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 Football links

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

Big East: Positions of strength [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

The Big East’s best: No. 12 [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Big East good to great [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Media day at Shenkman [Chip Malafronte – New Haven Register]

And Now A Word From David Kenney [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

QB Coach Joe Moorhead:”Not Looking For Batting Practice Hitters” [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Media Day wrap-up [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

No QB decision, no moves to WR (yet) for UConn [Neill Ostrout – CT Post]

2011 Football Media Day; Quotes & Photos [UConnHuskies.com]

Football Media Day; Season Tickets Shipped! [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn might call on defense for help at WR [CT Post]

UConn football notebook: MLB Williams expected back in early October [CT Post]

Pasqualoni Stressing Discipline [Hartford Courant]

Introducing UConn’s QB Contenders [Hartford Courant]

Huskies take a break, meet press [Journal Inquirer]

Asking for Moore [Journal Inquirer]

Huskies weighing options in thinning receiving ranks [New Haven Register]

4 UConn teammates vying for starting quarterback spot [Norwich Bulletin]

Quarterback choice could be a tough one [The Day]

Youth receiving opportunities at UConn [The Day]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Lamb Scores 58 … and Loses!!! [David Borges – New Haven Register]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Caroline Doty talks about injury [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Trip to Italy about more than just basketball [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Stokes named player of the year [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Who Will You Root For? Miss Maya Or The Connecticut Sun? [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Doty Remains Positive Despite Setback; Will Not Play In Italy [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Freshmen Get An Early Look At Life As A Husky [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

UConn’s Doty works to stay positive [CT Post]

UConn Women Head For Italy Tuesday [Hartford Courant]

She puts the ‘quick’ in quick learner [Journal Inquirer]

It’s time for Tiffany Hayes to show the way [New Haven Register]

Knee keeps vexing UConn women’s basketball team’s Doty [Norwich Bulletin]

Huskies head for Geno’s homeland [The Hour]

Linn-Mar’s Stokes chosen female athlete of year [Des Moines Register]

Other UConn related links

M. Soccer. Cascio Named Preseason First Team All-American; Huskies Ranked No. 7 [UConnHuskies.com]

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

After taking two-of-three in Minnesota, the Boston Red Sox head to the Pacific Northwest for the weekend. There they’ll take on the Seattle Mariners in the first of a three-game set at Safeco Field starting tonight.

Today’s first pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. and will be broadcast in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Mariners broadcast area, you can catch the game on ROOT Sports. And if you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2011 Red Sox Radio Network.

John Lackey, winner of five of his last six starts, goes for another in his 20th start of 2011. In his previous 19 starts, Lackey is 10-8 with a 6.14 ERA. He’s made two starts against the Twins in 2011 and is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA (3 ER/13 IP). He’s made 29 careers starts and is 14-10 with a 3.53 ERA. 15 of Lackey’s career starts against the Mariners have come in Seattle where he is 8-5 with a 2.78 ERA.

In his first six career starts, Mariners rookie Blake Beavan has given his team six quality starts as he is 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA. His only career start against the Red Sox came on July 23rd at Fenway Park when he took the loss after allowing three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day if you’re on the home page.

Here are this evening’s lineups:

72-44		50-66
1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF	1. Ichiro Suzuki	RF
2. Jed Lowrie	SS	2. Franklin Gutierrez	CF
3. Adrian Gonzalez	1B	3. Dustin Ackley	2B
4. Dustin Pedroia	2B	4. Mike Carp	DH
5. David Ortiz	DH	5. Justin Smoak	1B
6. Carl Crawford	LF	6. Adam Kennedy	3B
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C	7. Miguel Olivo	C
8. Josh Reddick	RF	8. Luis Rodriguez	SS
9. Mike Aviles	3B	9. Trayvon Robinson	LF
John Lackey	SP	Blake Beavan	SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:

Kevin Youkilis was in the original lineup at third base but was scratched with a stiff back. He’s been replaced by Lowrie. Marco Scutaro was also in the original lineup but he was also scratched with a stiff back. He was replaced by Aviles.

Check back and/or refresh often as more links will be added if/when they become available before game time.

