The biggest news of the day for the Boston Red Sox on Sunday was supposed to be the announcement of Felix Doubront and Daniel Bard as the fourth and fifth members of the starting rotation. Instead, it was the news of a mysterious thumb injury suffered by Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey.

No one is quite sure how Bailey injured his thumb and I saw a tweet somewhere yesterday that Bailey only found his thumb was injured when he tried to squeeze a shampoo bottle in the shower. So with all of that news, the Red Sox sent Bailey back to Boston for an examination and tests on the thumb.

The Red Sox will wait for those results before making a determination of whether or not Bailey starts the season on the DL. The best guess here is that he does in fact start the season on the disabled list allowing him to be fully healthy for the rest of the season.

While we thought Pedro Ciriaco, Jason Repko and Nate Spears were competing for the final spot on the Red Sox 25-man roster, that final spot could conceivably go to another pitcher instead of a position player.

Alfredo Aceves, who wasn’t happy with the fact that he won’t be starting this season, will be considered to close out games along with Mark Melancon until Bailey returns.

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington and skipper Bobby Valentine have until 5 p.m. on Wednesday night to make their decisions on the final roster. It will be interesting to see what they decide on the makeup of the bullpen as well as the final roster. I say final because it’s the end of spring training.

We all know the 2012 Opening Day roster won’t look like the roster will on May 1st. That’s just the way baseball works.

To see today’s lineups as well as the links from the media, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

After winning the Mayor’s Cup yesterday, the Red Sox close out Grapefruit League play against the Washington Nationals.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. and there is no television or radio coverage of today’s game.

Here are the lineups:

1. Roger Bernadina	CF	1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF
2. Ian Desmond	SS	2. Dustin Pedroia	2B
3. Danny Espinosa	2B	3. Adrian Gonzalez	1B
4. Adam LaRoche	1B	4. Kevin Youkilis	3B
5. Xavier Nady	RF	5. David Ortiz	DH
6. Chad Tracy	LF	6. Darnell McDonald	LF
7. Wilson Ramos	DH	7. Ryan Sweeney	RF
8. Jesus Flores	C	8. Mike Aviles	SS
9. Steve Lombardozzi	3B	9. Kelly Shoppach	C
Jordan Zimmermann	SP	Aaron Cook	SP

Cook will be followed by LHP Franklin Morales, RHP Mark Melancon and RHP Matt Albers.

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

Thumb injury likely to land Bailey on DL [Boston Globe]

Doubront, Bard put in rotation [Boston Globe]

Issues, right off the bat [Boston Globe]

Thumbs down on Bailey situation [Boston Herald]

Red Sox finally armed but not as dangerous [Boston Herald]

Every pinch counts [Boston Herald]

Surprise injury sidelines closer [Boston Herald]

Beckett expects to make first start [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Bobby Valentine produces some interesting press conferences [Clubhouse Insider]

Now Beckett has a thumb situation; Aceves says he is on call for Game 2 start if needed [Clubhouse Insider]

Bobby Valentine “totally” expects Josh Beckett to start second game [Clubhouse Insider]

Video: Panic time over another thumb injury? [Clubhouse Insider]

Bailey (thumb) returning to Boston for examination [CSN New England]

Pitcher could fill Red Sox’ final roster spot vacancy [CSN New England]

Beckett (thumb) may miss first start of season [CSN New England]

Beckett (thumb) expected to make first start [CSN New England]

Melancon: Bailey won’t be ready to start season [CSN New England]

Resetting the Sox roster [ESPN Boston]

Bailey to have thumb examined in Boston [ESPN Boston]

Takeaways from Fort: Ross’ many talents [ESPN Boston]

Looking back at six weeks of spring training [Extra Bases]

Josh Beckett questionable for first start [Extra Bases]

Valentine still waiting for news on Bailey [Extra Bases]

Why left-hander Justin Thomas could be on Red Sox’ Opening Day roster [Full Count]

Sox’ success hinges on Bard, Buchholz [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]

Andrew Bailey Likely Suffers Thumb Injury in Collision, Discovered Pain Squeezing Shampoo Bottle [NESN.com]

Josh Beckett Suffers Thumb Injury, Alfredo Aceves Prepared to Make Spot Start in His Place [NESN.com]

Alfredo Aceves ‘Fine Now,’ Feels Red Sox’ Commitment to Daniel Bard Hurt His Chances of Starting [NESN.com]

