New season, new faces, even an old one is back for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team. And as most of the state of Connecticut expects them to do, it was another UConn win on Sunday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion.

Bria Hartley led the way for the Huskies (1-0) with 17 points as they easily took care of business in a 77-37 win over the Holy Cross Crusaders in front of a small crowd of 6,548 fans.

Hartley also added six assists but did have five turnovers. Tiffany Hayes added 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks while Stefanie Dolson chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Caroline Doty returned to action for the first time since the 2010 NCAA Championship game and had nine points and five rebounds. Heather Buck had a nice game off the bench with six points and six rebounds.

Amy Lepley, Brisje Malone and Alex Smith all had eight points to lead Holy Cross (0-2). Lepley led the Crusaders with five rebounds with four others adding four.

They were without their top freshman Emily Parker who scored 17 points in their season opening loss to Yale. Parker tore her ACL in March and was just cleared to play on Thursday before their opener. Holy Cross head coach Bill Gibbons didn’t want her to play two games in three days especially against the quickness of the Huskies.

As usually is the case for most teams who are playing against the UConn women, this one was pretty much over right at the start.

The Huskies started out the game with a 9-0 run and followed that up with a 23-6 run to open up a 26 point lead. Holy Cross would get it down to 21 points at halftime (38-17) but the Huskies made sure in the second half that there would be no come back for the Crusaders.

They weren’t perfect today but they’ll need to be sooner rather than later. After their game on Monday, they’ll have six days to prepare for the No. 5 Stanford Cardinal. They’ll need to work on limiting their mistakes within the offense and on defense.

I was impressed with the play of Buck off the bench. If Dolson ever gets in foul trouble, the Huskies aren’t as deep in the front court with Buck and freshman Moriah Jefferson. But Buck has the experience and can show at times she can play. She’ll just need to build off of this game and go foward as the season goes along.

It’s a quick turnaround for the Huskies as they’ll be back in action on Monday night when the Pacific Tigers come to Gampel. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally on CPTV in Connecticut.

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

Notes and musings:

Holy Cross Crusaders @ UConn Huskies 11.13.11 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Geno Auriemma and Holy Cross head coach Bill Gibbons.

The starters for the Huskies were Bria Hartley, Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, Kelly Faris and Stefanie Dolson.

UConn shot 45.2% (28-62) from the floor. Holy Cross shot 23.2% (17-56).

The Huskies had 19 points on their 28 made baskets.

UConn was 9-of-24 (37.5%) from three point land while the Crusaders were just 3-of-15 (20%).

The Huskies were 12-of-17 (70.6%) from the free throw line.

UConn dominated the boards outrebounding Holy Cross 49-32.

Freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had a rough shooting debut as she was just 3-of-12 from the floor. She ended up with seven points and seven rebounds.

Ten of the 11 Huskies who played scored. Sophomore Michaela Johnson was the only Husky not to put the ball in the basket.

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Photo credit: AP Photo

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett hasn’t been seen in good light so far during this offseason.

He was seen as one of the ringleaders of Fried Chicken and Beergate 2011. And now, it appears that he may be one of the reason why Terry Francona decided not to come back as the manager of the Red Sox.

Here’s what Jon Heyman of SI.com has learned:

People familiar with what went on in the Red Sox clubhouse say Francona tried to stem unrest among the players with a late team meeting but believe Francona may have erred by never confronting Josh Beckett one-on-one. Beckett was seen by other Red Sox players as among the more vocal detractors of Francona behind the scenes. Francona long was beloved in the clubhouse so this was a unusual situation for him.

Now some people may not like Heyman but he is one of the more trusted writers out there and he’s usually right. And given everything else we’ve heard coming out of the anonymous sources from the Red Sox and how they were right before, there’s a pretty good chance this is true.

Obviously if this is true, can you understand why Tito didn’t want to come back? I can.

Why would we want to be there when one of his best players is talking behind his back? If he’s lost Beckett and we’ve all seen the influence Beckett can have on others, what’s to say he wouldn’t lose more guys?

The great respect I had for Beckett before went out the door with the fried chicken and beer incident. I can honestly say there’s little chance it ever comes back, especially if this is true.

The best remedy to all of this would be to trade Beckett. Unfortunately, the Red Sox can’t do that.

Their starting pitching depth for 2012 is not deep at all. You have Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz. John Lackey is out for 2012 and the earliest we’ll probably see Daisuke Matsuzaka is June. So by trading Beckett you’re losing even more depth.

