Author Archives: ianbethune

American Athletic Conference Weekly Football Honors – Nov. 3

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the league’s weekly football honors for the 10th week of the college football season.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Brandon Hayes • Sr. • RB • Memphis • Chicago, Ill.

Hayes turned in his second consecutive 100-yard game to lead Memphis to a 40-20 win against Tulsa. He rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries, including a key 51-yard TD with 14 seconds left in the first half that gave the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish. He added second-half touchdowns of 30 and 14 yards on his way to his sixth career 100-yard game. Hayes ranks second in The American in rushing at 75.9 yards per game.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Praise Martin-Oguike • Jr. • DE • Temple • Woodbridge, N.J.

Martin-Oguike was the key to Temple’s defensive effort, which forced five turnovers in the Owls’ 20-10 win against No. 21/19 East Carolina — Temple’s first win against a top-25 opponent since 1998. Martin-Oguike finished the game with four tackles, 1.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and a blocked field goal. Martin-Oguike was also tabbed as the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jake Elliott • So. • K • Memphis • Western Spring, Ill.

Elliott scored a career-high 16 points, with four field goals and four PATs, to help Memphis to a 40-20 win against Tulsa. Included among his four field goals were kicks from 53 and 51 yards as he became the first American Athletic Conference player to hit two field goals of at least 50 yards in a game. Elliott also connected from 47 and 37 yards and saw five of his nine kickoffs go for touchbacks. Elliott is the leading scorer in The American with 71 points this season.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

Munchie Legaux • Sr. • QB • Cincinnati • New Orleans, La.

Returned to his hometown to complete 16 of 24 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in a 38-14 win at Tulane.

Andrew Adams • Jr. • S • UConn • Fayetteville, Ga.

Had seven tackles and tied the American Athletic Conference record with three interceptions in a 37-29 win against UCF.

Deshon Foxx • Sr. • WR • UConn • Lynchburg, Va.

Rushed for 102 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown, out of the Wildcat formation and had three receptions for 14 yards in a 37-29 win against UCF.

Kenneth Farrow • Jr. • RB • Houston • Hurst, Texas

Rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries and had a touchdown reception in a 27-3 win at USF.

Tyler Matakevich • Jr. • LB • Temple • Cedar Hill, Texas

Had a school-record 16 solo tackles with one tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup in a 20-10 win against No. 21/19 East Carolina.

2014-15 NCAA Women’s Basketball Rankings – Coaches Preseason Poll

The NCAA Women’s Basketball USA Today Coaches Poll came out on Monday and just like the AP Poll, the UConn Huskies are the preseason favorites.

They are joined in the top five by the South Carolina Gamecocks, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Tennessee Volunteers and Texas A&M Aggies.

There are no other teams from the American Athletic Conference ranked in the top 25. The South Florida Bulls are the only team from the American among the others receiving votes.

During the season, we’ll be published both polls together in one post on Tuesdays. The AP Poll comes out on Monday while the USA Today Coaches Poll comes out on Tuesday. Yeah, I don’t get it either.

USA Today Coaches Poll
RK	TEAM	REC	PTS
1	Connecticut (32)	40-0	800
2	South Carolina	29-5	739
3	Notre Dame	37-1	736
4	Tennessee	29-6	683
5	Texas A&M	27-9	630
6	Stanford	33-4	608
7	Duke	28-7	566
8	Maryland	28-7	543
9	Baylor	32-5	531
10	Kentucky	26-9	484
11	Louisville	33-5	474
12	Texas	22-12	458
13	North Carolina	27-10	407
14	California	22-10	366
15	Michigan St	23-10	343
16	Nebraska	26-7	305
17	West Virginia	30-5	274
18	Depaul	29-7	246
19	Iowa	27-9	217
20	Oklahoma St	25-9	164
21	Oregon St	24-11	123
22	Dayton	23-8	117
23	UCLA	13-18	116
24	LSU	21-13	65
25	Syracuse	23-10	55
Dropped from rankings:
Penn State 14, BYU 18, Purdue 19, NC State 21, Gonzaga 22
Others receiving votes:
Penn State 50, Rutgers 45, Purdue 37, Georgia 29, Vanderbilt 24, Gonzaga 17, BYU 16, Florida St 16, St. John’s 16, NC State 14, Iowa State 12, South Florida 11, Ohio State 10, Arkansas 9, Oklahoma 8, Oregon 8, Middle Tennessee 7, USC 7, Western Kentucky 5, James Madison 3, Arizona St 2, Albany 1, Arkansas St 1, Marist 1, CS Northridge 1

