From UConn:

Webster Bank Arena, along with the University of Connecticut and Fairfield University, are proud to announce that they will host the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championships for regional play in both 2016 and 2017.

“We would like to thank the NCAA for honoring Webster Bank Arena with the women’s basketball regional,” said Arena President Howard Saffan. “It is a great reflection on the continued growth of the city of Bridgeport as well as the improvements throughout our venue. We could not have received this honor without our loyal partners at Fairfield University and the University of Connecticut.”

“The news that UConn has been selected to co-host the Regionals of the 2016 and 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport is exciting,” said UConn Senior Associate Director of Athletics/SWA Deb Corum. “This provides another opportunity for the fans in Fairfield County, and across the state, to see high level competition right here at home. The staff at Webster Bank Arena does an excellent job and teams that have played in that facility always enjoy a superlative experience. Our hearfelt thanks go out to the fans who have helped make Connecticut one of the nation’s premier college basketball locations.”

“We’re obviously delighted with the announcement,” said Fairfield Director of Athletics Gene Doris. “We’ve been hosting NCAA events pretty much since the building opened. We’re pleased to be partnering with the University of Connecticut and Webster Bank Arena in hosting this event.”

The city of Bridgeport will see the best women’s basketball has to offer in the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight.

“This is great news,” said Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch. “In our improving downtown, we’re extremely proud to serve as home to Webster Bank Arena, which is a world-class sports and entertainment facility. It’s playing a key role in our city nearing a renaissance. And, I’m crossing my fingers that my alma mater, UCONN, gets to play – and win – in our backyard.”

Webster Bank Arena has hosted two regionals previously, back in 2006 and in 2013. The 2016 tournament will run from March 25 to 28 and the 2017 regional will run from March 24 to 27.

With the Rule 5 Draft coming up in the next few weeks, the Boston Red Sox have added four players to their 40-man roster.

Here’s the release from the Red Sox:

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today announced the following roster moves:

• Left-handed pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, infielder Travis Shaw, and catcher Blake Swihart were selected to the major league roster from Triple-A Pawtucket.
• Infielder Sean Coyle was selected to the major league roster from Double-A Portland.

With the moves, Boston’s 40-man roster is now at 40.

Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcement.

Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for left-handed pitcher Andrew Miller on July 31, Rodriguez, 21, split this past season at the Double-A level between Bowie in the Orioles system and Portland in Boston’s system. In 22 starts between both clubs, he went 6-8 with a 3.60 ERA (48 ER/120.0 IP) and 108 strikeouts, placing among Eastern League qualifiers in strikeouts per nine innings (3^rd, 8.1) and ERA (10^th). After the trade, he allowed just four runs in six regular season starts for the Sea Dogs, leading the Eastern League in strikeouts (38) and ranking fourth in ERA (0.96). He started the third game of the Eastern league playoffs for Portland (2 ER/6.2 IP) and then made his Triple-A debut with Pawtucket in the fourth game of the International League Governors’ Cup Finals (2 ER, 7.0 IP).

Following the 2014 season, Rodriguez was rated by Baseball America as the No. 4 prospect in the Red Sox minor league system, and the No. 7 overall prospect in the Eastern League. The publication also selected him as possessing the best fastball in Boston’s system. For his professional career, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Venezuelan native has gone 25-27 with one save, a 3.26 ERA (176 ER/486.1 IP), 418 strikeouts, and 162 walks in 93 games (92 starts). He was originally signed by Baltimore as an international free agent on January 22, 2010.

Shaw, 24, hit .278 (136-for-490) with 29 doubles, two triples, 21 home runs, 78 RBI, and 78 runs scored in 128 games between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket in 2014. A left-handed hitter, he combined for a .304 batting average and .926 OPS against right-handed pitching in 2014. Shaw began the year with the Sea Dogs and was third in the Eastern League with 10 home runs when promoted to Pawtucket on May 25 for his first Triple-A experience. He was named the organization’s best minor league hitter for May after batting .331 with eight home runs. In addition to leading all Red Sox minor leaguers in home runs this past year, Shaw also placed third in the system in RBI, and fourth in runs scored. Over the last three seasons (2012-14), Shaw’s 56 homers are the most for any Red Sox minor leaguer.