Red Sox set rotation, with Doubront No. 4 and Bard No. 5 [Providence Journal]

Red Sox 2012: Loaded American League ensures a tough road back to postseason [Providence Journal]

Brian MacPherson’s predictions for the 2012 MLB season [Projo Sox Blog]

Tim Britton’s predictions for 2012 [Projo Sox Blog]

Beckett getting thumb checked in San Antonio [Projo Sox Blog]

Commitment to Bard meant versatile Aceves had little chance to win spot in rotation [Projo Sox Blog]

“Strike-throwing machine” Atchison awaiting word on fate [Projo Sox Blog]

If Bailey is out, closer picture cloudy for Red Sox [Projo Sox Blog]

Lavarnway optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket [RedSox.com]

Injured right thumb could land Bailey on DL [RedSox.com]

Sox weren’t tempted to move Bard back to ‘pen [RedSox.com]

Beckett gears up for season with side session [RedSox.com]

Red Sox get chance to change conversation [RedSox.com]

Beckett in Texas having right thumb examined [RedSox.com]

Bail-out strategy: A look at potential impact of closer Andrew Bailey’s injury [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Aceves says he may fill in for injured Beckett [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Four Red Sox April Fool’s Day Pranks That Didn’t Quite Work as Planned [Surviving Grady]

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: AP Photo

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 Women’s Basketball links

The End Of The Road [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Chemistry Not A Problem For Jefferson, Stewart And Tuck [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Huskies Had Plenty Of Resiliency Tonight, Not Enough Execution [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Maya Moore brings home another title [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

UConn fell one rebound shy of reaching title game [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

UConn falls to ND in overtime [CT Post]

UConn’s Hayes struggles in defeat [CT Post]

UConn women’s notebook: Back in the game [CT Post]

Irish Get The Last Word, Defeat UConn, 85-73 [Hartford Courant]

UConn Looks Beyond Loss To The Future [Hartford Courant]

Students Tune In As Game Gets Close [Hartford Courant]

Another Battle Fuels The Flames Of A Fierce Rivalry [Hartford Courant]

Huskies fall to Notre Dame in overtime in national semifinal [New Haven Register]

Irish oust Huskies in OT thriller [The Day]

UConn women come just short of a miracle finish [The Day]

Hayes finishes UConn career [Mechelle Voepel – ESPN.com]

Ex-Olympic coaches honored [Mechelle Voepel – ESPN.com]

Irish win game of twists, turns [Graham Hays – espnW]

Notre Dame convincing in the end over UConn [USA Today]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Coach-In-Waiting — Good Idea Or Bad For UConn Men? [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

Softball. Huskies Fall To Notre Dame, 7-2 [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. Marzi Shuts Down Seton Hall in Weekend Finale, 7-1 [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Lacrosse. Lapham Ties Career Scoring Record; Women’s Lax Falls at Rutgers, 14-5 [UConnHuskies.com]

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

Here are the postgame quotes from the UConn Huskies after their 83-75 overtime loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the semifinals of the 2012 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO on Sunday night.

Transcript courtesy of ASAP Sports

THE MODERATOR:  Joining us is head coach Geno Auriemma and student‑athletes Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson. Coach, an opening statement.

COACH AURIEMMA:  Really not much that I can say.  We put ourselves in the position to win the game.  That last two minutes, minute and a half of regulation was pretty amazing.

And as most games do, it turned on the one great play by a great player.  And then when we got into overtime, we just didn’t have enough.  They just made some huge shots.  We took a chance on making it difficult.  But Brittany Mallory made two huge shots, and that’s who we wanted to shoot the ball.  And, God bless her, she stepped up and made shots.

THE MODERATOR:  Questions for the student‑athletes.

Q.  Stefanie, you played the last (indiscernible) of overtime with four fouls.  Can you talk about your mindset of how you had to play that stretch?

STEFANIE DOLSON:  I just know I had to stay as aggressive as I could without fouling and just be smart, because I knew the team needed me in there to get rebounds and make shots.

And they did a pretty good job just staying aggressive but not fouling.

Q.  Bria, you guys are 0‑3 this year when you’ve given up 70 plus and Notre Dame has done that twice.  What do they do so well on offense?

BRIA HARTLEY:  They stay moving on offense.  I think, even though we’re familiar with them, they stay active and they set a lot of screens.  It’s just us having to talk to each other.  They hit some tough shots.

They were able to score.  And they played a really good game tonight.

