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 men’s basketball team as they will be at the Carrier Dome this afternoon for a matchup with the Syracuse Orange. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will broadcast nationally on CBS.

It’s also game day for the UConn women’s basketball team as they will host the Georgetown Hoyas at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT. Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally in Connecticut on CPTV.

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

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Huskies At Syracuse: Once More, With Feeling [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Blaney: Drama ‘Possibly’ Affecting Players Right Now [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Omar Calhoun Not Thinking About UConn Situation Right Now [David Borges – New Haven Register]

UConn’s waiver denied — now what? [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Notes/Quotes from Feb. 10: “It is a must-win, but every game is a must-win.” [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Game preview: UConn men at Syracuse [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

As for the basketball game…. [Neill Ostrout – Journal Inquirer]

UConn vs. Syracuse Preview [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Huskies To Face Rival and No. 2 Syracuse At Carrier Dome Saturday [UConnHuskies.com]

BIG EAST Announces Advance Sellout of 2012 Men’s Basketball Championship [BigEast.org]

Huskies need bounce-back at Syracuse [CT Post]

UConn has itself to blame for NCAA mess [CT Post]

Orange Pose UConn Men’s Most Serious Challenge So Far [Hartford Courant]

UConn men look to regroup against Syracuse [Journal Inquirer]

Are things getting better? Nope, Syracuse is waiting [New Haven Register]

Struggling Huskies now face best team on their schedule [The Day]

UConn Men’s Basketball Glance — At Syracuse [The Hour]

UConn’s 2013 future uncertain [Andy Katz – ESPN.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Georgetown May Muscle UConn [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

The Grades Are In: UConn Women Excel [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Turnovers An Issue For The Huskies Right Now [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Huskies Find Success On And Off the Court [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Turnovers irking Auriemma [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Game preview: UConn women vs. Georgetown [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

UConn Expects Rugged Play From Georgetown [Hartford Courant]

Doty: ‘Violence is not the answer’ [Journal Inquirer]

Faris getting focused, Auriemma getting sarcastic [New Haven Register]

No. 3 UConn women take on their fourth straight ranked opponent [The Day]

UConn Women’s Basketball Glance — Vs. Georgetown [The Hour]

UConn Football links

Three Former UConn Players Headed To NFL Combine [Hartford Courant]

West Virginia, Big East Reach Agreement [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

W. Track. Huskies Dot UConn Record Book At Valentine Invite [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Ice Hockey. Schneider’s Hat Trick Not Enough As Huskies Tie Sacred Heart, 5-5 [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Swimming. Cecco Wins BIG EAST One-Meter Diving Title [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Track. Huskies Claim Four First Place Titles At Ryder-Lafayette Invite [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Tennis. Huskies Drop Spring Opener To Stony Brook [UConnHuskies.com]

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

Unless something changes with an appeal or the NCAA changes the way it computes the APR for 2013, the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team will find itself ineligible for postseason play after having their waiver denied.

Here’s the release from UConn:

STORRS, Conn. – The University of Connecticut was informed on Friday by the NCAA that its waiver request to participate in men’s basketball postseason competition for the 2012-13 season, including the 2013 NCAA Tournament, has been denied.

Connecticut will now appeal the decision to the NCAA Division I Committee on Academic Performance Subcommittee on Appeals.

The waiver was submitted to the NCAA as a result of the UConn men’s basketball team’s performance in the Academic Progress Rate (APR).

“We are deeply disappointed that our request for a waiver was denied, but we look forward to continuing in the process,” said UConn President Susan Herbst. “We continue to believe that we have made a very compelling case in our waiver to the NCAA and we are pleased with the recent outstanding academic success of our men’s basketball student-athletes.

“I want to be clear that during my entire career as a scholar and a teacher, I have been in full support of high academic standards in collegiate athletics. However, in this case, there are good students who could be penalized for the problematic behavior of students who have not been enrolled for years.

“Educators and parents need to do what is right for their students, and not allow them to be caught in the dynamics of public relations.”