A native of Washington Court House, OH, Shaw was signed by Boston as a ninth-round selection in the 2011 June Draft. He has hit .263 (423-for-1609) with 108 doubles, nine triples, 64 home runs, and 250 RBI in 444 games over four seasons in his professional career. His father, Jeff, pitched in parts of 12 major league seasons from 1990-2001.

Swihart, 22, spent the majority of last season with Portland where he was a mid-season Eastern League All-Star, and ended the season with Pawtucket. Between both clubs he batted .293 (122-for-416) with 26 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs, 64 RBI, and 53 runs scored in 110 games. A switch-hitter, Swihart set career highs in several categories including hits, runs scored, home runs, RBI, and games played. From behind the plate, he threw out 45.6 percent of attempted base stealers during the regular season, including an Eastern League-best 47.5 percent (28 of 59) while with the Sea Dogs.

After the season, Baseball America tabbed Swihart as the No. 1 overall prospect in the Red Sox system, and the No. 8 overall prospect in the Eastern League. In addition, in its organizational Best Tools rankings, Baseball America named Swihart Best Athlete and Best Defensive Catcher. The publication also named him to its all minor league All-Star Team (First Team).

Swihart, originally from Bedford, TX, was a first-round selection (26^th overall) of the Red Sox in the 2011 June Draft. For his career, he has hit .284 (324-for-1142) with 72 doubles, 15 triples, 22 home runs, and 159 RBI in 307 games.

Coyle, 22, spent last season with Portland where he was named an Eastern League mid-season All-Star, batting .295 (99-for-336) with 23 doubles, one triple, 16 home runs, 61 RBI, and 60 runs scored in 96 games. In addition to ranking fourth among regular season Eastern League leaders in slugging percentage (.512) and eighth in batting average, he led the Sea Dogs in runs scored, home runs, RBI and total bases (172), and finished third among Red Sox minor leaguers in homers and seventh in batting average. Coyle also homered twice more over four playoff games. A right-handed batter, he hit .328 (38-for-116) against southpaws during the regular season. Primarily a second baseman for Portland, he also appeared at third base in 2014. Coyle was the U.S. Team’s starting second baseman in the 2014 All-Star Futures Game and following the season played for the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League.

A native of Sellersville, PA, Coyle was the Red Sox’ fifth overall pick in the 2010 June Draft (3^rd round, 110^th overall selection). Over his professional career, he has batted .258 (363-for-1407) with 94 doubles, 11 triples, 55 home runs, and 223 RBI in 381 games.

BOSTON RED SOX 40-MAN ROSTER (40)

PITCHERS (17): Matt Barnes, Drake Britton, Clay Buchholz, Rubby De La Rosa, Edwin Escobar, Heath Hembree, Joe Kelly, Tommy Layne, Edward Mujica, Anthony Ranaudo, Eduardo Rodriguez, Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, Allen Webster, Alex Wilson, Brandon Workman, Steven Wright.

CATCHERS (4): Dan Butler, Ryan Lavarnway, Blake Swihart, Christian Vazquez.

INFIELDERS (10): Xander Bogaerts, Garin Cecchini, Sean Coyle, Juan Francisco, Brock Holt, Will Middlebrooks, Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia, Travis Shaw, Jemile Weeks.

OUTFIELDERS (8): Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Bryce Brentz, Rusney Castillo, Yoenis Cespedes, Allen Craig, Daniel Nava, Shane Victorino.

DESIGNATED HITTER (1): David Ortiz.

This week:

The UConn Huskies are back in action on Saturday night when they’ll host the Cincinnati Bearcats at Rentschler Field. Kickoff is scheduled fo 8 p.m.