Given his close relationship on the team with his binky, I mean the Captain of the Red Sox, Jason Varitek, I would have expected him to do this. But that didn’t appear to happen.

Someone really needs to have a talk with Beckett and get things sorted out. If not, we can probably expect this to happen next year under the new manager, whomever that turns out to be.

Thanks to Krystle (@pinkberryoasis) who pointed out the link on @redsox1234‘s Twitter feed.

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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.

It’s opening day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they’ll host Holy Cross at 2 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion. You can catch the game locally in Connecticut on CPTV.

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

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Doty raring to go [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Rebecca Lobo a Naismith Hall of Fame candidate [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Holy Cross Won’t Play Top Scorer Sunday [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Life According To Caroline Doty [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Women preview: Huskies open with Crusaders [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

Huskies Set To Begin Life After Maya [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Doty, Mosqueda-Lewis Healthy and Ready For Opener [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

ND, UConn figure to be atop league [CT Post]

UConn begins season trying to answer questions after Maya’s departure [CT Post]

Doty, And Her Teammates, Can’t Wait For Her Return To The Court [Hartford Courant]

Caroline Doty ready to return [New Haven Register]

Are these Huskies just average? [The Day]

UConn Football links

UConn Vs. Louisville Football To Kickoff At Noon [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

VIDEO: Jim Calhoun On UConn’s Rebounding – Or Lack Thereof [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Niels Giffey Returns to Practice for Huskies [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Jim Calhoun: “Unfiltered” On SNY Special [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Dom also answered a question in his mailbag [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

UConn’s Olander Works Hard For Playing Time [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

Field Hockey. Jeute Leads No. 5 UConn Past Princeton In First Round, 3-2 [UConnHuskies.com]

Field Hockey. UConn-Princeton Quotes [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Ice Hockey. Women’s Ice Hockey Stumbles, 2-0, Against Providence [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Cross Country. Huskies Take 10th Place At The NCAA East Regional Championships [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Cross Country. Sara Leads Huskies To Seventh Place Finish At Regionals [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Volleyball. Volleyball Swept by Rutgers [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Ice Hockey. Huskies Rally To Earn 2-2 Tie at AIC On The Road [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Soccer. Lots of Televison Coverage For BIG EAST Final [UConnHuskies.com]

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

Here is the video that will be played before each 2011-12 UConn Huskies men’s basketball home game at Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JvOZdrQy6PA

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

Huskies Heading Back to Paradise Jam [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Calhoun Not Impressed With UConn’s Win [David Borges – New Haven Register]

UConn 70, Columbia 57: Wrapping  Things Up [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Jeremy Lamb: Scoring 30 Points With the Greatest of Ease [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

UConn men 70, Columbia 57: the wrap [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

A growth spurt for Drummond [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

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

Notes/Quotes from Columbia [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Stepping Up [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Lamb, Napier lead UConn past Columbia [CT Post]

Huskies Open Season With 70-57 Win Over Columbia [Hartford Courant]

Not A Great Debut For Drummond [Hartford Courant]

In like a Lamb [Journal Inquirer]

‘Step up’ means more to UConn men’s basketball [Journal Inquirer]

Huskies beat Columbia in opener [New Haven Register]

Guards carry UConn men past Columbia in opener [The Day]

No. 4 UConn opens with 70-57 win over Columbia [The Hour]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn Women Being Courted For 2013 Carrier Classic [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Doty, Mosqueda-Lewis Cleared To Play In Sunday’s Opener [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Talk Of UConn At Carrier Classic Premature [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

UConn-Bound Stewart Incredibly Humble and Talented [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Doty, Mosqueda-Lewis Practice Today, Ready For Opener [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Doty calls: It’s time to play [Journal Inquirer]

Other UConn related links

W. Volleyball. Volleyball Wraps up 2011 in the Garden State [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Soccer. Diop’s Perfect Strike Leads UConn Into BIG EAST Championship [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Soccer. Another Thriller [New England Soccer News]

M. Soccer. Diop inspires UConn victory [Soccer America]

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

It wasn’t the brow beating you expected to see from the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team in their opener against the Columbia Lions. In fact, it might have been closer than Jim Calhoun would have liked.

But when you have a special player like Jeremy Lamb, just like with Kemba Walker last season, you don’t have to worry as much as Lamb led the way with a career-high 30 points to help the Huskies to a 70-57 win in front of a sell-out crowd at Gampel Pavilion on campus in Storrs on Friday night.

