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.

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It’s game day for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they are in Tampa, FL to take on the South Florida Bulls in their Big East opener. They’ll be without Jim Calhoun for the next three games. Tip is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally on SNY.

UConn Men’s Basketball links

My Fearless Big East Forecast [David Borges – New Haven Register]

UConn’s Last Game At The Forum: A Not-So-Funny Thing Happened [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

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

Approximately 500 Seats Remain For UConn-St. John’s Game [UConnHuskies.com]

Without Calhoun, UConn men take on USF [CT Post]

UConn Has Struggled Against South Florida [Hartford Courant]

History not on Huskies’ side with Calhoun out, Blaney in [New Haven Register]

UConn returns from break, faces South Florida [Norwich Bulletin]

Huskies begin Big East play with Blaney leading way [The Day]

UConn Men’s Basketball Glance — UConn at South Florida [The Hour]

Bulls get first shot at defending national champs [Tampa Tribune]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn Women’s Basketball 2002 NCAA National Championship Team To Be Recognized as “Huskies of Honor” [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Football links

Rutgers puts UConn loss in rear view [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Other UConn related links

Top UConn Moments of ’11: No. 9 [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Top UConn Moments of ’11: No. 8 [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

M. Soccer. Jean-Baptiste, Andre Blake Honored By Soccer America [UConnHuskies.com]

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

Blaney Ready to Take Bulls by Horns [David Borges – New Haven Register]

George Blaney Takes The Wheel Again for The Huskies [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Kemba Walker Highlight & Interview After First NBA Win [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Blaney Prepares To Fill In For Calhoun [Hartford Courant]

Calhoun’s Missed Games [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

Top 11 UConn Moments of ’11 [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Top UConn Moments of ’11: No. 10 [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Softball. Former Softball Assistant Coach Peter Looney Passes Away [UConnHuskies.com]

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

For the second straight week and third time this season, UConn Huskies men’s basketball freshman Andre Drummond has been named the Big East Rookie of the Week. Shabazz Napier was also named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.

Here’s the release:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – University of Connecticut center Andre Drummond (Middletown, Conn.) was named the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week on Monday. The honor marks the second-straight week that Drummond has won it and the third overall.

Drummond scored 16 points on eight-of-ten shooting to go with nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks in Connecticut’s only game of the week, a 79-71 win against Fairfield on Thursday. Drummond, who has made 25 of his last 29 field goal attempts, is averaging 9.7 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Huskies.

In addition, UConn sophomore guard Shabazz Napier (Roxbury, Mass.) was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the second week in a row and third time this season. Napier scored 24 points with six rebounds, five assists and two steals in the win over the Stags.

The Huskies return to action on Wednesday when they travel to USF for their BIG EAST opener. Game time is 9:00 p.m. and the game will be televised locally by SNY and heard on the UConn-WTIC Radio Network.

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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 Men’s Basketball links

Stocking Stuffers: Highlights of UConn’s Season To Date [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

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

Jim Calhoun’s three-game suspension starts next Wednesday [The Register Citizen]

Other UConn related links

Year in review No. 8: UConn teams take national stage [Norwich Bulletin]

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

UConn Without Jim Calhoun [David Borges – New Haven Register]

UConn Prepares For Big East Schedule [Hartford Courant]

Huskies will bid adieu to Jim Calhoun for nine-day stretch [New Haven Register]

Scholarship issue a very sensitive one at UConn [CBSSports.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Buck To Get An MRI On Right Wrist Next Week [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

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

New Boston Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine has finally filled all the roles on his coaching staff for the 2012 season.

There are three newcomers to the staff in addition to Valentine. Bob McClure has been named the pitching coach, Alex Ochoa will be the first base coach and Jerry Royster the third base coach.

The holdovers from former manager Terry Francona’s regime are Dave Magadan, who will stay as hitting coach and Gary Tuck, who remains the bullpen coach. Tim Bogar is also still around and will serve as the bench coach for Valentine.

To continue reading, the press release from the Red Sox, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Here’s the release from the Red Sox:

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today announced their 2012 Major League coaching staff.  Tim Bogar has been named bench coach, Bob McClure joins the staff as pitching coach, Alex Ochoa has been appointed first base coach and Jerry Royster has been named third base coach.

Additionally, Hitting Coach Dave Magadan and Bullpen Coach Gary Tuck will both return in the same roles they held in 2011.

Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington and Manager Bobby Valentine made the announcements.

The 45-year-old Bogar enters his fourth year with the Red Sox in 2012.  He spent the last two seasons as Boston’s third base coach after joining the club as first base coach prior to the 2009 campaign.  He served as the quality assurance coach for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 and previously managed in the Houston Astros (2004-05) and Cleveland Indians (2006-07) minor league systems, leading his clubs to a 289-200 mark (.591) and three postseason appearances.  A former infielder selected by the New York Mets in the eighth round of the 1987 draft, Bogar played 701 Major League games over nine seasons with the Mets (1993-96), Astros (1997-2000) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2001).  He played under Valentine in New York for part of the 1996 season.