UConn is 2-7 (1-4 American). Cincinnati is 6-3 (4-1 American).

The Line:

According to Rivals.com odds, Cincinnati is favored by 9.5 points. The over/under is 55.5 points.

Tickets:

According to UConn Huskies ticket office, there are still tickets available to Saturday’s game.

Getting To The Game:

Here is link for the weather report. Here is all the parking info you will need for the game, this link includes directions to Rentschler Field. Here is a Rentschler Field seating chart and here is some general information for Rentschler Field.

The parking lots will open up 4 hours before kickoff. Here is a list of the tailgating rules at the Rent.

There is a new route for the Husky Walk as the team arrives for games at Rentschler Field this year and fans get a chance to greet the team as they get off their buses and make their way to the stadium. The Husky walk, which takes place approximately, two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff, will now start in the Gray Parking Lots and the team will makes its way to the large tunnel near Gate B.

The UConn team will now do its pregame warmup in front of the UConn student section on the South End of the stadium – a change from previous seasons. The Huskies will enter the stadium for pregame warmups on the concourse of Rentschler Field and go through the student section.

Once again, FanFest takes place starting four hours before kickoff up until 30 minutes before the game between Gates A and B outside the stadium gates. The offerings change each game, but activities typically include inflatable games for children, live bands, promotional vehicles and UConn student-athletes from various teams signing autographs.

The break between the third and fourth quarter will feature “Coach D’s Playlist” as fans during the game will get to select a song to play based on a list they saw earlier in the game.

Once again this season at the end of home games, the UConn team will sing the “UConn Husky” fight song in front of the student section at Rentschler Field.

JASPER HOWARD MEMORIAL

A memorial in honor of Jasper Howard, the UConn football student-athlete who tragically lost his life five years ago, was dedicated at Rentschler Field on November 1, 2014. Funds for the statue were raised in a grassroots fashion with the efforts spearheaded by UConn supporters Dan and Lisa Lowry of Prospect, Conn. The lead gift for the memorial came from former UConn head football coach Randy Edsall, who was Howard’s coach with the Huskies. Donations also came from former Husky student-athletes and fans from around the country.

Howard lost his life on October 18, 2009 – hours after UConn had defeated Louisville at Rentschler Field on Homecoming. Howard recorded a career-high 11 tackles in the contest and a fumble recovery.

Funds will continue to be raised for the Jasper T. Howard Endowed Scholarship Fund at UConn, which is presented annually to a cornerback on the Husky football team who best embodies the qualities of Howard.

For information on how to contribute to that fund, please visit http://s.uconn.edu/howardscholarship.

The statue is made of barre grey granite quarried in Barre, Vt. It is a three-piece memorial that has an overall height of seven feet and weighs 3.25 tons. The top piece of granite is carved into mirror 6’s so whether viewing from the front or back it is a 6 and is colored to replicate the home jersey Howard wore.

The pedestal which the 6 sits on top of is lettered on the East and West facing sides. The east side has a quote from Jasper and is accented by 23kt gold leafed letters. The west side contains a narrative of Jasper’s life and a porcelain picture of Jasper. K. G. Keena Memorials of East Hartford, Manchester Monument Company of Manchester and Wethersfield Monument of Wethersfield designed, created and installed the piece.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television:

Saturday’s game will be televised nationally by the CBS Sports Network. Dave Ryan is on play-by-play with Corey Chavous on color and Lauren Gardner on the sideline.

Radio:

The UConn IMG Sports Network is the home of Husky football on the radio. WTIC NewsTalk 1080 in Hartford serves as the flagship station and is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada.

For the Cincinnati game, Bob Joyce will be on play-by-play with Kevin Nathan on color and Sean Mulcahy on the field.

