington, 75-74, on March 19, 1998, in the NCAA East Regional semifinals in Greensboro, N.C., on a buzzer-beater by Richard Hamilton.

Connecticut then won a 69-48 decision over Washington on Dec. 1, 1998, at the Great Eight Basketball Classic at the United Center in Chicago.

The last meeting between the schools came on March 24, 2006, when UConn won, 98-92 in overtime at the NCAA Washington D.C. Regional semifinals at the Verizon Center.

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

Things started off looking good for the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

Jon Lester got himself out of a mini-jam in the 1st inning when he got former teammate Adrian Beltre to ground into a double play. Then after Mike Aviles led off with a single, Dustin Pedroia smacked a home run into the Green Monster.

But things took a quick change for the worse for Lester and the Red Sox.

After he threw 49 pitches in the top half of the 2nd, the local nine found themselves trailing 4-2. At that point they were still in the game. But after the top of the 3rd, they found themselves trailing 7-2 and Lester found himself sitting in the clubhouse wondering when the fried chicken and beer were getting there. I kid I kid.

It really was that kind of night though.

Scott Atchison came in for Lester and struggled in the rest of the second allowing all of the inherited runners to score. After that, he settled down allowing just a home run to Michael Young before giving way to Matt Albers who pitched a 1-2-3 7th inning.

Trailing 8-2 in the 8th, Bobby Valentine sent out Mark Melancon hoping he could turn things around for himself after a slow start. Ummm folks, that didn’t happen at all.

Of the six batters Melancon faced, three of them hit home runs. Justin Thomas came in after him and allowed two runs. And because he felt left out, Vicente Padilla, who I don’t think should have been in the game at all considering the score, allowed Mike Napoli‘s second home run of the game.

Ryan Sweeney was one of the offensive bright spots on the night as he had three hits to raise his average to .406. He’s definitely off to a nice start this season after coming over with Andrew Bailey in the trade for the A’s. Adrian Gonzalez added two hits, including a solo home run in the 8th. 

Defensively, Cody Ross had a rough night. He dropped a fly ball in the 2nd inning and totally misplayed a ball in the 8th.

As I said above, it was that kind of night where it didn’t seem like anything was going right. Considering everything that transpired before Monday’s game with the Kevin Youkilis comments by Bobby Valentine, you have to wonder how much of an affect it had on the team. All the parties involved, including Pedroia who stood up for Youk, said it was water under the bridge now.

But something tells me that it’s a bigger deal still than they want us to believe.

Look folks, it was one bad game by a bunch of people. Sure for Melancon, it was another bad outing after a few previous ones. Lester was probably going to have a bad outing somewhere along the line. Sure we didn’t want it to be this early in the season. Hopefully he’s gotten the stinker out of the way.

Ross is still learning how to play left at the Fens so I can let the ball over his head slide. Obviously the dropped ball is inexcusable.

The Red Sox sit at 4-7 right now. Last year they were 2-9.

So is it really all that bad right now?

We’ll be back later on today with this evening’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

Tee time [Boston Globe]

Eight was enough [Boston Globe]

Youkilis is poised to move past controversy [Boston Globe]

Amid drama, Youk tries to move on [Boston Herald]

Melancon on the outs [Boston Herald]

September vibe to April rout [Boston Herald]

Red Sox loss so bad it’s hard to put into words [Boston Herald]

Good news for Jacoby [Boston Herald]

Red Sox blown away by Rangers, 18-3 [CSN New England]

Valentine doesn’t rule out trip to minors for Melancon [CSN New England]

Lester after rough night vs. Rangers: ‘I flat-out stunk’ [CSN New England]

Rapid Reaction: Rangers 18, Red Sox 3 [ESPN Boston]

Melancon after shelling: ‘I’ll figure it out’ [ESPN Boston]

Lester makes no excuses after poor outing [ESPN Boston]

Some ugly numbers from gruesome loss [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Rangers demolish Jon Lester, Mark Melancon in blowout win vs. Red Sox [Full Count]

Jon Lester: ‘I just flat out stunk’ [Full Count]

Red Sox, Yankees to Wear Retro Hats, Uniforms at Fenway Park’s 100th Anniversary Game on Friday [NESN.com]

Mark Melancon Needs Triple-A Treatment to Regain Confidence, Aaron Cook’s Promotion Could Help Red Sox [NESN.com]

Jon Lester Struggles Despite Early Run Support in Red Sox’ Loss to Rangers [NESN.com]

Mark Melancon Struggles in Blowout Loss, Stint in Pawtucket Could Be in Store [NESN.com]

Ellsbury will not need shoulder surgery [RedSox.com]

Youkilis moves past flare-up with Valentine [RedSox.com]

Crawford sees first game action since last year [RedSox.com]

Rice talks Fenway, Red Sox at Fan Cave [RedSox.com]

Red Sox hosting free open house at Fenway [RedSox.com]

Lester, bullpen get shellacked by Rangers [RedSox.com]

Rough outing could land Melancon in Minors [RedSox.com]

Red Sox left hung out to dry against Texas [RedSox.com]

Unsettled at the start: Red Sox roster barraged by unexpected questions [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.

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

photo credit: Getty Images (illustration by Ian)