McClure, 59, recently joined the Red Sox organization as a special assignment scout/instructor.  He spent the last six seasons as the pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals after being named to that position on October 12, 2005.  During his tenure as Kansas City’s pitching coach, he worked with 2009 American League Cy Young Award Winner Zack Greinke and his 2011 staff’s 4.44 ERA was the best single-season mark for the club since 1994.  Prior to joining the Royals, he served as a minor league pitching coach in the Colorado Rockies system for seven seasons, including three years with Single-A Salem from 1999-2001 and four seasons with Triple-A Colorado Springs from 2002-05.  McClure began his coaching career with the Florida Marlins in 1994 as a coach on the Major League staff and also served as a scout with the Marlins in 1996.  A left-handed pitcher, he played 19 Major League seasons with the Royals (1975-76), Brewers (1977-86), Expos (1986-88), Mets (1988), Angels (1989-91), Cardinals (1991-92) and Marlins (1993), compiling a 68-57 record with 52 saves and a 3.81 ERA (490 ER/1,158.2 IP) in 698 career games (73 starts).

Ochoa, 39, was the hitting coach for Boston’s High-A Salem affiliate last season and his batters led the Carolina League in on-base percentage (.328), and finished third in average (.254) and slugging (.387).  He began his professional coaching career in 2009 as Boston’s staff assistant and served as a special assistant in the Red Sox Baseball Operations department in 2010.  Ochoa is a veteran of eight Major League seasons with the Mets (1995-97), Twins (1998), Brewers (1999, 2002), Reds (2000-01), Rockies (2001) and Angels (2002).  An outfielder, he hit .279 (597-for-2,143) with 131 doubles, 19 triples, 46 home runs, 261 RBI, 320 runs, 203 walks and 56 stolen bases over 807 career games.  Ochoa played under Valentine for parts of two seasons with the Mets in 1996-97.

The 59-year-old Royster has been involved in professional baseball for over 40 years.  He most recently managed the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization from 2008-10, becoming the league’s first foreign manager.  He led the Giants to the playoffs in each of his three seasons at the helm.  Royster previously served on Major League coaching staffs as third base coach for the Rockies in their inaugural 1993 campaign and as the Brewers bench coach from 2000 until taking over as interim manager from April 18, 2002 through the end of that season.  His minor league managerial experience includes stints in the Dodgers (1989-92, 2005-06) and Padres (1995-98) systems, including five seasons at the Triple-A level.  Additionally, he was Montreal’s minor league base running/infield coordinator in 1999 and the Dodgers minor league infield coordinator from 2003-04.  Royster signed with the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1970, two years after Valentine began his minor league career with Los Angeles.  He played parts of 16 seasons in the Majors with the Dodgers (1973-75), Braves (1976-84, 1988), Padres (1985-86), White Sox (1987) and Yankees (1987).  Primarily a second and third baseman, he batted .249 (1,049-for-4,208) with 165 doubles, 33 triples, 40 home runs and 352 RBI in 1,428 career Big League games.

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

Calhoun Goes on Christmas Break [David Borges – New Haven Register]

UConn 79, Fairfield 71: Jim Calhoun’s Take [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

UConn 79, Fairfield 71: Wrapping Things Up [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

UConn men 79, Fairfield 71: the wrap (what Calhoun said) [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

Post-game breakdown: Fairfield [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

Notes/Quotes from Fairfield: “We’re 10-1.” [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Fair Fight [UConn Huskies Basketball]

UConn men survive scare, pull away from Fairfield [CT Post]

Fairfield comes up short again against big-time program [CT Post]

Ryan Olander wins battle with brother Tyler, but UConn wins bigger fight over Fairfield [CT Post]

What we learned about UConn [CT Post]

UConn Survives Scare In 79-71 Win Over Fairfield [Hartford Courant]

In The End, Drummond Did The Right Thing [Hartford Courant]

UConn Men Notebook: Both A Sibling And An In-State Rivalry [Hartford Courant]

Huskies stave off upset bid by Fairfield [New Haven Register]

UConn men beat Fairfield in game of survival [The Day]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Geno: Heather Buck’s X-Rays Show No Break [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Despite Big Win Wednesday, UConn Had Problems On Trip [Hartford Courant]

UConn, Baylor to meet as part of ESPN’s “Rivalry Week” in 2013 [The Day]

UConn Football links

Video: UConn quarterbacks [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Help officially on the way [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

Other UConn related links

M. Ice Hockey. Rene Rancourt To Sing National Anthem at UConn Hockey Classic [UConnHuskies.com]

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

Basketball is a game which is played for 40 minutes. Sometimes, a team can “play” for 28 minutes and win. And that’s about exactly what the UConn Huskies did on Thursday night against the Fairfield Stags.

The Huskies held off a late second half rally by the Stags to win the “Battle of the Olanders” 79-71 in front of 13,821 at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.

UConn heads into the Christmas break at 10-1 while Fairfield falls to 7-5.