Shabazz Napier was the only other Husky in double figures as he had 21 points to go along with six rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Roscoe Smith added eight points and seven rebounds while Tyler Olander had seven points and eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Freshman DeAndre Daniels blocked three shots for the Huskies (1-0) while Alex Oriakhi led the way with four blocks.

It was inauspicious debut for the highly hyped Andre Drummond. While showing flashes of brilliance at times, Drummond struggled with foul trouble early on and spent a good amount of time on the bench. And things didn’t get better for him as he was bumped in the face and had to leave the game. He had suffered a concussion and broken nose during the preseason and is wearing a mask.

Noruwa Agho led the Lions (0-1) with 16 points. Blaise Stabb added a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds while Brian Barbour chipped in with 10 points.

It was close early on before the Huskies went on an 8-0 run to open up a 13-5 lead. The Lions would cut the lead back down to five at 15-10 before another UConn run, this one 10-0, increased the lead to 15 points. Columbia would get as close as 10 points the rest of the way in the first half but the Huskies went into the locker room up 15 points at 37-22 on the strength of two Lamb threes including one to beat the halftime buzzer.

Columbia never really threatened the Huskies in the second half. Of course UConn couldn’t pull away from them either. The Huskies were never really able to put a game-killing run together as the scrappy Lions fought hard for the entire 40 minutes giving UConn a good early season battle.

The one thing besides the nasty dunk by Lamb that stood out to me was the play of Olander and Daniels.

For Daniels, his good play came on the defensive end while Olander just had a good overall game. He is definitely much improved from last year and you could see all the hard work he put in during the offseason. Playing in your hometown isn’t easy but Olander is proving it’s no fluke he’s at UConn.

While Oriakhi struggled, Olander stepped up his game on Friday night. Of course it’s only one game but I expect this to continue from Olander.

The Huskies will now get ready for their next game which comes on Monday night when the Wagner Seahawks come to Gampel. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the game can be seen locally in Connecticut on SNY.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

Columbia Lions @ UConn Huskies 11.11.11 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun.

The video boards did not work before the game so the opening montage that was supposed to be shown before the game was played at halftime.

There also was a little malfunction in the unveiling of the 2010-11 NCAA Championship Banner.

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

UConn shot 50% (26-32) from the floor for the game. The Lions shot 28.8% (21-73).

The Huskies had 13 assists on their 26 made baskets.

UConn was 8-of-17 (47.1%) from three point land while Columbia was 9-of-31 (29%).

As we’ve come to expect, the Huskies were awful from the free throw line. They were 10-of-18 (55.6%). Oriakhi missed all three of his attempts and Napier was 4-of-8.

UConn barely won the battle of the boards (43-41) and outscored the Lions 24-20 in the paint.

The Huskies had 15 points off of nine Columbia turnovers. The Lions had 10 points off of 15 UConn turnovers.

Columbia had 19 second chance points to just four for the Huskies. UConn did outscore the Lions 20-2 on the fast break.

Niels Giffey, Michael Bradley and Ryan Boatright were all in street clothes on the bench. Giffey and Bradley are battling injuries while Boatright is still ineligible to play pending the outcome of the NCAA investigation.

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Photo credit: Bettina Hansen – Hartford Courant (No. 10 in gallery)

HARTFORD, Conn. (November 10, 2011) – CPTV is celebrating its 18^th season of broadcasting UConn Women’s Basketball by partnering with The Langan Volkswagen Group to give away an all-new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle.

This season during any of the 21 UConn Women’s Basketball games broadcast live on CPTV, viewers can call in to be automatically entered into the drawing. Also, anyone who makes an online pledge to CPTV.org during a live UConn broadcast is automatically entered to win. Only one entry per household is permitted and a pledge to CPTV is not necessary to enter.

The first opportunity to enter is this Sunday, November 13 at 2 p.m. when UConn takes on Holy Cross for the season opener on CPTV. The last chance is during the final CPTV broadcast of the season, when the Huskies face the Golden Eagles of Marquette on Saturday, February 25, 2012.

At the end of the season, one lucky name will be randomly selected from all of the entries received. The winner will receive an all-new 2012 2-liter turbo Volkswagen Beetle featuring a Fender sound system, navigation system and automatic transmission. The car features a Reef Blue exterior and black leather interior and retails for $28,785. The car will be on display at Langan Volkswagen of Vernon at 167 Hartford Turnpike in Vernon, Connecticut throughout the contest period. For more information and complete contest rules, visit cptv.org keyword: Langan VW.