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

Kevin Youkilis update, Marco Scutaro scratched [Clubhouse Insider]

Youkilis out with sore back [CSN New England]

Red Sox early notes: Drew takes BP [CSN New England]

Pregame notes: Bedard on familiar turf [ESPN Boston]

Q&A with Pete Abraham [Extra Bases]

Time change in Texas on Aug. 24 [Extra Bases]

Red Sox fans will party in Seattle tomorrow [Extra Bases]

Red Sox set rotation for Rays series [Extra Bases]

Another lineup change: Scutaro scratched [Extra Bases]

Red Sox minor league notes: Ryan Kalish continues path back [Full Count]

Kevin Millar on M&M: ‘Kevin Youkilis is an MVP candidate’ [Full Count]

Mariners In a Better Place Than They Were Last Month at Fenway Park [NESN.com]

Which Closer Has the Best Celebration In Baseball? [NESN.com]

Ryan Lavarnway Could Provide Red Sox With Some Difficult Decisions As He Continues to Develop [NESN.com]

A Series Matter: Red Sox-Mariners and high-scoring soccer [Projo Sox Blog]

What would it take for a pitcher to win an MVP award? [Projo Sox Blog]

Tiverton’s Kapstein hitting the ball hard [Projo Sox Blog]

Draft-pick signing deadline approaching [Projo Sox Blog]

Youkilis scratched with stiff back [Projo Sox Blog]

Bedard, Lester, Lackey to pitch against Rays, Miller still in holding pattern [Projo Sox Blog]

Jenks starting throwing program [Projo Sox Blog]

Lackey looks for more success against Mariners [RedSox.com]

Sorry, Yogi — Red Sox can beat Yanks [RedSox.com]

Drew continues progress, takes BP on field [RedSox.com]

Jenks makes it to Florida after hospital stay [RedSox.com]

Adrian’s power drought doesn’t worry Boston [RedSox.com]

Justin Upton, Ellsbury top MVP races [SweetSpot]

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

Photo credits: Getty Images, AP Photo

WHAT: Boston Red Sox All-Star pitcher Josh Beckett will throw strikes of a different kind on August 29, when he hangs up his cleats and ties on a pair of bowling shoes at the 5^th annual Beckett Bowl, a star-studded bowling tournament. All proceeds benefit the Josh Beckett Foundation and Children’s Hospital Boston.

The Josh Beckett Foundation will also host the Beckett Bowl Ultimate Jeep Raffle presented by AFTER FX CUSTOMS.

WHO: Beckett Bowl has continuously attracted some of Boston’s top professional athletes and celebrities, including Beckett’s Red Sox teammates Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Clay Buchholz, and Tim Wakefield; HBO’s Entourage star Adrian Grenier; performer Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of legendary hip-hop trio Run DMC; stand-up comedian, actor, stuntman and performer Verne Troyer (aka “Mini-Me”); country music stars Pat Green and Jason Aldean; Boston Celtics 2008 Finals MVP Paul Pierce and teammate Glen “Big Baby” Davis; Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins; current and former New England Patriots  Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Adalius Thomas and Steve Gostkowski; New England Revolution stars Matt Reis and Taylor Twellman; and many more.

TICKETS: A limited number of tickets to attend the bowling event and are available for $250 at beckettbowl.com or by calling 617-338-2766.

WHEN: Monday, August 29, 2011

6:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Red Carpet appearances at Jillians/Lucky Strike Lanes Boston (free, open-to-public)
7:00 pm: Welcome by Josh Beckett and Celebrity Introductions at Lucky Strike Lanes
7:15pm – 8:45pm: Celebrity Bowling event
8:45pm – 9:15pm: Live Auction and Awards Ceremony
9:15pm – 9:30pm: Bowling Event Closing

WHERE: Lucky Strike Lanes | 145 Ipswich Street | Boston

About The Josh Beckett Foundation

The Josh Beckett Foundation is a charitable organization established in 2007 by Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett to support community-based programs that strive to improve the health and well-being of children, especially children that are seriously ill, disabled, poor, or otherwise disadvantaged. The Foundation provides Beckett with an opportunity to have a direct and permanent impact on the lives of children throughout New England.

The Boston Red Sox enjoyed a day off on Thursday in Seattle as they get ready for this weekend’s three-game set with the Seattle Mariners. After playing for 20 straight days, it was some much needed rest, especially for the back end of the bullpen.

The lack of rest for Matt Albers, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon may or may not have cost them Wednesday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins. Had they been available who knows what would have happened. But because they weren’t able to pitch, we saw what happened.