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Huskies Roundup – 11/3/14

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: Diaco Would Like To See the “Civil Conflict” [sox & dawgs]

Video: UConn CB Jhavon Williams On The Importance of Wearing No. 6 [sox & dawgs]

Jasper Howard Memorial Dedicated [uconn huskies]

Report Card: That’s More Like It For UConn [hartford courant]

Huskies’ Offensive Line Shows Considerable Improvement [hartford courant]

UConn receiver Noel Thomas catching on as big-play threat [new haven register]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Forward thinking makes Williams valuable [carl adamec – sny uconn]

Geno Says He Got Only Half The Story In 1985 [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Nurse Solid In Debut With Huskies [rich elliott – ct post]

Chong Produces In Starting Role [rich elliott – ct post]

Freshmen debut for UConn [jim fuller – new haven register]

No. 1 UConn Cruises To 115-26 Exhibition Victory Over West Chester on Sunday [uconn huskies]

Freshman Nurse impressive in UConn’s exhibition romp [ct post]

UConn Women Perform As Expected In 115-26 Preseason Win [hartford courant]

UConn freshmen see first action in win over West Chester [new haven register]

Other UConn related links

W. Soccer. Hill Powers UConn To 1-0 Win Over Tulsa In American Quarterfinal Match [uconn huskies]

W. Ice Hockey. Huskies Tripped Up, 6-0, At Vermont [uconn huskies]

W. Volleyball. Volleyball Falls in Four To Memphis in Weekend Finale [uconn huskies]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn Beaten by Yale, 2-1, in Liberty Hockey Invitational [uconn huskies]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn Falls To Yale In Tourney Final [hartford courant]

Video: UConn CB Jhavon Williams On The Importance of Wearing No. 6

If you are a UConn Huskies football fan, y’all know the significance of the No. 6 uniform.

It was the uniform number of the late Jasper Howard who tragically lost his life in 2009 hours after a game against the Louisville Cardinals.

Over the years, his No. 6 has been worn by his closest friends on the team and for the past two seasons by Jhavon Williams, a Florida native like Howard. His spirit has lived on with the saying, “PLAY EACH PLAY LIKE IT’S THE LAST PLAY YOU WILL EVER PLAY.”

On Saturday at halftime of the game of the eventual win against the UCF Knights, a memorial with the No. 6 for Howard was unveiled.

Watch and listen below as Williams talks about the importance of wearing the No. 6

photo credit: ian bethune

Video: Diaco Would Like To See the “Civil Conflict”

civilconflict

Rivalries are born, they aren’t created. Unless you are UConn Huskies football coach Bob Diaco who would like to see a rivalry be born between his program and the UCF Knights.

During his postgame press conference after the win against UCF, Diaco talked about how he would like to the start “Civil Conflict” with the Knights. And by “Civil Conflict”, he meant a rivalry game with them.

And when he said it, he meant no disrespect towards the UCF football program.

Oh by the way, he’s even willing to pay for the trophy himself.

Watch below as Diaco talks about the “Civil Conflict”

During his postgame wrap Sunday, he expanded on the remarks.

“What’s interesting is now that I’ve been in it for a little while here, in this conference, it’s an exciting conference and UCF becomes a conversation because they’re awesome, because I have such admiration and respect for them,” Diaco said. “Watching Coach O’Leary’s team and trying to prepare against them, you’re thinking what a contest this is going to be if we’re prepared.”

“I know he’s been doing it for 11 years without change, so it’s not going to change in the future and I know where we want to go and where we are going to go, so I thought, what an awesome contest it would be to kind of create a rival.”

“Obviously it takes two to tango, we’d need cooperation on their part, but to me that’s fun,” he said. “It spices things up and not in a negative way, but a positive way. I think it adds to the overall enjoyment for the fans and the universities and creates some spice and some pizzazz.”