UConn football on home noon Saturday dates gets going early with “Breakfast At The Rent” with Ray Dunaway beginning at 5:30 a.m. For noon games, the UConn Tailgate Show airs from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m with Bob Joyce and Nathan. “UConn Football Magazine” begins at 10:30 a.m. as the network pregame show.

Here is a full list of stations on the UConn IMG Radio Network.

Cincinnati Bearcats Radio:

700-WLW’s 50,000 watt signal blankets the tri-state area and reaches parts of 38 states and Canada. WLW delivers Bearcats football games to fans and alumni throughout the listening area. WLW is also the flagship home for Tommy Tuberville’s weekly radio show. Tom Gelehrter has the play-by-play with Jim Kelly Jr. (color) and Tony Pike (sideline).

The Cincinnati game will also be available on Sirius Radio Channel 93 and XM Channel 208.

Last Week:

UConn fell to Army 35-21. Cincinnati beat East Carolina 54-46.

History:

Saturday’s game will be the 11th meeting all-time between UConn and Cincinnati and the Huskies are 2-8 all-time against UC and 0-1 as American Athletic Conference opponents. UConn was 2-6 vs. the Bearcats in BIG EAST action.

Connections:

The UConn roster has one player from Ohio on it – redshirt junior linebacker Marquise Vann of Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati roster also has one Connecticut native on it — Jake Golic (West Hartford).

UConn head coach Bob Diaco was the defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach at Cincinnati in 2009.

Husky Director of Player Personnel Mike Painter was a graduate assistant at Cincinnati from 2007-09.

Cincinnati co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Hank Hughes was a member of the UConn staff from 2001-2013 – serving as defensive coordinator in ten of the seasons.

UConn Notes:

Here is the video from UConn head coach Bob Diaco’s press conference. Here is a transcript of some his remarks from the press conference.

UConn head coach Bob Diaco made his UConn and collegiate head coaching debut on August 29th vs. BYU. Diaco served on the Notre Dame coaching staff as the defensive coordinator for the past four years and the assistant head coach for the past two. He was the 2012 winner of the Frank Broyles Award, given to the top assistant college football coach in the country and was the first Irish assistant to receive the prestigious award.

Here is UConn’s roster and 2014 schedule.

Here is UConn’s depth chart for the game.

The captains of the 2014 UConn Huskies football team are Geremy Davis, Byron Jones, Alex Mateas and Marquise Vann.

Despite UConn having virtually an entire new staff this year, seven of the Huskies’ full-time coaches have previously worked games at Rentschler Field. Head coach Bob Diaco, defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter and assistant coach Wayne Lineburg were on the Virginia staff for a 45-10 Husky win on Sept. 13, 2008; Assistant head coach Don Patterson was on the Buffalo staff for a 24-17 UConn win on Sept. 29, 2012; Offensive coordinator Mike Cummings was on the Western Michigan staff for a 41-27 UConn win on Nov. 1, 2003; Assistant coach Kevin Wolthausen was on the Louisville staff for a 30-20 UConn loss on Dec. 3, 2005. UConn assistant coach Mike Foley is the lone holdover on the staff and is entering his ninth season.

UConn has an all-time record of 50-27 at Rentschler Field and a 27-13 mark in non-conference games.

The Huskies were picked to finish 9th in the American in 2014.

Head coach Bob Diaco and his staff have seen a large number of players get into games this season – many of them first time college performers. Diaco played 57 players against BYU, 55 against Stony Brook, 56 vs. Boise State, 55 vs. USF, 57 vs. Temple, 54 vs. Tulane, 54 vs. East Carolina and 55 vs Army.

According to a survey conducted by Arizona State, UConn has the 12th most freshman and sophomores on its two-deep (26), the seventh-fewest seniors on the two-deep (8), and the fourth-fewest total seniors on the roster (12).

Here is a breakdown by class of Husky players who have seen their first collegiate action during the first four games of the 2014 season – a total of 24 players.

