With the Boston Red Sox 2012 tickets going on sale to the general public tomorrow, January 28th, the team has announced a new digital initiative. Here’s the release:

BOSTON, MA – As part of an ongoing effort to provide fans and families with more opportunities to purchase the most affordable seats at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox today introduced a new “Digital Ticket Initiative” that would help prevent the lowest priced seats at Fenway Park – the Upper Bleacher seats priced at $12 – from being sold on the secondary market at significantly higher prices.

For select high-demand games during the 2012 season, most seats in the Upper Bleacher area of the ballpark will only be offered as “digital tickets” rather than printed tickets, and require the credit card used by the primary purchaser to be swiped at the gate in order to gain entry into the Park on game day.  

“Over the past 10 years, we have intentionally held the price of the Upper Bleacher seating category at $12 per seat in order to provide family-friendly pricing options for Red Sox fans,” said Red Sox SVP/Ticketing Ron Bumgarner. “The downside of keeping these low price points is that these tickets sometimes end up on the secondary ticketing market at significantly marked up prices. By requiring the primary purchaser of the tickets to attend the game through this Digital Ticketing Initiative, our hope is to gradually eliminate those purchasing these specific tickets solely for the purpose of resale, and instead get these tickets into the hands of fans and families all over New England.”

The Digital Ticket Initiative for the Upper Bleacher seating area is the latest in a series of steps the organization has undertaken over the past few years to ensure Red Sox tickets are accessible to as many different fans as possible. Other efforts include:

• The implementation of specific ticket limits per purchase to ensure that the maximum number of unique fans receive the ability to purchase tickets
• Special random drawings for the most popular games and seating areas
• Providing a number of tickets on the day of a game for walk-up fans
• Designating a “Scalp Free Zone” at Gate C where ticket holders who can’t attend that day/night’s game can sell their seats at face value

Part of a Major League Baseball initiative that will be implemented league-wide in 2012, the Red Sox were among the first teams to offer digital ticketing as an option for a select group of season ticket holders during the 2011 season. The team will look to extend the option of “going digital” to more fans throughout the season.

While the general 2012 season ticket on-sale starts January 28 at 10:00 a.m., Upper Bleacher seats for the 30 games that will be included as part of this year’s Digital Ticket Initiative will be part of a separate sale starting February 1. The 30 games include, April 13, April 20-22, June 8-10, June 22-24, July 6-8, July 16-19, July 20-22, August 3-5, August 24-26, September 11-13. Purchasers of the Upper Bleacher seats on these select dates will be required to pay with a credit card and asked to bring that same credit card to the ballpark on the day of the game to gain entry.

Additionally, starting February 1, registration will begin to enter the special random drawing for tickets to opening day, games against the Yankees as well as the Green Monster and Right Field Roof Deck seating areas. Fans can register for the opportunity to purchase tickets to these highly sought-after games and seats on redsox.com.

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Here’s the release from USA Basketball naming future UConn Huskies women’s basketball player Breanna Stewart as the 2011 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 27, 2012) – A member of two USA teams in 2011 and an All-FIBA U19 World Championship Team honoree, USA Basketball today announced Breanna Stewart (Cicero-North Syracuse H.S./North Syracuse, N.Y.) as the 2011 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.

“It is exciting because this is a pretty big award,” Stewart said. “I’m just honored to be thought of as USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year.”

A member of the gold-medal winning 2011 USA U19 World Championship Team that competed July 21-31 in Puerto Montt, Chile, Stewart also played for the 2011 USA Pan American Games Team that competed Oct. 21-25 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

“Breanna Stewart ranks up with Maya Moore as one of the most competitive young players that I’ve ever seen,” said Jennifer Rizzotti, 2011 USA U19 and University of Hartford head coach, and the 2011 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year. “She has the ability to tremendously impact the game on both ends of the floor. She works constantly to improve all aspects of her game, and I look forward to watching her growth as she develops into an even more complete player. Her desire to win and compete on every possession raised the level of intensity for our team and was crucial to our winning the gold medal.”

Additionally, USA Basketball will nominate Stewart for the U.S. Olympic Committee’s 2011 SportsWoman of the Year, which will be announced in 2012. The USA Basketball Board of Directors is responsible for selecting USA Basketball’s annual award winners.

“In her third consecutive summer playing for USA Basketball, Breanna was an important part of two USA teams,” said Jim Tooley,USA Basketball Executive Director/CEO. “Anyone who has seen her play knows what an incredible athlete she is, and how much fun it is to watch her play. She has shown dedication and commitment, and we are very proud to recognize her efforts.”

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Photo credit: Fiba.com

Here’s the release from UConn about UConn Huskies women’s basketball players Bria Hartley and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis being named to the 2011-12 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Midseason Top 20 List.

STORRS, Conn. – The John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 was announced today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the nationally recognized “Women’s Sports Central” podcast, hosted by women’s basketball experts Brenda VanLengen and Mechelle Voepel. No. 3 UConn has two Huskies named to the midseason list with sophomore guard Bria Hartley and freshman forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis earning the honor.

Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the list is made up of 20 student-athletes who, based on their performances in November, December, and January, are the frontrunners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor.

Hartley is currently the third leading scorer for Connecticut averaging 14.9 points per game and is second on the team in assists with 4.1 per game.

BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year, Mosqueda-Lewis, has been stellar thus far in her young career as she currently is the second leading scorer for the Huskies with 15 points per game and leads the team with 52 made three-pointers. Mosqueda-Lewis, one of two freshman on the Top 20, has brought home six BIG EAST Freshman of the Week accolades.

The 36th annual Wooden Award Gala, will take place on Friday, April 6, 2012, and will honor winners, All Americans and the Legends of Coaching winner UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma.

Meanwhile, on Friday afternoon, USA Basketball announced that future Husky Breanna Stewart was named the 2011 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year. Stewart will join the Huskies as a freshman for the 2012-13 campaign.

As a member of the 2011 USA U19 World Championship Team, Stewart averaged team-highs of 11.2 points and 7.3 rebounds to help Team USA to a 7-1 record and a gold medal at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship in Chile.

“It is exciting because this is a pretty big award,” Stewart said. “I’m just honored to be thought of as USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year.”

The Syracuse, N.Y. native was the Gatorade New York Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2011 and has played four varsity seasons at Cicero-North Syracuse High School (N.Y.), where she has competed in 93 games and compiled 1,668 points, 996 rebounds, 220 assists, 219 steals and 515 blocks heading into her senior season.

To see the full 2011-12 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Midseason Top 20 List, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

(Players listed alphabetically.)

*indicates player was 2011 Wooden Award All American
GS indicates Graduate student

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Okay okay, it was a bad pun for the title. Just trying to have a little fun here.

Boston Red Sox GM Ben Cherington has added some more pitching depth as he has signed free agent pitcher John Maine to a minor league contract. According to the media, there is no non-roster invitation to big league training camp that starts next month.

According to Maine’s agent, Rex Gary, the Red Sox want to use him as reliever if he were added to the roster. So unless something wonky happens in spring training, I’d expect Maine to start the season with the Triple Pawtucket Red Sox.

Maine last pitched in the big leagues in May 20, 2010 with the New York Mets when he suffered a shoulder injury after facing one batter against the Washington Nationals. He subsequently had surgery and was out for the rest of the season.

He made 11 starts for the Colorado Sky Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies in 2011. In those 11 starts, he was 1-3 with a 7.43 ERA. He left the team in June.

With Maine having pitched in the NL East with the Mets, he understands what it’s like to pitch under pressure. If he’s healthy enough, he may be able to make a significant contribution to the Red Sox, especially out of the bullpen.

As we’ve seen in the past, you can never have enough pitching. And Cherington is making sure of that this year after how last season ended.

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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

Top Recruit Breanna Stewart Gets Glimpse Of Future At UConn [Hartford Courant]

Huskies heard halftime message loud and clear [Hartford Courant]

UConn Football links

Big East all-interview team [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Hun School FB/OLB Wyatt Vinci Commits To UConn [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Hits & Misses [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

M. Ice Hockey. Men’s Hockey Plays Host To Holy Cross Friday Night [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn packs punch [New England Hockey Journal]

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The Boston Red Sox made the Cody Ross signing official today. In order to make room for him on the 40-man roster, they designated reliever Scott Atchison for assignment.

Here’s the release from the Red Sox:

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today signed outfielder Cody Ross to a one-year contract for the 2012 season.  No further terms were disclosed.  To make room for Ross on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox designated right-handed pitcher Scott Atchison for assignment.

The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington.

Ross played in 121 games for the Giants in 2011, including 107 starts, and appeared at all three outfield positions.  The 31-year-old knocked 14 home runs, his sixth straight season with double-digit homers, and hit .240 (97-for-405) last year with 25 doubles, 52 RBI and 54 runs, and led the Giants with a career-high 49 walks.  He made just one error in 192 total chances in the field and tallied eight assists.  A right-handed batter, he hit at a .309 clip (17-for-55) with four home runs and 10 RBI in 13 games in September.

Selected by Detroit in the fourth round of the 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Ross has played in 757 Major League games over eight seasons with the Tigers (2003), Dodgers (2005-06), Reds (2006), Marlins (2006-10) and Giants (2010-11).  He has a .261 career average (636-for-2,436) with 152 doubles, 11 triples, 100 home runs, 371 RBI, 328 runs, 197 walks and 28 stolen bases.  Ross has hit at a .282 clip (193-for-684) off left-handed pitching and is posting a .563 slugging percentage against southpaws in his career, the seventh-best mark in the Majors since 2003.  He earned MVP honors for the National League Championship Series in 2010 after batting .350 (7-for-20) with three home runs and five RBI, and hit .294 (15-for-51) with five home runs and 10 RBI in 15 games overall that postseason to help the Giants to a World Series title.

The 35-year-old Atchison made 17 appearances over six stints with the Red Sox in 2011, posting a 1-0 record with a 3.26 ERA (11 ER/30.1 IP) and his first Major League save.  He also pitched in 36 games with Triple-A Pawtucket, including one start, going 6-2 with five saves, a 2.64 ERA (18 ER/61.1 IP), 72 strikeouts and nine walks.  Signed by the Red Sox as a free agent on December 2, 2009, the right-hander has appeared in 113 career Major League games (one start) over parts of five seasons with the Mariners (2004-05), Giants (2007) and Red Sox (2010-11), tallying a 4.09 ERA (72 ER/158.1 IP) and 128 strikeouts while going 5-6 with one save