While I like the idea, it is hard to create a rivalry. It might be better to look down the road and try to get something similar to this going with the UMass Minutemen, with whom they play in 2016 and 2017.

The two teams have a rivalry that dates back to 1897 and was played every year from 1952-1999. The two teams met as FBS opponents in 2012 when UConn beat UMass 37-0. Overall, UMass leads the rivalry 36-34-2

photo credit: sox & dawgs illustration

Wolf Pack Hang On For 4-3 Win Over Sharks

By Zachary Grenier

Hartford, CT, November 2, 2014 – The Hartford Wolf Pack escaped with a 4-3 victory Sunday afternoon over the Worcester Sharks at the XL Center.

Hartford drew first blood when the Bourque brothers capitalized on a power play opportunity with 8:42 gone in the first period. Ryan Bourque carried down to the right faceoff circle and looked across the crease to find Chris Bourque, who beat Worcester goaltender J.P. Anderson to the glove side.

J.T. Miller got in on the action just 2:38 later, when he finished another pass across the front of the crease, this one from defenseman Mat Bodie.

The scoring was not done for the Wolf Pack in the first period. Just as a Hartford power play was expiring, Danny Kristo let fly from the same faceoff dot that Chris Bourque capitalized fro, and fired a wrist shot that again beat Anderson glove side.

“Our starts are something that we’ve really tried to key on,” said Miller. “We have to make sure that we don’t get too comfortable. We got outshot handily, even though I thought we were playing well.”

While Hartford was outshot 39-18 at the end of the game, the teams were at a stalemate in the second period.

“I thought we made some real good plays early (offensively) and then we tried to force things as the game went on,” said Hartford coach Ken Gernander.

A lot of the credit for the stalemate was due to the play of Hartford goaltender Cedrick Desjardins, and his ability to come up with the big save.

“He was a big part of contributing part of our win tonight,” said Gernander. “We didn’t do enough to generate offense or to alleviate time spent in our defensive zone for the last two periods of the game. So now you’re relying on your defense, your penalty killing and your goaltending.”

Desjardins made a few huge saves for his teammates, especially on the penalty kill where he faced several point-blank chances from the slot and slammed the door shut.

In the third period, the Pack came out firing, with Jesper Fast putting up his first goal of the season just 28 seconds in to play to make it 4-0.

Worcester foiled Desjardins’ shutout bid with 8:08 remaining in the third period, when Ryan Carpenter found the puck in front of the net and put it home for his second goal of the season.

The third period push continued for the Sharks when Freddie Hamilton cut the Hartford lead to just two with 3:13 left in the game.

“He (Desjardins) held them off for quite a while there. If they’re able to get one earlier in the game there and then the second and certainly a third, it could certainly be a whole different scenario or a whole different outcome,” said Gernander.

Tyler Kennedy really took the Pack down to the wire when his second goal of the season made it a one goal game with just 1:12 left in regulation.

“If we face adversity, we see the guys who want to fight through the true adversity and that’s what we did,” said Desjardins. “We have a lot of gamers in that locker room and a lot of guys with experience, so we never panic.”

Next up for the Wolf Pack is a “school day special” morning game this Wednesday, November 5 against the Albany Devils. The Pack and Devils face off at 11:00 AM at the XL Center on Wednesday, and that’s another chance to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack”. The Family Value Pack features two tickets, two sodas and two hot dogs, all for only $35.

Tickets for all 2014-15 Wolf Pack home games are now on sale at the XL Center ticket office, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499. Wolf Pack tickets start as low as $12 for youth 12 years old or younger.

To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info.

Worcester Sharks 3 at Hartford Wolf Pack 4
Sunday, November 2, 2014 – XL Center

Worcester 0 0 3 – 3
Hartford 3 0 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Hartford, Bourque 3 (Bourque, Miller), 8:46 (PP). 2, Hartford, Miller 3 (Bodie), 11:24. 3, Hartford, Kristo 3 (Vaive, Lindberg), 14:05. Penalties-Langlois Wor (hooking), 7:34; DeMelo Wor (holding), 12:05; Tarnasky Hfd (interference), 15:54; Spinell Hfd (cross-checking), 18:03.