True Freshmen (10)
TE Alec Bloom, LB Luke Carrezola, OL Ryan Crozier, LB Vontae Diggs, TE Steve Hashemi, TB Ron Johnson, CB Brice McAllister, RB Arkeel Newsome, OL Trey Rutherford, CB Jamar Summers.

Redshirt Freshmen (10)
H Blake Feagles, DL Folorunso Fatukasi, OL Thomas Hopkins, LB Junior Joseph, WR Thomas Lucas, RB Joshua Marriner, TE Tommy Myers, LB Cole Ormsby, LB Cameron Stapleton, LB Jalen Stevens

Redshirt Sophomores (4)
C Kyle Bockeloh, OT Andreas Knappe, DL Sean Marinan, P Justin Wain

After throwing for 303 yards at East Carolina on Oct. 23, Chandler Whitmer became one of 11 quarterbacks in the FBS to eclipse 300 in a game in each of the past three seasons.

The list is:

• Shane Carden, East Carolina
• Rakeem Cato, Marshall (four seasons)
• Cody Fajardo, Nevada (four seasons)
• Connor Halliday (four seasons with 400)
• Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion (four seasons)
• Brett Hundley, UCLA
• Sean Mannion, Oregon State (four seasons)
• Marcus Mariota, Oregon
• Bo Wallace, Ole Miss
• Chandler Whitmer, UConn

Geremy Davis has made a reception in 33-straight games, dating back to the 2011 season, the 12th-longest such streak in the country.

Deshon Foxx had an 88-yard TD pass reception from Whitmer vs. East Carolina. The play was the fourth-longest pass in school history and the longest since a 90-yarder from Dan Orlovsky to Jason Williams against Temple in 2004.

Senior cornerback Byron Jones (New Britain, Conn.), who saw his UConn career end against East Carolina, had a 70-yard interception return for a TD late in the first half of the USF game on Sept. 19. Jones also has a career fumble return for a touchdown and became just the third Husky player to have a fumble return for a TD and an interception TD in a career. Jones fumble return for a TD also came against USF – in a 16-10 UConn win in 2011.

Redshirt junior safety Andrew Adams tied a program record when he became the fifth Husky ever to record three interceptions in a game, doing so against UCF on Nov. 1.

The UConn defense is ranked 47th in the country in total defense at 369.1 yards per game. UConn is also ranked 47th nationally and 5th in the league in rushing defense (148.2 ypg) and is sixth in scoring defense (27.7 ppg). UConn is 26th in the country and 2nd in the conference in punt returns at 11.4 yards per return.

In individual leaders, redshirt junior Marquise Vann (Cincinnati, Ohio) is tied for 39th in the country in tackles with 9.2 per game – which is 7th in the conference.

Preseason Award Watch Lists:

Geremy Davis

• Biletnikoff Award Watch List

Casey Cochran

• Allstate AFCA Good Works Team

Notes from this week’s opponent Cincinnati:

Here is some video from Cincinnati head coach Tommy Tuberville’s weekly pregame press conference. Here are some selected quotes from his press conference.

Tommy Tuberville is in his second year in charge of the Bearcat program and is a veteran of college coaching. He led Cincinnati to a 9-4 record last season as the team played in the Belk Bowl. He had also had successful head coaching stops at Mississippi (1995-98), Auburn (1999-2008) and Texas Tech (2010- 12). His overall head coach record is 145-84. In his three seasons at Texas Tech, he had a 20-17 mark and a pair of bowl appearances. In his ten seasons at Auburn, he led the Tigers to 85 overall wins, which is fourth in school history. Tuberville led Auburn to seven-straight bowl appearances.

Here is Cincinnati’s depth chart for the game.

Here are Cincinnati’s 2014 roster and 2014 schedule.

The UC football team will wear the decal pictured to the left on its helmets for the remainder of the 2014 season in memory of redshirt freshman RB Chamoda Kennedy-Palmore, who died tragically in a motorcycle accident on Sept. 25, 2014. Kennedy-Palmore, who was wearing a helmet and protective gear, was struck while driving his bike and died of his injuries.