Q.  I was hoping you could just take us through the emotions of those final two minutes.  Coach Auriemma was kind of telling us about it already, but from your guys’ perspective as Kelly got those two steals and hit all those free throws, what was it like from your guys’ perspective?

BRIA HARTLEY:  I thought it was great.  I thought we definitely had a lot of momentum going for us.  God bless Kelly, she was able to get that steal after I turned the ball over.  And I think it was just a lot of excitement, and we felt really good going into that first overtime or whatever, but it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to in the end.

Q.  Stefanie, could you talk about your offensive mindset, especially the first half, you did a large part in carrying the team?

STEFANIE DOLSON:  Well, I think Notre Dame did such a good job of being overly aggressive with our guards that they had a lot of tough shots that they had to make and knock down.  So I just had to do a good job screening for them.

That left me open to roll to the basket and got me easy layups.  And towards the end I knew I had to be as aggressive as I could to get our team points, because we gotta give Notre Dame their defense a lot of credit; they did a great job taking away a lot of things.  And we didn’t move around enough.

Q.  Bria, you guys have had great defense all year, team defense.  You guys held Skylar with only two points till late in the first half.  And your teammates were backing you up well, it seemed like.  If she tried to drive, they were there to stop her.  Can you talk about how important it was in that first half to not only how you were playing against her but the team in general?

BRIA HARTLEY:  I think a lot of it is our help when someone gets beat or whatever, someone steps up and someone’s able to stop them, and a lot of it is just us talking and communicating on defense.  Everyone did a really good job of that in the first half. 

To see what Geno Auriemma has to say, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

THE MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Questions for Coach.

Q.  Coach, I think 19 turnovers in regulation time tonight, Notre Dame’s defense or just sloppy ball handling today?

COACH AURIEMMA:  It’s always a combination of both.  Anytime you have that many turnovers, the defense has a lot to do with it and you have a lot to do with it yourself.

We just were not very good offensively.  And I can’t tell you why, because maybe the emotions of the game or maybe for some of our younger guys the game was just too big for them, I don’t know, but there was a lot of standing around, and that’s not like us.  That’s not how we play.

Q.  It seemed like the upperclassmen who all wanted to play well struggled but the younger kids, like Stefanie, Bria, and Kiah, all played great.  Could you talk about what the younger kids brought to the table tonight?

COACH AURIEMMA:  It’s awfully difficult.  And a lot of the teams that have been here before find that out that you’re not going to come here and your freshmen and sophomores are going to necessarily win national championships for you.  It’s very difficult.
And Kelly and Caroline and Tiffany struggled a lot.  And it wasn’t until the last minute, minute and a half, that Kelly started making the plays that Kelly normally makes.

At the end of regulation, I think it was 67, right?  Something like that?  So, again, you’re not going to hold Notre Dame to much less than that, generally speaking.  So our defense was fine for the regulation for the first 40minutes.
We just passed up too many opportunities.  You can’t do that against Notre Dame.  You can’t come away empty handed.  They’re just too good.  You can’t give them that many chances.

Q.  Your teams are so familiar with each other after playing so much this year, last year.  How do you think that affected this game and maybe ultimately affected the outcome?
COACH AURIEMMA:  Well, what can I say?  It was tough for them to get open shots.  It was tough for us to get open shots.  There were stretches where our defense dominated them.  There were stretches where our defense let us down, or our offense was clicking and then theirs was.  It’s basically the way all the games have gone that we played them.
We said going into this game somebody’s going to make a couple of plays and that’s going to be the difference in the game.  And if we had won in regulation, the play that Kelly Faris made would have won the game.  Instead the play Natalie Novosel made maybe won the game for them.

Q.  Coach, you were down 4 in overtime.  You called a timeout; come out of that, you get a 30‑second violation, looked a little tentative.  What were you trying to do there?  Did you think your team looked tentative at that point?

COACH AURIEMMA:  Well, that’s another issue that popped up.  That was a struggle for most of the season.  When we called that timeout, we knew we were going to get a good shot, because we knew Kaleena or Bria was going to get a good shot.  The only problem is once we inbounded the ball and started dribbling, dribbling and dribbling, then it just kind of deteriorated from there.

And why?  I don’t know.  We did things tonight that we haven’t done in a long, long time.  And I don’t have an explanation for it.

Q.  Geno, the rivalry will go on.  But is there one thing right now, one play, one moment, something that’s really like kicking your butt right now that’s really eating at you about any one thing tonight that you’re taking home with you right now?