2nd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Lindberg Hfd (tripping), 0:38; Potulny Hfd (slashing), 1:46; Haley Wor (roughing, fighting), 9:23; Tarnasky Hfd (fighting), 9:23; Tennyson Wor (cross-checking), 15:28.

3rd Period-4, Hartford, Fast 1 (Bodie, Lindberg), 0:29. 5, Worcester, Carpenter 2 (Kennedy, DeMelo), 11:52. 6, Worcester, Hamilton 5 (Tarasov, Abeltshauser), 16:47 (PP). 7, Worcester, Kennedy 2 (Lerg, DeMelo), 18:48. Penalties-Kristo Hfd (hooking), 2:46; Shattock Wor (fighting), 5:53; Spinell Hfd (checking to the head, fighting), 5:53; Fedun Wor (hooking), 13:12; Jackson Hfd (slashing), 16:03.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 12-13-14-39. Hartford 7-7-4-18.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1 / 7; Hartford 1 / 5.
Goalies-Worcester, Anderson 0-1-0 (18 shots-14 saves). Hartford, Desjardins 3-0-0 (39 shots-36 saves).
A-2,443
Referees-Cameron Voss (78), Keith Kaval (40).
Linesmen-Brent Colby (7), Paul Simeon (66).

2014 NCAA Football Rankings – Week 11 (Nov. 2)

For the third straight week, the Mississippi State Bulldogs remain as the consensus No. 1 team in both the AP and Amway Coaches Polls.

They are joined in the top five of both polls by the Florida State Seminoles, Auburn Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide and Oregon Ducks.

With the East Carolina Pirates losing this week to the Temple Owls, there are no teams from the American Athletic Conference ranked this week.

There are no teams from the American in the AP Poll among the others receiving votes. The Cincinnati Bearcats and East Carolina both received two votes in the coaches poll.

We’ll have the only poll that matters, the College Football Playoff Committee Top 25, when they announce it again on Tuesday.

AP Top 25				USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	RK	TEAM	REC	PTS
1	Mississippi State (45)	8-0	1484	1	Mississippi State (40)	8-0	1526
2	Florida State (15)	8-0	1452	2	Florida State (22)	8-0	1501
3	Auburn	7-1	1345	3	Auburn	7-1	1355
4	Alabama	7-1	1281	4	Alabama	7-1	1349
5	Oregon	8-1	1275	5	Oregon	8-1	1289
6	TCU	7-1	1148	6	Michigan State	7-1	1241
7	Michigan State	7-1	1120	7	TCU	7-1	1150
8	Notre Dame	7-1	1096	8	Notre Dame	7-1	1121
9	Kansas State	7-1	1049	9	Kansas State	7-1	1087
10	Baylor	7-1	961	10	Baylor	7-1	957
11	Arizona State	7-1	831	11	Ohio State	7-1	901
12	Ole Miss	7-2	828	12	Arizona State	7-1	854
13	Ohio State	7-1	780	13	Ole Miss	7-2	793
14	LSU	7-2	717	14	Nebraska	8-1	766
15	Nebraska	8-1	680	15	LSU	7-2	636
16	Oklahoma	6-2	574	16	Oklahoma	6-2	601
17	Georgia	6-2	465	17	Georgia	6-2	508
18	UCLA	7-2	464	18	UCLA	7-2	438
19	Clemson	6-2	341	19	Clemson	6-2	394
20	Utah	6-2	327	20	Duke	7-1	320
21	Arizona	6-2	325	21	Arizona	6-2	307
22	Duke	7-1	288	22	Utah	6-2	253
23	Marshall	8-0	238	22	Marshall	8-0	253
24	West Virginia	6-3	159	24	Wisconsin	6-2	146
25	Wisconsin	6-2	83	25	West Virginia	6-3	130
Dropped from rankings:				Dropped from rankings:
East Carolina 21				East Carolina 19
Others receiving votes:				Others receiving votes:
Colorado State 67, USC 48, Missouri 42, Georgia Tech 15, Louisville 7, Stanford 4, North Dakota State 4, Florida 1, Texas A&M 1				Missouri 82, Colorado State 81, Georgia Tech 32, USC 31, Minnesota 19, Iowa 12, Louisville 7, Boise State 5, East Carolina 2, Cincinnati 2, Miami (FL) 1

Rangers Recall Defenseman Conor Allen and Dylan McIlrath From Wolf Pack

NEW YORK, November 2, 2014 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the team has recalled defensemen Conor Allen and Dylan McIlrath from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Allen, 24, has registered two goals and three assists for five points in eight AHL contests this season. Prior to Hartford’s game today, he was tied for third on the Wolf Pack in goals and was tied for fifth on the team in assists and points. He also led all Hartford defensemen in goals and ranked second among team defensemen in assists and points.