And that just goes to show you despite how good this Red Sox team is, there’s still some flaws.

For the most part the bullpen is solid. Right now though, there’s no solid, consistent lefty down there. Andrew Miller is in the bullpen for the time being but he’s going to be the long reliever and could possibly be making a spot start in the upcoming doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox sent Randy Williams back to Triple-A and Franklin Morales‘ outings are like a yo-yo. They’re up and down.

While there is still 19 days go to make a waiver deal, it’s highly unlikely the Red Sox could find some lefty bullpen hope on the trade market. They could possibly get help from Felix Doubront who returned from the Triple-A disabled list last night.

Whomever it becomes, the Red Sox need a lefty to step up in the bullpen. It would definitely help them out in the long run.

We’ll be back later with this evening’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. But for now enjoy the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

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

Lackey is shipshape for Seattle [Boston Globe]

This season, bullpen a relief [Boston Globe]

Finally, John Lackey proving his worth [Boston Herald]

Minor call-ups could be major [Boston Herald]

Josh Reddick rewarded for maturity [Boston Herald]

Red Sox afforded some long-overdue rest [CSN New England]

Nation STATion: My one-run game [CSN New England]

Vitek, Brentz, Ranaudo improving in High-A Salem [CSN New England]

September options [ESPN Boston]

Lavarnway, Middlebrooks headline Red Sox prospects in Best Tools survey [Full Count]

The 2011 goal for Ryan Westmoreland: An at-bat [Full Count]

Jonathan Papelbon ‘Needs to Be Told he Stinks,’ Has Been Fueled by Doubters This Season [NESN.com]

John Lackey, Alex Rodriguez, Adrian Beltre Among American League X-Factors in Playoff Chase [NESN.com]

John Lackey Looks for Continued Success Against Mariners in Red Sox’ Series Opener in Seattle (Video) [NESN.com]

Numbers game forces Miller to wait for another opportunity [Providence Journal]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

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

Photo credit: Getty Images

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 Football links

Zach Rugg (PA) Lineman Commits To UConn [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Put away your grills, here’s how UConn will fare [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

Live From Storrs, It’s Football Media Day! [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Has Big Holes To Fill At Linebacker [Hartford Courant]

Connecticut returns to Big East with UConn [AP]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Drummond fallout [Joe Perez – Norwich Bulletin]

Player Profile: Enosch Wolf [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Look Out, UConn, NCAA Finally Focusing On Stronger Academic Standards [Hartford Courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Doty not expected to play during European trip [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Freshmen get early introduction to life under Geno [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Maya Moore Says Hello [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Caroline Doty Likely Not Ready For Italy [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

More From Geno Auriemma On UConn And USA Basketball [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Auriemma To Be A Guest At Jimmy V Dinner In NYC [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Geno Auriemma’s Busy Summer [Hartford Courant]

Tina Charles playing like a WNBA MVP [Norwich Bulletin]

Other UConn related links

Field Hockey. Field Hockey Picked to Win BIG EAST; Five Huskies Selected to Preseason Team [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Track. Women’s Track and Field Named as 2011 Division I All-Academic Team [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Soccer. Women’s Soccer Defeats UMass in Home Exhibition Game 3-2 [UConnHuskies.com]

How does the old adage go? “Oh well, you can’t win them all”.

Well despite coming back from a 2-0 deficit last night, the Boston Red Sox fell to the Minnesota Twins 5-2 at Target Field. Even with the loss, the Red Sox took the series from the Twins.

The bad news though is that the New York Yankees won last night. That means the Red Sox lead in the AL East has shrunk to 1.5 games over them.

Nick Blackburn did a great job of shutting the Red Sox offense down last night as it looked as though they were already enjoying their off day in Seattle today. They managed just six hits off of him with two of them coming off the bat of Mike Aviles.

The only serious threat they managed to mount against Blackburn other than the run they scored in the 7th was in the 4th inning. They had runners at first and second with one out but Blackburn got Carl Crawford to fly out and he struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia looking.

The run in the 7th came when Aviles walked with two outs and went to second when Jacoby Ellsbury reached on an error. Marco Scutaro brought him in with a single to cut the lead Twins lead to 2-1. Glen Perkins came in and got Adrian Gonzalez to fly out. Perkins would give up the tying home run in the 8th though when David Ortiz blasted one off of his former team.