COACH AURIEMMA:  Yeah, I would say probably the last play of regulation because the game sometimes hangs on one play.  Kelly steals the ball, misses the layup, and then gets two free throws.  If Kelly missed the layup and makes the one free throw, we’re up three instead of two.  And that changes everything.

I made a huge mistake of taking Kiah Stokes out of the game at that point.  We went with five guards so that we could switch all their screens.  And in the end a defensive rebound would have won it for us.  That’s the part I’m going home with.

Q.  Can you take us through your mindset in the second half with Stefanie and the foul troubles, when to take her out, when to put her back in, what you were thinking there?

COACH AURIEMMA:  Yeah, I thought Stefanie played great.  And there was a lot of talk on the bench among the coaching staff about when to bring her in, how long to keep her out.  But I felt as long as the game was within reach and it wasn’t more than four or five points either way that we could buy some more time for her.

And I figured somewhere around the six‑minute mark, seven‑minute mark we’d be good to go.  I thought Kiah Stokes was really good tonight.  I thought she did a lot of really nice things.  And as long as she kept doing that we would be okay.  I’m really proud of our freshmen and sophomores.  I thought they had really, really good days today.  And they learned a lot.  This will be good for them.

THE MODERATOR:  Thank you, Coach.

If you’re interested, you can also check out the postgame quotes from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

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

We are getting closer and closer to the season and finally the 2012 roster for the Boston Red Sox is starting to take shape.

Earlier in the week, we learned that Mike Aviles would be the starting shortstop as Jose Iglesias was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket. This left just finding out who the fourth and fifth guys in the rotation as well as the 25th man on the roster.

With all four in the rotation competition pitching this week, Alfredo Aceves, Daniel Bard, Aaron Cook and Felix Doubront, it was thought that we would learn the final two yesterday. Instead, Bobby Valentine elected to wait until today to announce his rotation since he hadn’t had time to talk with all the parties involved.

So without further adieu, here is your 2012 Boston Red Sox starting rotation:

1. Jon Lester
2. Josh Beckett
3. Clay Buchholz
4. Felix Doubront
5. Daniel Bard

Really no surprises here. I’ve said all along that Aceves is better suited from the Red Sox bullpen given his versatility. Cook most likely wasn’t ready yet as he hasn’t gotten to where the others are as far as pitch count.

I’m guessing here that Doubront is the 4th starter and Bard the 5th because Valentine didn’t want to throw lefties (Doubront, Lester) on consecutive days. I’d also like to think that if Doubront or Bard struggle, the Red Sox will give Cook a chance or even bump Aceves into the rotation.

The bullpen, while not officially announced, looks like it’ll be Andrew Bailey, Mark Melancon, Aceves, Matt Albers, Franklin Morales, Michael Bowden and either Scott Atchison or Vicente Padilla. If it ends up being Padilla, the Red Sox would have to make a move on the 40-man roster since he was a non-roster invitee.

It also appears that the 25th spot on the roster is coming down to Pedro Ciriaco, Nate Spears and Jason Repko.

All of them bring a different dynamic to the team but I’m guessing it’ll be Ciriaco based on his speed. He’s now scored from second base on sacrifice bunts twice this season and that’s something Valentine likes. The one thing to remember though is that more than likely the 25th man on the team will also be the one to go when Carl Crawford returns from his wrist injury in late April/early May.

Finally, if you thought Ryan Lavarnway would start the season in Boston, your guess would have been wrong. He was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket this morning. Something tells me though that it won’t be long before he’s in Boston to stay.

To see today’s lineups, as well as the links from the media, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

After tying the Tampa Bay Rays 7-7 yesterday, the Red Sox return to JetBlue Park to host their spring training cross-town rivals, the Minnesota Twins. The Mayor’s Cup is on the line as the Red Sox hold a 3-2 lead and a win would give them the title after losing it last year.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. and the game will be broadcast in the Red Sox television market on NESN. You can also listen to the game on your radio at 680 AM WRKO.