After a three-game skid in October, UC has a four-game winning streak going following wins at SMU, vs. USF, at Tulane and vs. East Carolina.

UC is bowl eligible following its sixth win of the season, a 54-46 thriller over East Carolina. UC will play in its fourth straight bowl game and eight in the last nine seasons.

UC is riding a five-game road conference win streak, dating back to the 2013 game at Memphis, a 34-21 UC win.

UC is 32-of-35 in the red zone this season. The three non-scores came on two kneel downs and a missed field goal.

The Bearcats are averaging nearly three sacks per game (2.77) and lead the American Athletic Conference

QB Gunner Kiel has thrown a league leading 24 touchdown passes in nine games.

LB Jeff Luc has registered 97 tackles in nine games. He is second in the American averaging 11 stops per game (10.7). Luc leads the American with his three fumble recoveries.

DE Terrell Hartsfield leads the American with 8.0 sacks, more than quadrupling his 2013 number of 1.5.

K Andrew Gantz is one of 20 semifinalists for the Groza Award and is 12-of-13 on the season.

Thursday UConn Football Links:

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

Despite 2-7 Record, Deshon Foxx Has Enjoyed UConn Experience [hartford courant]

Diaco’s Assessment On The Money [hartford courant]

Ex-UConn Star Dwayne Gratz Apologizes To Teammates After Arrest [sports xchange]

Next Week:

UConn heads out on the road next week as they’ll take on the Memphis Tigers next Saturday in Memphis, TN for a 4 p.m. kickoff.

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.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they are in Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Challenge. They’ll take on the College of Charleston Cougars at 12:30 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU and will also be available online at WatchESPN. If you’re stuck at work and can’t watch, you can listen to Joe D. and Wayne Norman on the UConn IMG Sports Radio Network.

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

UConn Football links

Today’s UConn Football links can be found in the Thursday UConn links section of the Cincinnati vs UConn preview.

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Boatright’s Experience With West Virginia Not in Huggins’ Rear-View Mirror [dom amore – hartford courant]

Huskies Can Have Fun – After Business Is Done … Notes, Quotes From San Juan [dom amore – hartford courant]

Some notes, quotes and video from Puerto Rico Tip-Off [david borges – new haven register]

Huskies in Puerto Rico [neill ostrout – journal inquirer]

Greetings from San Juan! Meet College of Charleston; Huggins doesn’t miss Calhoun [william paxton – ct post]

Purvis ready to go for UConn; Calhoun expected to sit [william paxton – ct post]

Baru big challenge for Brimah, UConn [william paxton – ct post]

No. 17 UConn Prepares For First Puerto Rico Tip-Off Game [uconn huskies youtube]

UConn not ready yet to enjoy sands at San Juan [ct post]

New College of Charleston coach preparing for Huskies [ct post]

Up Next For UConn Men: New-Look College Of Charleston [hartford courant]

UConn assistant Karl Hobbs was almost coaching against Huskies [new haven register]

Life as national champ: Everyone will be trying to knock off the UConn men [the day]

Balling brothers: UConn’s Hamilton developed skills from ‘backyard wars’ [ncaa.com]

College of Charleston to face NCAA defending champion Connecticut [charleston post courier]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Samuelson among three UConn signees on American Family Insurance All-USA preseason girls hoops team [usa today]

Other UConn related links

W. Soccer. UConn Visits No. 8 Penn State For NCAA Second Round [uconn huskies]

W. Soccer. Westport’s Toole enjoys freshman season with UConn soccer [westport news]

W. Ice Hockey. Home-And-Home With No. 1 Boston College On Tap For UConn [uconn huskies]

Softball. Softball Inks Four Student-Athletes [uconn huskies]

W. Field Hockey. NCAA Field Hockey Semifinal: Rookie Veitner Leads Balanced Attack [hartford courant]

Volleyball. Milford’s Sage Esposito fighting through senior year at UConn [new haven register]

From the Red Sox.