This decision is huge right now because it will affect a few of the student-athletes on the team now and their decision to go pro.

If there is no NCAA Tournament next year, what reasons would say, Andre Drummond and Jeremy Lamb, have to stay in Storrs when they could be making millions. Then by them leaving early, they are affecting the future APR and the cycle repeats itself.

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.

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

UConn Men’s Basketball links

From Best To Worst: Updated Rankings of UConn’s 23 games [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

UConn and the APR: What Should Happen? What Will Happen? [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

NCAA should deny UConn proposal [Dana O’Neil – ESPN.com]

UConn’s Self-Imposed Penalties Too Soft On Calhoun [Hartford Courant]

UConn’s attempt to sidestep academic penalties is shameless [Sporting News]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Caroline Doty Does Not Practice [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Stewart, Jefferson, Tuck Named McDonald’s All-Americans [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Doty Given The Day Off Today; Expected To Play Vs. Georgetown [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Upcoming Senior Night game to be strange for Doty, Buck [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Less Than 500 Tickets Left For Saturday’s WBB Game [UConnHuskies.com]

Doty Starting To Heat Up For UConn Women [Hartford Courant]

Sue Bird agrees to multi-year deal with Storm [New Haven Register]

Doty on UConn win over Louisville [CBSSports.com]

UConn Football links

Big East postseason rankings: WR/TE [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

DC answered a question in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

22 players named to All-Big East Academic team [New Haven Register]

Other UConn related links

Former UConn Baseball Players Among Top 100 Best MLB Prospects [SOX & Dawgs]

W. Ice Hockey. Women’s Hockey Welcomes Back Alumni as Huskies Face BC [UConnHuskies.com]

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

Sure our primary focus here is on the UConn Huskies men’s basketball, women’s basketball and football teams but that doesn’t mean we don’t keep an eye on the other sports that UConn has to offer.

While going through Keith Law’s Top 100 MLB Prospects earlier in the day, I noticed a few names that are familiar to the UConn baseball team.

Those names are George Springer and Mike Olt. Law ranks Springer, a member of the Houston Astros organization, as his 60th best prospect. Olt, a member of the Texas Rangers organization, comes in at No. 75.

Here’s what Law has to say about Springer:

Springer — whom the Astros took with the 11th pick last June — was one of the toolsiest college position players I’ve ever come across, with a solid idea of what he was doing at the plate, sliding out of the top 10 only because of questions about his swing mechanics.

The UConn product is an outstanding athlete, an above-average runner with a plus arm and plus raw power. He has tremendous bat speed and can turn on good velocity, with a history of running deep counts although without much of a two-strike approach. For some reason, he started swinging uphill this spring, collapsing his back side in the process and reducing the quality of his contact and leading to concerns that he’ll swing and miss too much in pro ball. Perhaps it was “draftitis,” trying to hit more home runs to improve his stock, but it’s a bad habit and not an easy one to break.

If he gets back to where he was a year ago, Houston got a steal, an impact hitter who hits for power, gets on base, and adds value through right-field defense.

And here’s what Law had to say about Olt:

A potentially plus defender at third with plus raw power, Olt has seen the ball much better as a pro than he did as an amateur, resulting in better-than-expected plate discipline that gives him a chance to be at least an average regular at third. Olt can launch balls in BP, but his approach is now less pull-happy than it was in college, with very good bat speed and great extension on his follow-through for power to left and the ability to use the middle of the field.

He missed two months this summer with a broken collarbone, but was 100 percent again for fall league and led the AFL in home runs (helped by a very homer-friendly ballpark). His contact rates probably won’t ever be great, but even an average hit tool with plus power and defense at third makes for a fringe star.

In going back to MLB.com’s Top 100 MLB Prospects, Olt and Springer are ranked there as well. Olt comes in at No. 43 and Springer comes in at No. 84.

Another former Husky, Matt Barnes, is in the Boston Red Sox organization and is among their Top 10 Prospects among different publications. Baseball America has Barnes at No. 8 in the Red Sox organization, MLB.com has Barnes at No. 12 and Keith Law has Barnes at No. 5.