Here are today’s lineups:

1. Denard Span	CF	1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF
2. Jamey Carroll	SS	2. Dustin Pedroia	2B
3. Chris Parmalee	DH	3. Adrian Gonzalez	1B
4. Ryan Doumit	C	4. Kevin Youkilis	3B
5. Danny Valencia	3B	5. David Ortiz	DH
6. Sean Burroughs	1B	6. Cody Ross	LF
7. Luke Hughes	2B	7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C
8. Trevor Ploufee	RF	8. Ryan Sweeney	RF
9. Ben Revere	LF	9. Mike Aviles	SS
Carl Pavano	SP	Vicente Padilla	SP

Padilla will be followed by RHP Scott Atchison, LHP Justin Thomas

Pavano will be followed by RHP Alex Burnett, LHP Matt Maloney, RHP Jared Burton and RHP Casey Fien.

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

His voice still carries [Boston Globe]

Pitch calls to be revealed today [Boston Globe]

Fenway Park is part of us all [Boston Globe]

Ranking the major league managers [Boston Globe]

Chasing his chance [Boston Herald]

Red Sox’ minor attraction [Boston Herald]

Round barrier broken [Boston Herald]

Bobby Valentine to deliver rotation [Boston Herald]

Why the Red Sox took so long to decide on their starters [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Ben Cherington on the Red Sox spring: “We feel good about it and also feel it’s not perfect” [Clubhouse Insider]

Bobby Valentine: Daniel Bard is No. 5 starter, Alfredo Aceves unhappy with bullpen assignment, mystery injury concern in bullpen [Clubhouse Insider]

Closer Andrew Bailey now has thumb injury, Opening Day in jeopardy [Clubhouse Insider]

Daniel Bard hopes lessons learned from spring struggles lead to regular season success [Clubhouse Insider]

Doubront, Bard named to starting rotation [CSN New England]

Battle for final roster spot continues for Red Sox [CSN New England]

Cherington: Crawford ‘continues to progress’ [CSN New England]

Little change in roster, big change in culture [CSN New England]

Source: Bailey bothered by thumb injury [CSN New England]

Takeaways: Roster spot roulette [ESPN Boston]

Doubront, Bard in rotation; concern for Bailey? [Extra Bases]

Lavarnway to Pawtucket but roster not complete [Extra Bases]

Questions about Andrew Bailey’s health as Red Sox set rotation [Full Count]

Felix Doubront Named Red Sox’ No. 4 Starter, Calls Bobby Valentine’s Decision ‘The Best News’ [NESN.com]

Jason Repko Eyeing Utility Role on Red Sox Roster After Impressive Spring [NESN.com]

Alfredo Aceves Not Happy With Bobby Valentine’s Decision to Put Him Back in Bullpen, According to Red Sox Skipper [NESN.com]

Injury Questions Surround Andrew Bailey After Bobby Valentine Discusses ‘Health Situation’ in Red Sox Bullpen [NESN.com]

Prospect destinations: Ranaudo to Portland, Boegarts and Bradley Jr. to Salem [Projo Sox Blog]

Felix Doubront the No. 4 starter, Daniel Bard the No. 5 [Projo Sox Blog]

Lavarnway optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket [Projo Sox Blog]

Valentine hints at “health situation” in bullpen [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox poised to regain prominence on farm [RedSox.com]

Red Sox’s final roster spot up for grabs [RedSox.com]

Lester tunes up for Opening Day start [RedSox.com]

Red Sox talk to Cubs about Carpenter’s injury [RedSox.com]

Doubront, Bard round out Red Sox rotation [RedSox.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.

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.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they’ll take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the right to go the NCAA Championship game on Tuesday night. Tonight’s tip is scheduled for approximately 6:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

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

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Notre Dame-UConn VIII [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Pat And Geno Share A Hug [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Randon Notes From Final Four Saturday [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Lacking a True Superstar, Team Approach Has Worked For Huskies [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Auriemma, Summitt Shared A Moment Together At Pepsi Center [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Notre Dame loss proved to be turning point in UConn’s season [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Here’s something we never thought we’d see [John Nash – The Hour]

Mile High Salute Photos [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Final Four Arguably Strongest Ever [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Players Enjoyed Proving Coach Geno Wrong [UConnHuskies.com]

Teams Brace for Thin Air to Reach Hoops Summit [UConnHuskies.com]

Barnes Arico Offers Analysis of Women’s Final Four [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn-Notre Dame Preview [UConnHuskies.com]

No stars, no worries for this UConn squad [CT Post]

Semifinal matchup just adds to UConn-Notre Dame rivalry [CT Post]

Huskies arrive early, adapt to higher elevation [CT Post]

UConn’s Hayes tries to move past Final Four disappointment [CT Post]

UConn lives by its overwhelming defense [CT Post]