Older brother Ryan Olander definitely got the better of the matchup with his younger brother Tyler despite the fact the Stags lost. Neither one of them could find the bucket in the first half. Ryan found the basket for eight points in the second half while Tyler had just two. Ryan also blocked a dunk by Tyler cleanly and then capped it off later by dunking over Tyler. Ryan also led the Stags with eight rebounds.

Shabazz Napier led the Huskies with 24 points with six rebounds and five assists. Jeremy Lamb chipped in with 18 points while Andre Drummond had 16 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.

Ryan Boatright had a nice game off the bench for the Huskies with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Rakim Sanders paced the Stags with 20 points and added seven rebounds. Sean Crawford added 14 points with all of his baskets coming from beyond the arc with Derek Needham chipping with 12 points on four threes. Desmond Wade rounded out the Stags in double digits with 10 points.

Fairfield stayed with UConn for the first five minutes of the game. But with the Huskies leading 14-13, Napier led the Huskies on an 11-2 to run to open up a 10 point lead. The Stags would battle back though cutting the lead back down to eight at 30-22 with 6:26 to go in the half.

But UConn would close out the first half on a 16-4 run to open up a 20 point lead at the half at 46-26 and it looked like the rout was on.

That wouldn’t be the case though.

A Lamb three would give the Huskies their biggest lead of 22 points at 57-35 with 13:22 to go in the game. Over the next eight minutes, the Stags would get that lead into single digits and trail by six at 65-59 with 5:44 to go. They did it the same way they stayed in the game early in the first half. And that was by hitting some three pointers.

Fairfield didn’t stop there though.

Each time it looked the Huskies would pull away, the Stags answered. They would get the lead down to three points at 72-69 with when Sanders made a layup with 2:23 to go.

Things changed though for the worse for the Stags when Sanders missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1:39 to go after the Stags forced a turnover down the other end before Roscoe Smith fouled him. The Huskies would grab the rebound and Boatright would nail a three. After Ryan Olander missed a shot, Lamb put an exclamation point on the win with an emphatic dunk to seal the win for the Huskies.

The Huskies will now get ready for the first of three straight Big East games without head coach Jim Calhoun who will be serving his NCAA suspension that was handed down last year. They may be lucky in the fact that Calhoun can only coach practices until Christmas because you know he won’t be pleased with the total effort of his team.

The first game sans Calhoun will be against the South Florida Bulls on Wednesday the 28th in South Florida. Tip is scheduled for 9 p.m.

To continue reading the Fairfield Stags @ UConn Huskies recap, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

Fairfield Stags @ UConn Huskies 12.22.11 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Jim Calhoun and Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson. The quotes from the players are underneath what the coach’s had to say.

UConn has won 65 straight games against competition from the state of Connecticut.

The starters for the Huskies were Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, Roscoe Smith, Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond.

UConn shot 53.8% (28-52) from the floor while Fairfield shot 40.6% (26-64).

The Huskies had just 12 assists on their 28 made baskets.

UConn was 7-of-11 (63.6%) from beyond the arc while the Stags were 12-of-27 (44.4%).

The Huskies were 16-of-21 (76.2%) from the charity stripe.

UConn barely won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Fairfield 34-32.

The Huskies outscored the Stags 32-20 in the paint and 24-8 on the fast break.

Fairfield had 15 second chance points to just four for UConn.

The Huskies had 14 points off of 12 Stags turnovers. Fairfield had 10 points off of 12 UConn turnovers.

Jim Calhoun picked his up his first technical foul of the season in the first half. Ironically enough, he got that technical before any of his players had committed a personal foul.

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Photo credits: Stephen Dunn – Hartford Courant (No. 3, No. 14 in gallery)

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 men’s basketball team as they’ll host the Fairfield Stags at the XL Center. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally on SNY.

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

UConn Men’s Basketball links

The Bradley, Drummond Conundrum [David Borges – New Haven Register]

George Blaney to Serve As Head Coach During Jim Calhoun Suspension [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Blaney to fill in for Calhoun [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

Preview: Fairfield at UConn [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

At last, Olanders meet on the court on opposite teams [CT Post]

The Olander brothers on each other [CT Post]

Fairfield’s Johnson Gets His Wish — A Game Against UConn [Hartford Courant]

UConn Says It Thoroughly Vetted Walk-On Status For Drummond [Hartford Courant]

Huskies not looking past Fairfield [New Haven Register]

Fairfield men won’t be a pushover for Huskies [The Day]

UConn Men’s Basketball Glance — Fairfield at UConn [The Hour]

UConn scholarships take positive turn [Eamonn Brennan – ESPN.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Nobody Really Happy With The Win At Charleston [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

The Secret To UConn’s Success [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Geno Sets The Tone For The Remainder Of The Season [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Tired And Frustrated, UConn Women Coast To A Win [Hartford Courant]

Notebook: Buck’s Injured Wrist To Be Checked Out [Hartford Courant]

Despite lopsided defeat, Charleston enjoyed spotlight with UConn [The Post and Courier]

Other UConn related links

UConn drafting policy requiring employees to report sexual abuse allegations [CT Post]

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