But with Daniel Bard, Matt Albers and Jonathan Papelbon not available for the Red Sox, skipper Terry Francona had to stick with Jon Lester a little longer than he wanted too. And it might have cost him the game.

Lester started the bottom of the 8th with the score tied at 2. He gave up a leadoff walk to the babealicious Joe Mauer and it ended up costing him. After Michael Cuddyer moved him up to second on a groundout, Jim Thome brought in the eventual winning with a double that chased Lester from the game. Alfredo Aceves came in and gave up a RBI double to Danny Valencia and two batters later gave up another single that provided the final margin.

Off the five walks that Lester gave up, four of them came back to hurt them. None was bigger than the 8th though. Overall, Lester didn’t pitch too badly. Unfortunately for him, the offense must have thought he was Josh Beckett.

The Red Sox are off today so we’ll be back in a short while with the pitching matchups for the upcoming series with the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. But for now enjoy the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

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

Lester, Sox lose control [Boston Globe]

Reserving judgment on bench moves [Boston Globe]

Some rest for Pedroia [Boston Globe]

Good start goes bad for Sox [Boston Herald]

No shame in this defeat [Boston Herald]

Power outage for Adrian Gonzalez [Boston Herald]

Twins rally this time, win it 5-2 [CSN New England]

Notes: Lester loses back-to-back games [CSN New England]

Red Sox allowed some long-overdue rest [CSN New England]

Pedroia — .376 last 2 months — gets day off [ESPN Boston]

Rapid reaction: Twins 5, Red Sox 2 [ESPN Boston]

Jon Lester doesn’t get much help in loss to Minnesota Twins [ESPN Boston]

Pedroia puts up fight but gets night out of lineup [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Red Sox bats fall flat in 5-2 season finale loss to Twins [Full Count]

Video: Andrew Miller’s Future in Rotation Unclear, But Lefty Gives Red Sox Insurance Down Stretch [NESN.com]

Red Sox Stretched Thin, Can’t Overcome Fatigue in Series-Ending Loss to Twins [NESN.com]

Video: Jon Lester Struggles With Command, Lack of Run Support in Loss to Twins [NESN.com]

Heidi Watney Tours Target Field, Discovers Ballpark Filled With Minnesota’s Heritage [NESN.com]

Lester gives Minnesota a pass in series finale [Providence Journal]

Red Sox getting plenty of production from bottom of the order [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Pedroia takes breather while getting is good [Providence Journal]

Fueled by doubters, Papelbon having big year [RedSox.com]

Red Sox Have Shown Ability to Win Road Games, But Earning Home-Field Advantage in Playoffs Still Important [Tom Caron – NESN.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer-Press websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, Twins Target.

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

Photo credit: Getty Images

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 Football links

Meet the new coaches [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Talking Competition? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

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

The UConn QB saga [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

WR Malik Generett To Transfer From UConn [SOX & Dawgs]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

UConn-Arkansas on ESPN [Neill Ostrout – CT Post]

Jim Calhoun Advice on Basketball [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Networks and Times Announced for Inaugural BIG EAST/SEC Challenge [BigEast.org]

ESPN’s College GameDay Coming to Storrs in February [SOX & Dawgs]

Andre Drummond Is NOT Coming To UConn (Yet) [SOX & Dawgs]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Storm’s Sue Bird dishes off the court as well [The Seattle Times]

Other UConn related links

M. Soccer. Louisville and Connecticut Picked to win 2011 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Divisional Titles [BigEast.org]

M. Soccer. Men’s Soccer Finalizes Staff With Addition of Mellon and Clarhaut [BigEast.org]

W. Soccer. Women’s Soccer Hosts Exhibition Game Against UMass [UConnHuskies.com]

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

ESPN announced on Thursday morning that ESPN’s College GameDay will be coming to campus in Storrs, CT for the Syracuse Orange vs UConn Huskies game on February 25, 2012.

The game will begin at 9 p.m. that night while the GameDay crew will broadcast live at 10 a.m that morning and again at 8 p.m.

The GameDay crew that will be on hand are Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps, Hubert Davis and Bob Knight.

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

Another day and another wide receiver has decided to transfer from the UConn Huskies football program. This time around, it’s redshirt sophomore Malik Generett.