Hartley rewarded for hard work, named to WBCA Coaches’ All-America team [CT Post]

UConn women’s notebook: Auriemma, Summitt show friendly side [CT Post]

Auriemma, McGraw bring Philly approaches to the court [CT Post]

UConn, Notre Dame Collide Again On Big Stage [Hartford Courant]

Hartley Named To Coaches’ Association All-American Team [Hartford Courant]

In UConn-Notre Dame Matchup, Officiating A Key [Hartford Courant]

Huskies, Notre Dame know each other very well [New Haven Register]

It’s no secret; Bria Hartley makes State Farm All-American team [New Haven Register]

Benching starters started the turnaround [New Haven Register]

Hayes, Huskies face Irish in tonight’s Final Four [The Day]

Connecticut Huskies Peaking At The Right Time [Swish Appeal]

You again?! Irish-Huskies, Round 4 [Graham Hays – espnW]

Dolson’s play peaking at right time [Graham Hays – espnw]

UConn Football links

Practice 6 News And Notes [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

A Saturday scrimmage wrap [Chip Malfronte – New Haven Register]

First spring scrimmage thoughts [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

UConn’s Quarterbacks Show Their Stuff In Scrimmage, But Defense Makes It Tough [Hartford Courant]

Receiver Michael Smith has put problems in past [New Haven Register]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. Baseball to Resume Play on Sunday [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Rowing. Huskies Win Five Out of Six Against Marist, Trinity [UConnHuskies.com]

Softball. Softball Swept By Notre Dame, 5-2 & 7-3 [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Track. UConn Strong In Opening Weekend Of Outdoor Season [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Tennis. Huskies Downed At Georgetown, 7-0 [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Track. Huskies Post 19 Top-Five Finishes To Open Season [UConnHuskies.com]

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

I think this may have caught some people off guard, including myself.

It was announced on Saturday that UConn Huskies sophomore guard Bria Hartley has been named to the 2012 State Farm/WBCA All-American Team. She is just the fourth UConn sophomore to be named to the most prestigious All-American team in women’s basketball.

Here’s the release from UConn:

DENVER, Colo. – Sophomore guard Bria Hartley has been selected to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association/State Farm All-America Team as announced by the WBCA on Saturday, March 31.  Hartley is the 15th Husky to be honored on the WBCA State Farm All-America squad and Connecticut now has 25 selections all-time.

Hartley is only the fourth UConn sophomore to be named to the team along with Svetlana Abrosimova (1998-99), Diana Taurasi (2001-02) and Maya Moore (2008-09).  Moore was also selected to the team during her freshman campaign.

Hartley, a member of the preseason Wade and Wooden Award Watch Lists, has averaged 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists during her sophomore campaign.  She was tabbed an All-BIG EAST First Team selection a year after being named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year.  She has also earned a spot on the BIG EAST All-Tournament squad in each of the last two seasons.

Connecticut has had a representative on the State Farm All-America in each season since 2007-08.

Joining Hartley on the prestigious squad are Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), Elena Delle Donne (Delaware), Brittney Griner (Baylor), Glory Johnson (Tennessee), Shenise Johnson (Miami), Chiney Ogwumike (Stanford), Nneka Ogwumike (Stanford), Odyssey Sims (Baylor) and Alyssa Thomas (Maryland).

To see the full list of UConn players who have been named to the team, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

State Farm/Kodak All-America First Team

Bria Hartley – 2011-12
Maya Moore – 2010-11
Tina Charles – 2009-10
Maya Moore – 2009-10
Tina Charles – 2008-09
Renee Montgomery – 2008-09
Maya Moore – 2008-09
Renee Montgomery – 2007-08
Maya Moore – 2007-08
Diana Taurasi -2003-04
Diana Taurasi – 2002-03
Sue Bird – 2001-02
Swin Cash – 2001-02
Diana Taurasi – 2001-02
Svetlana Abrosimova – 2000-01
Svetlana Abrosimova – 1999-00
Shea Ralph – 1999-00
Svetlana Abrosimova – 1998-99
Nykesha Sales – 1997-98
Nykesha Sales – 1996-97
Kara Wolters – 1996-97
Jennifer Rizzotti – 1995-96
Rebecca Lobo – 1994-95
Jennifer Rizzotti – 1994-95
Rebecca Lobo – 1993-94
Kerry Bascom – 1990-91

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photo credit: John Woike – Hartford Courant