The 6-1, 210-pounder skated in three games with the Rangers last season and made his NHL debut on December 29, 2013 at Tampa Bay.

McIlrath, 22, has skated in eight games with the Wolf Pack this season, recording a team-high 21 penalty minutes. He established AHL career-highs in games played (62), goals (six), assists (11), points (17), and penalty minutes (165) with Hartford last season.

The 6-5, 220-pounder skated in two games with the Rangers last season and made his NHL debut on December 12, 2013 vs. Columbus.

Wolf Pack Sign Two Defensemen to PTOs

HARTFORD, November 2, 2014: Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Wolf Pack has signed defensemen Bretton Stamler and Dallas Jackson to Professional Tryout (PTO) agreements.

Stamler, a 27-year-old fourth-year pro, began this year with the Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL, after splitting last season between the Wolf Pack and its ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors. The 6-1, 203-pound Stamler has skated in five games with the Gladiators this season, notching three assists, two penalty minutes and a team-best +4 rating.

Last season Stamler logged 39 games with the Wolf Pack, his first career AHL action, contributing two goals and six assists for eight points and serving 48 minutes in penalties. His +6 rating was tied for tops among Hartford defensemen. In 30 ECHL games with Greenville in 2013-14, the Edmonton, Alta. Native had three assists and 49 PIM.

In 85 career ECHL games with the Las Vegas Wranglers, Road Warriors and Gladiators, Stamler has totaled five goals and eight assists for 13 points, along with 125 PIM.

Jackson comes to the Wolf Pack from Greenville, where he has registered three assists, the most among Road Warrior defensemen and second overall on the team, and six penalty minutes in seven games.

A fifth-year man out of the Western Hockey League, Jackson, 6-2 and 205 pounds, spent all of last season in the AHL, splitting time between the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Springfield Falcons. In 53 games with the Sound Tigers, the 25-year-old native of Edson, Alta. had three goals and 21 assists for 24 points, plus 36 PIM. In four outings with the Falcons, he chipped in one assist and served two PIM.

In 83 career AHL games with the Lake Erie Monsters, Sound Tigers and Falcons, Jackson has amassed three goals and 26 assists for 29 points, along with 48 PIM. In 139 total ECHL games with the Reading Royals, Gwinnett Gladiators and Road Warriors, Jackson has career numbers of 16 goals and 40 assists for 56 points, plus 141 PIM.

The Wolf Pack are in home-ice action today, as the Worcester Sharks pay a visit to the XL Center for a 3:00 game. The Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack” is again featured on Sundays this year, and has been expanded to Wednesday and Thursday home games as well. The Family Value Pack features two tickets, two sodas and two hot dogs, all for only $35.

To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info.

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Huskies Roundup – 11/2/14

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 West Chester University in an exhibition game at Gampel Pavilion at 1 p.m.

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

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Veterans Pleased With Practice To This Point [rich elliott – ct post]

New And Improved Chong Ready To Produce For Huskies [rich elliott -ct post]

Tuck To Again See Game Action Today Vs. West Chester [rich elliott – ct post]

Fond CPTV memories live on despite SNY-UConn women deal [ct post]

Four Freshmen And Some Retooling Highlight Preseason For UConn Women [hartford courant]

UConn women open vs. West Chester, Geno Auriemma’s alma mater [new haven register]

UConn Football links

Photos: UConn Huskies vs UCF Knights – 11/1/14 [sox & dawgs]

UConn Ends Five Game Losing Streak With 37-29 Win Over UCF [sox & dawgs]

Video: Highlights From UConn’s 37-29 Win Over UCF [sox & dawgs]