Gene Langan of The Langan Volkswagen Group, with stores in Glastonbury, Vernon and Meriden commented on their partnership with CPTV: “Langan Volkswagen has been proud to support community events since 1969. We’re especially pleased and excited to be supporting CPTV, an important community asset, and their presentation of UConn Women’s Basketball during the 2011-12 season.”

In addition to the VW Beetle, the winner and three friends will get to have dinner with CPTV’s on-air UConn team – CPTV Color Analyst and former UConn Women’s Basketball player Meghan Culmo, UConn Producer Harriet Unger, and beloved in-studio host Mary Hobart.

This season, tune in to CPTV to watch the Huskies drive to the hoop and you could be driving home in your new car, thanks to The Langan Volkswagen Group and CPTV!

CPTV is the TV Broadcast Home of UConn Women’s Basketball and has been broadcasting the team’s games since 1994. With some of the consistently highest ratings and strongest membership levels of any program on public television over the past 17 years, UConn Women’s Basketball on CPTV is considered by many to be the most successful local franchise in public television history.

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Jonathan Papelbon had said all along he wanted to see what he was worth on the open market. Instead of signing a long-term extension with the Boston Red Sox, he went year-to-year through arbitration to get to that moment.

Well it appears the Papelbon’s gamble has paid off as multiple outlets are reporting that he has agreed to a four-year, $50 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. The deal reportedly also has a vesting option for a fifth year.

Earlier in the week, it looked as though Philadelphia wouldn’t have been an option for Paps as they reportedly had a four-year, $44 million deal with their closer Ryan Madson. But it fell through reopening the door for Papelbon. Ironically enough, Papelbon and Madson share the same agent.

Now the Red Sox will need to explore other options to close games for them going forward.

They could stay in-house with Daniel Bard or even Bobby Jenks who was signed as protection in case of Papelbon leaving. But with injuries sidelining him last year, he may not be a viable option.

The Red Sox will no doubtedly set their sights on the free agent market as well.

Heath Bell, Madson, Francisco Rodriguez, Brad Lidge are among the options out there at closer.

Depending on what happens with the new CBA, the Red Sox normally would have received Philly’s first round draft choice plus a supplemental draft choice. So until the new CBA is resolved, we won’t know the compensation the Red Sox will receive for losing Paps.

The big question now is what will Papelbon’s entrance music be in Philly? Obviously it won’t be “Shipping Up to Boston”. Maybe one of the Philly bands can come out with “Shipping Up to Philadelphia”.

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.

It’s opening night for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they’ll host Columbia tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. If you’re heading to the game, plan on getting there early as they will be raising the NCAA Championship banner at approximately 6:59 p.m.

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

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Calhoun: ‘It’s Going to be a Very Good Night’ [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Andre Drummond Everything You Think He Is — And More [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Breaking Down UConn’s Opponents: Game 27, Villanova [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Breaking down UConn’s Opponents: Game 29, Providence [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

VIDEO: Alex Oriakhi on Being More Aggressive [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

For UConn Men, The Ride and The Fun Begin Now [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

UConn men celebrate championship season, then get to work [CT Post]

UConn Men To Unveil Banner Before First Game Friday [Hartford Courant]

Huskies set sights on new banner starting Friday [New Haven Register]

Jim Calhoun feels retirement was not an alternative [Norwich Bulletin]

Huskies will hang their championship banner tonight [The Day]

The end, but only the beginning for UConn men [The Day]

UConn-Columbia men’s basketball matchup [The Hour]

Lamb Leads Huskies into New Basketball Season [UConn Today]

Jim and Pat Calhoun Receive UConn Foundation Philanthropy Award [UConn Today]

UConn Football links

UConn Coach And Penn State Alum Paul Pasqualoni On Scandal [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

DC also answered some questions in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Doty set to return [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Dolson, Hartley Size Up UConn’s Class of 2012 [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Doty Set to Return To Practice Friday, Play Sunday [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

UConn women will play Stanford in 2013 Carrier Classic [The UConn Blog]

Recruits Will Keep UConn Women Loaded For Future [Hartford Courant]

Huskies motivated by lower expectations [The Hour]

UConn Huskies: The Best Part of Exhibition Season, Is That It is Over [Swish Appeal]

Other UConn related links

M. Soccer. Andre Blake, Andrew Jean-Baptiste Take Home Major BIG EAST Awards [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Soccer. Huskies prepare for Big East semi against Louisville [Big Apple Soccer]