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today claimed infielder Juan Francisco off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcement.

Francisco, 27, played 106 games for the Blue Jays last season, batting .220 (63-for-287) with 16 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs, and 43 RBI. A left-handed batter, 34 of his 63 hits went for extra bases.

He averaged an extra-base hit every 11.8 at-bats, the ninth-best rate among American Leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances. His 34 extra-base hits were the most in the majors among players with no more than 350 plate appearances.

Francisco began 2014 with the Milwaukee Brewers and was released on March 24. He was signed by Toronto as a minor league free agent on April 1 and played 12 games for Triple-A Buffalo, batting .341 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 11 RBI. Selected to the major league roster on April 19, he remained with the Blue Jays for the duration of the season.

Against right-handed pitching, Francisco is a career .248 hitter (213-for-848) with 46 doubles, four triples, 47 home runs and 141 RBI.

Defensively, Francisco has played both first and third base in the major leagues. The majority of his time has come at third base where he has played 197 games (161 starts), compared to 87 games (77 starts) at first.

Over his major league career, the Dominican native has hit .236 (235-for-996) with 50 doubles, four triples, 48 home runs, and 152 RBI in 404 games for the Cincinnati Reds (2009-11), Atlanta Braves (2012-13), Milwaukee Brewers (2013), and Blue Jays (2014).

With today’s transaction, Boston’s 40-man roster is at 36

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.

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

Video: UConn Football Coach Bob Diaco On Next Phase of Season [sox & dawgs]

Breaking Bread With Bob – 11/18/14 [sox & dawgs]

UConn Huskies Depth Chart For Cincinnati Bearcats [sox & dawgs]

UConn in the NFL: Week 11 [jim fuller – new haven register]

Tuesday presser: Diaco talks future [john silver – sny uconn]

Tim Boyle Makes It Clear: He’s UConn’s QB Of The Future [hartford courant]

Think Diaco Inherited A Mess? Just Ask, He’ll Go On And On [hartford courant]

Diaco sticking with Whitmer [the day]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Stewart: Huskies need to change, get better [carl adamec – sny uconn]

A Forgettable Night For Mosqueda-Lewis [rich elliott – ct post]

Chong Stepped Up Offensively For Huskies [rich elliott – ct post]

Stewart Sees The Need For Change [rich elliott – ct post]

After Meltdown, UConn Women Realize They Have Work To Do [hartford courant]

Five Things We Learned From UConn’s Loss To Stanford [hartford courant]

UConn women need supporting cast to step up [new haven register]

It’s time for certain Huskies to step up and lead [the hour]

Five things we learned about UConn [espnW]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

No. 17 UConn Opens Play In Puerto Rico Tip-Off Thursday Against CofC [uconn huskies]

Huskies Arrive For 2014 Puerto Rico Tip-Off [uconn huskies youtube]

Hamilton should warm up nicely playing for UConn [ct post]

Other UConn related links

M. Ice Hockey. Photos: UConn Huskies vs RPI Engineers – 11/18/14 [sox & dawgs]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn and Rensselaer Skate to 1-1 Tie [uconn huskies]

M. Ice Hockey. Hard-Charging Huskies Settle For Tie [uconn huskies]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn fans are embracing these ice capades [the day]

Field Hockey. No. 3 UConn Returns to NCAA National Semifinals on Friday [uconn huskies]

Field Hockey. Upton Honored as the NFHCA Mideast Region Player of the Year [uconn huskies]

W. Volleyball. Volleyball Heads Out on Final Road Trip of 2014 [uconn huskies]

W. Cross Country. Durgin, Sara Prepare for 2014 NCAA Championships [uconn huskies]

M. Cross Country. Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field Inks Two Student-Athletes [uconn huskies]