He joins former Huskies Leon Kinnard and Gerrard Sheppard who have left the program in the past two weeks. Dwayne Difton left the program at the end of the spring semester earlier this year. They are also without Michael Smith who is academically ineligible this year.

While Kinnard and Sheppard have transferred to Towson State, Generett told Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant that he won’t be going there but somewhere closer to his daughter.

Update: Dez just noted on Twitter that Generett is heading to FCS school Tennesee-Martin where he’ll be eligible to play right away.

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

Photo credit: Tia Ann Chapman – Hartford Courant

After yet another comeback win last night, the Boston Red Sox go for the sweep of the Minnesota Twins tonight at Target Field in the finale of a three-game set.

Today’s first pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. and will be broadcast in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Twins broadcast area, you can catch the game on Fox Sports North. And if you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2011 Red Sox Radio Network.

After picking up the loss his last time out, Jon Lester looks to rebound in his 22nd start of 2011. In his previous 21 starts, Lester is 11-5 with a 3.23 ERA. He has not faced the Twins in 2011 and was 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA (5 ER/15 IP) in two starts against them in 2010. Lester has made six career appearances (five starts) against the Twins and is 1-2 with a 4.67 ERA. He’s made three starts in the Twin Cities and is 0-2 with a 6.61 ERA. In his lone start at Target Field, he is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA (4 ER/5 IP).

Nick Blackburn makes his 24th of 2011 for free falling Twins. In his previous 23 starts, Blackburn is 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA. He’s made one start against the Red Sox this and received a no decision after allowing one run in 6.1 innings back on May 9th. He’s made five appearances (four starts) against the Red Sox in his career and is 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA. Two of those career starts have come in the Twin Cities (Metrodome) where he was 2-0 with a 3.46 ERA. In two of his last three starts against the Red Sox, he’s been matched up with Lester (went against Josh Beckett at Fenway this year).

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day if you’re on the home page.

Here are this evening’s lineups:

72-43		51-65
1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF	1. Denard Span	CF
2. Marco Scutaro	SS	2. Ben Revere	RF
3. Adrian Gonzalez	1B	3. Joe Mauer	C
4. Kevin Youkilis	3B	4. Michael Cuddyer	1B
5. David Ortiz	DH	5. Jim Thome	DH
6. Carl Crawford	LF	6. Danny Valencia	3B
7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C	7. Delmon Young	LF
8. Josh Reddick	RF	8. Trevor Plouffe	2B
9. Mike Aviles	2B	9. Tsuyoshi Nishioka	SS
Jon Lester	SP	Nick Blackburn	SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:

Check back and/or refresh often as more links will be added if/when they become available before game time.

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

Primed for a payday: Where Papelbon stands in the free agent market for closers [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Why J.D. Drew is confident he can still contribute to Red Sox [Clubhouse Insider]

Papelbon dominant since spring scare [CSN New England]

Notes: Pedroia finally gets night off [CSN New England]

Jed Lowrie Will Have to Once Again Work to Earn Starting Job With Red Sox [Don Orsillo – NESN.com]

Playoffs come early this year–Sept. 30 [ESPN Boston]

The two faces of Terry Francona [Extra Bases]

The Red Sox are on a historic pace [Extra Bases]

Jerry Remy on D&C: Erik Bedard ‘will be a huge addition’ [Full Count]

Transcript of Terry Francona on The Big Show: Erik Bedard’s peformance ‘exciting’ [Full Count]

Red Sox Mailbag: Josh Reddick Has Earned Right to Stay in Right Field If and When J.D. Drew Returns [NESN.com]

NESN Debates: Who Is the Red Sox’ MVP of the 2011 Season So Far? [NESN.com]

Will Ryan Kalish Make an Impact With the Red Sox Down the Stretch? [NESN.com]

Red Sox Team Home Run Race Could Yield Sideshow in Final Weeks of Season [NESN.com]

J.D. Drew takes 35 swings in the batting cage [Projo Sox Blog]

Albers enduring first sustained slump of season [Projo Sox Blog]

Lester, Red Sox set sights on sweep of Twins [RedSox.com]

Last Night’s NESN Pre-Game Show, If I Wrote the Script [Surviving Grady]

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

Photo credits: Getty Images, AP Photo