UConn Consultant Says Raise Ticket Prices To Counter High Spending [Hartford Courant]

Field Hockey: Huskies to pose tough NCAA test [The Daily Princetonian]

Baseball. Walker Receives Major League Call-Up…Again [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Cross Country. Women’s Cross Country Set For NCAA East Regionals [UConnHuskies.com]

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

Here’s the release from Sony announcing Boston Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez as the cover athlete for MLB 12 The Show:

Perennial All-Star And American League Most Valuable Player Candidate Adrian Gonzalez Announced as Cover Athlete For MLB® 12 The Show™,  Exclusively on The PlayStation®3 (PS3™) And PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita) Systems

Boston Red Sox Slugger Ready to Swing for the Fences in the Latest Installment of the Highest-Rated Sports Game Franchise

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Nov. 9, 2011 — Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) announced today the North American release of MLB® 12 The Show™, the latest installment of the number-one selling and rated Major League Baseball® (MLB®) video game franchise. Gracing the cover of The Show in 2012 will be Boston Red Sox All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. A candidate for this year’s America League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, Gonzalez is a four-time All-Star (2008-2011), three-time Gold Glove winner (2008, 2009, 2011), and 2011 Silver Slugger Award winner.

Available for the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) and PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita) systems, MLB 12 The Show is due to arrive in stores on March 6, 2012, just in time for MLB Spring Training. The Show has been and continues to be the market leading and highest ranked officially licensed baseball title of this console generation (according to MetaCritic.com) and the number-one rated sports video game over the past four years (according to GameRankings.com), delivering true-to-life gameplay, authentic franchise and season modes, and incredible detail not found in any other sports game. MLB 12 The Show builds on what has been delivered in previous franchise releases, adding compelling features that bring unparalleled innovation and polish to the sports genre.

“I feel very humbled to be chosen for the cover of MLB 12 The Show,” said Gonzalez, who recently won his third Gold Glove Award. “I think most sports fans would agree it’s a dream come true to be immortalized as the cover athlete for a video game so I jumped at the chance to work with a leading franchise like The Show—it’s truly a great honor.”

“With a standout 2011 season in his first year with the Boston Red Sox, Adrian Gonzalez has cemented himself as one of the best all-around players in baseball,” said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President, Product Marketing, SCEA. “Similarly, The Show has been the market leader and the highest rated, best-selling baseball video game franchise of all time. Therefore, Adrian was an easy choice and a perfect fit to represent the next installment of our critically acclaimed series, MLB 12 The Show.”

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

The first overall pick by the Florida Marlins in the 2000 MLB Draft, Adrian Gonzalez has steadily become one of the top players in all of baseball, both on the field and at the plate. In 2010 while playing for the San Diego Padres, he was named team MVP for the third consecutive year and fourth time overall. In 2011, Gonzalez was traded to the Boston Red Sox in a blockbuster deal and enjoyed one of his best professional seasons, which included his 1,000 career hit, fourth consecutive All-Star selection, third Gold Glove, first Silver Slugger Award, and a top five finish in batting average (.338) and RBI (117) in all of baseball.

MLB 12 The Show is the first baseball video game cover for Gonzalez who joins an elite cast of cover athletes and spokespersons to represent The Show, including Minnesota Twins catcher and 2009 American League (AL) MVP Joe Mauer, Red Sox second baseman and 2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, and New York Mets third baseman David Wright. As the latest representative of SCEA’s baseball series and ambassador for MLB 12 The Show, Gonzalez’s duties will include participation in the game’s motion capture process, artificial intelligence (A.I.) consultation, integration into all facets of the marketing campaign, and spokesperson for the franchise.

As Gonzalez continues to establish himself as one of the most talented players in the game today, MLB 12 The Show continues to build upon an already stellar reputation for immersion and unparalleled delivery of the baseball experience. With various new key features and enhancements to the critically acclaimed series, MLB 12 The Show is poised to continue the franchise’s reign as the premier MLB licensed game on any platform. Specifically for PS Vita, MLB 12 The Show will utilize all of the core gameplay features found in the PS3 version providing a big league experience that players can take with them on road, anytime, anywhere. All new features for MLB 12 The Show will be unveiled and detailed throughout the course of the campaign, prior to the game’s launch on March 6, 2012.

The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating for MLB 12 The Show is “RP” for “Rating Pending.” For more information about the ESRB visit http://www.esrb.org. For more information about the MLB 12 The Show, visit http://theshownation.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/mlbtheshow.

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