Given that they’ve made some big trades that included prospects over the past year or so, I’m not surprised at where Keith Law of ESPN (PDF) ranks the Boston Red Sox minor league system. He has them as the 19th best in all of MLB.

Here’s what he had to say about the Red Sox minor league system:

This system is terribly thin up top given the money the Red Sox have spent in the past few years on amateur players. I do see a large group of prospects from low Class A and below that should produce a couple of breakout prospects in 2012, including Brandon Jacobs, Garin Cecchini, Henry Owens, Matt Barnes and Sean Coyle.

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

Yesterday we learned what 2012 Boston Red Sox spring training games NESN would be broadcasting. Now the Red Sox have released their full spring training broadcast schedule which includes radio and television.

Here’s the release and scheduled from the Red Sox:

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox have announced the broadcast schedule for the 2012 Spring Training season.

This spring, NESN will televise 12 of the club’s 33 exhibition games, including eight games at the team’s new Spring Training facility, JetBlue Park at Fenway South.  The flagship radio station of the Red Sox will air 15 total games, including Boston’s Grapefruit League home opener on Sunday, March 4 at 1:35 p.m. against Mayor’s Cup rival Minnesota Twins.  Eleven of those broadcasts will be carried on WEEI 93.7 FM/850 AM with four games airing on WRKO 680 AM.  Additionally, ESPN will televise three of Boston’s contests including the team’s game against the New York Yankees on March 22.

Note: I added in YES on the March 13 game against the Yankees for those who live in a market where YES is available.

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

Here’s the release from the USBWA (U.S. Basketball Writers Association) that names UConn Huskies women’s basketball players Bria Hartley and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis to the USBWA Midseason Watch List for Player of the Year:

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected 20 outstanding players for its first Midseason Watch List for the Women’s National Player of the Year. Members of the association’s board of directors chose the players to be included on the list as contenders for the trophy, which will be presented to the national player of the year in Denver at the USBWA’s Women’s College Basketball Awards Breakfast on April 3.

Three Notre Dame teammates headline the list, which also has a pair of real sister teammates at Stanford and two stars each from Baylor, Connecticut, Miami and Ohio State. The Irish trio are Skylar Diggins, Natalie Novosel and Devereaux Peters, who are joined by Nneka Ogwumike and her younger sister Chiney at Stanford; Buckeyes standouts Tayler Hill and Samantha Prahalis; Hurricanes backcourt stars Shenise Johnson and Riquna Williams; Huskies teammates Bria Hartley and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (the lone freshman on the list); and the Bears inside-outside combo of Brittney Griner and Odyssey Sims.

Five National Players of the Week from this season are featured as well: Brittney Griner from Baylor, Elena Delle Donne from Delaware, Nneka Ogwumike from Stanford, Sugar Rodgers from Georgetown, and A’dia Mathies from Kentucky. Last season’s women’s winner as the National Freshman of the Year, Odyssey Sims of Baylor is also among the players to watch down the stretch.

Overall, the list by class and dominated from the top includes seven seniors, seven juniors, five sophomores and one freshman appearing. The Big East boasts seven players while the Atlantic Coast Conference has four on the list to lead all conferences, while a total of 13 schools in eight conferences are represented.

For a look at the complete USBWA Midseason Watch List, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

While these standout players are the leading contenders to be named to the USBWA’s All-America Team and as finalists for the Women’s National Player of the Year award, all Division I players remain eligible for postseason honors from the USBWA. The association will announce its 2012 All-America Team in mid-March. At that time, finalists will also be chosen for the player of the year. Once finalists are announced, the entire USBWA membership will vote for the winner of the National Player of the Year.

Since the 1987-88 season, the USBWA has named a Women’s National Player of the Year. In each of the last three seasons, a Connecticut Player has won the award. Maya Moore took home the honor in 2009 and ’11, while Tina Charles was the player of the year in 2010.

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